Submitted by Diela_N t3_126qj51 in washingtondc
The sub has seen a huge increase in reporting and talking about crime in the city. I'm just wondering, what are you going to do about it?
Are you volunteering to mentor at-risk kids?
Are you attending council meetings?
Are you just here to complain about crime and leave in the next two years cause you did your TDY in DC?
Lots of smart people in this sub, but very few positive messages about helping or changing things in the city.
OP wants a poll tax/test but for posting on reddit.
lol
I agree that we should not have to, but what should be done about it if we are not getting that degree of low crime? Should we vote for different politicians?
Not everybody has studied criminal justice and knows how to solve crime or is politically literate enough to know who’s policy will actually lower crime, but that doesn’t mean they dont have a right to want a low crime community
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I’ve been moonlighting as a vigilante. I beat the shit out of a few jaywalkers last night in Georgetown. Not to toot my own horn too much but I also post on next door about my neighbors leaving their trash cans on the sidewalk. I’m the man
Don't forget to post it on TikTok!
We pay taxes to fund the police and public schools
And vote.
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what do you wish to accomplish with this post
Slightly more than the people who exclusively post about crime?
To reawaken Americans to the concept of community engagement, rather than just consumers?
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As long as it's understood that social media is not discussion. It's shouting into a room of like minded voices
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This subreddit definitely isn’t progressive. Voting blue is also not equivalent to progressivism, and as far as progressivism goes, your views are far from it.
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Despite deleting your post, the things you post on this subreddit gives some insight into your views. Don’t know how I would feel better about myself by saying that you’re not progressive, sorry to hurt your sense of self.
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Aggro. Likes. Confirmation of priors. ATTENTION
I do not have any specific goal. I'm curious about what people are doing or not doing to address a problem that the sub thinks is important.
So let me get this straight. In order to get your "complain about crime" pass in DC, you need to... checks notes... volunteer to mentor at-risk kids? Once completed, you can complain all you want? It's just such a weird sentiment.
It's not that weird. A problem has been identified. The next step in the discussion should be a solution to that problem. We have not seen any posts about discussing what that solution is or could be to the identified problem.
People that post about people that post about Crime, what are you doing to help your community in the City?
Honestly this is the real question
I don’t want to out myself but I am likely one of the people you’re referring to, and I have been consistent volunteering for many years in DC.
It’s important to volunteer and be active in your community. I would venture that most people concerned with crime are also the ones who are active.
Thank you for your time and energy in helping out our community. The post is getting a good amount of down votes but I was just generally curious about this subject. We could always use more people like you in this world.
I think it’s getting downvoted because the tone on your original post reads as dismissive and assumptive of the level of community engagement from people posting about crime. If you are truly curious about the level of individual investment across the DC community then you may want to adjust the underlying tone of the post.
No problem, I am one of the upvotes on your post.
For anyone reading who is concerned about crime: please run for ANC. Great way to get involved and give back. And you’ll have my vote!!
I helped put roughly a dozen shitbag individuals in prison from my work in forensics in a neighboring county. Unknown DNA samples taken from scenes may compound the sentences for offenders once they’re caught. It’s the gift that keeps giving.
>my work in forensics in a neighboring county.
Is this bc DC's lost their accreditation and relying on neighboring jurisdiction to pick up slack?
No, it’s just a case of offenders being transient. They look for more remote targets and then blend back in to the city.
Tankies in here are gonna be mad about rape kits putting people away.
I see a lot of people posting about restaurants, but what have you done to make the food at Founding Farmers better. Huh? Its very easy to complain from the sidelines, but we live in a society!
I’m a public educator for over 13 years in the district . We work tirelessly to intervene and serve our students and families . We are failed by the city at most ventures . It wasn’t always this bad , but since 2019 things have been going downhill , fast . Specific examples are CFSA screening out actual , provable abuse ( even on camera ). We learned years ago that they’ll be no help , they keep passing the buck back to schools . The reality is that we are not resourced to support all community challenges . MPD and the city also do NOTHING regarding truancy . Do you know how many student we have with a 50% or less attendance rate and absolutely nothing happens to their parents . I vote in every election , support statehood activities where I can and also belong to a community -based service organization. Also support high -stakes senate elections by volunteering for their campaigns . I serve this city well and continue to watch it deteriorate at an alarming rate with ( seemingly ) no action to address any real issues affecting our city.
