Prota_Gonist

Prota_Gonist t1_j7zogrn wrote

I feel like it's being lost in the conversation that no modern American has an issue with Columbus because he was Italian.

The negative sentiment exists because Columbus was, charitably, a somewhat careless credit-stealer who failed upward and ended up way out of his depth, whose major claim to fame was accomplished by someone else 500 years prior.

Less charitably, he was a ruthless mercenary colonizer blinded by the promise of wealth whose exploration directly led to hundreds of years of oppression and subjugation that some have termed a genocide.

The recasting of Columbus as an Italian Hero doesn't jive with a modern understanding of his role in America's history.

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Prota_Gonist t1_j7x52w6 wrote

Well, I'll give Paolino credit, recharacterizing Columbus as a figure of Italian-American pride is cunning.

That framing will allow for the downplaying of complaints from minoritized groups who don't consider Columbus to be aspirational by invoking the historically minoritized status of Italians. The goal, it seems, is to recast Columbus not as a national hero but rather as an ethnically-specific one.

It's all just sleight of hand, though. The statue was taken out of public display for a reason, and it had nothing to do with anti-Italian sentiment.

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Prota_Gonist t1_j7wag0z wrote

The motto that many (including myself) have adopted is "Harm Reduction Is Valuable Even When Harm Elimination Is Preferable". I agree that the media is overstating the drop, but this is largely because other media is overstating the problem. It's a reactionary media circlejerk, and it's been that way at least as long as I've been a Providence resident. This is why it's always better to go right to the data and draw your own conclusions, especially in a small and hyperpoliticized city like this one.

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Prota_Gonist t1_j7w5y9d wrote

This is why panel data is important. You're looking at too short a time scale. This is a form of sampling bias, not to mention (and I do apologize for stating this so bluntly) just a poor research practice.

Furthermore, it seems that you're indulging this bias in order to falsely deduce something about this forum's users- namely, that we're all Providence Apologists who actively overlook stats and figures in order to push a false narrative about the city's safety.

That sentiment is, simply put, not reality. The people on this forum by definition identify with the city of Providence and have a vested interest in open collaborative discussion about it. No one is looking to grasp at straws or downplay real issues. That's why so many posts here involve collected data or primary news sources. If anything, this is one of the better places to find providence residents willing to take a good hard look at the issues faced by the city... and, when we have occasion, give it some hard-earned credit.

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Prota_Gonist t1_j7vnbdv wrote

This was to be expected. The city has been on a steady downward violent crime trend since at least 2017, with a smaller downward trend for nonviolent crime in the same span (except for Motor Vehicle thefts and motor vehicle larceny which saw a small overall increase).

Generally, Providence is getting safer year over year, despite what certain local news outlets might have you believe.

Source: https://www.providenceri.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2022_SelectedPart1Summary_FINAL.pdf

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Prota_Gonist t1_j6iy7s6 wrote

I'm objectively not good enough of a metal guitarist to be in your band but I'm also a 30's Star Wars loving guitarist in Providence so I'm gonna follow this thread and live vicariously through the person who actually shows up. 🤘

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