The War on ProHo Terror

padded mailers? padded MAILERS?!?!?!?

good gravy, woman! this is serious cause for alarm!! you shouldn't use such language in front of the kiddies, madam, or i'm afraid we will all take you completely out of context and ban you for life from the boards!!!

doctorj wrote: [quote=raulism]But I will put up with the billionth posting about the Burrito Bar sign in order to put up my political rants.

That is so fair (and hyperbolic and reciprocal). Because I'd put up with your billionth political rant to hear more about the Burrito Bar.

:shock:

alafairnadia wrote: it's terrifying. I think I'm going to go cower under the BQE.

Just stay away from my spot. :x

Subject: Devincf is partially right

Seriously, do ya'll really think a vague description of a black dude in his twenties who robs people is "informative?" What about a description of a black dude in the rain who wears a red hat and fires volleys of small-caliber bullets at random white dudes? Do you folks think you'll recognize these people when you see them and then learn to avoid them somehow? Do you think a few hastily-written paragraphs on a message board can tell you enough to distinguish one potential felon from another?

Prospect Heights is full of young, aggresive black dudes. Many of them carry guns. Some of them rob people. Some of them kill people. You can't recognize them. You can't tell the difference between a young guy who is going to shoot you and a young guy who is going to try to sell you peanut M&Ms on the train until he pulls out a gun, aims it at you, and fires.

Identifying the instances of muggings and shootings doesn't inform anyone in a way that can prevent future muggings and shootings. I can't avoid Park Place and Franklin Avenue. I live there. You probably live nearby. Are you going to avoid black teenagers from now on? I wish you the best of luck. I'm tired of seeing pigeons.

Some black kids pulled a revolver on the corner of Park Place and Franklin Avenue last night and threatened to kill me. My wife and dog were next to me. I told them I'd seen guns before and that they had to stop throwing rocks at my wife and I. Really, I feel pretty proud of myself I didn't freak out. The kids are still there, though. Will this information help anyone at all? No. You can't live in Prospect Heights and "avoid" this kind of thing. No one is going to be any more or any less likely to get shot on my street because I posted this story. Anyone with any sense already avoids this corner and those of us who live there are still going to have to walk it at least twice a day. There's nothing we can do about it except complain, and I (for one) am not interested in complaining over and over again about the same thing.

After my run-in with the gun-toting young bucks I decided I had three options. You have them, too:

1. I can try to fight 'em--you know, with my fists. They have guns and I don't but I still bet I could outfight all three. I hope they doesn't, like, shoot me, though. After I win the fistfight I can peep over my shoulder all the time to make sure they don't want to even the score. Sounds fun, huh?

2. I can call the cops. When they arrive, I can explain that the teenagers who pulled a gun on me weren't, in fact, feeding their grandmother in front of their other six cousins as they all claim, and DID have a guns, despite them not being around anymore. I seriously doubt anybody would mention anything about white guys ALWAYS blaming black teenagers when something goes wrong, and I KNOW no one would suggest my ingrained racism made me finger the wrong kids... Right? Still, it might be a good idea to let everybody in the neighborhood know, especially the drug dealers and adult felons, that there's one easily identifiable white guy on Park Place who "isn't going to take it anymore". I'm sure all those otherwise uninterested young fellows would applaud my effort to clean up the streets where they earn their illegal livelihoods.

3. I can move somewhere else. I don't particularly like New York. It's expensive and often boring. I hate living in a city where everyone is on display all the time. I hate roving black teenagers talking shit to me when I walk the dog. Why would I choose to live somewhere that stopped being fun a long time ago?

Some people want to organize and improve the neighborhood. I wish them the best, but I don't have that impulse. I moved into Prospect Heights because it was cheap and I thought it would be funny to live someplace with so much crime. In retrospect, I think I misjudged my tolerence for that sort of thing. I know I don't like my wife walking past the park at Park Place and Washington Ave at night. Hell, I don't like being two blocks from that park. But I recognize that when I live here, I have no choice. If a minority (ha!) of concerned newcomers organized and changed this neighborhood it would be too expensive to be worthwhile and the whole effort would be a waste. I didn't move here to be cool. Those stray bullets keep Prospect Heights cheaper than Park Slope. Take them or leave them. Personally, I'm taking a new place in Northern California next month; I'll have a back yard and a launch point for canoes on the American river. The rent is a steep $400 a month for the whole house, but I guess I'll manage it somehow. Enjoy PH!

(And anyone who tells me "special lady" instead of "girlfriend" isn't worthy of or deserving ridicule is crazy.)

I'm rarely outside alone after 10 or so too. Then again, if I lived in some lovely, idyllic place, I just might be outside at 2am looking at the night sky.

Subject: Re: Devincf is partially right

erikka wrote: [quote=thesordidaffair]Some black kids pulled a revolver on the corner of Park Place and Franklin Avenue last night and threatened to kill me.

A revolver?!?! Cripes. There goes "some black kid"s street cred. You should have challenged him to a duel.

Yeah, you know you're right... .38, .357, and .45 caliber ammo is so passe. It doesn't even hurt people!

Sordidaffair: Good luck with your relocation. I can certainly relate to your situation. I'm stuck here for the time being, but hope to find a job elsewhere (either in this country or Europe) in the next few years.