AY: Passive Aggresive?

38 comments

• S Steven April 24, 2009

  your essay brings this to mind:

  Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

  Talmud

  Steven

• J Jake April 24, 2009

  In the last month, fifteen plus murders have happened to our friends, friends of our friends, and in our very own city.

  15? In Tacoma?

• K Kristy Gledhill April 24, 2009

  Victor Rivas made a similar point whn he spoke at the YWCA Luncheon on Thursday in Tacoma about violence affecting all of us. A kid who’s beaten repeatedly at home, (he said from horrifying experience) comes to school and bullies his classmates. Another kid gets tired of being bullied to the point where he snaps and brings a gun to school. That first family’s struggle with violence bleeds out into the homes and schools and workplaces of the rest of the community. It IS our problem.

  Rivas also made this point – loud and clear – during his address: As a successful adult (actor, pro football player, national domestic violence spokesperson, father, husband, etc.), he knows that without the help of specific compassionate individuals in his life, his childhood and young adulthood spent with almost unspeakable violence at the hands of his father would have led him into a very different and very bad place. He was, in fact, headed there as a gang member when he was young before teachers and neighborhood families intervened.

  So I mention that as a potential partial answer to your question: Notice when kids need help, offer your steady hand, your contacts, your compassion, and your belief in that child’s worth, and whatever other resources you have. I think “notice” is the key word, actually. That, Rivas said, is what saved his life.

• A Adam Ydstie April 24, 2009

  Jake @2

  The number 15 is what was quoted by the person presiding over the moment of blessing. My guess is that they were including the 5 in Graham in that number.

• B boomer April 24, 2009

  Welcome to Tacoma.

• T Thorax O'Tool April 25, 2009

  If you think it’s bad now, please hop in the O’Tool Time Machine ® and let’s go back to 1988.
  I spent a large chunk of my childhood living on 23rd & M from like 86 to 92.
  Today in Tacoma, you don’t have to have your kids duck below the windows in case of a drive by. You don’t have the Drug Copter shining lights in your windows as silhouettes run past. Hell, you don’t even know what the Drug Copter is! You don’t have neighborhoods where wearing red or blue is a ticket to the ER or the morgue. You don’t have drive bys. You don’t have carjackings in front of the library on Tacoma Ave. You don’t learn what cops work what shifts. You don’t have crack houses. You don’t have the narcs raiding houses on your block. Hell, I haven’t even seen the narcs since 1997.

  I’m not trying to downplay the horrible loss of this young woman’s life, but unless you were here in the 80s and early 90s, you don’t know just how far we’ve come. Tacoma of 2009 is a light year beyond Tacoma of 1989.

  _________________________________________
  I can tell you the way to cut crime down. Get more people to own guns and have concealed weapons permits easier to get for non-felons. There is a nice amount of data showing that as gun ownership increases, crime decreases. It may not be “politically correct”, but it is your God-given Right. Seriously, look it up, the correlation between crime rates and gun ownership.

• R RR Anderson April 25, 2009

  The Traveller was always pushing for more gun education in schools.

  I bet if the Traveller could read your comments now Thorax, he’d have a big smile on his face… a face locked in a jail cell albeit.

• A Adam Ydstie April 25, 2009

  TO’T – I am by no means trying to say that things are as bad as they were. I don’t know it first hand, but work and live with plenty of people who have taught me what it was like. I know and agree that Tacoma has come a long way and I am proud to be a part of city that can say that proudly.

  What worries me is that people are forgetting that past and react in the same way as @5. I don’t want to hear “Welcome to Tacoma” anymore in regards to shootings and violence. Granted, it will always be there. But, that passivity is what worries me. I don’t think we can be passive to it just because it isn’t as bad as it used to be. There is a natural ebb and flow to the violence in a community, but we must still be aware of it and hopefully act on it. I want to hear people say, “Welcome to Tacoma.” in regards to a flourishing arts scene, an energetic night life, a walkable city that breeds community, etc.

• J Jake April 26, 2009

  The number 15 is what was quoted by the person presiding over the moment of blessing. My guess is that they were including the 5 in Graham in that number.

