Point Blank- Los Angeles Safe For African/Black/Hiatian/Jamaican American people? (San Diego: home, gangs)

[the one]

ok, dress the way you wanna dress, match all green for all i care, just be warned...

these lil pee wee wannabe thugs shoot first and ask questions later.
including the boys in blue (of the' to protect and serve' fame of course).

they aint chekin for pant size or none of that. it dont matter to some of these knuckleheads. thats what you need to understand.
in most "urban" areas of LA, you dont have to dress, act, talk, walk like a target to be one. anything can happen.

that typa stuff is rare tho. violence is not very random. but in high crime areas dressin like a homeboy/thug/cholo, will sure make you a target.

the funniets part is that you askin about burbank. they aint got none of that going on. and if something does happen then your case becomes that anomoly.
you will be fine in burbank and the surroundin areas.

to be clear, the reality of urban living is that anyone can get it any time.

but there are steps you can take to lesson your chances of being a vic. for me and people that look like me it is... DONT HAVE A SHAVED HEAD.

sounds silly huh? (maybe in my 40's ill look too old to be bangin and this threat will subside)

but some knuckleheads dont care and im sure even boring bunk michigans got some knuckle heads. maybe they use bats instead of guns? who knows.

you really shouldnt be too alarmed tho. in LA if you stay out of most gang infested areas youll be fine.
it is a large city with large city crime.

be adviced and always be aware.

[Prince of Lombards]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

And try to stay in the Crenshaw district or Westside.

I don't recommend the Westside. I'd try Encino instead.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by SWV

For the people who said ''You don't have to worry as long as you don't dress like a thug.'' I don't know what you mean by dressing like a thug hopefully you're talking about ''URBAN WEAR'' (Baggy clothes, chains, and etc). Just because you wear clothes that's two sizes to big doesn't mean you're involved in that type of lifestyle and mentality and that's what people need to understand. I'm not jumping on you guys back but I'm really curious about this situation.

Maybe you should reconsider moving here then. You asked for advice and help and it was provided to you. I pretty much spelled out the type of clothing to avoid in an earlier post but if you still feel that you must dress like this then more power to you.

We're not saying that to be safe you need to walk around in little John Stockton shorts, but if all you have are oversized sports jerseys (Lakers, Raiders, Yankees, College teams, etc.), baseball caps on either sideways or backwards on top of a doo rag, khakis/dickies, wear white t-shirts as actual shirts with gold chain on outside instead of inside, walk with a limp or lean even though you are perfectly physically healthy, drive a lowrider, have spinners on your car, blast heavy bass music in your car, drive through neighborhoods with all your windows down playing music with heavy profanity, and you lean all the way to the side while driving, then you should expect to be looked at and treated like you may be a gang member by other gang members, the police and normal working family guys like me. Remember, the police profile people on how they dress and act, if you are in a known gang area or not, if you wearing what is known gang attire (as I mentioned above) you could be mistaken for either a gang banger or someone who is up to no good.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by SWV

Just because you wear clothes that's two sizes to big doesn't mean you're involved in that type of lifestyle and mentality and that's what people need to understand. I'm not jumping on you guys back but I'm really curious about this situation.

True but the reality is the perception. If you are wearing that kind of attire, will will be perceived as someone who is involved in that lifestyle and mentality. Normal people will perceive you this way, and the criminals will perceive you this way. Then you may be out somewhere and a "criminal type" will see you and "mad dog you" and if youre just a normal guy then youre okay and just ignore them, but if you are of the immature mindset of "Dude, that guy just mad dogged me, I cant let him get away with that" then the perception will REALLY be reality.

You're being given some great advice here, I know you may not understand it now, but soon you'll come to know and understand and thank everyone here for it.

[mommabear2]

Originally Posted by SWV

What do you mean ''Why do people ask these type of questions?'' Obviously for an answer. I've just been worried because #1 I have family down there and #2 I want to make LA my home.

