Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The photo with the 2 guys at Fremont street, one is one of the guys that work for the homeless, he's the one that's wearing the monks robe. I'm betting the other guy works for them too, volunteering. They were carrying signs to help open another homeless shelter. They weren't carrying signs like "will work for beer." Like you see on street corners.
As for the dude/dudette wannabe in Austin, that is just funny. lol And guys like him can be found in all 50 states. I'm going to have to ask some of my family that lives in Austin what they think of that guy.
That's one I'm gonna have to beg to differ on- no one ever lost their life savings, their home, or their marriage from putting too much money into a Coke machine waiting for the bottle to come out.....
Bob, you said more in one sentence than I could after a lifetime of writing....
Healthy communities shield, or at least attempt to help, their fellow man.
This is what you see lacking in Las Vegas. There is no overarching concern
for the locals by organizations and people who could make a difference.
If the entire city lost their collective life savings, they would add it to their
bottom line, and proceed to recruit another load of locals, with an obvious
bias towards the unskilled, illegal, and weak. There have been incidents where people lie dying on the strip, with folks apathetically walking past,
as if they weren't quite real. Most would admit that itis a harsh environment
for ADULTS, let alone impressionable children.......
So, to sum, a child grows up in Las Vegas thinking the followng:
1.) There are slot machines in most public places. People put money in,
hoping to win more money. It is normal to do this with regularity.
It's normal for regular people to sometimes lose a lot of money.
2.) Stay away from tourists. There are lots of them. They are all strangers.
3.) Most of them are at a place called the strip. This is not a place for
It is a real shame so many put Las Vegas down for so many different reasons.
I have posted before about not thinking it is an easy place to find real devoted, loyal friends, but, I don't HATE Vegas.
I have lived here 29 years. All of my nieces and nephews were born and raised here. They all have been straight A students, on the honor roll. The ones old enough have matured into young respectful adults, holding respectful jobs.
There are many things to enjoy as a family with children in Vegas. They have been mentioned many times on these threads. We have the outdoor activities, but also our children can be involved in all sorts of things, just as they are in any other city. Let's just name a few, Ballet, gymnastics, ice skating, volleyball, soccer, basketball, football, hockey, girl scouts, boy erthoughscouts, karate, etc, etc. We need to get our children involved. Raising our children is our responsibility. Regardless what city we live in, they learn from the parents, not the strip, or downtown.
Yes, movie theaters are in most casinos. There is nothing wrong with walking your child through a casino to a theater. My gosh, I think a child watching "Bratts" on TV learn a lot more bad habits, and disrespect then they do seeing how a cocktail waitress dresses.
TV is the biggest influence on children, NOT Las Vegas.
I have known many children that have grown up here, and I have not met one that has become a hooker. Most large cities have their faults, Las Vegas is not immune to those faults, but Las Vegas does offer quite a bit for our children to do, off of the strip, just as any city does.
Again, it is the parents responsibility to raise the children with the correct morals and ethics. If the parents are raising the children correctly, and being an involved parent, Las Vegas can be a great place for a growing family, atnd the children won't steer away in the wrong direction.
I think we can put it this way. Las Vegas certainly is not on the radar as a great city to raise a family. It is only on the national radar as a great place for someone to find a decent paying semi-skilled job, or to make slightly more in a working-class occupation vis-a-vis other cities. That is the attraction, and those whose need of a living-wage job supercedes the need for a first-class environment for their children will choose Vegas. I would imagine most parents really try hard to make things as normal as possible for their kids. Seeing that Las Vegas and Nevada skews near the bottom in many vital social stats, it is, and will continue to be, a losing battle. There is an abject lack of a decent school system, libraries, public parks, rec facilities, and community participation, all things that very much matter in the growth and nurturance of a child. I believe locals are an afterthought to the power structure in Las Vegas. The children of the locals most of all. Hard to say what is sadder, that it happens at all, or that the locals let it happen without fighting it........................................
Last edited by southwest1230; 11-01-2007 at 04:26 AM..
I am STILL confused about WHEN it became a Cities fault that a person became addicted to LEGAL gambling....[I guess when they lived in NY or Keokuk or wherever, they weren't addicted to ILLEGAL gambling]
At what poit in time to addicts take personal aresponsibility for their actions?
I think that Vegas encourages gambling problems just a wee bit more than typical for most cities. If any other city tried to put slots in all the retail establishments, the local gov't would be run out of town. My emphasis is in shielding LOCALS from slots and such. The gaming corporations make enough from out-of-area folks to avoid trying to cop extra bucks from the local working folks.
ok...i finally had some time to address this post:
sw1230...you live or lived in autin, tx. why don't you focus your energy there? this photo is of what was referred to as an Austin icon:
Moderator cut: image removed
how is this different than anything LV has to offer?
the pics you put up show two men on fremont st who may or may not be homeless....they look like the people who are always preaching to me, kinda like what you are doing. and yet you refer to them as 'freaks'. (just as you referred NLV residents as 100% animals and cocktail waitresses as tittering).
please, keep your close minded, prejudiced heart to yourself. we have no need for it here.
if you are truly interested in your fellow man in YOUR community, here is a link for you:
given your proficency w/ finding things to complain about, i am sure you can find others in your areas.
