(09-06-2017, 07:24 AM)flsprtsgod Wrote:

(09-05-2017, 08:07 PM)copycat Wrote: I have been watching this tread since JIB's first post.  I have to say that the lurking has been enlightening for me.  I have been triggered to respond previously but my "advanced" age and experience has allowed me to refrain up until now.  

My observation for what little it is worth as a member of the over 50 crowd, flsprtsgod or do you prefer your formal title of Florida Sports God?  Oops I digress.  I was once like you, exactly like you.  My arrogance was only exceeded by my ignorance.  

You seem to confuse nostalgia with genuine concern.  I will freely admit as will JIB, WB and most everyone that grew up that time that we wish we could go back to a time when we had no clue.  That is nostalgia and everyone regardless of circumstances experiences it as they get older.  The concerns JIB posted and WB concurred with seem to be lost upon you.  Perhaps I can bridge the gap.  

I grew up in a time where gun racks with actual guns hanging in them in and OMG they were loaded was no big concern.  Can you believe that I got into actual fist a cuffs with other people that had loaded guns in their pick up trucks as well and it never occurred to us to use them?  Win or lose?  What happened that now the first response is to pull a piece and shoot someone over every disagreement?  That is concern.  Something has changed along the way, human life is no longer valued where it once was.  This is a concern, at least to me it is.  

As we evolve, we seem to devolve.  That is the overall concern that I think JIB is trying to convey.

It gets better and better. Perhaps you shouldn't call me arrogant and ignorant and then turn around and relate an anecdote that's demonstrably wrong? You guys clearly fall into point 3 of this article on the crime rate. I know, I know, it's actually data, the bane of this group, but it still makes the point that things weren't as good as you remember and they aren't a bad as you think they are now. You've fallen for the same trap you accuse others of, of thinking you know the world based on your small window into it.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/201...n-the-u-s/

3 Public perceptions about crime in the U.S. often don’t align with the data. Opinion surveys regularly find that Americans believe crime is up, even when the data show it is down. In 21 Gallup surveys conducted since 1989, a majority of Americans said there was more crime in the U.S.compared with the year before, despite the generally downward trend in both violent and property crime rates during much of that period."

So yeah, the first option isn't to pull a gun over every disagreement, but for some reason you think it is. Now...why would that be? If it bleeds it leads, that's why. Yes, we've had more political violence in the last 8 months, and we all know why. If the governments of these cities were doing their jobs then it would've been quelled already, but the powers that be in those areas stand to benefit from the actions of Antifa and the like and so they permit it.

And P.S., I grew up in a small Florida town where gun racks, pit bull dogs, and gator hunts and such were very common and I'm not anywhere near 20 years old any more, so you can ease up on the "how great the old life was" shtick. Because it was also a place where the diner still had nice bathrooms in the front and rotten ones out back, the barber shop still had a "whites only" sign propped up behind the waiting chairs and the 10 square blocks next to my high school were called "the Quarters." Yeah, life was pretty good for me, but I don't pretend that it was for everyone and that things aren't better for a lot of people now then they were then.

(09-06-2017, 08:14 AM)copycat Wrote:

(09-06-2017, 07:24 AM)flsprtsgod Wrote: It gets better and better. Perhaps you shouldn't call me arrogant and ignorant and then turn around and relate an anecdote that's demonstrably wrong? You guys clearly fall into point 3 of this article on the crime rate. I know, I know, it's actually data, the bane of this group, but it still makes the point that things weren't as good as you remember and they aren't a bad as you think they are now. You've fallen for the same trap you accuse others of, of thinking you know the world based on your small window into it.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/201...n-the-u-s/

3 Public perceptions about crime in the U.S. often don’t align with the data. Opinion surveys regularly find that Americans believe crime is up, even when the data show it is down. In 21 Gallup surveys conducted since 1989, a majority of Americans said there was more crime in the U.S.compared with the year before, despite the generally downward trend in both violent and property crime rates during much of that period."

So yeah, the first option isn't to pull a gun over every disagreement, but for some reason you think it is. Now...why would that be? If it bleeds it leads, that's why. Yes, we've had more political violence in the last 8 months, and we all know why. If the governments of these cities were doing their jobs then it would've been quelled already, but the powers that be in those areas stand to benefit from the actions of Antifa and the like and so they permit it.

And P.S., I grew up in a small Florida town where gun racks, pit bull dogs, and gator hunts and such were very common and I'm not anywhere near 20 years old any more, so you can ease up on the "how great the old life was" shtick. Because it was also a place where the diner still had nice bathrooms in the front and rotten ones out back, the barber shop still had a "whites only" sign propped up behind the waiting chairs and the 10 square blocks next to my high school were called "the Quarters." Yeah, life was pretty good for me, but I don't pretend that it was for everyone and that things aren't better for a lot of people now then they were then.

And an opposing view:  http://time.com/4607059/murder-rate-incr...ties-2016/

From the article:

The trend lines in the report run counter to some of the most dire warnings aired during the presidential election. As a candidate, Donald Trump spoke out against what he characterized as record levels of crime in urban areas. While the murder rate has increased, overall crime across the U.S. is near all-time lows. The report’s authors note that “concerns about a national crime wave are still premature, but these trends suggest a need to understand how and why murder is increasing in some cities.”  

I stand by my small world anecdote.  I also agree 100% with "if it bleeds it leads" perspective.  The major media outlets lost all credibility when it became a for profit institution.

In response to your PS, why is it if someone suggests that they would like to see the country return to a simpler time where life revolved around the family unit that it is automatically assumed tat hthe black community is not included in that desire?  Why can't we all go there together as equals?

I have yet to see anyone say anything remotely close to this...Now you are arguing just to argue...Copycat is correct, you seem to be confusing nostalgia with concerns for the future based on events that have been illustrated, such as increasing violence, calls for killing cops, black only college graduations, hate groups springing up all over et.al...

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