urbanSTL

dbInSouthCity wrote:



written in 1997.

http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.focus-stl. ... call_t.pdf

I think it came from the full version of a report by Neal Pierce and Curtis Johnson. They were hired by the region (circa 1997) to analyse the region and recommend directions for change. A link to the Executive Summary of their report is above. It is disheartening to read and reflect on how little the Region has done to change conditions in the almost 20 years since it was written. I think if the region were to hire some urban experts to analyse the region and make recommendations today, virtually the same report would be written.

^ too bad we had to sink so deep. hopefully we have hit the bottom and will build a new Saint Louis with a new generation of leadership.

Well, I hope most of those businesses can rebuild. We will see if they do. I've heard that QuickTrip will not be rebuilt. I really hope they catch the little anarchist arsonists that did all the burning. I'd almost bet they weren't even residents of Ferguson.
CNN and Don Lemon have to be the worst. I lost total respect for him and I used to be a huge fan. This plus his bizarre penis biting question to the Cosby accuser last week..

I hope that we all can heal and then slowly start the process to become 1 this is truly tragic for all of St.Louis

roger wyoming II wrote:^ too bad we had to sink so deep. hopefully we have hit the bottom and will build a new Saint Louis with a new generation of leadership.

From the Executive Summary linked to in my last post:

"Our impression is that this region, hauled up on the couch every quarter-century or so, tells analysts it isn't doing so great, and then lapses back into inaction."

I'll cross my fingers that things will change. But, my level of confidence is not high.

I just can't believe how much property and business's they destroyed i was getting nervous that they may trek downtown but thankfully they didn't.Does anyone really think Ferguson can ever come back from this i mean what developer /s are going to want to invest such an area of disparity?

How's that speech in true detective go? Maybe the honorable thing for our species to do is deny our programming stop reproducing walk hand in hand into extinction, one last midnight, brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal.

Seriously, all it takes is a few broken windows and burnt buildings to shake our faith. That's all anybody seems upset about, an easier issue to voice our opinions about, I guess. New York had two towers cratered into the ground and they put up a new one, a taller one. We don't have that kind of character and resolve in St. Louis. We're instead going to shovel artificial sweetener in our mouths, courtesy #STLTogether.

We so badly want to convince ourselves that we're nice people and that that's enough. St. Louis' problem has always been in dealing with itself. Our leaders won't do it, so we create a crackjob commission and defer to them instead.

Everybody loves a good comeback story, I know I want one.

arch_genesis wrote:How's that speech in true detective go? Maybe the honorable thing for our species to do is deny our programming stop reproducing walk hand in hand into extinction, one last midnight, brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal.

Seriously, all it takes is a few broken windows and burnt buildings to shake our faith. That's all anybody seems upset about, an easier issue to voice our opinions about, I guess. New York had two towers cratered into the ground and they put up a new one, a taller one. We don't have that kind of character and resolve in St. Louis. We're instead going to shovel artificial sweetener in our mouths, courtesy #STLTogether.

We so badly want to convince ourselves that we're nice people and that that's enough. St. Louis' problem has always been in dealing with itself. Our leaders won't do it, so we create a crackjob commission and defer to them instead.

Everybody loves a good comeback story, I know I want one.

Well, what good American doesn't like a comeback story. I'll be rooting for it but there are other comeback stories in this city that we've been waiting a long time for that have yet to happen.

Thanks for mentioning True Detective. Here's a link to one of the greatest scenes ever. One single continuous six-minute camera shot with no edits and no cuts for a little escapism today. Actually, the area in this scene is kind of Ferguson-y. Low-income suburban apartment complexes that have descended into a hellish landscape of unhappiness.

Warning, there is some violence.

TheNewSaintLouis wrote:I just can't believe how much property and business's they destroyed i was getting nervous that they may trek downtown but thankfully they didn't.Does anyone really think Ferguson can ever come back from this i mean what developer /s are going to want to invest such an area of disparity?

It'll be quickly forgotten, if there's money to be made. It's just a question of whether the region as a whole is willing to take responsibility for rehabbing downtrodden areas. (It's probably not.)

Those who speak loudest against the crime of white privilege are likely those who have developed the most guilt born from the benefit of true white privilege.

***** suck on that one awhile

Did anyone happen to listen to the Brown family press conference today? That Al Sharpton is something else!

roger wyoming II wrote:This is pretty hard to read...



The anger that this didn't get to trial is quite understandable.

edit.... that is from this tweet from Huffpo reporter going over the record.


Seems like quite a few national media and experts are raising some pretty serious questions.

They are picking and choosing. The witness statements all contradict each other. At least 3 say Brown charged at the officer and another 3 say he stumbled forward and in 1 case the witness made up her statement just so she could be part of the story.