That pic was taken in DT Austin. It is a pic of a drag queen. I understand that Frank Marino has grossed millions doing the same on stage in Vegas for years. Perhaps this gentleman should work with Mr. Marino on getting a stage act together. It would be a huge hit with the Asian tourists! BTW, t hat pic was hilarious! I think I saw that dude at a street festival DT here. I'd be the first to admit that Austin is a bad place to raise kids as well. Still a lot better than Vegas, though!
Bob, you said more in one sentence than I could after a lifetime of writing....
Healthy communities shield, or at least attempt to help, their fellow man.
This is what you see lacking in Las Vegas. There is no overarching concern
for the locals by organizations and people who could make a difference.
If the entire city lost their collective life savings, they would add it to their
bottom line, and proceed to recruit another load of locals, with an obvious
bias towards the unskilled, illegal, and weak. There have been incidents where people lie dying on the strip, with folks apathetically walking past,
as if they weren't quite real. Most would admit that itis a harsh environment
for ADULTS, let alone impressionable children.......
So, to sum, a child grows up in Las Vegas thinking the followng:
1.) There are slot machines in most public places. People put money in,
hoping to win more money. It is normal to do this with regularity.
It's normal for regular people to sometimes lose a lot of money.
2.) Stay away from tourists. There are lots of them. They are all strangers.
3.) Most of them are at a place called the strip. This is not a place for
well, clearly he said more than you could....you repeat everything and never say anything new or of merit.
did answer any of my previous questions? no? yeah...that's what i thought. ignorance and cowardice often go hand in hand.
let me lay it out for you...i will try to use small words.
sw1230's concern for her fellow man is dubious at best...please see her previous posts to illustrate her strong biases and prejudices against those that she clearly looks down upon because they don't conform to her misguided moral code (apparently her fellow man are composed solely of suburbanites). this pedestal of hers has gotten annoying.
she doesn't have anything to back up her arguments, save for a closed mind and an over abundance of time.
i give her one more chance to defend her position: this may be news to you sw1230, but in the real world, you have to provide evidence to back up your claims...even this forum's biggest outspoken critic of LV (aka sheriff) provides legitimate links and sources to back up his arguments. sw1230, please show everyone here the courtesy of doing the same:
-cite my example of Austin...is that your definition of a healthy community?
-where do you get your info for local LV organizations and people w/ no concern? sounds like more rhetoric to me.
-BIGGEST PROBLEM: cite an example of someone dying on the strip where no concern was shown? really? when? where? i know she can't - she is a COWARD hiding behind the anonymity of the keyboard and making exaggerated claims. the only place i know of that happening was in the king harbor ER in LA..and it was horrible and it made the national news....surely if this happened at a major tourist destination there would be a record of it. sheriff would use it as his crowning arguement. prove me wrong.
sw1230: your summation of vegas does little to prove your point...you are now just embarrassing yourself and wasting our time.
rebuttal:
1. exactly...people here (kids included) know that you can lose your $ in slot machines...in fact, kids growing up here and seeing that probably have a better appreciation for the negative side of gambling that kids anywhere else.
2. really? tourists are strangers? maybe that's cause they are tourists!!! The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited". no crap they are strangers...why would kids learning to avoid people they don't know be a bad thing?
*at this point, we have the LV smart, socially conscious kids 2:sw1230 zero
3. tourists at the strip..oh my god!!! that is like tourists at disney land..we should ban that place too! it is full of strangers (aka tourists). i'd add more, but she never finished her statement....
in short, sw1230: if you want to be taken seriously, you need to provide some evidence for your claims...you can't just make blanket statements and expect people to take them as fact.
*and yeah...its 345am, i just got back from halloween on fremont. i apologize to the regulars for any incoherent thoughts or rambling statements, but i had a blast! i'll try to get some pics up sometime
well, clearly he said more than you could....you repeat everything and never say anything new or of merit.
did answer any of my previous questions? no? yeah...that's what i thought. ignorance and cowardice often go hand in hand.
let me lay it out for you...i will try to use small words.
sw1230's concern for her fellow man is dubious at best...please see her previous posts to illustrate her strong biases and prejudices against those that she clearly looks down upon because they don't conform to her misguided moral code (apparently her fellow man are composed solely of suburbanites). this pedestal of hers has gotten annoying.
she doesn't have anything to back up her arguments, save for a closed mind and an over abundance of time.
i give her one more chance to defend her position: this may be news to you sw1230, but in the real world, you have to provide evidence to back up your claims...even this forum's biggest outspoken critic of LV (aka sheriff) provides legitimate links and sources to back up his arguments. sw1230, please show everyone here the courtesy of doing the same:
-cite my example of Austin...is that your definition of a healthy community?
