This stuff really does happen!

[circa1968]

Life in the big city in California. 

Such a nice Easter afternoon treat for our neighborhood.  We actually had what appeared to be a well-coordinated response from the PD, they staged out of sight from all 4 directions, then with everyone in place proceeded to close in.  Looked like they would box them in and then start cuffing/stuffing....but... they failed to account for one unusual side street or the fact that these idiots would drive over curbs & medians to escape.  In the end, it looked like every last one of them got away.  It was wild to watch in real time.  The sideshow lasted a good 20-30 minutes, while the police staged, then the punks all scattered like cockroaches.

[larrydr]

We relocated from Manitoba to Burbank California for 9 months in 1958 .  This country boy had never before seen what happens in cities like Burbank , Los Angeles & Pasadena ..The school where I attended for the grade 6 classes was fenced by a chain link fence with security guards at the entrance ..We were told to never walk alone too and from school as there were plenty of bad things happening . ..I walked past the Police and Fire Station every day on my way to school and was given grand tour of the Station .. The police / Fire Station alarms were sounding every hour ..

[Woody]

Thank god I'm a country boy!

[SpencerPJ]

1 hour ago, Woody said:

Thank god I'm a country boy!

Amen.  I couldn't do that huge city life, just watching the video gets my anxiety worked up, lol.

[bpate4home]

I miss the country but my wife is from Long Island and loves where we are.  I keep beating the we need land drum but alas I believe it is falling on deaf ears. 

[Joe in WV]

Why were they there?

 

[BlueSky]

The problem is the lack of law enforcement.   

[circa1968]

9 hours ago, bpate4home said:

I miss the country but my wife is from Long Island and loves where we are.  I keep beating the we need land drum but alas I believe it is falling on deaf ears. 

That's the issue I have too.  My wife is a CA girl.  I grew up on a farm in the midwest...opposites attracting and all that crap.

[circa1968]

8 hours ago, BlueSky said:

The problem is the lack of law enforcement.   

Yes, I agree.  Even if the cops succeeded in arresting any of them, the consequences would be minimal, if any at all.  Without consequences, they have no reason to change their behavior.

[circa1968]

9 hours ago, Joe in WV said:

Why were they there?

 

It's a "thing" here.  But, I am not going to lie, I did a burnout or donut or two when I was a young lad, but this is a bit over the top.  They blocked a major intersection for 20-30 minutes, with impunity.

[circa1968]

I moved here (Northern Cali) in 1989, from the midwest and settled in San Jose in 1994, when I bought the house I still live in today.   In the 80's/90's, California still had that magical place feeling to it where anything was possible and dreams came true.  Even my family loved coming out to visit me and see all things CA.  I worked in the Silicon Valley tech world for 20+ years and there was a sense of community and respect for others here, both in neighborhoods and in the work culture.  Somewhere along the way since then, this dream has turned into a nightmare.  There is not one single thing I could pinpoint that brought the change, but there are a handful of things I believe brought it on.  Out of respect of forum rules, I won't go there though.

San Jose used to be a nice place to live.  Now it is filthy, trash & graffiti everywhere, homeless camps at every  intersection and along our creeks, polluting them.  Crime is rampant, cars are regularly broken into, etc.  We pay the highest taxes in the country, but have the worst of everything.

Sorry to unload all of that guys, Its become borderline depressing for me, so thanks for allowing me a small bit of therapy here.  I've managed to spend more time out of state this last year, traveling & visiting family in the midwest.  I think that's the only thing keeping me sane at this point.  One thing that does give me a little hope is how many people from the neighborhood came out on Sunday and expressed their outrage.  When enough of us get fed up, things will change, one way or another....history tells us so.

[Leland]

61.9% of your fellow citizens (I use the term lightly) voted to retain your governor last year.

[circa1968]

16 minutes ago, Leland said:

61.9% of your fellow citizens (I use the term lightly) voted to retain your governor last year.

Thanks for that painful reminder.  Is it a sin to wish the plague on just a single person? Well, maybe his aunt too.  I'm probably going to the hot place...

[BlueSky]

Several decades ago, there was a saying that CA was 10 years ahead of the rest of the country?!!!!!!

[larrydr]

I would want to add too all this and that is society in general is on on a slippery slope out of control  ...A lack respect for ones self and others , common sense , No one remembers the golden rule .... Do onto others as you would want to do onto you .   and some day often is what goes around comes around

[bpate4home]

Well, when we were in school we were responsible for our actions, not a teacher, a parent or a friend.  You take away that responsibility of action you take away any deterrence of said action.

And yes, I've done street racing, burnouts etc etc but we ALWAYS chose areas of little to no traffic or housing. Those in NE OH should remember when sections of the new 4 lane (20, I think, from 57 to the JVS) were held up in court (or something) in the early 80's. (Same happened with sections of 480). It was built but not "open" for a year or so. That was fun. Racing up one side and down the other with only farm land around.

[saddlebum]

On 4/18/2022 at 9:06 AM, SpencerPJ said:

Amen.  I couldn't do that huge city life, just watching the video gets my anxiety worked up, lol.

I feel your pain

[saddlebum]

I will probably get crucified for what I am about to say. So forgive me if I hide in my corner after my comment but I am a firm believer that the growing increase of parents who spoil rather than discipline their children and the growing trend towards leniency is a big part of the problem. I also believe that when both parents work and kids are shoveled off to daycare rather than one parent staying home to raise the kids is also a factor, though I do realize in many cases do to financial hardship parents have no choice. Toss in the lawyers who manage to turn many black and white situations into grey areas which almost always lets perps off the hook specially if the perp has sufficient financial backing versus those who do not. The confidence rendered in the fact that actions may not result in consequence is IMHO a big factor. I go hide now before the tomatoes and eggs start flying.

