Downtown night events becoming too dangerous?

[monsoon]

Apparently a very violent fight that broke out in the middle of the crowd celebrating New Year's eve in downtown Charlotte last weekend. I notice there has been little media coverage of it this time for some reason, but the fight involved about a dozen thugs and had the potential of causing another riot similar to that that occured on July 4th.

There is discussion this week of putting police on horses in order to combate these thugs that persist in destroying what used to be very safe, fun and peaceful events, but there are no decisions on that. The Police have also apparently purchased some paddy wagons where they can haul off a bunch of these people in one shot instead of 1 thug/police car. They plan to show these off to the public sometime in the next couple of weeks.

So the question is, do you think events downtown (uptown to some) at night, that are free to the public are becoming too dangerous to attend?

[dubone]

There are violent fights at some point in most high schools, malls, bars, and downtown mainstreets. It doesn't have any meaning other than a few people got mad at eachother and didn't control themselves.

Boys will be boys.

[appatone]

This time the fight was on camera, it just looked like a few thugs got mad at each other and threw some punches. Seeing it on TV, I certainly wouldn't be scared of attending any future uptown events because of a fight or two. Cops on horse back would be cool, I don't know if it would be necessary but I like the look. Think about this, Mardi Gras is so violent and screwy that the COPS tv show has shows exclusivly dedicated to it. That doesn't stop people from flocking to Bourban St. I'm not saying I would ever want our events to be like that but any event like this will have some fights break out. You get 90,000 drunks together and sometimes your bound to have some punches thrown somewhere. We were just lucky to have no fights break out here for so many years.

[sleightofhand]

Did any of you walk out to Tryon Street at around midnight?

It was a thug convention. I've never seen so many thugs out uptown in my life.

I know we had a thug problem back in the summer but I think the police did a good job of getting it under control in a timely manner.

I would be all for paddy wagons or cops on horseback but I think it's only necessary for big events like July 4th or New Years Eve.

[Southernyank]

Did any of you walk out to Tryon Street at around midnight?

It was a thug convention. I've never seen so many thugs out uptown in my life.

I know we had a thug problem back in the summer but I think the police did a good job of getting it under control in a timely manner.

I would be all for paddy wagons or cops on horseback but I think it's only necessary for big events like July 4th or New Years Eve.

Did you see anyone getting arrested for violence or something? Just wondering how you made the distinction that they were thugs instead of people who were just out to have a good time on friday night like most others.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

You get 90,000 drunks together and sometimes your bound to have some punches thrown somewhere. We were just lucky to have no fights break out here for so many years.

What about NASCAR races? 200,000 fans and no violence. More than 90,000 of those fans drink a bit.

I don't think Speedstreet really has any problems with rioting and violent brawls.

[Norm2]

There were a lot of black and latino people uptown on news years eve, if anything white was the minority that night I think, but to me that was cool, shows Charlotte is becoming diverse.

[metropolitan]

I think sleightofhand's comments are reactionary and shallow...how do you identify who's a thug and who's not? If someone dresses differently from you, are they a thug? If they're Afr-Am, are they a thug? Charlotte IS becomming more diverse, and I think that's in the best interests of the city. Anytime you mix large #s of people in a holiday celebratory mood, and alcohol, you're going to have edginess. That's just a fact of urban living. The alternative, think 5 - 8 yrs ago....a sterile downtown a la Ballantyne on steroids. No thanks.

[archiham04]

I think sleightofhand's comments are reactionary and shallow...how do you identify who's a thug and who's not? If someone dresses differently from you, are they a thug? If they're Afr-Am, are they a thug? Charlotte IS becomming more diverse, and I think that's in the best interests of the city. Anytime you mix large #s of people in a holiday celebratory mood, and alcohol, you're going to have edginess. That's just a fact of urban living. The alternative, think 5 - 8 yrs ago....a sterile downtown a la Ballantyne on steroids. No thanks.

I was down there that night. sleightofhand's comment was very similar to the comments made by my friends from out of town the next day. I know this is a very touchy subject... but it is a reality. There were a LOT of people downtown that night that do not go down there on a regular basis. I felt uncomfortable at times. There were carrying on in a very confrontational manner. These people were in my opinion "thugs". People that walk down the street gesturing to strangers without concern for politeness or decency are provoking retaliation. These people are thugs. Regardless of skin color.

[orulz]

I was down there that night. sleightofhand's comment was very similar to the comments made by my friends from out of town the next day. I know this is a very touchy subject... but it is a reality. There were a LOT of people downtown that night that do not go down there on a regular basis. I felt uncomfortable at times. There were carrying on in a very confrontational manner. These people were in my opinion "thugs". People that walk down the street gesturing to strangers without concern for politeness or decency are provoking retaliation. These people are thugs. Regardless of skin color.

I was one of those people out uptown who does not go there on a regular basis. Asides from the cops (they had on riot gear, but didn't seem to be putting down any riots) I saw no evidence of any major altercations.

I also didn't really notice a whole lot of "thugs" either. Then again, I wasn't really scanning the crowd for them either, nor was I out on Tryon at midnight. There were just a lot of people out and about everywhere you looked. Pretty much everyone I saw seemed like they were out to have a good time, rather than to cause trouble.

[kennethlin]

I don't think Uptown is becoming too much too dangerous. Yes, crime has been up recently and throughout 2005, however, you also have to account for the fact that Charlotte, on the whole, has grown at a steady pace within the last few years. Couple that with how society portrays parenting today, and how parents can no longer touch their children when they do something inappropriate, you got crime. As long as this keeps going on, crime will not get any better, no matter what is being implemented to control it. One day, as the laws keep getting more lax, we will surely see more teens and young adults rob, mug, kill, rape, and fight purely for the sake of proving they can do it and get away with it. Especially with gangs today (what is it? 44 known gangs in CLT now, with just 12 in 2004?), it will become which members belong by proving he/she can commit a crime and get away with it. These days, it's all due to parents giving too much control to their kids and letting them have whatever they want. Sorry to say, but if that does happen to the USA, that will be the day that I will be leaving this country for good to a place where laws won't allow people to get away with heinous crime left and right. Right now, it's all isolated...can't say about the future.

[voyager12]

I think it comes down to crowd control regardless of socioeconomic makeup. I was not there New Years Eve but have never felt unsafe in Uptown. Rich drunk people can be just as dangerous as their poor opposites. The people that go there need to be more diverse. One of Creative Loafing's wishes for Charlotte in the last issue was for the restaurant owners and bars to stop obsessing on the Southpark, Ballanytne market and encourage all groups to go Uptown.

[NCtarheel]

Anytime you get tens of thousands of people together there is bound to be some sort of fight if alcohol is involved. you can just about count on it. I'm sure there are incidents during speedweek....I refuse to believe 200,000 rowdy, drunk sports fans can party without a fight. This incident is nothing surprising...lke someone else said its just part of a more urban environment. Worst part about it though is that it gives the perception that uptown is dangerous when in actuality its not. I live in philadlephia now...and trust me there are 5 times more 'thugs' here than in charlotte--but ive never had any sort of problem. Most people are out to have a good time and aren't really trying to bother anybody. If people feel uncomfortable around it (even when there is no real indication of a 'threat') then i say its a personal problem. Sit at home and watch Dick Clark next time.