If he wasn't wearing any weapon, there wouldn't have been a struggle for it at all.

So, you don't think cops should be armed? Did you see the display of gun power on the side of the protesters last night? Seems clear to me to not go for an officers gun. Punch an officer or shoot at officers and you will get potentially killed by officers. If Michael brown was white And the officer was black I wouldn't think any differently. Now, I will say that I think black males are assumed to be guilty before innocent are often unfairly harassed by many police, not all.
Changes I'd like to see now instead of pointless highway shut downs and smashing windows:

-one unified STL county police force
-dash cams and body cams (makes everyone act better)
-towns/suburbs under 15,000 people must combine with adjoining towns
-perhaps officers patrol in twos, assuming it makes economic sense
-training schools right out of high school for black officers.
-training in schools for black youth to know their legal rights and at the same time training that police can shoot anyone they deem a threat to their life. Even fleeing suspects. (Garner vs. Tennessee)
-Perhaps training programs for youth to team up and learn from business owners in ferguson to learn a solid trade,etc.

Let's actually see some good changes come out of this.

Wilson not only had a gun, but had a baton, mace, and also a 2,000+ lb vehicle which could have either been a weapon or a safe haven once the initial confrontation happened at the car and subsequently dis-engaged from, a confrontation that Wilson instigated effectively for something akin to jaywalking (I realize he has now changed his story to say he recognized Brown as the robbery suspect, even though his initial statements and those of the Ferguson Police Chief contradict that).

Wilson had all the advantage in the situation and still chose to resort to what should have been his last resort, deadly force.

Regardless of whether he has the right under the law to use deadly force on a technical basis, that sure as sh*t is not the type of policing and decision making I want for our region. If we can get that change out of this event, that's a start.

Wilson instigated it? I don't think the officer would have executed brown for no reason. Now whether or not he recognized him or not does seem fishy, but didn't the evidence come out now that he did know that was him? I just think that if brown was obeying the law and didn't get in a fight with Wilson, go for his gun (proven with forensic evidence), brown would be alive.
What about the guy who was going for his wallet and was shot by the cop? That story is the insane one to me and it's like no one cares. I think most people and witnesses that provided false narratives created this and people are now too ingrained with their opinions instead of waiting for all the evidence to come out.

This whole case isn't over by any means he can still be charged by the higher courts of law so there he's still being investigated. I think both are guilty however regardless theres no excuse to be burning down and entire community thats just plain ignorance and injustice in itself. Ferguson is a pure representative of the entire region and guess how that makes St.Louis look? I know MB's mom ex husband said what he said out of anger when he stated burn this B**** down however you reap what you sow now you gotta live with partial responsibility of having a town burnt down by your stupid idiotic reactions. As for AL Sharpton and a few others i do agree on that blacks get profiled more than anyone else still yesterdays reactions will never justify what those people done to the community. Protesting is very difficult to do cause you're filter with so many emotions and few nut jobs can alter the progress of the protest in a very negative way. At the end of the day i feel bad for the families who lost their business's due to this and their dreams have been dashed but at the same time i hope that they are able to rebuild else where in the region if possible. all I'm ready for now is a lot of peace moving forward to a better unified St.Louis hopefully this will all be a result of consolidating everything including possible city county merger us being one community is very important and the most valuable thing to do to have a better future for all of us.

jcity wrote:So, you don't think cops should be armed? Did you see the display of gun power on the side of the protesters last night? Seems clear to me to not go for an officers gun. Punch an officer or shoot at officers and you will get potentially killed by officers. If Michael brown was white And the officer was black I wouldn't think any differently. Now, I will say that I think black males are assumed to be guilty before innocent are often unfairly harassed by many police, not all.
Changes I'd like to see now instead of pointless highway shut downs and smashing windows:

-one unified STL county police force
-dash cams and body cams (makes everyone act better)
-towns/suburbs under 15,000 people must combine with adjoining towns
-perhaps officers patrol in twos, assuming it makes economic sense
-training schools right out of high school for black officers.
-training in schools for black youth to know their legal rights and at the same time training that police can shoot anyone they deem a threat to their life. Even fleeing suspects. (Garner vs. Tennessee)
-Perhaps training programs for youth to team up and learn from business owners in ferguson to learn a solid trade,etc.

Let's actually see some good changes come out of this.

Good ideas, and though it'll never happen, I'd like to see payments from police lawsuits come from police pensions instead of city budgets. Whatever helps promote professionalism. Cops aren't trained to de-escalate situations, the Powell shooting never needed to happen.

MarkHaversham wrote:If he wasn't wearing any weapon, there wouldn't have been a struggle for it at all.

Best post ever.