Iris lilies, how are things in your hood?

[Teacher Terry]

I don't usually agree with Rob but I have to say that communities really vary as far the police dept goes. I have lived in many places where yes I would call the police if there was a problem. However, after 17 years here I would not. They shoot people & ask questions later all the time no matter what part of town you live in. And yes we live in a nice neighborhood. I too do not venture into bad neighborhoods. A woman called police because her Mom was suicidal & when they got there both went outside & the cops shot the woman that called in the leg & then killed her Mom. This kind of crap happens all the time.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I don't usually agree with Rob but I have to say that communities really vary as far the police dept goes. I have lived in many places where yes I would call the police if there was a problem. However, after 17 years here I would not. They shoot people & ask questions later all the time no matter what part of town you live in. And yes we live in a nice neighborhood. I too do not venture into bad neighborhoods. A woman called police because her Mom was suicidal & when they got there both went outside & the cops shot the woman that called in the leg & then killed her Mom. This kind of crap happens all the time.

Terry, I'm really sorry to hear this. Both for the victims and for the fact that this has spread into a nicer neighborhood - in Phoenix this is pretty much contained to lower income areas (to date, who says things will remain this way?) You sound very aware so I probably don't need to say this but be safe! Never trust the police and consider equipping yourself with video and audio capabilities against the police just in case as you never know. Thanks for posting! Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

Rob, from your extreme tone, it's seemed that you wanted the po-lice to get whatever they had coming to them.

If you don't like the US, why don't you leave? Is it because you wouldn't meet the standards of whatever country has for immigrants?

When immigrants have bitterly complained about the US in my presence, I've asked them why did they come here? I follow it up with, if you loathe it so much, then why don't you return to whatever country you came from? That usually shuts them up.

You think you're being brave by shouldering the expense for a smartphone so you can capture video of any police misconduct in progress, yet you admit that you would abandon anyone in trouble and not call the cops because you're afraid of inviting "the man" into your life. In my eyes, you're no better than the bystanders who take video of incidents like this:

http://www.thv11.com/story/news/crim...pers/15262309/

Do you actually do anything productive in your community besides being on the prowl for cops behaving badly?

Hi Tradd!

To answer some of the issues arising from your post:

1. Some immigrants to the US do go back as the United States is not a good fit for them and this society doesn't work for them for whatever reason. The ones I have known who have fled the US though have tended to stack some cash before fleeing home and I can't blame them for doing so.

2. As to what I have done in the neighborhood - a few things. I went from door to door before Medicaid was expanded and started a telephone tree and program whereby when someone was going to a border town - such as Algodones - they could give rides to neighbors so that more people could access non-exploitively priced medical, dental, and optical. The fact that my skin is white and my Spanish could use some work won me a great deal of respect that I went from door to door and spent time setting this up. People are still meeting one another and driving one another down to the border even after the passage of Medicaid expansion (most people in this neighborhood qualify) for dental at human prices.

I also was one of the people that went from door to door to get the neighborhood watch going and to get monthly neighborhood meetings going once the city offered us neighborhood status - they didn't give us historical status which we wanted but they give us neighborhood status.

I noticed a couple of years ago that people in this neighborhood - though taking broken appliances and gadgets back to Mexico for recycling/repair - were not recycling much of their paper, glass, plastic, and cardboard - I called the city and they came and spoke at a local school in Spanish about recycling and put up posters and flyers in the neighborhood in Spanish as to what recycles and how easy it is to recycle. Recycling isn't going as great as I'd like to see but it's not as sad as it once was, either.

I was the one who did the research for affordable smart phones to potentially record audio and video of illegal police behavior for litigation/human rights purposes. I didn't do the presentation, however, as my Spanish is still not good enough but I am working on that now taking Spanish 102.

Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

So you live in a area that has one of the highest crime rates in the country. And the police are the bad guys. And you have been a victim since 13, but feel sorry for "snotty rich kids" who didn't feel the same as you did.

Im sure the police in Phoenix hate going into your neighborhood also, they are risking their lives dealing with the high numbers of criminals that live there. I'm not saying everyone is, but the crime rate supports it, and many like you wouldn't report. So the rates may even be higher.

i guess you would consider me one of those "snotty rich kids". I learned at a early age to stay out of the bad parts of town, I still do. Why would I want to increase my chances of being robbed, or assaulted, and I don't use drugs. So there is nothing there for me. The thugs and you can continue to live there. I'll stay in the low crime areas, where we are happy that the police keep the peace. And are friends of ours.