  Adam, the actual city of Tacoma has had 3 murders so far in 2009. I believe Associated Ministries tries to go to every homicide in Pierce County. A murder is always a homicide but a homicide is not always a murder.

  I think people shouldn’t forget how it was back in the day and be greatful we are not dealing with the things some other cities up north are dealing with right now.

• E E April 26, 2009

  I’m all for as many law-abiding people carrying concealed weapons as possible.

  However, the way to deter these crimes is to lock these evil bastards up for a long time EVERY time they break the law. I’d be willing to wager this piece of crap has a long criminal history with a bunch of slaps on the wrist.

  I’m not a fan of higher taxes, but I’d be willing to pay for as many jail cells as necessary. These criminals deserve to rot in jail. I’ve had enough of all of the pansies out there saying “they must of had a rough childhood” and making excuses for them. Then we proceed to pay thousands of dollars to have 1 in 10 of them successfully “rehabilitated”. If criminals know they will pay severely for committing any crime, they will think twice.

• B boomer April 26, 2009

  @ Adam

  Trust me, I haven’t forgotten how bad Tacoma used to be. I have seen the worst of it with my own eyes while visiting family in the area since 1979.

  I’m not being passive about violence when I say “Welcome to Tacoma” but let’s be realistic and realize Tacoma has never been the safest city in WA.

  Tacoma is far from the worst but there are certainly a lot of bad pockets of low income neighborhoods with neglected properties that fuel crime.

  Remember we currently are in one of the worst recessions in history so an uptick in crime is going to be a given.

  If you want to live in a large metro area with little crime I’d suggest living in a quiet neighborhood in Bellevue or Redmond… I never once had to call 911 while living there.

• T Thorax O'Tool April 27, 2009

  @E… While repeat offenders, sex offenders and those who commit violent crime absolutely need to be locked away, more jail cells aren’t necessarily the answer. We need to decriminalize some things so we have room for the people who actually belong there. I’d rather see 500 pot heads free than 1 murderer on the streets. Taxpayers don’t have $ for new taxes, the city/state/county are in a hole. Prioritize.

  @ boomer… As for safety, the Eastside just hides their crime better. Example:
  My GF lives in Kirkland, works at Microsoft. They’ve been having a rash of car break-ins at MS. In the last 2 weeks, 4 cars in the lot at her building alone have been hit, she (fortunately) takes the bus. They think it may be an inside job because whoever is doing it knows exactly where the cameras have blind spots.
  There was also three break-ins in her condo complex. They didn’t bother her home, but 3 people got cleaned out. This was in Feb.
  Not that I’m trying to be snarky, just pointing out that crime is on the rise there too. The more people have to lose, the more desperate they get.

• P Princess Adora April 27, 2009

  I do not want to sound like a nasayer but it is not surprising in the least that crime is on the rise.
  At my old condo in Renton, it was so bad that we had had to hire a security company to patrol the grounds after dark. It worked, but our hoa dues went up like $75. Too bad they had never stolen my stuff so I could finally get a nice tv.

• A altered Chords April 27, 2009

  This will help.

  1) Connect with your neighbors.
  2) Keep the neighborhood clean
  3) Work with your community laison officer.
  4) Go to your monthly safe streets meetings.
  5) Make yourself VISIBLE. Make sure would be criminals know that people (you for example) are observing activities.

  The key is activity not passivity.

  I also agree w/ Thorax. Set the potheads free and lock the violent crims away for ever.

• Y You're Welcome April 28, 2009

  Of course the East side has a way lower crime rate then us! They don’t have 3 Meth clinics or a Mental Hospital climbing up their back-side. They send those people to Tacoma.

  @18, I’m sure you can find your exact same house for 3-times the price in Bellevue! Buh-Bye!

