Please tell me scummery is a real word. Either way, I’m using it forever starting now.
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ED has been typing for about 30 min. Happy New Year everyone!
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Who?
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I was finally fatigued with this subject but I can’t let KVV have the last word. Before I get to his post I have to tackle a few others who mentioned me in the last few days.
Are you just trying to rile me up by obviously trolling? Honestly, just let me know. It’s “hilariously wrong” to say that 99% of kids don’t read a damn Edgar Allen Poe poem in class and become huge Poe fans all of a sudden? Really? I remember being forced to read those old poems back in school, you weren’t exactly chomping at the bit to talk with your buddies about The Raven after class…
How am I actually arguing this? Can someone else back me up here?
I hope you’re implying that others are doing the “race-baiting garbage” because I certainly didn’t turn this into a race conversation.
How so?
What has been the “over-the-top caricature conservative take” that I’ve expressed here? That I would prefer to live or vacation in an area where I feel more safe and relaxed? Please explain.
Plenty of big cities with a fraction of the violence and crime of Baltimore. This isn’t your average big city in America.
For what it’s worth, I’m not taking my family on vacation or clamoring to live in deteriorating rural towns as well. I enjoy the ambiance of a place that is succeeding.
Great. I don’t think I was referring to you specifally, I was mentioning how many on your side see that word as negative. Do a quick Google search and see what I mean.
Nothing to cure a little writer’s block like employing a good old-fashioned race card. Use whenever you don’t feel like examining an issue with any nuance or empathy.
Since my arrival in this thread I have stated multiple times that if you stick to a few tourist areas you will most likely be fine. I don’t feel like scrolling up to find the specific comments but they are there if you don’t believe me.
Key Point: If you were fair, you would conclude that many white Baltimore citizens say that “they won’t go in the city” because they are viewing the city as a “whole” instead of as distinct sections with drastically different levels of violence. You would understand how they could be afraid because of Baltimore’s unrivaled levels of crime and corruption and how that could cloud their opinion of the city as a whole. How, unless they are giving out free mortgage checks down in the city, they may just want to avoid any fear and hassle at all and stay in the suburbs where things are quiet, familiar, and comfortable.
These people who you claim are “usually racist” are not afraid of, or prejudiced against the black businessman in their neighborhood. They are afraid of very real statistics. Maybe they are being excessively cautious but there really is no downside to their caution.
Key Point #2: It’s easy to just throw out the “racist” label instead of viewing an issue with any degree of empathy for why someone may feel afraid. It’s a common trait among a certain brand of white liberals to call a bunch of fellow whities “racist” because it makes them feel morally superior. It makes them feel like the “special” white guy, the “ally” who isn’t like the rest.
Key Point #3: This feels like macho posturing and unprecedented naivety. I can’t prove that you are being dishonest here but it certainly feels that way. To just blatantly say “no one is going to fuck with me” is so laughably naive and absurd, I’m stunned. Yes, the large majority of violence is gang-related, which I correctly assumed you would bring up earlier (as well as tourist areas being relatively safe), but that absolutely does not mean they wouldn’t at least mess with you or rob you. You think I can just waltz through a Baltimore ghetto with a cashmere quarter-zip on and they are just going to let me stroll through without an issue? I’m in stitches! The reason you don’t hear many stories of white guys getting mugged in the ghetto is because 99.99% of them know better! No one is doing that! These gang members are NOT good people. They aren’t just going to let you stroll past because you aren’t involved in their business. They are going to see you as a means for quick and easy cash. It’s that simple.
If you are so confident that gang members have no interest in at least robbing random citizens who waltz through their territory you should take your family for an evening walk through Sandtown at night. Just a nice little evening stroll. I really hope you don’t.
It’s not just a murder problem. You keep incorrectly trying to paint Baltimore’s problems as only being an issue if you are affiliated with gang activity.
It’s no surprise that the harshest language KVV has used in his post is reserved for police officers. I have nothing but respect for the men and women who work in what must be the most difficult and dangerous environment in America. I only know one cop, but he has told me how easy it is to become jaded and disillusioned with the world when you deal with the worst of society day in and day out. It’s certainly easy for a guy who lives in the suburbs and writes for a living to express his disapproval for those that do an incredibly difficult and dangerous job that is constantly scrutinized by many people who expect perfection.