I never said I live in an area with one of the highest crime rates in the country. If you will kindly go back to my posts you will see I never have claimed such. I have however said that I live in a large lower income neighborhood that borders a much nicer area and that has a majority Hispanic population. This meets the qualifying criteria for instances of police brutality in Phoenix, Arizona. To the west is a worse area and to the south of me is an worse area. I am not at the bottom of the barrel here but am low enough to be vulnerable to police brutality as are my neighbors. Perhaps one difference that makes you uncomfortable (?) is the active anti police stance here and the willingness to equip ourselves with technology against the police and the honesty to inform both the police and city that the residents of this neighborhood are fed up and intend to video and audio capture the police engaged in any illegal acts from this point going forward, with the goal of huge settlements. Most urban residents are not quite this upfront and honest with those in authority - it's time to let them know they are vulnerable to us, too, and this is no longer a one way street. As for hating going into my neighborhood, statistically they are less safe in other Phoenix neighborhoods - here they feel safe to engage in brutality as they see Hispanics as less likely to stand up for themselves. This is a big reason why the smartphones are so important - so that the police learn this neighborhood is not open to illegal acts of police brutality and that residents will gun for top dollar as a moral and ethical imperative. As for crime rates here, I will agree with you on one point, dmc, that the rate is higher than is reported - this is due to the terror of the police and the terror of police brutality. Yet another reason why any and all interaction with the police MUST be on video and audio capture from this point going forward. To force the police to do their job and to force them under threat of job and pension loss to do so and to force the city to force them to remain within the confines of the law via huge settlements for non-compliance. And yes, America truly is that horrible for some of it's citizens/legal residents that such thinking/behavior realistically needs to be as second nature as breathing these days.

As to the snotty rich kids I went to high school with - an interesting aside. I am finding out from being in touch with the organizers of my 30th reunion that some of the kids I graduated with couldn't handle life once things got too difficult and/or once the economy bottomed out in 2008 onwards. A couple of suicides, divorces ending out in severe setbacks for several of the popular guys who made my life hell, and a few scattered nervous breakdowns, mostly in the women it seems. And mostly amongst those who really were popular and at the top in high school. I find myself interestingly enough with compassion. I don't know what lead to these issues to be honest but I am glad that I figured out some of life quick - and very quickly became disillusioned with so much at such a young age. I feel this has served me well as it has kept my expectations overall in line - for the most part, anyway, I have had my lapses in this during the boom I will admit to. Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

So you live in a area that has one of the highest crime rates in the country. And the police are the bad guys. And you have been a victim since 13, but feel sorry for "snotty rich kids" who didn't feel the same as you did.

Im sure the police in Phoenix hate going into your neighborhood also, they are risking their lives dealing with the high numbers of criminals that live there. I'm not saying everyone is, but the crime rate supports it, and many like you wouldn't report. So the rates may even be higher.

i guess you would consider me one of those "snotty rich kids". I learned at a early age to stay out of the bad parts of town, I still do. Why would I want to increase my chances of being robbed, or assaulted, and I don't use drugs. So there is nothing there for me. The thugs and you can continue to live there. I'll stay in the low crime areas, where we are happy that the police keep the peace. And are friends of ours.

The vast majority of my neighbors are not thugs but are hard working struggling Hispanics who I feel honored to live amongst and who I would tend to trust (with a few scattered exceptions, I'll grant that here and now but for the vast majority of neighbors - over 95% - this holds true) before I would trust Anglos living in a "better" neighborhood to the North of me. The reason I feel this way - most of these people have known fear and disillusionment on a level I have (and in some cases far surpassing what I have known) and I can relate to them much better because of this, even with some language difficulty issues. Rob

[dmc]

I got the crime rates from google on Phoenix and various downtown neighborhoods. Good luck with your neighborhood, hopefully you will be able to keep the police out and from bothering you.

Ill stay in my affluent area where I leave my door unlocked much of the time and people walk around in no fear. The only problem I have is keeping beer in the tiki bar. I'm next to the 17th tee box and some of my golfing friends help themselves. I told them they could, I don't even drink beer.

im glad I moved out of the St. Louis area. Not that there aren't many nice, safe neighborhoods, it just that sometime you may find yourself in a area like Ferguson.

[flowerseverywhere]

Rob, when did the Guatemalan brutality incident take place and when was the settlement reached. I have been reading a lot about the various police brutality incidents around the country but have found no mention of the case you refer to.

[bae]

... Hispanics ... I would tend to trust ... before I would trust Anglos.... The reason I feel this way ...

... is abundantly clear to everyone here.

[bae]

Good luck with your neighborhood, hopefully you will be able to keep the police out and from bothering you.

A month or so ago a friend and coworker of mine, an evil cop, off-duty, ran into a burning structure, twice, without his protective firefighting gear (he's a volunteer firefighter in his spare time, that's just how evil he is...), and dragged two people out, alive, all by himself.

http://www.sanjuanjournal.com/news/276402361.html

In neighborhoods with Rob's Values, responding firefighters and EMTs are often now met with gunfire.

[gimmethesimplelife]

A month or so ago a friend and coworker of mine, an evil cop, off-duty, ran into a burning structure, twice, without his protective firefighting gear (he's a volunteer firefighter in his spare time, that's just how evil he is...), and dragged two people out, alive, all by himself.

http://www.sanjuanjournal.com/news/276402361.html

In neighborhoods with Rob's Values, responding firefighters and EMTs are often now met with gunfire.

Gunfire? Seriously? Really? You believe this? Wow. Not in my neighborhood. Sorry to disillusion you (actually I'm not sorry) but that's just not true. What the police here are now met with is an intensely distrustful public armed with technology to capture video and audio to gun for maximum dollars when appropriate. The police here have more than earned this - as the saying goes, you reap what you sow. Let the Phoenix police (and hopefully other police departments) reap in abundance. I mean this with the most sincere of intentions. But there is a part of me that feels sorry for honest cops who have to deal with this intense distrust earned via illegal actions performed by their colleagues - that must be high burnout to deal with. Rob