My Home(never again)

[ironsights]

I live in a world without prejudice but I am in a segregated community. I am unable to communicate with my community. I am tired of living in fear but what tires me more is the young mother who will always live in fear. How much damage will we do if we stand up and try and rehabililitate our community rather than incarcerate it. We have rights but we constantly fight for them. ...Why? I remember stories of barter systems and neighborly good. Courageous men who would uphold their neighborhood and protect the weak in it.
These television shows like First 48 and Gangland spread the message of fear with no hope. The people who witness these acts before the camera are so desensitized. The criminals have lived a life of solitude before committing a crime. While I strongly believe in education, I think it is fruitless without a positive or at least constructive way to help fix the problem, we are a world under siege and Americans need to set the record. When did the History channel become the war channel? We teach history so that we do not make the same mistakes.....Help me make a difference in my community

[KaiserB]

These television shows like First 48 and Gangland spread the message of fear with no hope. The people who witness these acts before the camera are so desensitized. The criminals have lived a life of solitude before committing a crime. While I strongly believe in education, I think it is fruitless without a positive or at least constructive way to help fix the problem, we are a world under siege and Americans need to set the record. When did the History channel become the war channel? We teach history so that we do not make the same mistakes.....Help me make a difference in my community

Here are three quick points about why things are this way:

1. Rehabilitation does not sell commercial airtime. Drama, DRAMA DRAMA Is what the American TV model is built around. "TV will make your eyes as big as coconuts and your minds as small as a pea." -- Can not remember who said it...

2. A great majority of people have gotten to the point where they can only feel better about themselves, if someone else is worse off than them.

3. Many are selfish and only want that which helps themselves

The good news is positive change does make a difference. The best way to bring it about is to turn of the TV.

[seamusTX]

Help me make a difference in my community

You are looking at a problem that has been building since WW II. It has been caused, IMHO, by the telephone, the automobile, television, air conditioning, and the electric garage-door opener, among other modernizations.

In short, people used to have to visit their neighbors in person, on foot. They sat on their front porches on warm days, greeting the neighbors who walked by.

Technology has made it possible to distance one's self from one's neighbors and ignore them.

Someone smarter than I will have to solve this problem in the long run, if it can be solved.

There is one thing that you can do, right now: Promote National Night Out: http://www.nationalnightout.org/nno/reg.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, October 7, 2008, in Texas only (it was in August in the rest of the country). Organize block parties. Call the city or county government, commerical sponsors, and candidates (elected officials and cops love these events, especially in election years). Distribute flyers. Cash in your chits.

It may not help much in the short run, but it can't hurt.

- Jim

[ironsights]

Good to konow.....Your neighbors are good to know you.

[KD5NRH]

There is one thing that you can do, right now: Promote National Night Out: http://www.nationalnightout.org/nno/reg.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, October 7, 2008, in Texas only (it was in August in the rest of the country). Organize block parties. Call the city or county government, commerical sponsors, and candidates (elected officials and cops love these events, especially in election years).

Don't bother calling local government. Everywhere I've been that's done one of these, the neighbors called local government plenty after certain people saw it as just another excuse to get drunk and be obnoxious.

[seamusTX]

We've had National Night Out every year in Galveston for the dozen years I've lived here. Participation was low, but no one got drunk and obnoxious. The city issued permits for block parties, and a busload of officials visited each party looking for votes.

What I wrote a week before Hurricane Ike about air conditioning, etc., was really demonstrated in reverse the past couple of weeks. Nobody had air conditioning, telephones, vehicles (in many cases), etc. There was a more neighborly spirit than I've seen in a long time. Unfortunately, it is already fading as the modern conveniences return.

Anyway, the OP asked a philosophical question, I stand by what I said. People are trying to live through machines instead of meeting each other face-to-face. People have never lived that way in all of history until the last 50-60 years. I think it's spiritually bankrupt.

- Jim

[CHL/LEO]

The criminals have lived a life of solitude before committing a crime.

Unless I misunderstand this statement I tend to disagree with this one point. I do understand your overall comments and can relate to your feelings, but very few of the criminals we come into contact with are "loners". Most have lots of friends with a similar "lack of values" or "any redeeming social worth" that are either complicit or some how involved in their crimes.

[amber]

A.K.A. "GANGS"

[Commander Cody]

In my neighborhood most of the neighbors had no idea who lived next door. We never communicated with each other. There was no trouble, but we were disconnected. The recent hurricane brought us out of our houses and we joined together. I know more of the people in my neighborhood now than I have known in the past 30 years. It was a bad thing that brought us together, but we are all now good friends. We should have gotten together a long time ago, but we didn’t. I for one do not mind the damage caused by “Ike” around here because I have a group of good friend now that I never had before.