Your view: Get the facts

Once again I am dismayed over assertions made in the March 22 SpeakOut regarding the city's indifference to the plight of those living in the west end.

I am dismayed because the caller has no clue as to who is at fault or who is responsible for fixing the problem. The fact is that the city spends disproportionate amounts of time, energy and resources trying to clean up the west and run the problem people out of that community and out of our city. Why is it solely the city's job to do so? The city did not create the west end's problems, nor does it have the resources to change the psychological, emotional, ethical or moral makeup of the people who live there.

These problems were created by the inhabitants of the west end, including those in the west end who did nothing to stop them. It is ludicrous to think the city has a magic wand it can wave to change the trouble makers of the west end into decent, hard working, respectable human beings. There are many good people in the west end, however, I see little more than lip service from then when it comes to their desire and commitment to cleaning up there (and I emphasize "their") community.

The good people in the west end should band together and clean up their own neighbor "hoods." Start by organizing neighborhood cleanups as often as it takes to rid the west end of the junk and trash. Stop waiting for the city to o it for you! Government cannot solve the social cancer about which you complain. At best, the city can throw a temporary (and for the most part ineffective) salve at the problem in the form of money, which is quickly dispersed and forgotten.

After you take responsibility for cleaning up your own neighborhood, you can keep the problems from reoccurring by forming neighborhood patrols and turning in the drug dealers, drug users, illegal "clubs," prostitutes, drunks, thieves and other law breakers, instead of turning a blind eye.

Keep your kids home at night. Make them go to school and help them succeed by getting involved in their school work and activities. Teach your children to respect the police, their teachers, their elders and most importantly, each other. Punish them for using drugs and alcohol and immoral/bad behavior. Encourage those existing on various forms of government assistance to get jobs and become proud, productive, self-supporting members of your community. Discourage your children from becoming parents before they are emotionally and financially equipped to do so. Encourage the parents of your community to stay at home and raise their families, instead of enabling them to run the streets at night causing trouble. When you do that, you will end up with responsible neighbors who will take pride in and maintain their property.

It will require a tremendous amount of effort and sacrifice, but it can be accomplished. Maybe not in a day or a week or a month, but it can be done over time. A long journey starts with a single step. Quite frankly, it can only be accomplished by the people who live in the west end, because if you don't care enough to clean up your neighborhood, why should I?

Neither I nor the people in my neighborhood created your problems. So what are you going to do? Are you going to continue to complain that the city is not doing for you what you should be doing for yourselves? Or are you going to take responsibility to solve your problems?

Concerned