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810 Posts
Today, as I was casually walking to buy some orange juice for my breakfast, some... dude came to me to try and sell me pot.
I don't know how they're called in English, but you know, the type that always hang out in groups in street corners. Gang members I guess. You get the point.
So this dude tells me he got the stuff, anything, weed, resin, whatever.
I say I'm not interested.
"Dude, come on, you can taste it before, it's good stuff
-No man, I'm just not interested"
-Why are you mad, man, come on, I got good stuff"
So, my mistake, I try to explain to him that I told him 2 times already that I'm not interested, and it's annoying that he keeps trying.
"So, you sure, you don't want anything ?
-Yeah.
-Got any other problem ?
-Nope
-Well, good for you"
And he just walks away.
This is where it dawned on me. Fuck this, fuck me, what was I thinking. There is no winning againt these guys, there's nothing to gain trying to reason with them.
Try doing that, and they will remind you that they are the ones in charge in this neighborhood.
Try fighting that, and the next morning you're in the newspaper, at best in the hospital.
And that's not me being paranoid, people get stabbed regularly for dumb shit right at the corner of my street. Last one was a few months ago.
So yeah, they own the place. Yesterday I was witnessing some dude harming a young boy, made me fucking boil, but what can I do. Some part of me thinks I'm weak for not doing anything, but it's not like I can take a whole gang by myself. Cops ? Well, they sometimes come, pick one or 2, and shit keeps going on.
So, I guess I'll just move ? I've been wanting to, lately. There's a lot of other places, much nicer, in this city.
But what does that say about the state of things here ?
This won't get better, if everyone just ignores them, fear them, let them do their things. It's like saying, ok guys, you win, have it your way.
All in all, I got to take care of myself first, so I think I'll end up moving to another part of town. But I can't help but think that whatever I do, things are just getting worse, because we, as a whole, are letting them go this way. And yeah, this feels like shit.
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Write to or call your political representatives, inform newspapers, try to vote for someone who sees the problem (and isn't a problem himself) in the next elections, ask other people to do the same. Your voice alone won't change much, but if it adds up the political pressure might just get something started. Also be realistic - don't give up hope even if it takes a couple of years.
Obviously your own safety comes first, so don't raise your own voice too much.
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Perhaps you should not have been resisting. Maybe his stuff was really good, you should have tried it, especially that you could taste it before.
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I locked myself out of my car this morning. I feel like shit too  I'm sorry to hear your troubles
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810 Posts
Write to or call your political representatives, inform newspapers, try to vote for someone who sees the problem (and isn't a problem himself) in the next elections, ask other people to do the same. Your voice alone won't change much, but if it adds up the political pressure might just get something started. Also be realistic - don't give up hope even if it takes a couple of years.
Obviously your own safety comes first, so don't raise your own voice too much.
I live in Paris, this kind of subject has been on the political agenda for a while now. Unfortunately, no one has found a solution, and they all have pretty much given up on this. Plus, it always get derailed into race/religion problem in our country, for some reason.
I agree though, only through collective action this can be solved. They (the meanies) are way ahead of us when it comes to leveraging to power of a collective to achieve something...
Perhaps you should not have been resisting. Maybe his stuff was really good, you should have tried it, especially that you could taste it before.
Been smoking pots and buying in all kind of situation for 10 years now. 99% of the time this kind of plan is utter shit, and that's when you actually get something smokable in the end...
I locked myself out of my car this morning. I feel like shit too I'm sorry to hear your troubles
Thanks, I'm alright, had a successful business meeting and a drinking party with the same guy (the one I had a meeting with, not the pot seller :D) since. Feeling good now 
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And those thugs actually believe they're justified in doing that because they have to make some money.
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810 Posts
Well, I can understand that in a way. Don't know how it is in the UK, but in France, we clearly have given up on all hope to integrate them.
When you hear politics talking about cleaning their place with highly pressured water, when all you can hear about yourself is that you're one of the worst problem of the country, when all the help you can hope for is from people talking to you like they would to some mentally challenged people... What else is there ? You stop looking for solutions from the system, and you do like your big brother did. Well, he's in jail now, or dead, but at least, he was somebody around here. We talk about them like they're fucking animals, no wonder they behave like so.
I'm not trying to find excuses, what they're doing suck, but the truth is, they HAVE to make money, and no one is showing them other ways in a manner that can touch them.
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EPT
