100 years ago, Cleveland, Ohio was a dangerous place.
Every story on the front page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on May 1, 1919 had to do with the May Day Riots. The city was at war with the Socialists. (And Communists. And Anarchists. And Unionists.)
100 years later, there are still conflicting reports as to what happened that day. Bombings and acts of violence related to the May Day Riots reverberated throughout Cleveland for another DECADE.
42 years ago, Cleveland, Ohio was a dangerous place.
Cleveland was torn asunder by mob violence. Bombings were common and the city was in the death throes of the Mob Era. The killing of Danny Greene was so symbolic of the fall of the mob culture in America that they made a Hollywood Movie of the story.
Today, Cleveland, Ohio is a dangerous place.
Cleveland is often cited as one of the most dangerous places in America. Places like Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Oakland, and Baltimore have consistently rotated atop America's crime charts for over the past decade. Just yesterday, the mayor's Great-Grandson was arrested for shooting at the police. Now the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which only circulates 3 days a week now, was all over the Mayoral Corruption on its online platform cleveland.com.....
Wait.
I could have sworn I saw that story on cleveland.com.
Scroll,
Scroll,
Scroll,
Oh, here it is.
Criminals with Cleveland City Hall ties and you get a 300 word blurb in the Crime Section?
Either Cleveland is all of a sudden a much safer place (it isn't),
Or no one is reporting on what should be a national story..
Cleveland has averaged over a 100 homicides a year for the past 5 years, the longest such spike since the mid-1990's -Cleveland Scene
Maybe cleveland.com's philosophy is if you don't report on crime, it isn't there.
Oh, and if don't like their style of reporting, you don't get to say anything about it (on their platform).
Editor's Note: We looked up some stats at the Office of Criminal Justice Services.
In 1990, the population of Cleveland was 505,616 and there were 168 homicides.
Simple math, about 1 homicide per 3010 residents.
In 2006, the year of Jackson's Inauguration, the population of Cleveland was 438,888 and there were 90 homicides. Simple math, about 1 in 4875 residents
In 2017, the population of Cleveland was 385,351 and there were 107 homicides.
Simple math, about 1 in 3600 residents.
Now homicide rates are not a perfect indicator of crime statistics, but it is clear that population has SHRUNK during Jackson's tenure while the homicide rate is UP.
Yet he keeps getting elected. Cleveland.com says he's doing a nice job....
I'm going to regret doing it, but I'm going to check out cleveland.com on Facebook. They HAVE to have more to say on the topic.
They don't, but there's a lot of unverified comments that do shed more light on the situation.
Some commentators want to know what Frank Jackson's family has to do with Frank Jackson? Uh, there's a big difference between family members getting into trouble and family members shooting at the city's police force. I'm kind of at a loss of words as I read the comments section. I am also referred to other confirmed court cases.
2015 - “We are apologizing to the family and to the citizens of Cleveland for our poor use of those words and our insensitivity,” Jackson said, making clear that the new filing would differ not in substance but only in the “use of words.” Jackson... then compar(ed) his grandson to Tamir Rice, while continuing to cover up for the shooting and denying any responsibility by the city. -wsws.org
Did someone say Tamir Rice?
ARTICLE OVER!
Just an unrelated funny aside, about a month ago I wrote the article Committing Suicide Like a Champ.
Though not really about suicide, the story was meant to be a cautionary tale about climbing Mt. Everest. If you return to the top screen grab, the Cleveland.com Top News stories, there was an ad about challenging yourself in the Himalayas. EVERY SINGLE DAY I see climbing ads because of the research I did for that article.
I think the internet really does want me to kill myself.