Misconceptions About Baltimore

codfanglers

Dedicated Member
Hello Fellow Yanks and my Brit Brethren,

This is a bit of a public service announcement. I assume most of you across the pond have never been in Baltimore and there is a good chance a lot of Americans here have not been in Baltimore, so I thought I would do the city some justice because of a lot of generalizations floating around.

A lot of people are saying theat other than the touristy, harbor area, the whole city of a complete ghetto.

Not true.

Like a lot of American cities, Baltimore has a mixture of safe and unsafe areas, although the bad areas (where most of the rioting took place) are REALLY BAD. However, I have been in many residential areas (many predominantly black) in Baltimore and so many of them are good and safe. These safe areas are working class, middle class, and upper middle class.

My mother-in-law and extended family on my wife's side are in Baltimore. They are OK. While it is close to Washington DC, it is an identity all of its own. It has great museums, restaurants, and a spectacualr harbor,

OK folks, next time, I plan to talk Summer Wine
 
I think you can take any city in any country and find really bad areas and its always the bad areas we hear about, I've seen the riots on TV and I hope everyone's ok over there now. We've had riots here and it always starts in the same areas and spreads, whether people have just cause to be unset or not there is no excuse for widespread destruction of what is mainly other peoples lively hoods and property. Keep safe Cod and keep spreading the good word about Baltimore. :respect:
 
Other things that Baltimore is known for:

Home of Mrs. Simpson
Has a wonderful harbor called Inner Harbor which has plenty of shops and restaurants.
Departure point of some cruise ships
Has a world-class aquarium with dolphins and a coral reef
 
in addition

You also may have seen our new "mother of the year". A woman was watching the TV and seen her 17 year old son in the riots,throwing rocks at the police. She went down there and was trying to get him home. Smacking (trying) his head and pulling on him. I think he was embarrassed and was trying to keep the mask on. All caught on tape and made the news! She raised him better than that,and had earlier warned him not to go out. He will never live it down. It is the bad side of town,but like other places,there are some decent people trying to raise their family. Just like everywhere else I'm sure. Pray it all ends soon.
 
You also may have seen our new "mother of the year". A woman was watching the TV and seen her 17 year old son in the riots,throwing rocks at the police. She went down there and was trying to get him home. Smacking (trying) his head and pulling on him. I think he was embarrassed and was trying to keep the mask on. All caught on tape and made the news! She raised him better than that,and had earlier warned him not to go out. He will never live it down. It is the bad side of town,but like other places,there are some decent people trying to raise their family. Just like everywhere else I'm sure. Pray it all ends soon.


I saw that woman, good for her I say.
 
I must also applaud that lady for her actions hopefully more will follow her lead . It is so depressing that a few activists can attract people like that young lad and incite rioting which we have seen so many times . It has nothing whatsoever to do with the cause those peaceful protesters where trying to promote. It is so difficult to understand why those rioters ,a lot of who are from the local community ,set about destroying it . The headlines are all about the riot and the original issue gets overlooked from a publicity perspective . There are clearly a number of issues arising regarding the treatment of people by the Police that need to desperately addressed to prevent these situations escalating . Your brief description does indicate that there are some really nice places to be seen in the city hopefully they will gain some promotion to restore the balance of opinion about the city . I like others hope your relatives are safe and well.
 
One must note that it is possible and most probable that some of the rioters were professional protesters brought in from out of town. And the second point to note is that there were only two or three fires and the TV cameras were focused continually on these fires. Of course, it is a shame that these buildings were burnt down as these establishments were vital to the community. The problem in Baltimore can be likened to a tea kettle on the fire. You can keep it on simmer for quite some time, but if you turn up the heat, then the kettle will start to boil and eventually whistle. Baltimore has been on a simmer for quite some time. This latest incident has turned up the heat and brought about the riots.
 
I think you can take any city in any country and find really bad areas and its always the bad areas we hear about, I've seen the riots on TV and I hope everyone's ok over there now. We've had riots here and it always starts in the same areas and spreads, whether people have just cause to be unset or not there is no excuse for widespread destruction of what is mainly other peoples lively hoods and property. Keep safe Cod and keep spreading the good word about Baltimore. :respect:


Agree- each town has its less than good areas. When I tell people that one of my colleges I studied at was in downtown Cheltenham they can hardly believe it as they all think Cheltenham is upmarket! Everywhere is a mixture

Trust that things do calm down in Baltimore. I used to live in Leeds and in the Chapeltown riots of the early 1980s was a little scary as it started less than half a mile from where I lived. the first shop to be torched was my local chippy! So I can understand the concerns of the innocent, which is most.
 
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