Syphon6645 t1_j376zxb wrote
Reply to comment by z3mcs in [WBAL] Baltimore Mayor Scott unveils state legislative priorities for 2023 by z3mcs
It shouldn't stop people from saying it. Getting the funds or not action needs to taken and positive results need to be the outcome. The people of Baltimore need to get fed up with things Getting worse. Stop electing folks that don't do their job. We get fired if we fail. So should they. Stop blaming others and take action.
z3mcs OP t1_j378dvv wrote
I'm fine with anybody saying what is being tried isn't working quick enough. But there are legit people who would swear in court, he's not doing a single thing. Not trying anything, just literally sitting on his hands and picking his beautiful, beautiful hair. That's obviously untrue, yet people still do it. Harrison said a couple years ago it would take like 8 years minimum to right the ship. That's a guy with, at the time, 35 years of police experience. 8 years! But people want to not only right the ship in less than half that time, but also get it full steam ahead. Preposterous. But I get how frustrating it is to see or god forbid, personally experience the violence. It feels unfair.
The real kicker in all this is, you ever see the comments that slip through with people talking about "oh, someone needs to do the stuff that nobody wants to do because it's political suicide blah blah" and they're talking about, or rather dogwhistling about stop and frisk and mandatory minimums or martial law or choose-your-own-outdated-or-unconsitutional-brute-force-policy-that-will-be-worse-in-the-long-run?
The real thing "nobody wants to talk about" that would actually address the problem is looking at the work of Professor Lawrence Brown and digging into that and the resources that need to go to certain areas of the city to restore what was taken away. People nearly always mean that first part, but the solution lies in the opposite of that.
Syphon6645 t1_j378tth wrote
What has he done that has moved things in a positive direction?
z3mcs OP t1_j379lgt wrote
Iono, look it up if you want to be accurate when you talk about it.
Syphon6645 t1_j379si9 wrote
I can but wanted to know your thoughts.
z3mcs OP t1_j37be0f wrote
We don't have that kinda time, lol.
tl:dr - he's pretty much what I thought he'd be from watching him as a councilperson and during his run. Very what you see is what you get. He hasn't done anything transformative but he's started to lay the groundwork for the next person. If you (general you) expected him to come in guns blazing, you were disappointed. He's like the leader of the clean up crew. The place was wrecked and he is coming in trying to get things just running at a minimal level. He affects a lot of people reddit doesn't see or acknowledge. Him just being in a position of leadership affects a lot of people positively but that is invisible to most of reddit. He shows up a lot of places he should, and doesn't show up a lot of places he needs to. He disappoints folks like /u/jabbadarth and me all the time, much like a recent heralded president disappointed folks because he didn't come in swinging his [expletive] and changing every policy around. And then sometimes he's not responsive when he should be, to folks like jabbadarth who are earnest and vital members of the area. He has his reasons I'm sure, but some times it just feels like he chooses to ignore things that shouldn't be ignored. But there's a larger convo to be had around that that we don't have time for today. If I gave him a rating it would be "meets expectations" because I was never detached enough from the crime and violence of this city to expect he could come in and make a dent in three freaking years when hundreds of years of history have got us to where we're at. I listened to leaders at Hopkins, leaders in the community, aspiring political candidates and leaders of organizations like the police, to understand the limits of what he could accomplished. I posted research in here long before he ever ran (search the sub for it) that suggests Mayors basically have next to no impact on things like crime, etc.
and that's the tldr. You're not gonna waltz in and solve something like this, in 3 years.
Syphon6645 t1_j37dew6 wrote
I'm not expecting radical change at all. In the end, it's still the government and it moves slowly. It's not a corporation. With crime it's like losing weight. You need to implement things that at least slows things down. I just see it getting worse.
Like the American Rescue Plan Act. Who or what has benefited from that outside of handing out millions.
Have things gradually improved in some regard? I'm struggling to find anything positive and I want to. I love Baltimore but it's corrupt all over. It's not just him. He's just the head coach of the team.
z3mcs OP t1_j37e6th wrote
Well next year we'll have a new head coach. Who do you think it'll be? I think we're gonna have some of the same folks from before in the running - Scott, Dixon (ugh), maybe a new Miller-like outsider (but not Jayne, she's not doing that), the usual weirdos that have no shot that run, and whichever grifter wbff puts up. Now in 2028, ZC is on deck mos def. Hopefully we'll have flying hacks by then.
Syphon6645 t1_j37fm6j wrote
It's going to be the same thing over and over again until someone out of nowhere comes in a truly cleans house. It might be a different name but it's the same promises and same failures.
z3mcs OP t1_j37jj7s wrote
Who have you voted for in the past few primaries elections, if I may ask?
Syphon6645 t1_j37l10u wrote
I keep that to myself. I'm mostly a libertarian but not the typical beltway type. I'm fiscally conservative but generally I believe you can do whatever you want as long as it doesn't infringe on my rights.
z3mcs OP t1_j37mz4l wrote
Did you live in the city for the last few elections? Who were your top 2 or 3 candidates for Mayor (you don't have to say who you ultimately voted for) in 2016 and 2020?
jabbadarth t1_j37c8tv wrote
Well said.
