Seattlest: Belltown in Beatdown Crisis

TroyJMorris

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:05:02 -0800

I do have to say it's a remarkably simple solution. A few beat cops a heartbeat away from the Central Station would do wonders. However, as a resident of Fuck head and Fuck off central, I have to say the folks that patronize the bars on First Ave are more trouble than the bums and drugs dealers. Anecdotally, in the last 18 months I have witnessed one bum fight and about 8 yuppie fights. Trust me when I say those yuppies go for blood. Some people and alcohol just don't mix. Sad.

jwhieger

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:18:33 -0800

I find it hard to believe that even the scuzziest of frat boys would spend money on a street walking Belltown prostitute. We're talking about borderline, walking corpses here, I'm sure frat boys are more resourceful then going after the pathetic and downtrodden American street walking hooker. Maybe I'm being generous but that characterization seems misplaced and hell bent on belittling everything frat.

aja

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:18:34 -0800

@MvB: In my own blog, I did say that I was mistaken in saying "frat pack", and defined what I meant by such. Mostly because after my initial gut reaction I had to grudgingly admit that I was doing my own generalizations, and declaring them to be A-OK because I was picking on a group that I do not see as being voiceless or disadvantaged. Which at the least is impolite of me, and at the most if terribly un-PC. I understand what you were getting at, and I support the general theme of what you're saying. I do stand by my initial take in that while I think what you're saying is well intentioned, the phrasing of the original article is skewed towards the idea that it is the less advantaged that are creating this scourge in Belltown, and not the apathy with which that population is met. If the article had said something closer to what your comment to me did, I wouldn't have assumed that was your message. But, it didn't.

MvB

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:53:20 -0800

@aja: you know I was really hoping that people would not make the automatic assumption you just did--that's why I wanted to make it clear that I wasn't implicating street people in the attack. By "anything goes" I was referring to the alleged policing strategy (where criminal activity is herded into a particular area), and the fact that crime tends to flourish among populations who, for a host of reasons, don't have the police at their beck and call. That said, police reports don't indicate that the majority of crime in the Belltown area is frat-related.

aja

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:35:30 -0800

"Belltown's beginning to sound like San Francisco's Tenderloin, a "herding" enforcement strategy and a concentration of social services creating a de facto dumping ground for people who struggle with addiction, mental illness, homelessness, and joblessness. Nothing we've read indicates that street people jumped Stoy, by the way. But where there's an "anything goes" environment, "anything goes" people of all sorts tend to congregate." The only people I've ever had real trouble with in Belltown have been the frat packs trolling for hookers. But way to generalize the poor and ailing. I mean, homeless or jobless or even addiction is definitely a secret code for "anything goes".

jwhieger

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:06:44 -0800

I didn't say anything is wrong with seedy, early morning liquor.

ruffhauser

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:41:39 -0800

The 5 Point isn't that bad. Most/all of the early morning drinkers are graveyard-shift workers who'd like to have a beer after they get off work at 8AM. Can't say that I blame them.

jwhieger

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:36:30 -0800

If you want seedy early morning liquor you go to the 5 Pointe.

Audrey

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:27:40 -0800

Irish and divey and (I'd assume) cheap strong pours. Plus, it opens at like 10am.

MvB

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:25:32 -0800

Is that where SPD drinks? Or just 'cause it's Irish? Or both?

Audrey

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:21:09 -0800

I do not recommend McNulty for the job. He wouldn't be walking the beat in Belltown; he'd be busy drinking whiskey at Kelly's.