we own dis street

[JetGirl]

Probably a seat ejector. When you absolutely have to get out of there in a hurry and are blocked in.

Nah. He told me what it was. And it's pretty damn cool!

 

[churchmouse]

Believe it or not I'm not just here to give people a hard time. It's not about "PC," unless your understanding of the term is wildly different from mine. To me the word "thug" implies a violent criminal, but the OP only indicated that the people in question tend to hang out out of doors not that they run around beating and robbing people. There is an all too frequent racist subtext to the word "thug" which seemed possibly present here due to the lack of criminality, but I anticipate that pointing this out will result in cries of objection from the usual suspects.

I do not live in a low-income area, but I have in the past. I'm no stranger to gunshots and sirens. If the people in the OP were behaving criminally the poster didn't seem to think it important enough to mention. There was no mention of drugs. There was no mention of harassment. If either of these are occurring then I'd agree that those involved are thugs, but the entirety of the complaint can be summarized as "A car was stopped in the right of way. Then it moved. This has happened before." The OP is welcome to chime in with specific allegations of criminality, but noting that a murder once happened there and some people were arrested in the area doesn't qualify.

I have known you to get conversation rolling not just give a hard time. We all do that on occasion. I actually enjoy the results of your posts at times. Others, well, we all have our opinions.
That said I think I read my own experiences into his post. My area has been subjected to a roller coaster ride since just before the housing bubble burst. I grew up here. It has always been blue collar and a great place to grow up in. Like all areas, things change.
We at one point owned many rental property's in this area. We bought distressed property's and turned them around. Some we rented and some we flipped or sold on contract. Do that for a few years and you get a whole new outlook on people. All people not just folks of color. When I say thug it is not in a racially demeaning way but you have to know that the attitude and lifestyle is pretty much put forth by a small ethnic group from all races. Unfortunately those of color are in the majority. That is why we all revert to racist when the word thug comes up. I will not delve any deeper into this just know we are aware of the proper use of the word. Not race baiting.

We had so much trouble the last 2 years that we kicked most of the A$$ hats out and refurbished and sold the houses as the market allowed. The last 2 were sold off last week. I am down to 1 rental and my daughter and the avatar terrorists live in it right next door.

With rentals comes trouble. Not all of them but trust me it comes. Nothing party's like a rental and no truer statement has ever been made.

 

[Sgtusmc]

My GF and I own our house on this street and there are many rentals that surround us. I've watched them come and go and they usually never keep the property in good condition while they live there and in their last hurrah upon leaving, the house and property is trashed. Our house on the other hand makes the surrounding area look nice since we mow the lawn, have flowers in the windows and out front, etc. Just tore down the crappy chain link fence yesterday and had a nice cedar fence installed.

We certainly aren't rich and live well within our means, but we always live clean and maintain our property. Some of these people around here might as well live in a cardboard box in a patch of weeds just as long as they have that bling on wheels parked out front.


edit: Another interesting observation is consumption. We have 2 kids, 3 cats and a dog. On trash day though, we'll usually have one 13 gallon trash bag go to the sidewalk. I drive by some of these houses and they're putting out 4 or 5 giant bags of garbage as well as trash the garbage truck won't pick up for weeks or months. What's this really saying? We can ponder on that.

 

[churchmouse]

My GF and I own our house on this street and there are many rentals that surround us. I've watched them come and go and they usually never keep the property in good condition while they live there and in their last hurrah upon leaving, the house and property is trashed. Our house on the other hand makes the surrounding area look nice since we mow the lawn, have flowers in the windows and out front, etc. Just tore down the crappy chain link fence yesterday and had a nice cedar fence installed.

