See what happens in Fair Park
#1
Posted 17 June 2009 - 03:53 PM
http://cbs11tv.com/s....2.1048646.html
#2
Posted 17 June 2009 - 09:38 PM
http://cbs11tv.com/s....2.1048646.html
That is very sad and I sure hope that the poor fellow fully recovers. But that part of town has been very bad for many, many years.
When I was a child my mother got mugged in full daylight in the Fair Park Music Hall parking lot - within the fair grounds itself. She was walking with my little brother and some other lady and, I think, the other lady's children as well. Out of the blue some young man came running by at full speed, grabbed her purse and kept running with her purse strap still over her shoulder. It knocked her to the ground and eventually the purse ripped off the strap. Fortunately, she was not hurt physically. The amount of money in her purse was negligible - but inside it was her immigration cards (she is a British citizen) and a few items of utterly no monetary value but of irreplaceable sentimental value to her.
A couple of years ago, the Dallas Opera put on The Merry Widow, a production that is rarely seen this part of the world. As a huge Franz Lehar fan, I attended despite the fact that it was in the Fair Park Music Hall which is a really drab and dreary theatre as a result of its 1970s gutting and redo. On my way there, the road that runs just west of Fair Park was under construction and was jammed full of cars of people attending the operetta. It was wintertime so at that time of evening it was dark outside. Across the street was a HUGE mob of people aimlessly milling about in front of a McDonalds and, if I recall correctly, a Walgreens. I would guess that the crowd numbered in the several hundreds of people. In the crowd were two ambulances with their lights on and back doors open and several parked cop cars with their lights on. Overhead a police helicopter kept flying in circles shining down its spotlight a few blocks west. Meanwhile, I was stuck in a traffic jam in the middle of it all waiting to get inside the park gates to the Music Hall parking lot.
Once I got into the parking lot, walking across it to the theater was a very odd experience. On the Music Hall side of the street was an obviously affluent crowd dressed up to the hilt heading, like me, hurriedly to the theatre. On the other side of the street it looked like some sort of riot was about to break out at any moment. I never did learn why there were so many people out on the street like that and the reason for all the police activity. After the performance, the whole neighborhood was like a ghost town - but, as you can imagine, I and the friends I met up with at the performance did not walk to our respective cars separately. We walked together to one car which drove everyone else to theirs.
#3
Posted 18 June 2009 - 12:06 PM
http://www.highbeam....P2-5012657.html
http://indiancountry...t...&Itemid=109
http://calvininjax.w...ntity-released/
http://www.pegasusne...im-fights-back/
http://www.nytimes.c...fort-worth.html
http://www.dallasnew...n1.4db9e4d.html
http://www.pegasusne...ots-self-head-/
http://www.dallasnew...a.357a3f34.html
http://www.redorbit....oman_shot_dead/
http://www.yourstree...n-home-invasion
http://mylifeofcrime...-their-murders/
This was done on a quick google search. Apparently Fort Worth is a hot bed for gun crime.
If you actually read the story, you'd realize it was an altercation inside the facility that caused it. One group argueing with another. Then, as the concert left out, one group sucker punched the guy as they got on a bus.
Since Dismuke is telling stories. I walked the Green Line to look at the construction all the way to Scyene. Passed by a lot of people who looked like me. Caught a bus and rode home. Scary.
#4
Posted 18 June 2009 - 12:25 PM
If you actually read the story, you'd realize it was an altercation inside the facility that caused it. One group argueing with another. Then, as the concert left out, one group sucker punched the guy as they got on a bus.
Since Dismuke is telling stories. I walked the Green Line to look at the construction all the way to Scyene. Passed by a lot of people who looked like me. Caught a bus and rode home. Scary.
Some of the stuff you googled up was older than you are. The one about the resident shooting an intruder doesn't seem like a crime at all.
Also, you need to read the story, it doesn't say anything about an altercation, maybe someone has claimed that since the CBS11 link, but it's not in their story.
You must be a very scary person.
#5
Posted 18 June 2009 - 01:04 PM
And? Dismuke's antecdotes didn't seem quite up to date either.
The one I read in the paper this morning did.
http://www.dallasnew...n1.5110cf4.html
After the concert, Fleming and his friends were about to catch a taxi in the 4200 block of South Fitzhugh Avenue, on the southeast side of Fair Park. That's when multiple men approached.
