Violent crime I've read is actually decreasing, but it was in a criminology book for my course, so it could be bias.
The second sentence that you quoted (pertaining to violent crime) was in response to your statement concerning crime in Amsterdam and has nothing to do with crime in america.
I'm not one to usually say people need to get over it, but you can't expect people to teach you how to live your life.
Did your parents teach you how to live your life? Do marriage counselors teach couples how to stop arguing and how to live life? Do prison ministries teach people how to live their life? Does rehab teach a person how to live their life? Do finance restructuring programs teach people how to live? Btw, who said
anything about expecting people to teach them? Should YOU expect them to NOT spend their money on drugs, if they
may be prone to drug use? You do realize that learning how to save SHOULD start at home, but if your parents are bad spenders, or you live in a home where nothing CAN be saved because ALL of the money goes to the basics (food, gas, water,electricity, clothes), how can YOU expect them to save?
Spending is something that needs to be monitored.
Monitored for what? Why does spending need to be monitored?
You can't say they don't "know" they have little money.
When people are not used to having money and they recieve a large sum of it (via a record deal, inheritance,lawsuit, lott, etc) what do you think they will do with it?
Actually, they DON'T and for the reasons I have already listed. They are not in OWNERSHIP environments, they are not taught good spending habits and they have a limited knowledge of finances. How can you expect these people to practice proper spending if no one is telling or better yet SHOWING them why it should be done? How can you expect the people to practice proper spending when they come from places that say "you ain't shit" unless you have a good pair of shoes or a fancy car?
They know how much they have to spend.
In some cases they don't (refer to my question about those who are not used to money.)
Now, I understand that there is a difference bewteen telling someone to save, and teaching them how to do it. But if these people are grown ass adults that have jobs, pay rent and bills etc, they CAN save, they just CHOOSE not to...Not all though, I can't say everyone is like that.
Ok, now we are getting somewhere.
WHY do these people CHOOSE not to?
But there are people that just blow their fuckin money. I wasn't talking about just black communities either, but that's not really a major issue. I do realize the problems are not physical but also mental, but nobody can expect anyone to do anything for them or to do everything for them.
No one is expecting anyone to do any and everything for them. However, if you belong to a certain community you SHOULD make it your PRIORITY to make sure the people around you are on point.
And you last sentence, "How can you expect them to save when you have more options and opportunities to waste your money?" I don't waste my money. The only thing that could be considered a waste that I spend money on is weed, swishers, and black and milds. I have more opportunities to spend money than most people do, but I DON'T spend it. I can attribute some of that to my parents and some of it to me learning how I need to do things.
My apologies, that was supposed to be a two part question, and it wasn't directed at your spending habits. It was supposed to read, How can you expect them to save when they have more options and opportunities to waste their money? Truth is, these people DO have more options and oppurtunities to waste their money on things they don't need, because they have been CONDITIONED to do so. You (meaning you) can see a shirt, want it and not buy it because you know you have a bill to pay. Someone else can see that shirt, want it, buy it and damn near everything they can because they don't know how to spend. And what I mean by "how to spend" is simple. You can buy in bulk (reducing your cost), you can purchase according to weight, (reducing your cost), you can purchase according to brand (reducing the cost.)
I'm not trying to say that it's the easiest thing to do in the world, but shit....if you KNOW you have NO money, what the fuck are you spending for?
Poor spending habits.
Saving is NOT a problem with just minorities, it's with everyone, they just have the least money so when they do spend it on "shit" (worthless stuff they don't need) they really don't have anything left.
No one here has implied this is a a problem exclusive to anyone. However, the black dollar LEAVES the black community 20-60 minutes after it enters it, and this is a problem. I am focusing on the issues of minorities because I am a minority, and minorities rank high when it comes to poor spending habits.
Do you realize not everyone is the same? Some people have self control.
I realize this, and I never said people didn't have self control. However, if you have self control and you are doing drugs you are STILL DOING DRUGS.
People will do drugs regardless.
This is not the issue. Will MORE people do drugs because they are legal? YES!
But I do agree that the media would market it to people who would spend money on it, which isn't really fair, but that's where the idea of-know how much money you have and how much you NEED to have for rent, food, bills, whatever. Not everything is the fault of a social institution, sometimes people really are just not being responsible or doing their part...obviously this isn't the case with everyone, I'm saying it so it's out there.
