Seattlest: Probably Not the Way to Curb Drug Dealing in Belltown

TroyJMorris

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:38:40 -0800

Also, pretty sure it's not meant to be an expose on Belltown crime control. I think it's more of a "Holy crap, a knife fell from a window and here's an observation of yuppiness." Have a little bit of fun. This isn't a newspaper or television news. It's a Seattle Area blog. Relax folks. Breathe.

TroyJMorris

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:36:21 -0800

3rd and Pike is two short blocks outside of Belltown. To divide the city like that has validity, but it's about as qualified as saying there was nothing "80's" in the year 1991. And to that I say, "Watch Saved by the Bell and tell me there's nothing 80's in 1991."

mrcrash

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:02:27 -0800

So long as anybody can simply walk into any store in Seattle and buy a knife without having to demonstrate their need and purpose, such needless, senseless crimes will continue to occur. Perhaps it's time to look to more enlightened nations that understand "it is time to remove sharp knives from kitchens altogether. There is no need for the pointed tips that make knives fatal."

Katelyn

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:00:01 -0800

Throwing your sage admonition against fingerpointing right back at you, Ronald, re: your rather grouchy 'color-coded maps for "local editors"' remark.

jessejb

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:39:00 -0800

lets come up with more labels. labels are funny. Heres how to clean up 3rd and Pine: no more bus service from the South End. Done and Done!

ronaldholden

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:56:31 -0800

Third & Pine? The bus stop across the street from Macy's? That's DOWNTOWN. Six, seven blocks away from the doggie park. I suggest we take up a collection to buy "local editors" (at Seattlest, at the Pee-Eye, at the Timez, at the tee-vee stations) a color-coded map. It's too easy to pin labels. Drugs in Belltown, gays on Capitol Hill, smug suburbanites in Bellevue. That's just fingerpointing, and it's not helpful.

feckless lulu

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:03:11 -0800

Um, Crack Park is definitely Belltown, but 3rd & Pine is Downtown. Comon, we uptight hipster types would never try to solve crime by actually arming the perpetrators.

ToasterDan

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:04:27 -0800

Were you reading a different article than I was mbg? Abbey's points were: 1. Problem: There is crime in Belltown, and yuppies. Yuppies don't like crime (other than maybe political graffiti). 2. Sources: She provided two links to sources. 3. Solution: The solution was to drop a knife on the problem. 4. Prove it works: She proved it doesn't work, which was why the article was sarcastic.

mbq

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:29:10 -0800

i have read it three times, and i still can't understand abbey's point(less). i guess that when you start without a thesis, you wind up making no point. 1. describe the problem. 2. document the problem (the more sources, the better. anecdotal evidence only goes so far, duh.) 3. propose a solution. 4. prove that your solution works. you started work on #2. now finish the rest of it (including a lot more work on #2).

TroyJMorris

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:31:17 -0800

Hold on! First, holy crum. I just spoke with some friends in the "hood" about: 1) No neighborhood in Seattle is nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be (e.g., East Coast cities). 2) There were cops on all corners of the 2200 block of 2nd Ave. 3) 3rd and Pine is dangerous, yes, but what about the crime plaguing Capitol Hill and other neighborhoods. Yes, this area has always been bad. Yes it got "gentrified." But so have several neighborhoods in this fine city. Hurray Belltown!

tangfish

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:27:26 -0800

This is probably not a scalable solution to the problem, which I agree is very bad.