-where do you get your info for local LV organizations and people w/ no concern? sounds like more rhetoric to me.
-BIGGEST PROBLEM: cite an example of someone dying on the strip where no concern was shown? really? when? where? i know she can't - she is a COWARD hiding behind the anonymity of the keyboard and making exaggerated claims. the only place i know of that happening was in the king harbor ER in LA..and it was horrible and it made the national news....surely if this happened at a major tourist destination there would be a record of it. sheriff would use it as his crowning arguement. prove me wrong.
sw1230: your summation of vegas does little to prove your point...you are now just embarrassing yourself and wasting our time.
rebuttal:
1. exactly...people here (kids included) know that you can lose your $ in slot machines...in fact, kids growing up here and seeing that probably have a better appreciation for the negative side of gambling that kids anywhere else.
2. really? tourists are strangers? maybe that's cause they are tourists!!! The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited". no crap they are strangers...why would kids learning to avoid people they don't know be a bad thing?
*at this point, we have the LV smart, socially conscious kids 2:sw1230 zero
3. tourists at the strip..oh my god!!! that is like tourists at disney land..we should ban that place too! it is full of strangers (aka tourists). i'd add more, but she never finished her statement....
in short, sw1230: if you want to be taken seriously, you need to provide some evidence for your claims...you can't just make blanket statements and expect people to take them as fact.
*and yeah...its 345am, i just got back from halloween on fremont. i apologize to the regulars for any incoherent thoughts or rambling statements, but i had a blast! i'll try to get some pics up sometime
Man, you sure drank some strong coffee waking up this morning!
Southwest you are so off the mark it really isn't worth replying to you but I am going to defend the many wonderful parents here in Las Vegas that are doing a fantastic job of raising their children. We have very normal lives..... soccer, basketball, football, orthodontist, scouts, etc. and our children are awesome kids. For you to generalize that anyone who raises children in Las Vegas doesn't put their children first is just plain wrong. Should I assume that because you are a bigot and ignorant that your children are also? I spend almost $18000 a year for my children's school, I just put $4000 worth of braces on my oldest, I spend roughly $10000 yearly on sports and that is all for my children. In addition, every day of the week except for the occasional Wednesday we are running to either a game or practice. My husband and I try to sqeeze in "date night" twice a month if we can. We go to church on Sunday and youth group twice a month. My youngest is in Daisy's every Friday. Sounds pretty "normal" to me. Yes there are slot machines in stores but they are way in the front in a completly separate section that most of the time you don't even notice. As far as the gas stations go, we pay at the pump so we hardly ever even enter one. The casiono's are just plain fun to walk through so when we go to a movie we enjoy walking through the casino. There are tons of parks and walking trails here to enjoy and so many things are within a few hour drive. The strip may be a den of sin but the rest of Las Vegas is just like Anywhere USA except for maybe the people here are a little bit happier because they get to LIVE HERE!!!! WE never have to leave!!!!
Southwest you are so off the mark it really isn't worth replying to you but I am going to defend the many wonderful parents here in Las Vegas that are doing a fantastic job of raising their children. We have very normal lives..... soccer, basketball, football, orthodontist, scouts, etc. and our children are awesome kids. For you to generalize that anyone who raises children in Las Vegas doesn't put their children first is just plain wrong. Should I assume that because you are a bigot and ignorant that your children are also? I spend almost $18000 a year for my children's school, I just put $4000 worth of braces on my oldest, I spend roughly $10000 yearly on sports and that is all for my children. In addition, every day of the week except for the occasional Wednesday we are running to either a game or practice. My husband and I try to sqeeze in "date night" twice a month if we can. We go to church on Sunday and youth group twice a month. My youngest is in Daisy's every Friday. Sounds pretty "normal" to me. Yes there are slot machines in stores but they are way in the front in a completly separate section that most of the time you don't even notice. As far as the gas stations go, we pay at the pump so we hardly ever even enter one. The casiono's are just plain fun to walk through so when we go to a movie we enjoy walking through the casino. There are tons of parks and walking trails here to enjoy and so many things are within a few hour drive. The strip may be a den of sin but the rest of Las Vegas is just like Anyimwhere USA except for maybe the people here are a little bit happier because they get to LIVE HERE!!!! WE never have to leave!!!!
http://mamapalooza.com/blog/uploaded_images/soccer_FPO%5B1%5D-726968.JPG (broken link)
I think you both need more time for yourselves...you are essentially saying that you HOPE to have 2 days a MONTH as as couple. You are spending way toomuch money on all that stuff as well. 18K a year for school? 10K on soccer practice? Thats just plain crazy. Besides taking away vital time together as a couple, it is draining your bank account big time. Are there not any decent public schools there? I've heard they are awful, and full of gangbangers, but so bad you have to spend 18K a year? Thats crazy! And when the kids move out of the house you won't know what to do with yourself, as you based your whole life on carting the kids around! Just something to think about, honey......
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
Bullsh**...u know what i mean
