Whenever one tries to discuss the increase in crime in the local area, it's shift from traditional 'rural' and 'college' crimes like B&E, burglary, etc. to more assaults, armed/strongarm robbery, etc, and the verified connection to the influx of Chicago area 'residents', some granola muncher invariable pulls out the race card w/ a comment like this:
After hearing this numerous times, my response is "F*ck You". I'm glad you live in a world of Unicorns and Puppies prancing in the fields but I live in this nasty, despicable place called 'Reality".
This is a place where the local towns are being used as dumping grounds for the homeless and drug addicted. A place where the local university recruited poor, underpriviledged, inner-city youth. All of which are subsidized under various social programs. A select group of these, however, consider 'Section 8' housing to mean 8 families and have brought their families, friends, and associates w/ them.
Then the domino effect. As these individuals integrate into the community, their standing as urban thugs is interpreted as 'cool' among the local kids and college suburbanites, getting them involved in their antics which have lately included
several large scale
fights, strong arm robberies, shootings, and increased, dangerous drug use.
Slowly but surely, the headlines here are migrating into the same as
Chicago. Gang banging thugs w/ no respect for life dragging the quality of life down for everyone else and
getting others hurt in the process.
So for those who think that all these are really just 'code-words' for racism, you can take your race-card and stuff it up where the sun don't shine. If you want to play that game, it shows you really have no defense for your
enabling of criminals. What you will do, however, is blame the whole thing on lack of more social programs then move away to somewhere else and start the whole cycle over again.