"He was absolutely blindsided," said Steve Fleming, who spoke with the men who were with his son. Another man in Fleming's group also was punched but suffered minor injuries.
See for yourself here.
http://s286.photobuc...mview=slideshow
#6
Posted 18 June 2009 - 04:09 PM
Crime happens. All over the place. Fair Park is not alone in hosting this aspect of societal interaction. It even happens in Fort Worth Both Dallas and Fort Worth have at one time or another had the dubious distinction of being recognized as some sort of crime capital, and I believe both cities have managed to pull themselves out of that situation. While we're telling stories, my dad once remarked that when he was stationed in San Antonio back in the 1950's the base commander prohibited his men from venturing downtown due to the tremendous amount of violent crime there. He (my dad) said that the newspapers at that time would report at least one uniformed corpse being retrieved from the river each month.
Now, can we possibly turn this from a spitting contest to a discussion of various ways that the situation can be reversed? or at least moderated? Competitive sports, large crowds divided and wearing two sets of colors, alcohol, loud music, the heat all contribute to the potential for violence and crime. Soccer matches, basketball tournaments, Black Sabbath and Hank Jr. concerts, are all illustrative of this. Does Fair Park (and Arlington Cowboy Stadium) need more police presence? Transit stations on both sides of the stadium, one for each team? Lets be creative here...
Thanks for your thoughtful cooperation: Your moderator.
#7
Posted 18 June 2009 - 08:59 PM
I am not sure why you would have a beef with my posting in particular. The situations I described happened and they are on-topic to the thread. It is not like I am taking any sort of joy in what I described - trust me, I would have vastly preferred that neither happened.
And gee - it is usually the hard core Fort Worth boosters on this board who become all touchy and defensive whenever there is a perceived slight from the other side of Hwy 360. If you were to search back through my postings, you will see that I have been highly critical of the Dallas bashing that has taken place here in the past. I grew up in Dallas County and moved to Fort Worth. There's things I like about both places and, from my perspective, the petty localized chauvinism that exists between the cities is just bizarre and downright tribalistic. But no city is exempt from criticism. And it is a FACT that Fair Park is in a neighborhood that is very dangerous and has been dangerous for years. Would YOU roam the streets in that neighborhood alone at night? Would YOU refrain from advising extreme caution to someone from out of town that you care about who tells you they have plans that involve being in that neighborhood after dark?
Oh, and I do know where Scyene road is, by the way and am quite familiar with it. I can even tell you where the original town of Scyene was located and about its very wild past. There are also some very charming neighborhoods along parts of Scyene Road - Parkdale and Lawnview in particular. But there are parts of Scyene Road where I would be VERY afraid to get out of my car in at night. I think it would be great to see that part of town go through a renaissance. But facts are facts.
I don't think that it is accurate or fair to paint the Fair Park area as representative of all of Dallas. But I can definitely understand why someone from Tarrant County who does not go over that way very often and is not especially familiar with the nature of the various neighborhoods would be nervous about going there after dark. Most people have learned that it is necessary to be cautious in ANY big city that one is not very familiar with.
#8
Posted 18 June 2009 - 10:13 PM
At the same time I would hope, and highly recommend, that anyone visiting these areas would limit their alcohol intake, keep aware of your surroundings and whats going on around you and hopefully you are a concealed firearm license holder and are armed. This applies not only to these areas but anywhere you go any time of the day as well as planing to be able to handle home intrusions - it can happen to anyone anytime.
#9
Posted 18 June 2009 - 10:33 PM
What you are talking about here is primarily a cultural issue and there is not much one can really do about it on a local basis. Sure, a greater police presence might help. But it certainly does not address the source of the problem.
In my view, the problem is that there is a certain percentage of our population that has never mentally advanced past the level of primitive tribalism. But such mentalities find themselves not amongst a bunch of ignorant savages but rather in the midst of a highly advanced and prosperous industrial civilization which, by its very nature, is based on individual achievement and the initiative of people acting as individuals and who think for themselves rather than blindly following allegiance to a tribal pack.
There are many different forms in which such mentalities act on their tribalist premises. Racism, for example, is, of course, inherently tribalistic and is the oldest form of collectivism. Class envy/class hatred is another example of tribalism. But observe that, to the degree a society is civilized and based on individual merit, such mindsets are properly looked down upon and tend to be punished both socially and economically.
