tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3244123422713926575.post8182191971145363196..comments2024-03-28T23:02:24.234-07:00Comments on Flint Expatriates: Shrinking Cities: Is the Grass Always Greener?Flint Expatriateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08352270564340149006noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3244123422713926575.post-1629650949026948082009-12-30T12:40:49.180-08:002009-12-30T12:40:49.180-08:00OK, fine idea, but let's not lose sight of the...OK, fine idea, but let's not lose sight of the essential hierarchy of social-issue importance in such circumstances:<br /><br />1. Criminal and socially deviant behavior.<br />...<br />25. Tall grass in parks and around abandoned properties.<br /><br />There are abandoned properties and unmaintained parks throughout Flint, of course, but a majority of Flint's area qualifies as having a Crime Problem, so it's valid to consider the importance of Tall Grass in comparison to Crime. <br /><br />It's not news to anyone that the same young people one might hope would be out playing Frisbee, alternately might be engaging in activities that are less socially desirable. That's particularly the case in neighborhoods where gangs provide the social focus for those young people. Playing Frisbee in the park is not a common gang activity.<br /><br />Parents in bad neighborhoods don't scrimp and save to buy their teen children computers and videogames in order to keep them in the house, so as to limit their exposure to tall grass. They do it to try to create an attractive alternative to street culture and gang membership, or simple innocent-bystander-is-shot status.JWillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03243354011523248499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3244123422713926575.post-37591412740233384062009-12-27T13:46:04.135-08:002009-12-27T13:46:04.135-08:00"Hmm...Frisbees as a measurement of urban vit..."Hmm...Frisbees as a measurement of urban vitality...I guess I can buy it. I'd rather have vegetables growing, cops on bikes, somebody playing a saxophone, Shakespeare in the park, kids cultivating something to compete with the Tree of Heaven. "Jan Worth-Nelsonnoreply@blogger.com