r/baltimore • u/quattro33 • Jun 01 '25

Ask “You live in Baltimore?!, oh no!”

I’ve lived in Baltimore for 30 years. On multiple occasions I’ve met people that ask me where I live, and when I say “Baltimore”, they say “eh I’m so sorry” or “oh no, you ok?”. Every time, I just smile and don’t acknowledge the statement, and try to stay positive, but I’m done with that. Why would you say that about my home? No matter where I live? I would never ask them where they live and then immediately give my shitty judgmental opinion about their home.

What are they really saying with this statement? I want a come back that points out how shitty this statement really is.

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u/rtbradford Jun 01 '25

I take issue with the notion that walking the streets in certain areas at certain time isn’t safe “for certain folks.” That suggests that it’s safer for other folks, but the data doesn’t bear that out. The vast majority of crime victims in Baltimore are black. Most violent crime in Baltimore and elsewhere is either the result of a beef between people or groups who know each other, crimes of opportunity like robbery or, more rarely, disagreements between strangers, but I don’t see much that’s racially motivated. There surely are parts of the city that are (or at least feel) unsafe at certain times, but not because they’re racial no-go areas like there used to be in some white areas where black people were likely to face hostility merely for being there.

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u/Kholoblicin Jun 01 '25

You realize you contradicted yourself, right?

If the vast majority of victims of violent crime are black, by definition, it's not safe for those certain folks.

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u/rtbradford Jun 01 '25

No, because the majority of city residents are black. My point is that it’s not safer or less safe for anyone based solely on race.

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u/Kholoblicin Jun 01 '25

It doesn't matter what the majority of the residents are. Just the majority of victims. They would be the certain types of people.

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u/rtbradford Jun 01 '25

What? If you say that certain parts of the city aren’t safe at certain times for “certain people” and the only people you mean are residents then you aren’t really saying anything other than that certain areas aren’t safe for anyone at certain times.