Would you please stop smugly bashing Hera?

[Provost Harrison]

I meant LA's not as hard as you seem to think it is. They have gangs but so what? LA aint ****. Their murder and crime rates are nowhere near Detroit's, Philly's, Camden's, etc.

You know how many Philly cops get killed every year?

Well if it is so bad there, why don't you leave (and it is pretty bad - it takes one hell of a city to beat Philadelphia's crime rates, and let's not get started on New Orleans, Detroit, etc - you should compare the crime rates with European cities...London's crime rates are over an order of magnitude different).

The things that you refer to so matter-of-factly are really nowhere near as common, or at least problematic, in Europe.

[MikeH]

Or even in most of the US.

[Provost Harrison]

It's quite funny really, I've visited some pretty dangerous cities recently - Rio de Janeiro for example...very violent place with about 38 murders per 100k...still safer than a many US cities such as Detroit or New Orleans. And Mexico City is a pussycat in comparison to most major US cities in terms of violent crime and murder.

[MikeH]

Wow. Google sez Phillie has a murder rate twice as high as Mexico City.

Philly: 27.7 per 100,000.
Mexico City: 13.4 per 100,000
London: 2.1 per 100,000

Basically a third world hell on earth.

[Al B. Sure!]

Yeah but how many murders go unreported in Mexico City?

And Philly was only 12th in the country in per capita murders for 2009. We're not even top 10 anymore.

[MikeH]

Philly aint ****.

[Al B. Sure!]

LA's murder rate is 8 per 100,000, for comparison.

[Al B. Sure!]

Oh yeah and the Philly PD have had big budget cuts. They had to cancel Academy classes because they can't support the police force due to the city government being completely in debt even though city taxes are amongst the highest in the country here.

Yeah it's ****ty but that's how things are.

[MikeH]

LA's murder rate is 8 per 100,000, for comparison.

And has that suddenly got something to do with whether there are any racial tensions in LA or whether there is the possibility of any rioting?

Nope. Didn't think so.

[Al B. Sure!]

And has that suddenly got something to do with whether there are any racial tensions in LA or whether there is the possibility of any rioting?

Nope. Didn't think so.

Why not? Are you acting like people in an area more prone to crime (and economic depression) wouldn't be more likely to riot?

Would a more affluent area be less likely to riot? I think so.

[MikeH]

Britain and France have tiny muder rates compared to LA or Philly, but you are claiming we're constantly in a state of racist hate riots. So if that were true wouldn't it disprove your theory?

We're also less affluent. But have less crime.

Does murder rate reflect affluence? Clearly not.
Are all areas of LA equally safe/dangerous and equally rich and equally likely to riot? Clearly not.
Do all areas of LA have consistent crime rates? Clearly not.

Have you got a point? Clearly not.

[Al B. Sure!]

Some facts on LA that MikeH apparently isn't aware of, all courtesy Wikipedia:

Black or African American: 9.9%

(this one surprised me. I didn't realize there were so few Blacks in LA.

Median household income: $48,610
Mean household income: $76,557

For comparison, here's Philly:

Black or African American: 43.5%

The median income for a household in the city was $30,746, and the median income for a family was $37,036. The per capita income for the city was $16,509. About 18.4% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line,

Which city do you think would be more likely to have race riots? The one with 8% Black population or 43%? How about the one with the 22.9% poverty rate or the city with a median household income of nearly $50K?

Well, MikeH? Would it surprise you that neither city has had a race riot in decades?

[Provost Harrison]

LA's murder rate is 8 per 100,000, for comparison.

London is just over 2. London has also had big budget cuts.

[Provost Harrison]

Britain and France have tiny muder rates compared to LA or Philly, but you are claiming we're constantly in a state of racist hate riots. So if that were true wouldn't it disprove your theory?

We're also less affluent. But have less crime.

Does murder rate reflect affluence? Clearly not.
Are all areas of LA equally safe/dangerous and equally rich and equally likely to riot? Clearly not.
Do all areas of LA have consistent crime rates? Clearly not.

Have you got a point? Clearly not.

To be fair Mike, the issue here may be that the US, on average is more affluent, but there is a much greater disparity...

[MikeH]

I bet you didn't read my post before 'cause of a cross post. But I'll add these:

1. Is LA a giant sprawling metropolis with many varied distinct areas?
2. Do all those areas have the same split of racial types?
3. Do they all have the same median household income?
4. Did I ever dispute that Philly was a poor crime ridden **** hole?
5. Have you got any evidence, at all, anything one tiny scrap of evidence that directly links poverty or percentage of minority of population with propensity to riot? Other than a vague feeling in your brain that some poor places with racial mixes of populations might riot?