Abrams On The West Side
Green Party gal, Nancy "Nan" Abrams, tells us her experience with the degradation of Eureka's West Side in a My Word column today.
I never knew she lived just three blocks from me and am not sure I consider this neighborhood part of Eureka's West Side. I figure the West Side starts a few blocks west of E street, but why quibble over labels when a degraded neighborhood is a degraded neighborhood?
She does make a good point that it's not the drug rehab houses that degrade neighborhoods, although they might well contribute to it. She says it all has to do with drug users that live in the area. That might well be true but I am surprised at what seems to be her advocating stricter enforcement of drug laws and imprisonment of drug users:
Law enforcement has to do everything at its disposal to keep drug sellers and users off the streets.
Whatever. Problem is, where you going to put all the drug users, Nan? The jails and prisons are already full.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 8:11 AM
48 comments
48 Comments:
Don't we just need drugs that produce better highs and work their magic faster? This whole drag-it-out-for-a-couple-decades thing is what destroys our neighborhoods. Legalize it. Make it stronger. Illegalize medical care for drug overdoses. Let the problem take care of itself faster.
geez, you are a sicko 9:57. How about our government going after these countries that allow the manufacture of the chemicals used in the making of meth that sell to the major drug makers, some of whom are in Mexico. Is it so hard to keep these disgusting illegal people out of our country? To check what is coming into our ports and airports, etc.? Our priorities are so skewed, its not the methodist on E St, its the lack of balls our government has in standing up for its citizens. Wake up and vote once in awhile.
10:59, don't come to a Libertarian blog to spew law enforcement solutions to personal liberty issues. If people want to sicken and kill themselves and overburden our health care system while pushing petty crime to new heights, it's their right. And it's your right to put locks on your windows and own firearms. Problem solved.
12:37, law enforcement solutions? How about utilizing our tax dollars to keep our citizens safer? You make it sound like meth and heroin are victimless crimes of people's free will. Bullshit, their lack of intelligent life choices is overburdening our health care system, they can't pay their way, hence it does impact more than themselves. Fed up with the freeloaders, plain and simple. That doesn't mean I want to keep a loaded firearm in my home. It means I think we are misguided if we think locally instead of the big picture. Who is allowing the poison into our country? I want our elected leaders to focus on solutions while they are in office, not how they are going to win at the next election.
Nan isn't with the green party,was years back.And she now lives near Union and Harris.It is confusing how she says that the rehab homes aren't the problem,yet points out that a moratorium on them is a good solution,yet no clear solution is given to ridding the area of the drugs not associated with those homes.More jail time just doesn't cut it.
I agree that the problem lies with the prohibition laws that create the incentive for drug profits. Get rid of the laws and the profit motive disappears. All these drugs are nothing but dope, and dope is a Dutch word for glue. Glue is not illegal and there is not a big problem with people sniffing it. But you can bet if glue was made illegal pushers would be selling it at huge profits and boneheads would be buying it, thinking it's cool. It is our drug laws that fuel the drug profits world wide, the coke from South America and the opium from the middle east.
West Eureka has changed in a very bad way. I got out in the mid 80's. Things got worse in the 90's when people, cops included, starting referring to W. Eureka as "Bosnia". And it has gotten nothing but worse. No doubt meth and heroin is the main reason. Losing experienced cops to other cities has had an effect also. Education and treatment is important. Working on catching the "big fish" is important. But taking users to jail, room or not, should be a priortity. Send them in handcuffs to jail for a fresh photograph and a court date. Even if meth and heroin were legalized and given away for free there would still be a major problem, health issues, mental issues, driving issues, social issues, violence issues and more. Zero tolerance maybe, but at least a serious stepped up pressure on street thugs.
1:04, it's called free will. Show me a Libertarian advocating drug laws and I'll show you a poser.
esquan wrote,"Nan isn't with the green party...".
I don't that. She used to be on their county council, wasn't she. What happened with all of that?
The West side has been informally declared a "sacrifice zone" by city authorities pending its "rediscovery" by monied interests who will redevelop it, with assistance of public funds. So, the worse it gets, the cheaper it will be acquire.
