in the ghetto........

Collarspace Discussion Forums

Home Login Search

in the ghetto........

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid >> in the ghetto........

Page: [1] 2 next > >>

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

in the ghetto........ - 5/14/2008 5:38:14 AM

LadyEllen

Posts: 10931
Joined: 6/30/2006
From: Stourport-England
Status: offline

Here in sunny north Worcestershire we have some fine old market towns; although the industry has mainly been removed over the last decades, there is still a lot of prosperous areas here – alongside what have been described as ghettos.

Not ghettos in the sense that an ethnic or cultural group lives there, but ghettos formed from areas of the worst available social housing – the sort of housing that no one wants to live in, with the people occupying them being those whom no one would want as a neighbour; people who have criminal, behavioural, addictive and psychological problems. Such people are moved into these areas of low quality social housing on the basis that no one else wants to live there and these groups can be more easily put there than any others since they have little or no choice or indeed the means by which to object.

This naturally means that “problem people” are concentrated into small areas, which then have rampant unemployment and high levels of crime and poor social behaviour. This perhaps makes life easier for police in that they don’t have to cover the rest of the town so much since most calls are going to be to the ghettos, but for those located alongside the ghettos, this makes life difficult. Meanwhile, the rest of the town, the more prosperous areas, are largely problem free by this mechanism.

It has been suggested that this mechanism now be abandoned – that “problem people” are to be dispersed across the social housing estates of the town, and also into private rental accommodation (paid by social benefits) within private housing estates. The idea seems to be, to get rid of the ghettos and by putting “problem people” into the general community, to provide inspiration for them to improve their lot.

I say this is rubbish. We cannot fix broken lives simply by moving people about, and we certainly cannot expect anyone in the position of these “problem people” to somehow improve their lot unless they have both the will to do so and the opportunity by way of jobs in some cases and by way of facilities in others.

The problem of course is that by their very nature, “problem people” are not attractive employees – that is, if there were suitable and sufficiently paid work available for them. Many have no energy or ability, given their problems, to seek work. And the facilities required to get them into a better position generally are absent for want of funding, and have been for some time – which is why we have so many “problem people” and the ghettos in the first place.

I am informed that my reaction to the proposals are negativity personified – naturally I view my reaction as one on realism. I would love to see those at the bottom get a better life, but the solutions presented are not sufficient.

What do others think?

E

_____________________________

In a test against the leading brand, 9 out of 10 participants couldnt tell the difference. Dumbasses.