What the tribalist does when confronted with the hostile environment of an individualistic, merit based society is he seeks a substitute tribe that he can participate in. One obvious and very extreme example, of course, is membership in a gang which actually functions as a full-fledged de-facto tribe.
For those who are not willing to go to the extreme of joining a gang and dealing with all of the social and legal consequences, there are plenty of other milder means by which a tribalist can belong to a substitute tribe on a part time basis and still act on his petty tribal fantasies. And, unfortunately, team sports, is well suited as a backdrop for such fantasies.
This is not a criticism of sports or of legitimate sports fans but rather a criticism of those who give certain sports a very bad name. Team sports is well suited for people seeking substitute tribes because there exists a match between two opposing sides with a definite winner and a definite looser. The tribalist takes the matter beyond a mere athletic competition and builds it up in his mind as a clash between his tribe verses someone else's - a tribe which is extended, in his mind, to include all of the fellow fans of his team.
Some years ago, I was in Houston visiting a friend of mine who was then a student at Rice University. At that time Rice was about to play a highly contentious football game with one of the other schools here in Texas, either UT or A&M, I forget which. My friend's car had a Rice University parking permit on the windshield. One evening, he, his wife and I were in a parking lot about to get in his car when two thuggish looking dolts wearing team logo T-shirts from the other school came up to us, got in our faces and started yelling "Dirty Rice! Dirty Rice!" over and over again. We just looked at them with opened mouth amazement and got in the car saying something to the effect of "have a nice evening."
It was very obvious that what these dolts expected and wanted us to do was to become angry and say something to the effect of " duhh, you can't say that....." and get into a brawl right there in the parking lot. Somehow, we were supposed to feel insulted by such idiocy. But why and on what basis? Because my friend decided that it was more advantageous to his career to attend one school rather than another? Only a tribalist would operate on such a mindset.
Another example I saw first hand was when I was in high school. The school I attended had a very nasty and bitter football rivalry with another high school on the other side of town. I remember fellow students going on and on about what scum of the earth the kids who went to the other school were. I remember thinking at the time how utterly idiotic the kids who said this were. After all, if their mommy and daddy had, instead, decided to move into a house on the other side of an arbitrarily drawn school district boundary - well, then THEY TOO would have been one of the scum who attended that other school. Of course, I quickly learned that the only thing I would get in return by pointing such an obvious FACT out to such mentalities was hostility directed my way. You cannot reason with a tribalist because tribalism in inherently irrational.
There is nothing wrong with sports rivalries when they are conducted in a friendly and playful manner. But when you see them escalate to the point where tempers flare and violence ensues and people get hurt - that is a product of tribalist mentalities.
The answer to tribalism is to regard people as individuals. Sure, people join and participate in groups based on common interests and shared values. But there is a huge problem when people start to regard a group that people belong to and participate in as being something somehow larger and more important than and apart from the sum total of the various individuals who make up that group. Regarding a group as some sort of mystical entity that is somehow greater than the individuals who comprise it is collectivism. And tribalism is the most primitive form of collectivism. The antidote is individualism. Unfortunately, what is constantly preached in our schools and throughout many parts of our society is some form or another of collectivism. And so long as that is the case and to the degree people buy into it, the tribalist mindset will thrive and play a visible role in our culture rather than being something that exists only on the most backward and isolated fringes. So long as that is the case, we will continue to have people subjected to violence because of things such as the color of their skin or what sports team or band they happen to be fans of.
Things such as separate train stations aren't going to fix anything. Tribalists who WANT a confrontation with those who do not belong to their pack will always find ways to seek them out. Alcohol - well, too much of that consumed by a person who already has irrational premises to begin with obviously does not result in good things. On the other hand, the vast majority of people who attend sporting events do so for entirely respectable reasons and are responsible when they consume alcohol. Should they be punished because some smaller percentage of people in this world are, for all intents and purposes, backwards primitives?
#10
Posted 19 June 2009 - 06:50 AM
I have no beef with your post. However, I was merely making the point that KP invalidated my comparisons based on the age of the incident. However, yours, which aren't recent either, were left alone. I simply observing that either all "out-of-date" info is invalid or they all are. Taking out one that doesn't back your point, while leaving the one is isn't accurate.
#11
Posted 19 June 2009 - 08:08 AM
Number of times I've been stopped on the freeway in the middle of the night by attempted car-jackers in Dallas: 1
That'd be why I stopped going to concerts in Deep Ellum late at night.