Only resident involvement in the political process limits the potential profits to be made. But when mostly uninvolved residents are placed in a neighborhood, it has no political power. That's how rehab facillites contribute to harm. And that's well understood by rehab facility proponents like Strombeck(a real estate speculator).
As far as drugs being a "cause" of social problems, get real. People who have good economic prospects and access to a fair system of justice don't generally make addictive temptations a priority.
But Eureka is home to many disposessed and unprepared people, like Fred. They are the losers in society's competitive challenges, have little to live for and can expect their lives to only get worse. So of course they take drugs and drink and smoke and isolate themselves socially. Bringing more like them into the neighborhood initiates the redevelopment plan.
The claim: People who have good economic prospects and access to a fair system of justice don't generally make addictive temptations a priority.
Eh? Back that up with some facts. Affluent high school kids in the Humboldt Bay region have no problem getting hooked into a lifetime of addiction.
wow. Is there a conspiracy to run down the west side of town so the local elite can buy it on the cheap, then get rich fixing it up and selling it ??
Some twisted thought there.
Except there is great risk in buying a craphole and hoping to turn an entire neighborhood around to make your investment profitable.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
These questions about the 'elite' are not unwarranted. Today Mr. and Mrs. Sunshine threw a bash at the Warfinger, free eats, hob nob, etc. The price of admission? Sign a petition in favor of Home Depot.
Dang! I missed it! I like Home Depot.
The two gals that told me about it said that they didn't look at the date and assumed it was on Saturday. So they went to the Warfinger Saturday and sure enough there were a bunch of folks and some food. So they loaded up a plate and sat down and enjoyed their meal. But it didn't seem like much of a Fourth of July bash, so they asked a kid what was going on. The kid told them that it was a funeral reception. LMAO. I got such a kick from that story. The funeral crashers. So anyway, they went there again today and had a good time.
Hucktunes said it best.
I like Home Depot too. Good food for my signature and support! Damn I should have been there. But I'll still sign the petition.
The cops are more interested in chasing around harmless homeless people for some non-crime like smoking pot, or harassing nonviolent, unarmed protesters. These gutless 'public servants' with guns prefer to bully the weak and when faced with some real violent people they run off like the chickens they are. Evidently if you aren't on the Arkley friends list you don't deserve police protection.
The drug task force used to roust people out of their apartments for drug dealing, which helped make the neighborhood liveable.
But I never read in the paper about any arrests.
Doesn't that seem strange?
Drug dealers rent houses and apartments. If things get too hot for them in one neighborhood, they move to another neighborhood.
They keep moving until they find a neighborhood where the neighbors will put up with them.
And there they stay.
That is how once-good neighborhoods go to Hell.
This is no longer about compassion.
I watched this go from a friendly little town to 'hellhole' in 10 years.
My home and family used to sleep at night. Now we dont.
Its gotta change. NOW.
11:15am can you really be such a complete moron. Where do you come off thinking the cops would rather roust a stinky homeless bum than arrest a drug dealer? Are you really that stupid or do you just hate cops? What's the matter, did they take you meth? Your weed? You're such a *&^%$^ loser. And I thought I didn't have a life.
I am 11:15. I have never been arrested and I hate meth. The stupidity present on this blog is of your own design, 1:51. Police have continually refused to arrest people caught committing crimes. 3rd street near the library is an open-air prostitution market every evening. Why don't the cops make arrests there? Because officers like Mike Quigley are clients of the whores themselves.
and you know this because????
a) you are also a "client"
b) you are a pimp
c) you are a working girl (winner winner chicken dinner)
Way to sling out lible/slander there, 218...why dont you try proving your statement as opposed to proving your stupidity, which you have done beyond a shadow of doubt...
It boils down to this. Without effective law enforcement, either the criminals terrorize the citizens, or the citizens terrorize the criminals.
Usually, though, in the absence of effective law enforcement, the criminals terrorize the citizens.
Then, periodically, the citizens arise and visit holy Hell on the criminals.
