America’s most dangerous city in 2010 needs to ‘stop being stupid’
Tim Doty
– Copy Editor –
Congratulations, St. Louis! The home of the 10-time World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, toasted ravioli, actor Jon Hamm and actress Jenna Fischer, music artists Nelly and Chuck Berry, and the Gateway Arch was the most dangerous city in the United States in 2010. Isn’t that wonderful?
It shouldn’t be.
While it might sound cool to say, “Hey, I live in the most dangerous city in America,” the attitude should not be prideful. Nearly every year, St. Louis, Mo. is in the top 10 of either worst, most dangerous or most miserable cities in the country. While my hometown may not have as much notoriety as Chicago, New York or Los Angeles for crime, it is still sad this city is ranked so high on these lists every year.
A recent study by CQ Press shows that St. Louis has slightly over 2,000 “violent crimes per 100,000 residents.” This is compared to a national average of about 430. These violent crimes consist of not only murder but also other incidents such as rape, assault, car theft and burglary. The list only dealt with “violent crimes;” drugs were apparently not a factor in this compilation. Categories of crimes that had to do with drugs, whether it is hallucinogenic or narcotic, dealing or possession was not included in this list.
Last time I checked, drugs are dangerous. Other than the harmful side effects on the user, they can inadvertently also cause violence. Also, with Missouri’s notoriety of being called by some the meth lab capital of the United States, I can only imagine how many more crimes would show on the list if they had included drug-related incidents.
Another note of interest in the list from CQ Press is that it did not distinguish numbers between St. Louis and East St. Louis, Ill., which is quite significant. They were both lumped under St. Louis.
They did, however, separate Kansas City, Kan. and Kansas City, Mo. and broke apart Gary, Ind. and Chicago, Ill. With Gary, Ind. having carried the title of murder capital of the United States a few years back, not including them with Chicago is interesting to say the least.
Why was East St. Louis, a city in a different state than Missouri, not given its own ranking? Even though St. Louis does have its fair share (probably more than it should) of crime, it would have been interesting to note how many of these 2,000 crimes happened in East St. Louis and how many unfortunate events took place west of the Mississippi.
I’m not trying to place blame on any certain area of St. Louis. It’s a shame that we “won” this award, and we did it together. I am tired of tuning into the local news every night and hearing about another gang shooting or another violent rape.
Then the next story comes up and it’s another murder. I am aware that people die every day. Bad things happen. It is inevitable; it is unstoppable.
It would take a group effort to help extinguish some crimes in St. Louis. We can do one thing to help lower these numbers: stop being stupid.
Another gang murder, another robbery or another drug deal is just plain stupid and it will not solve any problems. There are better answers than retaliation or popping another pill or taking something from its rightful owner. Don’t do drugs, don’t shoot people (unless for self-defense), and don’t steal. These are things we (might) have been taught, but it doesn’t seem to be reflected at all on society in general. The solution is much, much easier said than done, but it can’t be that difficult, can it?