In the recent past, I would have said education. I still believe that if we had equal access to good public education, it would make such a difference.
These kids should be in school.
There are also for hire signs everywhere, so I don't see excuses or social factors pushing them into crime .
Must be very difficult being a teacher if so many kids are not interested. You are a role model for those who can and will make use of good teachers
Good access to public education does make hell of a difference, but that’s the problem. DC has a disparity in educational opportunities, and beyond education, schools are supposed to be a safe space where children can explore their interests, and a lot of schools lack that. Also, schools teach to a curriculum that often lacks the context and needs of each individual students who come from different backgrounds and home situations that would effect their want and ability to learn.
Also, despite there being for hire signs everywhere, children should not have to work. There are plenty of children who have the privilege to not work and enjoy being a kid. In the hypothetical that a child does get a job, DC minimum wage is 15-16$ which is still not a living wage in DC, and wouldn’t be much to help their family. Also, certain types of crime can seem like a way for children to acquire money faster than a for hire job would.
Sometimes children commit crime because they feel the pressure of poverty from their parents, sometimes it’s because they’re exposed to it in their homes or from their peers. Sometimes children commit crime because they feel like they have nothing to live for because low income status can do that to people. Sometimes children are literally being neglected, and feel that indulging in crime will get them the attention they want and need, even if it’s very negative. Not saying that committing crime is okay or acceptable, just saying that there are indeed social and environmental factors that would push them into it.
School should be more than education, and children are interested, but it’s important to understand the needs of each individual student, which is hard to do when teaching a class of 20+. This is where social workers, maybe mandatory after school programs, extra curricular, mentors, and more, play an important role in making children interested, ensuring that they feel cared for, and providing an outlet from difficult home situations.
But children that harass on the metro or that threw a woman off a bus when she asked them not to be so loud ?
This shows a dangerous attitude that I can't see how they are pushed to this .
Unfortunately, some very rich have tried to help with education, but it's not enough when the situation at home is not very enriching .
The city has a voucher program for housing that you would think could help young families or single moms to live in NW with good schools . But who gets these vouchers ? Unemployed recently homeless many times with mental issues
This is going to be unpopular, but I also blame parents for glorifying working from home. Kids look up to their parents as role models. Every day as a kid, I proudly watched my dad put on his work clothes and go to work in the morning. That helped motivate me to put on my school clothes (which back then wasn't pajama pants) and go to school in the morning. Now, if kids watch their parents sitting in their pajamas at home for work, it can be hard to feel motivated to go in-person to school every day. I'm not surprised that truancy rates are increasing.
Some people blame the D.C. City Council.
Some people blame Mayor Bowser.
Some people blame D.C. police.
Some people blame the U.S. attorney for D.C.
Those four parties all have the ability to directly address the crime problem in our city via policy decisions, effective policing, and prosecution of crimes. It's quite literally their job. But sure, let's pin the blame on users of the D.C. subreddit for not fixing these problems.
The post's intention is not to blame anyone. I just wanted people's opinions on how the average person is or could help with the problem. Many people are defensive about discussing how people can help improve the problem the sub has identified as a major issue.
I mentor underprivileged youths and donate to local charities. But I really resent the question, complaining is anyone's right, you don't need a "pass" to raise awareness on a social platform for issues you care about
Complaining is anyone’s right. But the comments in this subreddit go beyond complaining. There were literally people saying that the child murdered by an adult for carjacking deserved it, and was an example. That’s not okay, but the same people saying that don’t interact with or understand the people in their community on the day to day.
Attending Council meetings is completely pointless when the electeds don't listen to anyone but each other. I can name perhaps two that actually listen to their constituents. The rest openly DGAF.
>Are you just here to complain about crime and leave in the next two years cause you did your TDY in DC?
Look if you want to go down the road of how long we've all been here you're gonna end up dying mad. Some of us don't want to go back to what DC was like 20 years ago.
Just wondering how long one must live here per the OP to not want to be a victim of a crime?
I'm guessing 5 years or less. The tryhards usually lose their naïveté around then.
I think the intention of this is very nice, but at what point is it not the whole cities fault that crime is being committed by criminals?
Yeah trying to blame the people not doing the crimes for the crimes is some ish.
