[Undecided 2012]

I worked in a hood probably way way worse than yours for 20+ years and can tell you there are some good people there trapped mostly older respectful folks. Please don’t write them all off.

[Steve_Seattle]

I live in a suburb just north of Seattle, and I'd say about 90% of the derelicts are white. Most of the blacks are recent immigrants with a completely different ethos than many American-born blacks. In fact, I know an immigrant from Kenya - a nurse - who is appalled by American black "culture." The immigrants usually keep their nose to the grindstone, and a lot of them work in the lower- echelons of the health care system, in nursing homes and such. But some are already beginning to move up the ladder.

As for the white derelicts in my area, most are probably addicted to drugs of one sort or another, and/or are mentally ill. Just yesterday, driving to the store in a chilly 45-degree rain, I saw a 20-something white male dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, grinning widely as he sort of hopped across the road. I think one of the consequences of the legalization of marijuana and other softening of drug laws is that the stigma of drug use and addiction is lowered or eliminated. ("It can't be wrong if it's legal.")

So people who otherwise might have avoided serious drug dependency are much more prone to become users. Even the so-called "safe" drug - marijuana - can trigger psychosis and paranoia in some, and is a huge de-motivator for productive social engagement. (I know from personal experience in my younger days.) I can't prove a connection, but it seems that the recent wave of homelessness followed on the heels of the legalization of marijuana. It also coincided with the demonization of "whiteness" in the schools and the media.

[Roman_War_Criminal]

I believe my comment left room for some hope.

Not all were like I described, but I’d say about 95% were.

It’s hard to remember the good when the bad outweighed them by a long shot.

And to be clear so there isn’t room for misinterpretation, that mentality is cultural, not racial. I see the same nasty spirit of hopelessness in meth-addicts living in trailer parks.

[Semper Vigilantis]

Agreed. Trash comes in all colors.