• B believerinpossibilities April 30, 2009

  As a recent Tacoma transplant as well, I have also been taken aback by the apathy to crime in this city. I know Tacoma is way better than it was in the 80’s and 90’s but I think there is still room for improvement, Tacoma can continue to florish. Since I have moved to Tacoma, I have found the people of Tacoma are very proud of their city and love what it stands for and how far it has come. I have come to love this city as well and see all the wonderful things it offers as well. But I don’t think loving the city and what it has to offer will fix the problem. Looking back and saying “Well at least it is better than it was” won’t help either. I think we need to reach out to one another and create strong bonds with our neighbors all over the city, we need to heal the wounds that are still open and hurting. We need to take back the places notorious for crime and violence and show people we don’t want it in our city any longer. We need to all stand together and say we no longer want our city be a place where violence is permitted and expected. I know this takes time and even then not all the crime will disappear but we do have the power to change this city. We don’t have to keep going from murder to murder wishing it wasn’t happening, I believe we can stop it before it happens.

• B Ben Jamin April 30, 2009

  I hate to say it Adam, but maybe your “newcomer” status might have something to do with what you perceive as apathy by way of the City to the recent uptick in violent crime.

  Another transplant from California might also be appalled at the very serious absence of Starbucks south of Divison. A travesty! And to think, the whole city is completely apathetic to this plight.

  Perhaps, like a previous commentor, we need to take all violence in our community seriously; but do this with some historical sense. How do we love a city, that even has violence woven into its very identity?

• T Thorax O'Tool May 1, 2009

  Tacoma has always been more rough in the crime department. In WWI, the army told soldiers at Camp Lewis (now Ft Lewis) to be wary of “lewd women” and “strong drink” to be found in town. In WWII, my grandpa remembered being told at boot camp that the new recruits needed to avoid downtown for purity and moral reasons.
  During the 20s, there were a lot of speakeasies and home breweries, which of course the mafia was involved in (and the Mafia still runs this town, don’t forget). My great-grandma was a flapper and worked as a chocolate dipper at Brown and Haley until 1927 when she had my grandpa. She used to point out in downtown where many speakeasies used to be, including some in portions of the tunnels under Market & Broadway. What a wild town Tacoma must have been in the Roaring Twenties!
  ===========================================
  Not that I am excusing violent crime, nor am I saying we need to go soft because of our sordid past. I’m pointing out that this is a very chronic problem here, and we need to go about combating it in respect to this larger picture.

• A altered Chords May 1, 2009

  Forget the town’s historic crime rate. Deal with what we have today.

  This topic is about violence. Am I really the only citizen of Tacoma that gets the stare from a teen or 20 something wearing very baggy clothes. Are they hoping that I’m a potential customer? Are they staring because I’m in the wrong generation? Are they staring because they feel threatened by me? Are they acting tough because they are afraid of their peers? Are they dressed like “gang bangers” to intimidate other members of this violent generation?

  It seems like we’re writing about the past and not dealing with the present. Get from behind your computers and make yourself visibe and part of the community fabric.

  What are you doing today to prevent a child from joining a gang?

• T Thorax O'Tool May 2, 2009

  @ AC…

  “Are they staring because I’m in the wrong generation? Are they staring because they feel threatened by me?“

  Bingo.

• T Thorax O'Tool May 4, 2009

  “I will add to that by asking again, “When are we going to look within ourselves to determine how we collectively, and as individuals, add to the violence in our community or, how we try alleviate that which creates the violence?“

  Ideally, there is no time better than the present. There is no time better than in an economic downturn to question what part we play in this ever-continuing crime cycle.

  I could write a book or twelve on theory about crime, about what to do, et cetera. Lord knows, it’s a topic the Human race has been struggling with since always. We are hyper-social animals, and we’ve been doing terrible things to ourselves since day one.

  The way I see it, the whole problem is inequality. We all want to be treated fairly, treated the same. While we like playing favorites, no one likes not being the favored one.
  So it is the practiced or implied inequality that causes violence. A few people have most of the resources (money, land, whatever), and many do not have even enough to eat. Those who are on the “losing side” often have to use violence to get what they need. That is how we get things like food riots.
  Rich nations often bully poor nations to take whatever resource. Thus it’s people are on this “losing side” again… that’s how we get things like wars and the Somali pirates.
  Some people are at a disadvantage due to their age/race/gender/religion/orientation. Often the only way for them to have even a chance for equality is to rise up violently. That’s how we get messes like we see in Palestine and Israel.
  Then there is violence from those who are on the “winning side” when they feel their edge is being threatened by others. This is why we see sh*t like the KKK and Aryan Nation; they feel threatened.