#12
Posted 19 June 2009 - 08:21 AM
Number of times I've been stopped on the freeway in the middle of the night by attempted car-jackers in Dallas: 1
That'd be why I stopped going to concerts in Deep Ellum late at night.
On the freeway? That's some straight-up hardcore "Mad Max" style, right there.
--
Kara B.
#13
Posted 19 June 2009 - 09:35 PM
#14
Posted 20 June 2009 - 07:03 AM
Yep, around 2:30-3:30am on a weekday. I was driving myself and a friend back from a show in Deep Ellum, headed down 67 in the left lane. I was cruising along, minding my own business, when a car that passed me in the middle lane swerves over about 20-feet in front of me, and slams on the breaks. Tried to swerve over to the right, but my buddy in the passenger seat yelled out "watch out, there's another one!" I was pinned between the concrete barricade to the left, a Lincoln (which my pal had noticed just pulled up next to us) on the right, and the Lexus in front.
I froze. Right about the time the driver of the Lexus got out and started flashing (gang?) signs at us and approaching my vehicle, and the dark tinted windows of the Lincoln rolled down, my buddy yelled out "you better do something now our we're #$%ed!" That's when it donned on me that we're the only cars on the highway, and the option of driving in reverse is a safe option. So I booked it backwards, and tore off down the road. When they caught up with me I outsmarted them by staying in the middle lane, then swerving off some random exit.
That event was the straw that broke this camel's back. Having previously had more and more homeless panhandling - even getting into my car when I refused to give handouts, increased cover charges, treating the bands that played at venues there like rap, and more and more of those venues closing their doors, I've no longer a valid reason to cross 360 into Dallas County.
#15
Posted 23 June 2009 - 07:48 AM
http://www.dallasnew...n2.4ab3cd9.html
Number of times I've been stopped on the freeway in the middle of the night by attempted car-jackers in Dallas: 1
That'd be why I stopped going to concerts in Deep Ellum late at night.
Number of times my car was broken into in Tarrant County 3
Number of times my car was broken into in Dallas County 0
Personal anecdotes mean nothing in the larger scope. Crime happens everywhere.
#16
Posted 23 June 2009 - 08:44 AM
http://www.dallasnew...n2.4ab3cd9.html
Number of times I've been stopped on the freeway in the middle of the night by attempted car-jackers in Dallas: 1
That'd be why I stopped going to concerts in Deep Ellum late at night.
Number of times my car was broken into in Tarrant County 3
Number of times my car was broken into in Dallas County 0
Personal anecdotes mean nothing in the larger scope. Crime happens everywhere.
Crime happens everywhere... true - but sometimes it happens more frequently in some places. The list of the 25 most dangerous neighborhoods was just released yesterday...
Found Within ZIP Code(s): 75215, 75210
Predicted Annual Violent Crimes: 231
Violent Crime Rate (per 1,000): 131.03
My Chances of Becoming a Victim Here (in one year): 1 in 8
25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods
25) Chicago, Ill. (Winchester, Ave./60th St.)
24) Chicago, Ill. (Wallace St./58th St.)
23) Detroit, Mich. (Mount Elliott St./Palmer Ave.)
22) Orlando, Fla. (East-West Expy/Orange Blossom Trl.)
21) Cleveland, Ohio (Cedar Ave./55th St.)
20) Baltimore, Md. (Orleans St./Front St.)
19) Chicago, Ill. (66th St./Yale Ave.)
18) New York, N.Y. (St. Nicholas Ave./125th St.)
17) Tampa, Fla. (Amelia Ave./Tampa St.)
16) Philadelphia, Pa. (Broad St./Dauphin St.)
15) Little Rock, Ark. (Roosevelt Rd./Bond St.)
14) St. Louis, Mo. (14th St./Dr. Martin Luther King Dr.)
13) Springfield, Ill. (Cook St./11th St.)
12) Dallas, Texas (2nd Ave./Hatcher St.)
11) Memphis, Tenn. (Bellevue Blvd./Lamar Ave.)
10) Richmond, Va. (Church Hill)
9) Dallas, Texas (Route 352/Scyene Rd.)
8) Kansas City, Mo. (Forest Ave./41st St.)
7) Memphis, Tenn. (Warford St./Mount Olive Rd.)
6) Kansas City, Mo. (Bales Ave./30th St.)