Is this where being overly compassionate and empathetic becomes a complete circle. People victim blaming themselves. Mam why do you think the mugger picked you? Well I never volunteered so...I guess I can only blame myself.
"I was assaulted because I didn't tip 50% when I bought this muffin at Starbucks and thus I deserved this skull fracture."
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Not committing crime and being a responsible human.
I think this might be a step too far for the 'if you don't vote, you cant complain' theorem.
That is my view on gun killings in Republican states . God help us? Vote Dem and let's get rid of assault weapons and no gun sales under 25
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I think the Discussion is great, but why stop that discussion at the identified problem. Why not also discuss ways to get to a solution?
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Be careful! This person might call you a fearmongering jerk because you’re talking about crime being up YoY (with data). Please join us in burying our heads in the sand. We SHOULD NOT be talking about it! Cuz morale or something
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Is this how you usually handle the slightest bit of pushback? You get this riled up when your points (if you can call it that) don’t make sense?
The irony must be lost on you when you’re setting rules for who is a jerk while calling people assholes and saying “fuck you” in the same thread. WHAT ABOUT THE MORALE
I’m at Outback Steakhouse so kiss my ass
DC residents have every right to post and complain about high crime WITH NO CONDITIONS. It’s also not our job to do something about it. We pay plenty of tax dollars to our government to actually govern and keep us safe and that’s more than enough. Shaming people for complaining about very legitimate concerns helps nothing and no one. Engaging in the community is a great thing and a personal choice, but is not a prerequisite for voicing concern about the state of the city. End rant.
Where did I sign up for "The Passive Aggressive More You Know" PSA?
Look at you with your "mentor at-risk youth" coment and "TDY" like we are some missionaries (pss...we aren't supposed to use to those terms..stop dividing us!).
Ask not what Reddit can do for you, but what you can do to stop using othering phrases and blaming ...uh, others.
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Exactly. Everyone has a crime boner these days.
If you don’t like the sub you can leave
Ah shit, I didn't go to a useless ANC meeting this week. Guess I can't complain about all the broken glass on my sidewalk from a string of car break-ins.
A lot posts are obviously from people new to the city who had a scary experience and trying to warn people, ask about resources/reporting, thank helpful bystanders. Reddit probably isn't the best outlet and there are always asshats just bitching in the comments but everything doesn't need to be "here is my 5 point activism plan to solve safety concerns in the greater DC metro area"
That aside, this is also an insanely privileged take. A lot of people can't go to council meetings or volunteer because their health is poor or they're working insane hours just to make ends meet or have extensive caretaking responsibilities. They are still part of our community and still get a voice about how things should be.
Helping one's community being considered privilege has to be the most backwards, righteous take I've heard in a while.
People help their community in all sorts of ways that aren't "attending council meetings" and "mentoring at risk youth".
You got all the DC liberals mad with this one. I guess they realized they were closer to the right than they thought and got hurt.
Actively engaging in your community and supporting economic policies that actually help people, not throwing more police in and voting status quo, is the start of the solution.
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Post on a Reddit with strangers. Wbu?
Thank you for this.
I don’t post about crime, but I still want to answer: I “think globally, act locally.” Meaning, I realize my impact will be small, but it can still be positive. I volunteer to pick up litter so neighborhoods don’t feel so depressing (shout out to District Cleanups!), which can lead to criminal acts, per the Broken Windows Theory. I volunteer in the parks (Anacostia Watershed Society, Rock Creek Conservancy) pulling up invasive plants (English ivy, clematis, honeysuckle) so the native plants have a chance and so the parks are more attractive to everyone, since green spaces are known to calm people down. And I volunteer with other groups as I have time—ushering at free music concerts (Washington Bach Consort), shelving books at the library, helping on Election Day. And I’m uniformly decent and pleasant to strangers I “meet” when I’m out and about, smiling, reaching something down from a high shelf for vertically challenged people in grocery stores, etc. I pay it forward.
Others no doubt will have other ways to involve themselves in their community, wherever your heart might lead you. The one thing we can’t afford to do is to distance ourselves from our neighbors. I’m not Christian, but I live by “Love your neighbor” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
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That's the kind of violence interrupting we need!
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aboutblogabout t1_jeaage7 wrote
In my opinion, there is not a minimum level of civic engagement one must accomplish in order to be deserving of a city with low crime