Comments About A Guanofrentic Nutbar & A.O. Amos Commenting About Fort Worth's Most Dangerous Neighborhood & Criminals

I've been getting really good blog comments lately. Mostly in response to Fort Worth having the 15th Most Dangerous Neighborhood in America.

But there have also been some good, amusing comments about Fort Worth's bloviating gasbag of a Mayor, Mike Moncrief.

Today I learned from Roger that a comment I got yesterday (Or was it the day before?) was from a "guanofrentic nutbar." I am loving some of these new words I am learning. Apparently the guanofrentic nutbar is of the paranoid conspiracy sort, you know, those types who think there are black UN helicopters flying around and who wear aluminum foil hats to block having their brains scanned.

Also today I got what may be the longest comment ever. It came from A.O. Amos, regarding Fort Worth's Dangerous Neighborhood. I think my favorite part of the comment is the part that refers to me as a "health-obsessed Yankee who blogs about the real crimes and criminals in the heart of the city."

Below is the comment from A.O. Amos in its entirety....

Research/data from sociological-psychological and law enforcement fields indicate that the over all majority of crimes, but esp. ones involving violence, occur among people who know each other such as lovers, friends, families, neighbors--as opposed to complete strangers out of the blue (even then the perps choose their victims instead of just acting haphazardly).

This is also intuitive because people and relationships inevitably involve differences and conflicts that often lead to aggression/to revenge among other less than healthy ways to solve problems/ conflicts. Thus, people like you and me who don't live (in actuality they are pretty much "confined")in the shelter zone or decrepit apartments/"projects" are so much less likely to be a victim of any serious criminal acts by passing through or by even visiting for a while. In other words, there are knowledge, relationships, conflicts, alliances, etc. among the residents that make them more likely to commit acts that often result in police intervention and thus records and data being entered into systems with the end result being organizations and persons (esp. when in politics/elections)sorting the raw data to make certain conclusions and even predictions.

Of course, all the crimes committed among those folks are usually not deemed newsworthy (not reported, which gives the public false idea about the amount of crime and danger for the resident) and accepted as a normal part of living in the ghetto/shelter/skid row with the exception being some extraordinary crimes.

On the other hand, in those infrequent cases where someone from the outside gets their property damaged or their person threatened or harmed, the chances are much higher that it's reported--via media or word of mouth. Having worked and volunteered in these settings, I have heard regular reports of people who choose sleeping/"living" under bridges and in various campsites braving the elements cuz that is much less dangerous and they "feel much safer" than being in cramped quarters where falling asleep is to risk being victimized in some way.

Thanks to the many kind and well-meaning church groups and individuals who follow their hearts/faith by handing out home-made food and other necessary items right out of their vehicles (part of reason why FW is mecca for the homeless), the homeless people in FW generally do not view "outsiders" in a negative or hostile way since there is a good probability that you in your van is bringing them nourishment/gifts. Or for the "day laborer" types that you had encountered before, running toward a van or p/u truck increases their chance of getting hired to do some kind of physical labor for cash (van and trucks=physical work).

As for the thought elicited by the sight of you cruising by on your mountain bike or picturing-taking hikes (near campsites): that lucky health-obsessed Yankee who probably blogs about the real crimes and criminals in the heart of the city, challenging citizens to DO/SAY the right/ethical thing..instead pontificate for the TV camera or issue ridiculous self-serving press releases.

A.O. Amos