murder rate in the city

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Cerberus

The big issue is money....people pay taxes on alcohol and cigarettes but how can they tax marijuana when you can grow it at home? How many of you grow tobacco at home or have a still? I know growing pot wouldnt be feasible if its legal because there wont be as much as a profit but people will still do it.

It don't grow my own tobacco and still my own shine because it isn't worth my time but some folks still do because of tradition or self reliance. Tax levels are set at a level where it isn't worth the trouble to do it yourself for most folks.

I'm sure the same thing could be done with pot. Limit the tax rates so most folks won't go to the trouble of growing their own. The few people who continued to grow their own would cause no more problem than the minority who make their own wine do now.

That said I'm not sure I support abandoning the "war on drugs" entirely. But definitely remove pot from the war. IME potheads dont harm anyone but themselves and immediate friends/family.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by kyle

it's rediculous. count me among the "something has to be done about this" crowd. not just the murder rate, but the rate of people getting SHOT is extremely disturbing. last month there were at least four shootings that i know about within five blocks of my house which is in a relatively posh part of town.

What should be done? And why do you think it would work?

[klpolk3]

I worked as a teacher's assistant for 5 years in a first grade classroom, and 9 years in an afterschool program at the private school that my daughters attended. The reason I did this, is so I could be near my children and not have a job that put them in a daycare until 6pm, or home by themselves until I got home from work. I knew I wouldn't get rich doing this, but money wasn't the issue....it was being there for my girls.
In the nine years that I worked with school age children, I saw parenting skills that just blew my mind...and this was in an upper middleclass area. Two working parents pushing themselves to reach their ultimate goal of money and power, expect the same level of hard work from their children. I've seen 6 year olds act out and crack under the pressures that their parents put them under! By the time there in their teens, they have had enough and realize that "lawfully", their parents can only yell at them and they begin to rebel. Anything and everything that their parent's spent years telling them "not to do", becomes very entising.
I watched a nine year old boy cry everynight during football season because he hated playing and didn't want to go to practice. His father was forcing him to play because ALL the sons in the father's "cirlce of friends" played. In short, dad wanted to be in the "in crowd". At other times in the year, this young boy was an angel. But during football season, he was a very angry child.
I've watched parents get downright indignant with a teacher because during a parent-teacher conference, the teacher told the parents that their child had anger issues. At the age of 6!!! We've got many parents in denial, and unwilling to believe or see that THEY are the problem.
And this is the one issue I love! I know of parents who will sweep problems with their teenagers under the carpet, so as, not to hurt their "status" among their peers and community. These are parents, who are at the top of their game in the workplace who won't even deal with a problem child for fear that they will be blackballed by their high society friends.
I know I've rambled, but my point is this: Bad parenting is definitely a problem everywhere, whether it be in poor or wealthy neighborhoods. Kids turn to drugs for a multitude of reasons. It can be a rebelious reaction to overbearring parents, peer pressure, or even just curiousity. But where there is drugs, there is also violence and it doesn't matter what neighborhood you're in.
I don't buy bumper stickers very often, but I bought one this weekend because I truly believe it. It says: IT'S NOT LACK OF GUN CONTROL, IT'S BAD PARENTING!

[SGTUSArmy]

This is a topic I feel strongly about. REAL STRONG about.

If you will look in the past, and notice that as we become a kindler gentler society, and began to take away parent's rights to raise their children, the crime rate and especially the violent crime rate has crept up. What does this mean to me? It means that we should repeal half of this child abuse crap, legalize guns, and we might be able to do something worthwhile.

I am not saying that you should be able to beat your child until you put them in the hospital, but I remember what a deterrent my dad's belt was. I never lied to him again. I remembered that if I went somewhere I wasn't supposed to go, my dad's belt felt real bad. I remembered that if I screwed up and my mom caught me, I was grounded. NO TV, NO Telephone, No Computer (Commodore 64), No Friends, No Riding my bike, no leaving the house. I was in my bedroom and I could read or play with what I had in there. If you do that now, you are depriving the child.

In school, we didn't have timeout. You screwed up, you went to the principal, you either got in-school suspension or a paddle. Trust me, I would take the paddle in a heart beat, (the three times I had to go, 2was the paddle, the 3rd wasn't), but in-school sucked. You spent the day in a small cubicle made out of plywood. You had about 4 days worth of schoolwork to do. One teacher would make everyone copy about half of a chapter of history out of the book. Word for word, and she would read it. If you didn't do it right, didn't finish it, etc..., she would recommend another day. (Think she was marine in a previous life.)

Don't suspend a kid, that is just a forced vacation. I got into a pretty good fight once, and got suspended. My then stepfather took me hunting. He taught how me how to use a lariat. I had a few chores to do, but it only took about 30 minutes. That was the best three days of school I ever had.

I remeber I had a buddy of mine who was the most straight up and down guy I knew. Everything was black or white to him. There was no gray. He didn't deter from the rules in the slightest. I found out why one day when I went to his house. His mother scared me. For about a week, I thought if I messed up she was going to come after me.

