Marathon and crime, Part 2
I thought that after writing about crime along the marathon route I'd get a ton of hate mail, but the first two messages, printed in an earlier blog, were supportave. It took until this afternoon for people to get angry
Here are two notes I just received:
I have run the Baltimore Half Marathon many times, and it goes without saying that I, nor any of the thousands of runners who have done the same have ever been crime victims. It's such an absolutely preposterous idea; I wonder if you've ever attended or participated in a road race before?
What would you like to see? Would you feel safer if the course ran only through Guilford, Homeland and Roland Park? What would it say to the people in low-income areas if the course were carefully planned to avoid their "crime-ridden streets"? It would send a nice, clear message: we don't trust any of "you people".
Of course, that might be just the message some folks want to send. And it's the message I got when I read your article.
Richard R. Espey
TowsonHow is this story in the public interest? Is the goal of the Sun to
become the New York Post? -jk3
My response:
I had a feeling this would be a tricky subject. No, I was not trying to suggest that you might be come a victim of crime while running the marathon, nor did I want to send a subtle message to run faster through some parts of the city. And no, I'm not trying to get the route moved to Roland Park or just write negative stories.
My job is to write about crime. And I try to find some unique angles that link thing we all do to that horrible subject. It is a fact that the route runs through some economically depressed and crime-ridden areas of city. It is also a fact that people, including the event planners, take that into consideration when designing the route.
I merely wanted to take what's talked about privately and discuss it openly. The column was meant to be informational, not to frighten people away. It is what we call a talker, nothing more, nothing less. I think it's great it goes through tough neighborhoods -- it gives those residents a chance to participate in events that often avoid the places where they live and gives others a chance to see the side of Baltimore they wouldn't ordinarily visit.
If the route had purposely avoided these areas I would've written about how organizers went out of their way to exclude a portion of the city. Maybe people running along East Madison Street and up McCulloh Street will get a different impression of the people and the neighborhood than they have. Perhaps it will get people to want to make things better.
Comments
During the late 1980s or early 1990s, there was an incident at (I believe) the March of Dimes Walk-A-Thon. Some folk along either Edison Highway or Belair Road on the eastside had a contest to see how hard they could punch people. One person walking suffered a broken jaw, and numerous others were hurt (some were knocked unconscious). The following year it was moved out to Towson. I don't remember all of the details, but it was a pretty crazy incident.
While I wouldn't expect something like that to happen at the marathon, I wouldn't call it an "absolutely preposterous idea" either. This is Baltimore, after all -- nothing surprises any more.
Posted by: Evan | October 9, 2009 9:17 PM
Unfortunately, Someone was shot multiple times in the chest during the race, 5 blocks from the course. see BPD twitter.
Posted by: Winston Smith | October 10, 2009 10:20 AM
Security of these events is, or should be, always a consideration. Security in the city should, or always should be a consideration.
Evan posted a comment before I did. Baltimore used to have one of the largest March-of-Dimes Walk in the country. I remember when I last walked in one, perhaps in 1970, I saw several ugly incidents of intimidation, e.g. guys running up and grabbing hats, etc. Then the next year was when the incident happened that Evan mentions.
I immediately thought of the incident Evan mentioned when I read your article. But I'm pretty sure it was much earlier.
I believe a young woman walking in the event was attacked and had several teeth knocked out, late in the day, during the walk, along a stretch of Sinclair Lane, near Cedonia. Except for some traffic control, the event was very lightly policed or patrolled. The March of Dimes paid for all medical care, and changed the route, etc.
Eventually, the great walk participants numbers dropped precipitously.
So, the notion of writing about crime and the city and various events, and tourist, etc. is not a far-fetched one. Look at the publicity the Sun gave to the fights/attacks at the harbor area.
Now, the marathon is a somewhat different event, and as Peter points out, hundreds of police officers are present along the route.
And though the mayor is doing her job in praising residents who welcome runners, Peter is doing his job in reminding us about the day-to-day challenges of crime.
Posted by: buzoncrime | October 11, 2009 1:54 PM
It was very humbling to see the living conditions. I thanked God for the fortunes I have been bestowed and ability to reach goals. I thought about the $100 fee that each of us paid and how much it would mean to these people. Individuals were handing out their snacks from the race to the less fortunate. Once again, it was humbling and has made me want to give back even more.
Posted by: Martha Vivirito | October 22, 2009 2:51 PM