What do You think? Are we about due for that turn of the Wheel to occur?
Parts of our town have been deemed unworthy of police protection thanks to the dumbshits we've elected to city hall for way too long. Average people might as well start carrying guns, permit or not, if the police are too chickenshit to do their jobs.
What is the motivation for the cops in Eureka? The high pay? The great working conditions? The high prosecution rate by a DA that works with them? The support of their public? No one like Heraldo, Christina Not-bright, Greg Allen, and the rest of the commie jackasses critizing everything they do? Doing the right thing because it's the right thing only goes so far. And the hilarious anonymous trolls calling the cops chickenshit.Go back to the welfare office jackass.
Yeah, doing the right thing...like cops soliciting prostitutes? Go out on 3rd street sometime to witness how 'safe' our streets are with the cops looking the other way.
8:54pm, 5:16pm, and 2:18pm ..... why the nasty comments about the cops? Do you have ANYTHING to back up or support your uncalled for rant? Don't bother answering because I know you don't. You seem like a cross between Hairaldo and that idiot that has the "what's happening " blog.
Shame on you.
2:18 PM, I just gotta speak up for Mike Quiggley. He's a fine cop. I wish we had more like him. He takes the time to get to know the folks on his beat, and he's always seemed to be very diplomatic when he can, but he can take care of bussiness if he has to. One of Eureka's finest, IMHO.
Then why is Quggley well known by the homeless people around here for beating them up and stealing their drugs?
Says who 3:28am ? You worthless cowardly piece of shit. Throwing out such outrageous lies. What's the matter 3:28am did Officer Quigley arrest you and take your drugs?
Posted at 3:28am, hummm. Did you just get back in from prowling the streets of Eureka looking for aluminum cans or something to steal?
I have never heard of such a thing. Do you mean Phillip? Naw, never happened. He was drunk and misplaced his bag, and then blamed it on the cops. I've seen the cops treating the drunks with kid gloves. Even the ones that get out of hand.
My point exactly !! Thank you.
The Eureka Police have always treated me respectfully, just as I have treated them.
One other thing. I decided a long time ago not to break the law. That was a good choice. It helps me get along with almost everybody.
Cops are people. They have wives and husbands.
Some days they feel like crap just like you do.
Some are good cops. Some arent.
Its not about the cops.
Its not even about the drugs.
Its about people being cowardly lowlife slimeballs, and they are criminals. Out to hurt, steal, and destroy everything we have built.
We have been compassionate for 20 damn years, and its only worse.
Its time to get rid of them.
A group of us will start putting up signs everywhere, call it the 1st warning:
IF YOU USE METH-YOU ARE NO LONGER
WELCOME IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY!
Its a start.
a group of "us"????
Who exactly is "us"...
Big words on a blog, but I highly doubt those signs will be sprouting up anytime soon...
Why is it you people keep justifying the kind of misbehavior we are witnessing from the police, where they shoot an unarmed teenager but leave others vulnerable? You mean to tell me the police are so fucking blind as to not see the hookers out every night around the library?
Unarmed Teenager????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Who, pray tell, would the "unarmed teeanager" Be????
Would it be the Knife-wielding Chris Burgess???
Would it be the shotgun totin, shootn Zachary Cook????
Unarmed, yeah....riggghhhht...
I too have treated the EPD respectfully. I have allowed them to live even after they interfere with my right to use public roadways.
You have allowed them to live? My my how big of you. You are such a manly man .......
LMAO
That's not what I meant and you dam well know it.
10:37PM, well what did you mean?
Can you explain what you meant so someone that isn't under the influence of some illegal substance can understand.
And what makes you think the cops can arrest "hookers" just for being on the streets? This is America comrade.
If they can arrest antiwar protesters for jaywalking, they can do something about the open air crank and pussy market on 3rd street.
9:22 AM, You imply that I, Anonymous 10:37 PM, use illegal drugs.
You don't even know who I am, how can you presume to know what I think and do?
Even though you chose to insult me without provocation, I will not lower myself to your level, you scabrous dirt-eating pig-dog!
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