This is the life cycle of any older neighborhood. We (wife and I) grew up here and have observed the cycle. Our property stands out as well. Not a golf course lawn but with 2 houses right next to each other they do stand out compared to the rentals. The property's we owned were kept nice as a rule. The neighbors at all the property's loved us as we would respond to alerts such as you are having. There have been many confrontations and even physical contact during our responses. LEO was rarely involved. Most thugs (there is that word again) do not want to see the Po-Po. Most have warrants. Usually friends of the renter causing the issues which in turn caused the renter issues. They would never understand that........
Our area is on an up cycle and it is due to Hispanics buying up the property's and actually repairing/remodeling them. They are running the thugs and idiots out of the area. I am not a fan of their music but hey, everything has a price.

 

[Gluemanz28]

This thread sure took a turn for the worse. Objecting to people blocking the road is reasonable, but people have every right to be outside in their own neighborhood. How exactly does this make them "thugs?"


Are you kidding...... Even Ray Charles could see that their is illegal activity going on at that house.
They have made several arrest and even had a shooting there. I was raised that you are who you run with! Don't want to be considered a thug then chose not to hang with thugs.

 

[Deputy Dawg]

NOW. they probably know where you live, that "assuming" you drove straight home

 

[Sgtusmc]

NOW. they probably know where you live, that "assuming" you drove straight home

I'm sure they probably do know where I live being that I drive up and down the street everyday. I'm not going to live in fear though of retaliation for turning my brights on and driving slow past the idiot in question. I work out of my home as a graphic designer, so I'm always right here with the necessary 'tools' on my hip if someone like that is willing to turn a 'slight' into a break-in and attempted murder.

 

[Sgtusmc]

So to you guys who are feeling iffy on this...You would have just backed out of your own street on demand to show proper respect to this guy? And how many more times are they going to make you their *****?

 

[flatlander]

edit: Another interesting observation is consumption. We have 2 kids, 3 cats and a dog. On trash day though, we'll usually have one 13 gallon trash bag go to the sidewalk. I drive by some of these houses and they're putting out 4 or 5 giant bags of garbage as well as trash the garbage truck won't pick up for weeks or months. What's this really saying? We can ponder on that.

This is about the only thing that doesn't sit right with me. When I was single, eating out a lot or eating cheaply I would still fill up maybe 2 bags. As we have 4 adults and 3 cats 1 dog living here now, we go through quite a few daily, not to mention weekly.
The other thing is the crap everybody gives renters. I have yet to rent anywhere and not do more than proper upkeep including repairs that the landlord should be doing. Some of us are good tenants.
BTW, if people are too afraid to take a stand and instead just cower in their homes, that seems to be why this country is slipping towards the crapper and speaks to character, so to you.

Bob

 

[churchmouse]

So to you guys who are feeling iffy on this...You would have just backed out of your own street on demand to show proper respect to this guy? And how many more times are they going to make you their *****?

I love it..............
There are many who would. That is OK if they choose to live in fear but fear is what these idiots are pushing. The more who do that the more bold the idiots become. Then they are overcome with their own importance and do something stupid. That is when the news media gets involved and their mom says "oh, but he was such a good boy. Family man"

 

[churchmouse]

This is about the only thing that doesn't sit right with me. When I was single, eating out a lot or eating cheaply I would still fill up maybe 2 bags. As we have 4 adults and 3 cats 1 dog living here now, we go through quite a few daily, not to mention weekly.
The other thing is the crap everybody gives renters. I have yet to rent anywhere and not do more than proper upkeep including repairs that the landlord should be doing. Some of us are good tenants.
BTW, if people are too afraid to take a stand and instead just cower in their homes, that seems to be why this country is slipping towards the crapper and speaks to character, so to you.

Bob

And for this I send you a +5

Good on you sir.

 

[Cameramonkey]

And remember, the term "thug" can also encompass thug wannabes... the type that listens to gangsta rap, and AGREES with the thug lifestyle (dealing drugs, doing drugs, carrying illegal guns, stealing, murdering/battering for fun "just because", etc) even though they are too chicken Sh** to actually follow through on the above illegal behaviors.

