The BBC reports on the recent violence in Trinidad, but a few major caveats here-
1. The playground shown in the video is at the Trinidad Recreation Center on Childress. Every time I have been to that rec there are lots of kids around, so I'm thinking the film crew got lucky on that one.
2. There have not been 24 people murdered in Trinidad this year. There have been 24 people murdered in all of the 5th District this year.
3. As to the question of where the parks and playgrounds are, is that one recreation center is 2 blocks away, and the other one is less than a third of a mile from where the questioner was standing.
Another thing that comes to mind is that if the BBC shot the video during a weekday afternoon they miss out on the majority of the residents who were at work. If that's what happened, and I suspect it was, I'm not surprised they got a very skewed sample of residents. So while the BBC's story and accompanying videos are certainly dramatic and compelling, they're also less than accurate.
21 comments:
"Driving across Trinidad it is hard to miss the numbers of people hanging out in the middle of a normal work day; at bus stops, near liquor stores, on street corners.
Unemployment among blacks in Washington is at 9.4%, while for whites its just 2.2%.
High summer temperatures have kept people, including teenagers, in the streets for much of the day and the night."
I love the news. Next we'll find out if the boys Morse are linked to Al-Queda.
Love the woman they interviewed! She really gets it.
And the young person complaining about "nothing to do" -- that may be, but when parents let kids go outside with the word "marijuana" emblazoned on a McDonald's logo, I'd say something is wrong at home. I don't think you'd find such shirts in less violent neighborhoods.
It seems like they got most of their story from the local news, as they tend to link everything
F--n thing in 5D to Trinidad. Last week as I drove to work they reported on the radio that 6 people were shot in Trinidad, come to find out this all happened on North Capitol St...They all sound so silly and desperate to cover stories....
I don't think we are denying we have had violence in Trinidad, but damn it's no different than any other DC neighborhood. Just more heavily black populated and because of that the news makes it seem 100x's worse. Reminds me of "The Refugees" title given to those during Katrina. It's sickening! Yes it is a black thing. I've been in plenty of Ghettos and trust me Trinidad is far better off than any Ghetto I've been in.
NW has big Rats, Trinidad/H street has trash. I'll prefer to not have either, but I'll take the trash over the Rats any day...
Trinidad Home Owner
I thought the interviews were very poignant. On the one hand, you've got the old school matriarch saying everybody needs to work (i.e., get a job!) and on the other hand you got the marijuana t-shirt kid saying theres nothing to do -- no libraries, no parks, etc.
An amazing display of laziness, ignorance, or excuse-making considering the veritable Library of Congress is a bike ride away and there are any number of b-ball courts, tennis courts, baseball fields and rec centers in the immediate area.
Heck kid, if you're that bored join the garden club...
hey look! we're famous all the way over in england!
how cool is that?!?!
I think this is BBC World America, which apparently brings the famed "objectivity" of BBC news reporting to our own doorstep...
Next we'll find out if the boys Morse are linked to Al-Queda.
We could always hope we could link the two, then maybe the criminals would not be out walking around the day after they get arrested, we could ship them off to Cuba. I see the same people arrested and then out on the streets the next day. Nobody is even scared of getting caught for anything.
Different topic. Last night I saw a man climb a phone pole and connect cable to his house. It took him over an hour to run the line. I called 911 at the beginning of his "Cable Service Connection" and he finished with no problem. It is like the 911 operator knew nobody was going to come, I kept describing the man and it was obvious he was ignoring me. He almost even might have giggled when he said the "next available unit" would be out.
This months cable bill, $145, probably not due to the superior programming.
-R
These are all a lot of excuses. There are parks, rec centers, etc nearby. Heck, the National Mall and all of its Museums are what - 1 mile away? The lady on the doorstep sounds like its everyone else's fault for not giving these people a job. The Marijuana-McDonald's lady is obviously too lazy to realize what is in her neighborhood.
Why look for a solution to your individual problems when excuses land right at your feet?
I am not familiar with the Trinidad neighborhood. I recently moved to Alexandria and just by listening to the news and radio it sounds choatic. I am sure there are decent, hardworking people in that neighborhood. I just wish we could hear about their contributions rather than the scumbags. The lady's comments on the interview, typical of blaming others for the neighborhood's troubles. The cops can't be everywhere; if you want to change your neighborhood image it starts with you. Don't count on others to do it for you.
