Baltimore: Anatomy of an American City | Fault Lines

Im a white male. In 2002 I got lost, walking in Baltimore. Wandered into some pretty rough neighborhoods. Black people on every corner. Was offered various kinds of drugs multiple times. Not very comfortable, to say it mildly. But soon realized that all I had to do was to say: No! And the dealers walked to the next pedestrian without a word. They were selling a product to those willing to buy. Plain and simple. Since I wasnt taken for a cop (Im overweight and always using sweatshirts and sweatpants) there was no hostility either. Back at my hotelroom at the Days Inn Inner Harbour after hailing a cab, I pondered the fear I felt for a few minutes, and wondered how people become after living in the ghetto for years, feeling unsafe all the time. It must be HELL.

I was born in Baltimore in 1980s. My son will never set foot there. Every parent owes it to their child to get as far as possible from that town.

Coming from the inner city high rise projects of Baltimore (34 years) I know that the city can change. Stop looking for someone outside to bring change and just do it yourselves. So many of us have gone away from helping the elderly to build self worth within. We step over or keep walking by with blinders on, or look at situations just as entertainment value. I myself, very guilty of the very thing that I'm referring to. At least I'm becoming aware and taking action to change, not just identifying. I've had my run in with the law being young and dumb, but their comes a time when ignorance is no longer a defense.

The Mayor has no idea what is going on in the city of Baltimore!

This was back in 2012. Fast forward to 2015 and the murder rate is the highest it's been for 20 years!!!

I had a problem living in the hood, bad lifestyle, no direction, no future. I had kids, saw where it was heading. I moved out. Problem solved...

It is tragic that there is a group of people who think that a life of crime and prison is their future. I do see the breakdown of the family unit in these neighborhoods where people are having kids with lots of different people, kids wit no guidance. How do we fix it? My hubby and I married young in college with nothing, supported ourselves with little money and built a great life. The difference? It's what we knew. Kids mirror their future on what they grow up seeing. My kids are following me.

Outsourcing all the jobs doesn't help much in the 70s it was a working class city.

The irony with there not being businesses and jobs in these areas is the violence that has driven them out and that keeps them away. I was watching a show about Philadelphia and the businesses managing to hang on in the bad areas were constantly victims of robbery and violence. I sure wouldn't put a business where I would get targeted for violence.

Funny Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said during the riots a few years ago " Give those who wish to destroy, space to do that". She has added to the despair and destruction of a once great city and it's people.

I wonder how many people commenting here watched the entire video before commenting? This issue is not simple, it's complex, it's not recent, it began before many of the commenters were born.

Funny how all those guys making sad faces on camera have no problem killing and robbing their own people. They only look sorry when they are caught.

Its not a race issue anymore,its a class issue.

I loved Baltimore as a child but by the time I got to my mid twenties, I realized that most people make situations negative. Jealousy, envy, greed, and lust makes them act like children and they stay that way their entire lives. When I realized this, I slowly began to lose my love for this place. They are creating their own situation and then pointing the finger at someone else. I'll admit I've made mistakes but I corrected myself and moved on. I cannot say the same for a Baltimorean/moron.

Ah, I see, you wanna do some "Who's the the better race" comparing shit, but the funny thing is you never denied any of it, therefore I stand by my comment. Every race has rapists, murderers, drug dealers and so on, don't ever try to make another race look bad while your race is on some crazy shit also.

PEOPLE!!!! STOP. don't over complicate this. Three simple words can solve ALL this..... Raise. Your. Children. Not over night but for God sakes! Break the cycle! I get that these folks are disadvantaged, but one of these generations has to step up and put their kids prosperity at the forefront of all they do. I define my success as my children's sucess. If they fail, I failed. Accountability is a big ass pill to swallow when your consumed with your own selfish desires. and then compound the problem because your brainwashed into hopelessness thinking you will always and forever be a 'victim' by the system.

The guy who blames the government is the perfect example of why nothing changes. They are waiting for the big hand of Uncle Sam to reach down and fix things? The fathers are in jail for their bad choices. And what is that guy doing to change things? Just venting and blaming does nothing. It is possible to stay in school and get scholarships and loans to college despite living in poverty. My parents gave me $125 a month for rent and I worked and paid my tuition and books and food. It is possible.

I understand that some people have it harder then others. But people are still responsible for their own actions. Criminals cant always blame the system for the mistakes they made.

At what point do these people take responsibility? That's what adults with integrity do.

i just think one of the biggest problems is parents don't know how to have any kind of control these days ....especially when there no father figure around