. . . as a past city slogan goes.

I am a current resident of Baltimore. I've lived here for 8 years, and I must say, that transplants to Baltimore are a site more optimistic about its present and future than long-time residents. Baltimore is actually a great city, if you can see past the crime and the incredibly bad school system.

In fact, it’s all too easy to see past the crime and schools. As a single person with no kids, I have no personal reason to care about education in the city, and parents with middle-class incomes are willing to sacrifice to send their kids to private schools. The most violent crimes mostly affect those who are in or adjacent to the drug trade-- something most middle class and affluent residents have no knowledge about. (Everyone-- and I mean, EVERYONE-- is affected by petty property crimes. As one friend said, in Baltimore, we really only lease our property and the lease's end will be a complete surprise. New residents may think: surely no one would steal those white, cheap-ass plastic Walmart patio chairs. THINK THE HELL AGAIN!) Baltimore is definitely in transition. It's a crossroads, situated in the Mid-Atlantic where all of your goods and drugs going west, north, and, south traverse.

While the middle class can easily ignore the worst that Baltimore has to offer (because the good things it has to offer are so, so, numerous-- REALLY), Baltimore will never become a first-class city without tackling the seemingly intractable problems of drugs, crime, and education. It is too easy a solution, as the current O'Malley administration has demonstrated, to just lock up thousands of poor, Black youths to reduce the crime statistics. Certainly, crime will go down in the short-term, but in the long term, the administration is only perpetuating fatherless homes, and creating yet ANOTHER generation of people without any direction whatsoever.

We've got to figure out what to do with the poor, drug-addicted, uneducated underclass in this city. Right now, we are telling them that they don't matter, that their suffering is acceptable, that if they aren't middle class professionals or recent, undocumented, cheap labor, then they have absolutely no place and no value to this city. This should be unacceptable to everyone who calls Baltimore home.

The article was pretty spot on about Baltimore. There are some gems to the city though. Maryland Institute of Art is quite a prestigious school. There is also a great symphony hall and theater. As well as a terrific ArtScape every summer. Some people finding Wash D.C. much to expensive to live in are living in Baltimore instead and taking the train into the Capitol. Down to earth Baltimore can be quite a refreshing change from pretentious, over-caffeinated Wash D.C. No pretentions there. The city has its problems though. White flight in both cities are both blamed on whites. The claim being that whites are just to racist to live and go to school with blacks. Actually whites are racially harassed out of historically black areas. As a white, I've been subjected to much taunting from blacks just for walking down the street in broad daylight. White residents apartments and cars are targeted too. You can't send a white kid to a black school without the kid being beaten up. It isn't really safe. People who have never lived in large East Coast cities don't understand this. West Coast holier than thou liberals don't understand that white flight was a response to black on white crime. East Coast cities are much more interesting to look at visually than the suburbs or any western cities like Denver, which always struck me as homogenous and bland in comparison. Whites would love to live in cities but we know we're targets.

I've seen un upside lately. Bill Clinton's decision to put a 5 year lifelong limit on welfare has helped the black community more than anything. The effects of this law are taking place now. I see much more young black males and females on college that I saw 10 or 15 years ago. Dropping out of school at 15 to have a baby and start the welfare career is no longer an option. Even people from subsidized housing are improving their lives and building better futures now that they are going to have to rely on themselves, not government handouts.

I grew up in an area near Baltimore that had about a 75% black school population. All amounts of aid and scholarships and mentorships were available. This was during the 1970's. You cannot claim that blacks in Maryland were neglected. More money got spent on that school district by far than the wealthier white counterparts. But most of the students ended up dropping out and getting on welfare. So cutting off welfare was what is actually starting to work.

No name, do you have any stats to back up ANY of your assertions? Whites being racially harrassed out of historically black neighborhoods? All white kids being beaten up at black schools?

I can't speak to the first, but I've taught at three schools in Baltimore now...and the very few white students there are treated just fine by the black majority. You're speaking through your own racialist viewpoint.

I grew up in around Baltimore. Also taught at a local high school. Spent my high school days in the city: Marble Bar, Berthas, Club Charles, 8 x 10, MW Tavern and an occasional yard of brew at the Belvedere. We saw John Waters a few times at club chuck chatting it up at the bar with the purple mohawk crowd. I wonder if those places are still around. Calvert Hall and Dulaney had the best lax teams. It was just around the same time the harborplace was opening. I lived around Charles and North Ave. a couple years later and had 5 car stereos stolen in 8 weeks. The roaches from the old 2110 club tried to grow as large as the rats in the alley, but the restaurants in the neighborhood and the theater up the street were supurb. I was sad to learn that ole Natty Bo demised. I've got a bunch a old Natty Bo Preakness cans somwehere. Think I'll ship over some crab cakes and toast the land of pleasant living.