By now you've already heard about the older dude who was stabbed to death downtown on Sunday Morning. Because the TV news wasn't immediately shoving a camera in the face of his grieving relatives I'm going to assume the guy was a homeless bum or some facsimile thereof . . . And since the death didn't involve an attractive, affluent younger white woman it's safe to assume that in a couple of days no one will care. Also . . . Who gets stabbed to death nowadays, anyway besides cheating husbands or Asian housewives?
But this recent downtown homicide points to a simple question: When (if ever) is Dowtown going to be safe for the so-called "renaissance?"
Already, Kansas City has put HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS toward the cause of downtown redevelopment and the same old bumfights are going on unhampered.
So when is the magic day coming that Downtown goes FROM a slightly dangerous haven for panhandlers and employees wanting to rush back to the suburbs TO a densely populated, safe, family friendly, tourist and shopping destination totally devoid of the wretched poor and minorities?
I know it's not going to happen overnight but I think some kind of timeline is in order . . . At least in this case, there are no insurgents who will be emboldened by giving a date, unless you're counting Cheeseburger Jerry.
I ask this question because once people know that date they might be more inclined to justifiably let their guard down. In the meantime, I always advise people not to believe the hype about Downtown and to realize that there are still plenty of dangerous, mentally unstable homeless bums in the vicinity that aren't friendly hobos from the 30's singing songs and playing the harmonica but actually are people with real problems, knifes and not a hell of a lot to lose.
So, in the meantime, as always, be careful and don't believe all of these stories about how drastically different Kansas City will be after whatever corporate entity gets their TIF money for their construction project. As of yet, there is no plan to get all of the bums and dregs of humanity out of downtown and that's an unpleasant fact that KC leaders will have to deal with at some point before or after someone this town cares about (i.e. rich and white) is murdered.
those are the hobos that live under the bridge by dennys and 670.
ReplyDeleteAll the rest of us downtowners were asleep in our beds dreaming dreams of 'splendid isolation'.
Please Tony, tell us where this dream utopia exists. It sure as hell isn't any major downtown in this country.
ReplyDeleteAre we supposed to be aiming for reality or some dreamscape that only exists in your imagination?
Tony,
ReplyDeleteI agree, it's only a matter of time before something very bad happens to a yuppie or hipster tourist visiting downtown KC. That in itself would be tragic.
The problem really hits hard for KC when the tourists dry up afterwards and the City is on the hook for hundreds of millions in bonds. The Sprint arena and the Power & Light district are just the latest in the continuing string of FUBAR moves by the City of KCMO.
How can a city with a 1% tax on earnings (whether you live or work in the city), property taxes and sales taxes be this strapped for money? 1 word--Mismanagement!
I always make sure to honk the shit out of my horn (I have a truck with an air horn) when I drive under the viaduct on 670 by Denny's. Wakes all those homeless people up. It's fun.
ReplyDeleteBefore you sell your misconceptions on how "unsafe" downtown is, take a look at the rest of the metro area. As a resident of the area with “plenty of dangerous, mentally unstable homeless bums in the vicinity that aren't friendly hobos from the 30's singing songs and playing the harmonica but actually are people with real problems, knifes and not a hell of a lot to lose” and enthusiast of the revitalized commercial interest in the area I have yet to feel unsafe after living here for almost 2 years. Unimaginable to a person of your apparent distrust in anything that is a contrast to suburbia, I’ve walked from the River Market to my apartment in the Crossroads at 2:00 in the morning, stopped to get a coffee along the way and my only interruption was waiting for the traffic lights to change. Was I harassed for money or held up a gun point, the answer is no, I believe there are more then a few people who can’t say the same thing for such highly regarded areas such as the Plaza.
ReplyDeleteTry that near Bannister or on the SE side.
ReplyDelete