When you are bombarded with adverts and companies seeking your $$$ it is HARD to focus on how much you have, how much you need for food, rent, bills etc. Americans buy just for the hell of it, and americans are conditioned to this type of behavior.
Body and mind....crack. Body OR mind...Wal-Mart.
possibly....
I'm sure that more people would buy drugs, but that doesn't mean they would have a drug problem. There is a dominant portion of our society that thinks drugs are like the devil. You do have a good point, I'm speaking though more from my perspective when I talk about self-control and responsibility because I know what I can and can't do and what I like and don't like.
More people eating fast food means what? More people with health related issues. More people drinking and driving means what? More people on the road at risk. I am not saying everyone WILL have a drug problem. What I AM saying is the number of drug problems WILL increase. If they are increasing while they are ILLEGAL making them LEGAL will NOT cause the numbers to nosedive. Also, people do not understand or RESPECT their own limits until they have reached that point. You won't know what you really like or how much you can handle unless you are told to not do it or you do it and have an ill side effect (which could be as simple as throwing up or severe and close to death.)
Back on this again huh? Everyone has vices.
I never implied everyone didn't however when more people are being exposed to these vices what will happen?
Can you give me some examples of what you're talking about just so I can get where you're comin from better?
Look at your demographic and compare and contrast yourself to someone from the ghetto. Look at the differences between the way you SPEAK, ACT and SPEND. What is important to you? Is a fancy car important to you? If so, is this because american society says you should have one? See, people in the hood are affected by a society that promotes materialism. Also, in the hood, a lot of the role models are pimps or pushers. What do these people have? Cars, money, jewels, women etc. They are getting a double dose of materialism, and what do you expect them to do when they are being told from all angles that "you aint shit unless you have....."
And as for it being the gov't's job to help, yeah I can see that, but the PEOPLE are supposed to be the government, not some unseen entity that doesn't every say shit about shit. And the point of them making laws is not to make us all responsible citizens, some people can govern themselves, like me. Laws are in place to control people's lives and behavior, that's it.
Actually, the people are the ones who should make the choices, but it should be the governments job to ENFORCE the choices. This is how it SHOULD work. If the people are supposed to be the government you would have no need of the government and the country would be self governed (this is kinda how the constitution and bill of rights work.) yes, I agree SOME laws are made to control lives and behavior, but is this a bad thing? Would you want laws pertaining to rape or child molestation to be removed? Also, some laws ARE used to make you more responsible (think about laws pertaining to hunting or wildlife for example.)
If I said let drugs run rampant, I didn't mean it. Weed, shrooms, maybe acid, maybe some other shit too but not coke, meth, or crack.
Why acid? I could see if you argued from a natural standpoint and said shrooms and weed but acid? Why would you legalize acid? You can become hooked and warped on the first try. It is not a drug that first time users should take by themselves and people who have been on acid have been known to harm themselves and others.
Drugs don't cause people to stop doing their shit, it's the PERSON that makes that choice, to a point I guess because of their situation
Actually, drugs CAN stop you from doing your shit, just ask any person who is unable to perform their job due to drug use causing their skills to deminish. It is the persons choice to do drugs, however what is driving force behind the choice (of those who are NOT new to drugs?)
ADDICTION.
But they can choose to either do drugs, or not. That's on them.
Yes, they can choose to either do drugs or not, I am not arguing this. However I just can't say "thats on them" especially when that persons drug use may affect my community or myself in some way.
Blaming other people because someone can't say no to cocaine is kind of weak.
Have you saw me remove responsibility SOLEY away from the user? No. However, I do blame other people because someone can't say no to cocaine. The blame can be placed on many variable such as society saying "its cool" to rappers promoting it in songs.
On the other side, putting cocaine/crack in low income places and selling it cheap (like our gov't did) is fucked off, which is why I wouldn't allow meth, crack, or coke to be sold, or why I disagree with it's sale.
Which brings up the debate of GATEWAY drugs. Would the LEGALIZED drugs lead to increase use of meth, crack, coke, etc?
I'm not sure actually. It's in the somewhere in the middle now....People are always gonna be stupid. I don't think telling everyone what to do is going to work. But I gotta go to class, so if I can finish replying to the rest later, I'll copy and paste it...
handle it.