It is shame how the media can skew perceptions and impressions...
As for the unemployment rate among blacks and whites. Let us consider that the majority of the whites in DC did not grow up in DC and attend the deployable DC Public Schools--that makes a difference.
Just like it is important to put the Trindad community in perspective, let's put those statistics in context.
Yeah, the article isn't reality.
Anyone have any info on the fire on 6th St north of H this morning around 1:30 AM?? Curious.
I am in absolute awe.
HOW can that Marijuana lady EVEN ask "where the parks? where are the jobs? where are the recreaction centers?" with a straight face?!
What an idiot.
Speaking of DC Public schools, i could not resist to comment. I have visited DC public schools on a couple of occasions (fundraisers), and to tell the truth they are 10 times better than school I attended in Bombay India. 90% of kids in Bombay attend public schools which are more deplorable than any of the schools seen in DC. We used to sit on rickety benches shared by 3 students. There were 60 students crammed in a rooms size of 14x20. Labs, field trips were practically non-existent. There was a dearth of sporting venues, equipment, fields. However, we learnt by working around the shortcomings. The culture fostered ethics of study hard, get into a good college and find a decent job as soon as you turn 21. Students came mostly from lower middle class whose parents were mostly hardworking blue collar workers. I went back to India after 9 years and visited my school in April. The building was the same however, there were more facilities available now such as computers etc. Guns were completely unheard of in schools. Gangfare was a part of life in the city however, not so bad considering a city of 15 millions. Violence didn't affect the general population however, corruption did. But the point is that some really smart kids graduated from my school and others like it who have now become world famous entrepreneurs here in US and India. DC public schools may be deplorable but you have to make the best of what is there and beat the system since I have seen worse.
...of course... I call that lady an idiot and then realize I spelled "recreation" wrong.
Touche.
Milind:
It's great to have your take on things. Sometimes we forget that our 'underprivileged' are still better off than most in the world.
I submit that if you were to take her to a park or a recreation center in DC and hand her a job on a silver platter, said lady would still find an excuse to complain. when you've been told your entire life that all your problems will be solved by the DC Government, is it any wonder people like this keep expecting someone else to fix things?
The BBC loves to poke at America's gun obsession, but at least we have our multiple stabbings relatively under control.
It seems that a lot of people writing in to this blog are critical of Wilhelmina and the young woman interviewed in the article. I didn't hear any expectation of being "handed jobs on a silver platter" or any denial that there are parks and recreation centers. These are, instead, observations that many people who are unemployed are causing problems, and that those people would be better off with jobs. Also, at least some youth don't know what resources are available to them. Instead of criticizing these women, maybe greater attention could be given to publicizing free, public resources (rec centers, libraries, museums) and pointing people in the direction of where they can get help for increasing their skills or finding a job. Not everyone in DC has personal computers and bicycles to find the information they need and to get to the locations they need.
"Not everyone in DC has personal computers and bicycles to find the information they need and to get to the locations they need."
The astonishing crime rate in DC has very little to do with a lack of bicycles or computers, or any other excuse.
DC has a pretty good public transit system. The vast majority of those in Trinidad are quite close to at least one major bus line, and are certainly within walking distance of all they need to create a decent, non-crime life.
It has to do with a culture we've allowed to gain acceptance because we've been cowed into not challenging it, and it has to do with most of the populace supporting the idea that sitting on your butt all day and getting stuff for free is an acceptable way of life. This has created much of the crime we have today.
Reading all this makes me angry. I am tried of lazy good for nothing no count people. I am also tired of people lying in wait for them to selfdestruct so that they can move in. What do you do with the people who wont change, the market will decide. There are enough newcommers here that buy drugs to employ a fair number of dealers.
Sure they want rose bushes, and pretty lawns, but they are addicts just the same.
There isn't anything to really be said about this except for there is more to follow.
My advice to any of those on the Corners, or worse yet just hanging out all day, your days are numbered.
i do want to point out to tom that t-shirts with marijuana related slogans, pictures of pot leaves or that depict bob marley smoking a doob etc are often seen in less violent neighborhoods as well-in fact a number of my friends at an elite prep school were particularly proud of theirs.
Post a Comment