Key Point:4 Of course, KVV leaves out the difficulty of stepping into a dangerous environment to protect the very people who are chanting things like “pigs in a blanket, fry em like bacon” among others. The people who believe in some absurd “no snitching” doctrine and who despise law enforcement with every bone in their body. They will do whatever it takes to make the police’s job hard, including things like this…
Key Point #5 You have empathy, just selective empathy for certain groups. You are completely apathetic towards the aforementioned groups above.
Key Point #6 If KVV and others want to make arguments supported by “hey, the probability of tragedy is very low” (Which is weirdly not an argument they love when it comes to guns…), they are missing an important point. As I have mentioned previously, being relaxed and comfortable is not purely based on the exact percent chance that you may be a victim of a crime.
You know what I love about where I live? The buildings are clean and renovated, the windows are free of bars, there aren’t homeless people on every corner, there aren’t drug addicts asking for money, fast food restaurants don’t have a protective glass wall between the employees and the customers, crime is so nonexistent that I can feel comfortable with my kids playing out of sight, the police are more concerned with shutting down teenage parties in their parents house then getting in shootouts, you don’t find used needles on the ground, I can leave my car with no fear of the windows getting bashed in, we can take walks as a family where I don’t have to worry where we are heading, I can trust everyone around me because they are almost all regular middle-class families, I can leave the door to my house unlocked, etc. This all adds up to a life where I can feel safe, comfortable, and relaxed. It’s as much about “vibe” which is a word I’ve used a couple of times in this thread as it is about statistics. From what I’ve heard and researched, Baltimore doesn’t seem to have the vibe I desire for a tranquil experience. You may disagree, but that’s not an unreasonable stance.
As I also mentioned earlier, the conversation shouldn’t solely be about visiting for a few days. I also said that I wouldn’t move my family to Baltimore. All of my fears become even more feasible when they are present on a daily basis. I enjoy living in the suburbs of a city where my worries are minimal. Where I can take my family into a city with a tiny fraction of Baltimore’s crime. We also have tremendous skiing and better golf 
The home prices in Baltimore are low for a reason, I know I’m far from the only one who feels this way.
Like with many debates, it’s obvious that those who are emotionally close to the subject will have a distorted view of reality. Many people see their hometown through rose-colored glasses and that’s perfectly understandable.
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Our plane has been stuck on the tarmac at JFK for just as long, so I’d really appreciate it if he just posts whatever nonsense he’s cooking up and drives our damn plane to the gate.
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Because of some silly historical inaccuracy? Not really the point!
Anyone who doesn’t like Whiplash should be banned from this forum. That’s the most egregious take I’ve seen on here.
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Ignore the troll
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To paraphrase a tweet I saw last week, I can learn whatever I need to know about a person just by watching a Damien Chazelle film with them and asking who they think the hero is.
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That was it. Finally ignored.
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If only you weren’t such a chickshit and would use your real name and tell us where you actually live (like I do) perhaps we could have this debate on equal terms. Alas, you won’t because slapping your own name onto occasionally toxic opinions is something that terrifies you despite repeatedly testifying that this site is a fake fantasy land and people in the real world clearly subscribe to your views and mock people like me. Weird then that I’ll own my beliefs and you’re clearly scared to own yours. The bigwigs in the pilots’ union must be a vindictive cadre or Bernie Sanders donors, I guess.
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Using an alias on the Internet is fair and I think makes people debate what people are saying rather than making ad hominem attacks.
Tough part of the Internet is to walk away without having to get the last word in, which is what I’m assuming will continue to happen in this thread.
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You should set a course rating range to meet mega bonus. 1 box up could be rated 75 at some courses and 65 at others. Easier to say, play the tees closest to 70 rating or etc
@djpie your video editing game is on point. Really well done.
I really enjoyed this season. Like many The Wire fans, I have a sentimental attachment to the city, even though I’ve never been there. Some day.
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“Poe isn’t an American literary institution because I didn’t talk about him with my boys after class” is the precise kind of hard-hitting poetic analysis we need more of right now. I hope you keep this bit going into the new decade—I’ve started reading your posts in Gilbert Gottfried’s voice and it makes them almost tolerable.
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I’m dead.
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