Parents need to get involved again. Parents need to know what their kids are doing. If necessary, look into a military school. Oh, and video games are not the problem, the parents are. Movies are not the problem, the parents are. If a parent can't tell you who their kids friends are, then there is something wrong.

Just my 4 cents.

[JIMMYC308]

I agree with SGTUSArmy, when I was a child and I did wrong a good smack or belt was all the motivation I needed not to do it again! I also believe with both parents having to work to make ends meet children are not getting the attention they need or the discipline. I was born and raised in Philly and never thought I would ever have to leave. But my neighborhood went downhill fast with dealers on corners and people being robbed and shot. I knew for the safety of my family it was time to go. I will miss the good times I had growing up in Philly and I hope things will get better but I fear the worst for a once great city. Just my 2 cents.

[SGTUSArmy]

I was a latchkey kid, along with my older brother, from about the time I was 7. The thing is, the neighborhood was pretty close, in Midland, TX. We knew if we fouled up, someone would tell our parents. When my brother started working, I was 12, and was on my own. This was in Arkansas, and I again knew that if I screwed up, my mom would know before I got home.

When I turned 16, if I screwed up, I lost the car keys. I was furious. I had a job, was paying for my truck on my own, but she would take it from me. She would pick me up from school, drive me to work, and the boss gave me a ride home. My boss and my mom had some evil relationship. He liked her enough that for Christmas every year, still, she gets a Budweiser Stein and a couple cases of beer. (he owned a cattle ranch where I worked, and also owned an Anheuser Busch Distributorship, where I would help out when needed..) Oh and at work, I wasn't allowed to drive when I got dropped off. Their relationship was evil I tell you. I don't think they ever actually met, well except my high school graduation, but I had alread worked there for two years.

What happened at home followed me to work. IT BLEW. Mall ninjas are cooler than not being able to drive, and being dropped off by your mom.

Originally Posted by Matt

It don't grow my own tobacco and still my own shine because it isn't worth my time but some folks still do because of tradition or self reliance. Tax levels are set at a level where it isn't worth the trouble to do it yourself for most folks.

I'm sure the same thing could be done with pot. Limit the tax rates so most folks won't go to the trouble of growing their own. The few people who continued to grow their own would cause no more problem than the minority who make their own wine do now.

That said I'm not sure I support abandoning the "war on drugs" entirely. But definitely remove pot from the war. IME potheads dont harm anyone but themselves and immediate friends/family.

I agree with this. Marijuana is the least of the worries of drugs, no health risks higher than that of a normal cigarette smoker(and one could say less risks due to no added chemicals by companies). I dont know if potheads really harm anyone but themselves but thats not an issue here. I'm glad someone sees there are worse drugs.

[SGTUSArmy]

Ok, so there are worse drugs than Marijuana. You legalize Marijuana, make driving after toking illegal. Next thing, someone wants to legalize extasy or cocaine. So you legalize those two. Now you have to make it illegal to drive after a couple hits of ex. (I know they all fall under DUI, but let's get real, the politicians like their names on laws.)

Then you legalize heroine. Then you legalize rohibnol (sp). Then you legalize opium. At what point is enough? At what point is it enough to curb the illegal actions? There are people who rob stores and people for a bottle of alcohol. How many people will still commit crime to get their next hit at the pharmacy? How many people will overdose with experimentation, because the dealers actually provide a service in selling small doses to start with.

A lot of people are hospitalized and/or die every year because of alcohol overdose. Who pays for the rehab programs? (I know, we already do) How many people will get an addiction that will take control of their lives?

[exceltoexcel]

I'm not sure where I exactly stand on this.

However, our friends to the north don't seem to have many problems concerning the use and dealing of marijuana.

I most definitely think the feds need to allow the states to take this under there own wings instead of poking the FDA into it.

Medical use is without a doubt 100% fine with me as with any drug.

If the medical community in general thinks a drugs use is good for medical purposes then that should be the AHJ in such matters. I don't think doctors would argue to much about rather or not marijuana has legitimate purpose for medical reasons.

Now as for its recreational use, well that should be in the hands of the states at this time.

I'm going to assume it is a better drug than alcohol in all categories except lung health.

[Tommel]

Originally Posted by rugerp95

so what do you guys think about the murders in the city?

Don't get me started...

I had a homeless jerkoff pull a knife on me in West Philly during the weekend were there were 20 homocides and I was the one who was arrested because I warned the jerkoff that I was armed... Mayor Street then implied two days after my arrest that it was all of us Concealed Carry holders that were committing those murders...

I eventually had the charges dismissed (they even charged me with NOT having a permit, even though I had one), but I am still fighting them to get the guns that they stole from me (yes, "stole" is correct - Pennsylvania law says they are supposed to return them to me when the charges were dismissed) and my carry permit back...

Philly blows.

-Tom