  So what does my rambling really intend to say?
  Inequality, whether real, implied or perceived is the root cause of violence.
  So the way to eradicate violence is to eradicate inequality.
  Now this is not practical nor advisable. Some people are naturally smarter or more athletic. But that isn’t the kind of inequality I mean. We can’t have socioeconomic equality because we’re a greedy lot. There will always be someone who wants more than what they need.

  So what is the solution? The best we can do is to treat each other fairly. We can give people the same chance for education, employment and the like… remember, violent crime is the highest in poorer places because the poor often see no other way to make it, much less get ahead. Inequality again.
  If we want to make a dent in crime in Tacoma we need an attitude change. We need to stop thinking the kid in baggy gangster-style clothing is sizing us up for a robbery. It’s that attitude that keeps said kid from getting hired for a job so he wouldn’t have to do crime to get money. It’s cyclical and the only way to break it is to want to break it.

• M Mofo from the Hood May 4, 2009

  I’ve met some crazy stupid mofo’s growing up in Tacoma. But crazy stupid mofo’s are everywhere.

  How is it shocking to hear about murder?

  You want to learn how to commit murder? Read a book; watch T.V.; watch a movie; listen to some of the most violent song lyrics ever released to the public through the windows of a speeding Cadillac.

  Shocking? No. Just stone crazy stupid.

• T Thorax O'Tool May 4, 2009

  @ Mofo…
  Precisely. It’s not a Tacoma-specific phenomenon. Violent crime has it’s roots intertwined deeply in our social fabric.

  There is no Tacoma-specific solution either. We simply need to work to remove the causes of crime. That’s the only thing that will have any positive effect. 5,000 new jail cells won’t solve the problem. Nor will turning a blind eye to the bigger picture.

• M Mofo from the Hood May 4, 2009

  No S. Once you build 5000 new jail cells then you have to fill them.

  There’s two ways to sink a boat:

  1. Drop a big boulder into it.

  2. Fill it one small rock at a time.

  Tacoma needs to get rid of all the small rocks, even if that means one at a time.

• T Thorax O'Tool May 5, 2009

  There are about 6 per 1000 WA residents in jail, as far as I’ve been able to find.

  202,000 in Tacoma x 3/500 = 1212 or so people in prison in T-Town. That’s a bit too high. Adding more to that roster is not the solution.

  I’m telling you, and I know a LOT of folks will either strongly agree or vehemently disagree, but there is something we can do that will, in one magic swoop:

  1) save the state’s budget
  2) reduce prison crowding
  3) have enough jail space for the real baddies who belong there
  4) reduce crime
  5) alleviate a whole host of social issues

  What is this miracle, you ask?
  Decriminalize marijuana and put a hefty sales tax on it… high as or higher than the tobacco one.

• M Mofo from the Hood May 5, 2009

  I’ll believe that Tacoma government is getting serious about reducing the criminal element when the City hires a consultant from Snohomish County.

• T Thorax O'Tool May 5, 2009

  SnohoCo? ORLY?

  My baby sister is marrying a Boeing engineer this June. While looking for houses, their realtor got out a map and circled areas of Everett and it’s ‘burbs not to consider unless “you’re ok with break-ins and having your car stolen”*

  * _{That is what the realtor actually told them, as reported by my sister}

• M Mofo from the Hood May 5, 2009

  The fine folks of Snohomish County have made a reputation for themselves by taking a stand against The Department of Corrections and its related system components.

  Here in Tacoma/Pierce County we’ve made our reputation as a friend of the DOC and substance abuse/behavioral problem recovery clinics and bailbondsmen and related players that comprise court system personell. We offer housing for felons whether in lock-up or after lock-up, and many ex-felons do live independently and among the general population.

  The hardcore felons (sex offenders and those which the current official list indicates) that stay in Tacoma must “register” and I suppose as an identifier/locator system registering helps law enforcement maintain the peace in Tacoma. The general public likewise can use the information to get an overview of neighborhood inhabitants.

