We live: - Within the jurisdiction of LAXPD - within the jurisdiction of Culver City PD - Precisely on the boundary of Westchester (a predominantly black community that borders Compton) and Playa Del Rey (a predominantly white community that ranks amongst LA's most affluent) - Within a mile of not one, not two, but three magnet schools. Friendly restaurant owner we know had his car break down about three blocks away. The ghettocopter showed up. There are no neighborhoods in LA safer than mine. In addition to that, we live on the third floor behind a locked gate with 4 dozen security cameras and 24-hour armed response that circles the complex hourly. Within that complex are two playgrounds, three basketball courts, two tennis courts and two swimming pools, one designated for children only. That said, I grew up in a town of 15,000 that not only had a 25-vehicle strong police force, we also had Pro Force (like the cops, only with machine guns and CG Commandos, SWAT and Delta. Didn't stop my buddies from getting in an armed standoff, didn't stop one of my friends from stabbing one of my other friends in the chest with a bowie knife, didn't stop two of my friends from getting into drug trafficking, didn't stop my sister's boyfriend from ending up beheaded in a ditch outside of Amarillo for crossing the Juarez cartel. People who live in LA who think LA is tough and rugged have never been to Kansas City, Denver or Albuquerque. I fully expect to be well clear of LA by the time she's old enough to wander but if we aren't, the elementary school is across the street and the bus station is a block away. I'd have a more concise point but my frickin' inlaws are across the table from me and they keep talking.
Shirley this is re-enforcing the closed garden that the article warned about?In addition to that, we live on the third floor behind a locked gate with 4 dozen security cameras and 24-hour armed response that circles the complex hourly. Within that complex are two playgrounds, three basketball courts, two tennis courts and two swimming pools, one designated for children only.
Oh, totally. But then, my daughter is 3 weeks old so it doesn't much matter at the moment. I grew up near-feral. I would make calls to my parents in High School along the lines of "Hey, dad. I'm in Dallas. I'll be back Sunday night. Yeah, Dave's here too. Okay, bye." The morning after my last Fall semester final I piled a week's worth of clothing in a 30-year-old Buick, drove 18 hours through a snowstorm and checked into my hotel in San Diego so I could see Ministry, Sepultura and Helmet in concert. My daughter is likely to have a great deal more independence than her peers. The anecdotes were related to TNG's observation of my neighborhood as "dangerous" when it most assuredly is not.
People who live in LA who think LA is tough and rugged have never been to Kansas City, Denver or Albuquerque.
What do you mean by that? I've lived in Denver my whole life and can't say that it's tough or rugged. I think most the danger comes from being involved in things you shouldn't be. I always felt perfectly safe as a little white boy buying crack in Globeville.
Exactly. Which is why I bring it up - perception is everything. Granted, the white kids I knew in Denver tended to completely avoid areas they considered "dangerous" (and go to Casa Fucking Bonita as if it were a fun place) but Denver, at least when I was going to concerts there, had areas of sketchiness that I have not observed in Los Angeles.
Funny story. I paid for college by mixing bands in clubs. One of them was at 2nd and Jackson in Seattle, where Jackson St. is the original "skid row" (for the trees "skidding" down to the harbor - it's a long, crazy hill). I was mixing somebody big on a Thursday night with a thermodynamics midterm the next day. I was exhausted. And I walked to my car near oblivious to my surroundings. I was halfway through a group of black gangbangers tossing a wallet back and forth to each other with a disgruntled and upset middle-aged white man in the middle before I realized what I'd done. I opted to stay the hell out of it ('cuz 2 guys vs 10 isn't a whole lot more compelling than 1 guy vs 10) and kept walking to my car. A few minutes later I heard footsteps and looked back - three of them were following me. I sped up a little bit and looked back again. One of them said "relax man, we got no beef with you." I said "it's cool, man. You can understand my concern." They laughed. Then someone down an alley shouted "Yo!" and the three men stopped. The one who had talked to me said "have a good night," and they started walking down the alley. "You too," I said, and kept walking. 10 seconds later I heard gunshots. That's Seattle. My Albuquerque stories are worse.