5) Baltimore, Md.(North Ave./Belair Rd.)
4) Jacksonville, Fla. (Beaver St./Broad St.)
3) Miami, Fla. (7th Ave./North River Dr.)
2) Chicago, Ill. (State St./Garfield Blvd.)
1) Cincinnati, Ohio (Central Pky./Liberty St.)
#17
Posted 23 June 2009 - 10:26 AM
True - one should not draw vast conclusions from few observations. Though, I'd wager you spend a great deal more time in Fort Worth than in Dallas (hence fewer opportunities for your car to be broken into in Dallas). Likewise, I drive a great deal more in Fort Worth than I do in Dallas, though despite this I have never once had an attempted car-jacking occur to me in Fort Worth.
#18
Posted 23 June 2009 - 12:47 PM
I lived in Tarrant County from Aug. 2000 until May 2004. I haved lived in Dallas County since that time.
#19
Posted 23 June 2009 - 07:13 PM
When I moved to Arlington Heights from Dallas County in the early 1990s, I was stunned at how many older inner city neighborhoods were safe and well maintained - which is one of the things that really endeared me to Fort Worth. At that time in Dallas a neighborhood of similar 1920s bungalows would have either been run down and dangerous or VERY expensive. But Arlington Heights, by contrast, was very affordable in those days and every bit as nice as it is today - in some ways, it was even nicer as this was before all the tear downs and tacky McMansions and the extremely nasty practice, in my view, of people painting the bricks on perfectly attractive 1920s bungalows was not as common as it subsequently became.
Since that time, Dallas has made a great deal of progress in terms of its inner city coming back to life. But it got a much later start and is having to dig itself out from a much deeper hole.
#20
Posted 24 June 2009 - 03:21 PM
This whole thread is ridiculous. There is such a hatred for Dallas from Fort Worthians its not even funny. Crap like this post is what puts fuel on the fire and gives leaders in Arlington to cry out about events at Cowboys Stadium not being titled "from/in/hello! Arlington, Texas" Give me a break. Crime isn't exclusive to South Dallas. Its everywhere in North Texas. Even at a park in Corinth.
#21
Posted 24 June 2009 - 03:29 PM
It's much like a lot of the Fort Worth hatred on the Dallas forum, actually.
--
Kara B.
#22
Posted 24 June 2009 - 05:47 PM
At least civil court might provide some justice.
By the way, it has been pointed out many times on this board that Dallas has far more entertainment venues for young people compared to sleepy Ft Worth. Therefore one could guess that incidents like this would be more common in Dallas because they attract this kind of people. Are party busses considered public transportation?
#23
Posted 25 June 2009 - 06:24 AM
Agreed. It is quite sad actually. A lot can be ghained by working together.
Agreed. It bothers me too. Our criminal court system isn't justice for all. It is justice for sale.
True. When large gatherings of people converge, there will be more instances of crime. What matters is per capita. Fort Worth does well in this stat and Dallas has improved markedly in the past three years.
#24
Posted 25 June 2009 - 07:07 AM
#25
Posted 26 June 2009 - 01:10 PM
You beat me to the incident. I had just moved to FW then. I've been living in DFW for ten years now and the only time I"ve been robbed (at gunpoint) was near my home in FW near TCU. The only time my home has ever been robbed was in my FW neighborhood. Also, the stockyards sits in one of..if not the.. highest gang activity areas in DFW. Unlike the Stockyards, Fairpark is not just an attraction, it's also the name given to the neighborhood around it. So when something happens, it happens in Fair Park. Not the attraction, but the neighborhood. I know few people who are afraid to go to Fair Park...but ask them to drive around the neighborhood and that's another story. When something happens, and it often does, near the Stockyards, it happens on the Northside. The Stockyards doesn't get branded as dangerous, the Northside does, even if the crime occured a few blocks away. I was always told to stay on Main when going to the Stockyards and not to venture off it. Ask my friends that live near Triangle Park how safe they feel on the N. Side or how many times their beautifully restored home has been broken into the three years they've lived there. They can't sell it and are getting ready to walk away from it. Usually perception that a city, town, or burb is safe depends on where you happen to live.
And FWIW, the area around the cowboys stadium is pretty crappy too. Car breakins, prostitution, drug dealing, robberies and some murders have occured right in the vicinity. It doesn't stop anybody from going there...yet.
#26
Posted 26 June 2009 - 06:48 PM
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