  So when I read this post and the location of the murder, which was just a couple of blocks away from the jail, I thought the facts fit the neighborhood. Perception and reality sometimes overlap.

  Imagine an info-graphic, say two or three concentric circles expanding from the County-City Building. Within those circles, dots could be placed to represent individual ex-felons living nearby. Public records might reveal that there is a high concentration of felons living within a two mile radius of the County-City Building.

  And you know, the ex-felons aren’t the only ones suspect in reoccuring crime–those folks have friends and relatives that come into the city and bring their potential wicked ways too.

• J Jesse May 5, 2009

  @32: I think that’s called “red-lining” and it is highly illegal.

• Y You're Welcome May 5, 2009

  @32 & @34: Yup! That realtor can (and should) get their license taken away.

  I agree about legalizing weed. Tax it like cigarettes and we would solve some budget issues, plus make room in our jails.

  20-30 years ago people considered Manhattan to be the pit of the Earth. Crime was so high, people were terrified to visit the city. All the forecasting for the future warned that NYC would only continue to spiral down. Now look at it! The city is reborn, it’s vibrant, and thriving. The crime in San Fran is way higher then NYC. I’m not sure what brought them back from the brink? A combo of an ambitious Mayor and locals who committed to change? Whatever they did, Tacoma should get to doing it.

• A altered Chords May 5, 2009

  Where does violence begin?

  The mind?

• M Mofo from the Hood May 5, 2009

  aC @36: “Where does violence begin? The mind?”

  That’s what lawyers from the ACLU would like you to believe.

  But it’s one thing to think violent thoughts and quite another thing to act them out.

  Making laws to arrest people for their thoughts or beliefs is starting to gain favor amongst some minority groups. Those groups (and you can read about them yourself in the daily news) strive to appear passive but they betray themselves with their acts of aggression.

  With the select use of words and laws it’s possible to murder someone’s reputation or character or livelihood with the near same level of violence as physical brutality.

• B boomer May 6, 2009

  LOL… circling an area with high crime rates is not illegal.

• W Whitney staff May 6, 2009

  @boomer and @Thorax

  Actually the practice of marking neighborhoods and saying negative things about them IS highly illegal for a realtor to do.

• M Marguerite May 6, 2009

  It is incredibly illegal to identify an area as an area your clients shouldn’t buy in for any reason, much less because of “crime”. Not only do you lose your real estate license, the fines are tens of thousands of dollars and prison time is likely. This is not even slightly ambiguous.

• A altered Chords May 6, 2009

  Mofo – you didn’t answer the question.

  It is one thing to think violent thoughts and another to commit violence.

  But – in the abscence of violent thoughts, would there be the physical manifestation of the thougths?

• B boomer May 6, 2009

  From what I understood about “redlining” was that it involved the lender refusing or limiting the amount a person could borrow based on the neighborhood income level or race.

  When I was house hunting with my realtor there were many times we asked her opinion about a neighborhood while driving through and what she thought about it. If she stayed mute and didn’t answer what was the point of even having one?

  Amazing how simply stating crime stats of a neighborhood to a client can bring prison time yet telling the appraiser to appraise the value of the house to the loan amount is completely acceptable!

• T Thorax O'Tool May 6, 2009

  If I was looking to buy in a city where I’ve lived damn near 3 decades, I don’t think I’d like the realtor telling me where is good and where is bad. I’ve been here long enough to know for myself.

  However, if I was moving to a city I barely know (as it the case of my sister and her hubby-to-be), then I absolutely would like to be given helpful info on areas that are shady as all get up.

  Seems to me that realtors are in the same situation as the cops. They can’t help you (staying mute, or in the case of the cops doing nothing unless the knife in your back is deep enough to stand on it’s own) but they’re fully empowered to screw you over (You make only $25K? Let me show you this $300K house! or in the case of the cops, tasering you for asking a politician a question or fines for jaywalking).

  The system is stacked against you. Seriously, work without a realtor if you can; they’re not on “your side”.
  I know I’ll get guff, but there is a not a salesperson of any kind who has the interest of anything other than their wallet.