[SpencerPJ]

Parents don't parent, they stare at their phones. It takes effort to parent. The evil one has created the ultimate environment, my 2 cents is he runs social media.  

[ChiefGunner]

20 hours ago, circa1968 said:

I moved here (Northern Cali) in 1989, from the midwest and settled in San Jose in 1994, when I bought the house I still live in today.   In the 80's/90's, California still had that magical place feeling to it where anything was possible and dreams came true.  Even my family loved coming out to visit me and see all things CA.  I worked in the Silicon Valley tech world for 20+ years and there was a sense of community and respect for others here, both in neighborhoods and in the work culture.  Somewhere along the way since then, this dream has turned into a nightmare.  There is not one single thing I could pinpoint that brought the change, but there are a handful of things I believe brought it on.  Out of respect of forum rules, I won't go there though.

San Jose used to be a nice place to live.  Now it is filthy, trash & graffiti everywhere, homeless camps at every  intersection and along our creeks, polluting them.  Crime is rampant, cars are regularly broken into, etc.  We pay the highest taxes in the country, but have the worst of everything.

Sorry to unload all of that guys, Its become borderline depressing for me, so thanks for allowing me a small bit of therapy here.  I've managed to spend more time out of state this last year, traveling & visiting family in the midwest.  I think that's the only thing keeping me sane at this point.  One thing that does give me a little hope is how many people from the neighborhood came out on Sunday and expressed their outrage.  When enough of us get fed up, things will change, one way or another....history tells us so.

Well @circa1968 I feel your pain. Lived in SanDiego and surround counties for 31yrs before retiring from the Navy in 98. The sprawl, the illegals, the insane regulations and policies I saw coming in over the years was sad. We left to North Carolina in 2009 and I know it hasn’t got better since then. California has become a “GRANOLA BOWL”!  Nothing but NUTS, FRUITS & FLAKES!!

Edited April 19, 2022 by ChiefGunner

[circa1968]

36 minutes ago, ChiefGunner said:

Nothing but NUTS, FRUITS & FLAKES!!

At this point, I resemble that remark!

Thank you for your service!!!!!!!

[Joe in WV]

I believe most of what was said above is true.  But we've lost so much more.

America  use to be a melting pot. The beacon of everything good. 

Gone are the days of :

Working together towards a common goal (some are quick to point out our differences.)

Personal responsibility for one actions (it's always someone/something else's fault)

JFK's “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” (now reversed)

Clear cut Winners and losers (no need to try and better yourself) (today everybody gets a participation trophy)

Family oriented(peoples lives centered around it)

Earning a living and feeling good about ones contributions(why bother, Uncle Sam will send you a check)

 

On paper, it would seem to be easy to fix, but the reality of it is, we'd have to have the same Goal, and we do not. 

Life isn't meant to be easy, it's our struggles that makes us strong.

 

OK, gonna go hide now.

[BlueSky]

And a whole lot of kids are growing up without their Dad around to control them.  

[ChiefGunner]

1 hour ago, Joe in WV said:

I believe most of what was said above is true.  But we've lost so much more.

America  use to be a melting pot. The beacon of everything good. 

Gone are the days of :

Working together towards a common goal (some are quick to point out our differences.)

Personal responsibility for one actions (it's always someone/something else's fault)

JFK's “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” (now reversed)

Clear cut Winners and losers (no need to try and better yourself) (today everybody gets a participation trophy)

Family oriented(peoples lives centered around it)

Earning a living and feeling good about ones contributions(why bother, Uncle Sam will send you a check)

 

On paper, it would seem to be easy to fix, but the reality of it is, we'd have to have the same Goal, and we do not. 

Life isn't meant to be easy, it's our struggles that makes us strong.

 

OK, gonna go hide now.

Dude! @Joe in WV you’re “preachin” good! Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Rev TJ

Edited April 20, 2022 by ChiefGunner

[Marcarl]

The results of fathers and mothers being so self centered that the upbringing and development of their kids has very little to no interest in their lives. What is important is their own self interest and entertainment and their kids can fend for themselves, and if bad happens it can be blamed on the government.

On the other hand, what can kids do for proper development in cities? As parents we should be involved in their total upbringing, work ethics as well as play behavior and need to develop a system that addresses all those needs, but alas, it's all left up to the government and then it can be complained about  and the responsibility is passed on and lives can carry on.

Conclusion: This will lie in the importance of life itself, what we do on this earth counts, but life is short so we have little time. It starts at home! Now!

In addition:

The love of money is the root of all evil. For explanation: A poor man can be content in what he has, he finds shelter and food on a daily basis and can be content to be fed and sheltered. The other side of the coin is the person who desires money and works to get it, thinking that once he has enough he will be happy, but when he finds a little and puts it away, he needs more. Then once he has some more he needs to protect what he has and so desires to increase what he has and his whole being becomes centered on the defense of what he has. If he looses some, his world falls apart. If you have very little or nothing, then you have nothing to loose, but if you have a nest egg then you can very easily live to defend it, even though it might be useless tomorrow. At one time years ago our continent was poor and we all had to work together to survive, today we are in some ways much too rich and our dependence on each other and family has gone to dependence on riches.,,,,,,,, or something like that.

JMT what are yours?