What do I mean? Well... you should be asking "... is L.A. safe... or where is a safe area to live in L.A." Because when people ask race issues (for example, "will I be targeted as a black woman/white man/asian in L.A?) it makes me think they are buying into the negative stereotypes, you might as well ask "are the stereotypes true?). If you want fact supported answers and not just opinions go online and look at crime statistics. LAPD has a website that will give you an idea of low crime areas.

In all my years alive, I have NEVER asked race related questions in regard to any place I've ever lived. If I'm concerned about safety, I check out the crime stats. You are likely to get mugged in a high crime area no matter what color you are.

Good luck in your search.

[wclac]

Originally Posted by Prince of Lombards

I don't recommend the Westside. I'd try Encino instead.

Screw that. The Westside is a great option, on the southwestern portion.

[wclac]

I would hate to be discourage from wanting to move to LA. I was born in LA County and I'm never leaving the area. I like the West Coast.

[amc760]

Originally Posted by SWV

Well for me I don't IDOLIZE ''RAP STARS'' so I dress how I want to, one day it could be classy and very dressy and the other day it could be basketball shorts, a white T and some basketball shoes.

Trust me I'm not OFFENDED but all ''RAP STARS'' are not thugs. People really need to look up the word. Ty for your input though.

I agree..in fact, I think very very few rap stars are thugs, but most emulate that culture.
And i'm not speaking as an outsider who bashes on hip hop every time he gets a chance.

I love hip hop, its the music I grew up on, and is still my favorite. But I know a lot of the style is based on crime culture.

I still dress in loose clothing sometimes, but Im not gonna walk around with a shaved head, charlie brown t-shirt and tattoos on my face, because I don't want that kind of attention. Just saying. Cops and gangbangers might target you just for being young and minority.

But Im not saying that to discourage you. Ive never had problems in LA or any other city(except for police). Just be aware.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by DaBeez

We're not saying that to be safe you need to walk around in little John Stockton shorts, but if all you have are oversized sports jerseys (Lakers, Raiders, Yankees, College teams, etc.), baseball caps on either sideways or backwards on top of a doo rag, khakis/dickies, wear white t-shirts as actual shirts with gold chain on outside instead of inside, walk with a limp or lean even though you are perfectly physically healthy, drive a lowrider, have spinners on your car, blast heavy bass music in your car, drive through neighborhoods with all your windows down playing music with heavy profanity, and you lean all the way to the side while driving, then you should expect to be looked at and treated like you may be a gang member by other gang members, the police and normal working family guys like me. Remember, the police profile people on how they dress and act, if you are in a known gang area or not, if you wearing what is known gang attire (as I mentioned above) you could be mistaken for either a gang banger or someone who is up to no good.

That's the truth. And if you're brown and a black gang banger is pi**ed about something, you might get shot. If you're black and a brown gang banger is pi**ed about something, you might get shot too.

It's a bad idea to dress "gangsta" in Los Angeles, although you can dress "I'm 8 years old and I'm in a jumper" and could get shot too.

[SWV]

Originally Posted by mommabear2

What do I mean? Well... you should be asking "... is L.A. safe... or where is a safe area to live in L.A." Because when people ask race issues (for example, "will I be targeted as a black woman/white man/asian in L.A?) it makes me think they are buying into the negative stereotypes, you might as well ask "are the stereotypes true?). If you want fact supported answers and not just opinions go online and look at crime statistics. LAPD has a website that will give you an idea of low crime areas.

In all my years alive, I have NEVER asked race related questions in regard to any place I've ever lived. If I'm concerned about safety, I check out the crime stats. You are likely to get mugged in a high crime area no matter what color you are.

Good luck in your search.

But getting mugged isn't just my point.. I don't know your ethnicity so I can' say how hard is it for you if another race trying to ethnic cleanse your race out of LA and etc..But in my case as a Black American I can understand it because it's happening to our race.

I apologized up front to all the people responding to my question who felt that it's biased or racist.

Anyways I looked around on the net of course I found crime statistics but they just don't break it down enough.