What's funny is I've been guilty of the very thing I speak out against and that's expecting mayor's to make big changes in short amounts of time. It took decades to mess the city up this bad and for us to expect it to get better in any less time is naive at best.
My biggest complaint is that he doesn't seem to jave any overarching plans. He has done some good things and some bad things but I don't see a vision or plan as much as a guy who just jumps from thing to thing. I had hope when he brought in a city manager that he was on his way to removing himself from day to day minutia for a more comprehensive planning position but that seems to have not worked out.
z3mcs OP t1_j37dhyu wrote
Well I've enjoyed your comments over the years and I thought when you talked about how he wasn't responsive over various things (the funding for new gun toys comes to mind) I thought you were spot on. You should always be responsive or at least have an explanation for your constituents.
That said, sometimes I really do wonder how much of an undercurrent there is of a threat to him personally if he doesn't go along with some things.
Like, dude got mugged (like a push, not robbed) and essentially assaulted by that dude and nobody talks about it, like ever. And the BPD is obviously an organization that has no problem taking people out when needed. Did you catch that Bates said, and still believes, that the Suiter case is straight up murder? And that he had conversations with people close to the case and he believes that it is murder? Scott tries to run roughshod through things and he may end up like Suiter.
Now that said, that's not an excuse to whiff on a good amount of things. I just think he's done a good amount of things in addition to the whiffs.
And a, while we're talking about mayor stuff. This goof is about to rise from the ashes. Lets pray she doesn't.
jabbadarth t1_j37wgrc wrote
We deserve so much better...fucking Dixon
Also yeah I get there are tons of things that mayor's, governors, presidents promise that can't be done for any number of reasons but, as you said, transparency is paramount. I'd rather someone say I screwed up then to keep spouting bullshit that will never happen. Although I do think I am somewhat rare in that as most constituents just want results or at least feel good speeches in lieu of results.
CrabEnthusist t1_j37cnj0 wrote
...How is getting more funds to be used for public safety (putting aside the efficacy of BPD at stopping crime for a second) not "taking action"?
The violence in Baltimore is a result of decades and decades of systemic disenfranchisment, exploitation, underinvestment, and lack of concern for poor people and Black people. It's baked into our economic system, our infrastructure, our law enforcement and justice systems, and yes, our political system. I'm not saying things couldn't be going faster, but expecting any mayor to in a single term "fix" issues which fundementally stem from generational poverty and systemic racism is pollyanish at best, and results in policy that actively makes those issues worse down the line (see broken widows policing).
Syphon6645 t1_j37f4w9 wrote
I agree. It's not going to improve overnight. Not expecting it to. All those things you stated are an issue and need to be resolved. This goes deep and I get that. I'm tired of hearing problems and not solutions.
How does asking for funding help with acting on solutions? Are funds being used currently to help with those issues? I believe a lot of those issues are free to solve.
Maybe the problem is the government as a whole. How is the government supposed to provide solutions when they are the problem? These issues are embedded in our society and let's assume they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. What now? Continue to watch the youth get slaughtered on the streets? Schools fail the kids? Admission fail the teachers? Infrastructure fail? Jobs leave? Resources diminish?
CrabEnthusist t1_j37hr7a wrote
What issues do you believe are free to solve?
Also, there's a massive difference between saying "these issues cannot be solved overnight" and "well I guess we shouldn't do anything ever."
Mayor Scott's focus on environmental issues is a good example of something that is fairly unlikely to result in short term returns, but will result in better health, employment, and economic trends over a longer timescale. The hard truth is that generations issues usually require generational inverventions (which of course does not mean we shouldn't address immediate issues simultaneously).
Syphon6645 t1_j37j76z wrote
Not everything is corrected with funds like when minority men are sentenced longer to similar crimes because they don't have money for better lawyers. Or minority families being pushed out of neighborhoods because of gentrification. Politicians let that happen! It's not just corporate America.
You don't change how systems are run with just funding. It also comes down to policy changes and corrective actions towards those who do wrongdoing.
CrabEnthusist t1_j37kwsh wrote
...You think that politicians should just decree that the public defenders "be better" at being lawyers without spending money?
I can't think of what "policy changes and corrective actions toward those who do wrongdoing" means other than 'lock people up for longer' which (1) isn't free and (2) doesn't work.
I agree there are zoning changes that could be made that would reduce displacement, although I disagree tha alone would be sufficient to ameliorate the issue
Syphon6645 t1_j37m18o wrote
I'm typing in those little block. Obviously, "being better" is a generalization. Most public defenders are underpaid and overworked. There aren't enough of them either. That's nationwide. There are policy changes and others things that can be done to help.
Locking people up? No, but firing when not doing their job, yes. There are other ways to discipline folks.
Matt3989 t1_j37r34w wrote
>Stop electing folks that don't do their job.
We don't elect BPD
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