It's not the ruffians who are the problem. It's those darn hooligans!

Seriously though, he's right. That area sucks.

Now if they'll just address the rapscallions and ne'er-do-wells.

What's next: baiting animals, careless driving of cattle, unloading coal between prohibited hours, dogs loose or mad, Exercising horses to annoyance of persons,
Exposing goods for sale in parks, Obscene singing, Persons Driving without reins, and making slides in streets?

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/pan/14938/20070319/www.victorianlondon.org/health/dickens-nuisances.htm

#2 is that you Mr. Burns?

I think it must be Mr. Burns.

But yeah, I was waiting (for a long, long time) for a bus in that area after the Block Party (and, apparently, right after the Torchlight Parade - who knew?), and the roving bands of teenage ne'er-do-wells and/or hooligans (probably a miscreant or two in there as well) was freakin' me out. There was a strong police presence, though, which actually just served to freak me out more. Go figger.

Ruffians or not, that block sucks, and every time I walk by there it seems worse.

old timey talk is the best.

Super Stars!

I don't understand why they just don't have more cops walking the beat down there. A little deterrence goes a long way, imo. And I couldn't care less about the drug dealing, but the random intimidation of passers-by makes the place a shitty place to be, imo.

I take it that if it were on Slog, the headline would have been "Fucking ruffians chasing folks away from downtown."

So many options...

Too Scared to Shop

Third & Yikes

Thug Terror: Caught on Tape!

See, I saw a cop car on that block almost every day now, and think "Well, at least they're addressing the problem", then I hear the cop is just out to catch jaywalkers.

This is purely coincidence, but the problems starting happening right when that area of the building put all that dark tarp over the bus stop on northbound 3rd ave for construction purposes. I'm wondering if removing the tarp will reverse the effect. My first inclination is to say "pffft. of course not.", but there is a lot of psychology involved in darker, hidden areas where people can get away with more vs. more open, brighter areas. Again, probably just coincidence.. but who knows. I look forward to a Mudedeopsy on this.

I figured they used "ruffians", because "fucking assholes" doesn't fly at the PI. It is pretty sketchy down there, though catching buses along 2nd isn't any better, really. I generally suck it up and go wait in the U District for the 271 back to the Eastside rather than deal with downtown.

As for the person too scared to walk on 3rd and pine and opt for a Bellevue day...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!

Downtown Bellevue is starting to resemble downtown Spokane now... all of the reasons to want to go to downtown Bellevue (outside getting a paycheck) are either now replicated in Seattle, or are gone. I've walked there recently, for Comp USA's liquidation sale. It was fucking creepy, much more so than the loud, obnoxious kids on 3rd and Pine.

its white PI code for Young Black Teenagers.

thugs is too race-specific.

In any case, I look forward to a headline on the P-I saying "Begorrah! Knaves To Replenish Ye Viaduct. Huzzah!"

Mendacity! Mendacity!

Cops in Seattle are fucking useless. Last week I was waiting for the 16 at that corner and was near a crazy homeless guy screaming at a commuter for not acknowledging his presence, while a Century Square security guard and an SPD officer, both about 20 feet away, ignored the situation.

Where are Batman and Charles Bronson when you need them?

the cops torment commuters who jaywalk or drivers who accidentally turn onto 3rd ave cuz they have $ to fund spd. it's a lot more expensive and a lot more work to arrest someone dealing or trying to roll somebody. it's all driven by the dolla! holla!

Maybe the cops are afraid if they do something they'll be called racists.

#15 beat me to it. Somebody would have taken "thugs" the wrong way. It always happens in this uptight city.

Some ruffians are thugs, and some thugs are black. But they're not all black. The Mexicans, for instance.

"fuckers" would have been far more neutral.

oh here we go again, racism on slog. Nothing new.

Seattlest has joined the ranks as well I see.

Cops are called racist because some are in fact, racist! *GASP*

"Guttersnipe" would have been a better choice.

Jamieson has called them thugs in previous columns.

#23 Show me the roving bands of hillbillies threatening people downtown and I'll let you call me racist.

@ 15 & @ 21 - Read the article. First line:
"They are speaking out, offering stories about the thugs who haunt Third and Pine."

Matter of fact, the word "thug" crops up 3 times total. And if my eyesight does not deceive me, the author of the article is a black man.

Fuck 'em, glad to see them go to Bellevue on 'Bellevue Day' that's where they belong.

"we're not visiting some of our favourite stores"
BOO FUCKING HOO

Try waiting for the bus downtown sometime bitch, fuck your inconvenience.

@26 The roving bands of hillbillies are actually spread throughout the touristy areas of the city, constantly asking me how the parking pay stations work.

I think those are tourists.

@26 show me the roving bands or ruffians or blacks and I'll call you a hillbilly. Have you personally been attacked or threatened by roving bands of thugs? You've got to be kidding me. I would love some fucking facts or a photo at least. Maybe I'm just blind but I'm NOT seeing this shit! All I'm seeing is paranoid white blog posters who have not been downtown in 2 years spouting their uninformed 2 cents.

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