So just because they arent gang bangers or drug dealers, those individuals that like to sit on the porch, catcall the mom walking with her kid and intimidate others because you dont bow to them and stay out of THEIR way, they still fit into the thug label.

And it doesnt matter their skin color. A thug is a thug is a thug. its a behavior, not a racial description.

 

[Sgtusmc]

This is about the only thing that doesn't sit right with me. When I was single, eating out a lot or eating cheaply I would still fill up maybe 2 bags. As we have 4 adults and 3 cats 1 dog living here now, we go through quite a few daily, not to mention weekly.
The other thing is the crap everybody gives renters. I have yet to rent anywhere and not do more than proper upkeep including repairs that the landlord should be doing. Some of us are good tenants.

Bob

Sorry, it was just a tangent observation. Wasn't trying to make a statement that all people who put a lot of bags out are terrible. In regards to renters, I'm not saying renters in general are bad. I've been one several times. I've seen people come and go (x10) in these houses and it's a̶l̶w̶a̶y̶s̶, usually the same deal.

My off key observation was about consumerism in general. People generally buy boxes and boxes of crap food that's not healthy, fills the dumps faster, makes them and their kids fatter, lazier and still hungry for more. So strike that out of this thread, it had nothing to do with the OP.

 

[churchmouse]

This is about the only thing that doesn't sit right with me. When I was single, eating out a lot or eating cheaply I would still fill up maybe 2 bags. As we have 4 adults and 3 cats 1 dog living here now, we go through quite a few daily, not to mention weekly.
The other thing is the crap everybody gives renters. I have yet to rent anywhere and not do more than proper upkeep including repairs that the landlord should be doing. Some of us are good tenants.
BTW, if people are too afraid to take a stand and instead just cower in their homes, that seems to be why this country is slipping towards the crapper and speaks to character, so to you.

Bob

If we had 10 renters such as you I would still own all the rentals. Problem is, good folks are always looking to move forward and upward in life. They rent/stay for a bit and move up.
The few good ones we had that stuck around got to buy the houses on contract. I believe all of them still live in the houses they purchased.

 

[flatlander]

No worries!

Semper Fi

Bob

 

[hoosierdoc]

If something bad happens to you, your property, or your girlfriend because you stayed and "weren't intimidated", you may look back and wish you had moved.

you already said two murders occurred and you were nearly hit with a stray bullet. The decision is pretty clear where I'm standing.

 

[Sgtusmc]

When something bad happens to you, your property, or your girlfriend because you stayed and "weren't intimidated", you may look back and wished you had moved.

Life is full of hypotheticals

We're not staying here much longer. We ARE planning to move once we find a good location. Then it'll take time putting the house on the market. What I'm NOT going to do is freak out and say "Pack everything up, we're leaving NOW!"

 

[BGDave]

Find the owner of record (used to be able to do this on the phone) and ask if he would consider selling the house to you. He may be motivated. Throw the bums out. After repairs, rent it out or sell it. Knew a guy that used to do just this. I've had very good luck with just talking to the owner.

 

[Sgtusmc]

Crime happens EVERYWHERE. Even in the haughty taughty neighborhoods. It's always greener on the other side of the fence.

This OP isn't so much about what to do in the face of intimidation or having reason to run away from the 'bad' parts of a city. It's about the conditions of living here in OUR country (not some dangerous 3rd world nation) amongst a sub-culture of individuals that choose a life-style that is detrimental to the lives and liberties of ALL of us. And yet, this life-style of crime and "thuggery" is passed from one generation to the next through their upbringing, attitude and behavior that defies logic of coming out of it as a good person.

Stupid is as stupid does. I pity the ignorance.

 

[Bunnykid68]

So to you guys who are feeling iffy on this...You would have just backed out of your own street on demand to show proper respect to this guy? And how many more times are they going to make you their *****?

I would have had the window down and 1st asking politely to move, then it would have been their move but I am not backing up just for some people jaw jacking that didn't involve an accident or a stalled vehicle