<p>Criminals prey upon the weak i.e. those that already live in fear which is often quite appearant. Yes you are a sheep and bet your vocals squeak as well. Your insecure reactions give you away but maybe you can make them laugh as your defense. I also see it all the time when chillin with my Berkeley black friends or the locals which is why I’m XD at people like you BP. Thanks for the amusement and lending support to what I’m saying.</p>
<p>I read somewhere on a crime stats page that Berkeley was the 2nd most crime-ridden city in California, aside from Compton as of like 2009. It makes me nervous, but bad people are doing stupid things everywhere. If I get mugged because I decided to go out alone at night or leave my laptop in my car purely based on the relative rate of reported crime, it’s my own damn fault no matter where it happens.</p>
<p>@angryengineer</p>
<p>Grats on passing your psych 101 class. You’re still a ****** bag.</p>
<p>Nope, just experience and common sense. One thing I did learn from psych 101 is how the weak and feeble minded sheep mimic soundbytes though. Even my psyche professor who was head of research in Berkeley and even she laughs at how mentally inept young college students are now. That their lack of using their brain makes them dumb, dependent and depressed. </p>
<p>FYI: Sheltered suburban so cal college students in Berkeley call the police on nearly everything. From seeing someone looking suspicious at them to petty theft to losing their stuff constantly. Petty theft is the main reason why Berkeley numbers are so high and many of the assaults are related to petty theft. Even the BPD laugh at many of the transplant college kids for their lack of common sense and in some cases straight up stupidity. </p>
<p>As far as I’m concerned if you are dumb enough to leave your laptop in your car then you deserve to get it stolen. If you are clueless enough to be bragging about your blackberry in a seedy part of town then you deserve to get that swiped right from you. If you are ■■■■■■■■ enough to ride an expensive mountain bike to school with only a cheap lock to protect it then you deserve to get it stolen. I’ve seen these things happen and feel little sympathy for stupidity. </p>
<p>Similar argument extended from that stupid voters get the government they deserve.</p>
<p>Commas are your friend. Use them.</p>
<p>Lol, it’s very unlikely anything will happen to you. If people are seriously rejecting their admissions because of “crime rates”, it’s pretty sad.</p>
<p>And the average GPA argument completely fails.</p>
<p><a href=“The page you were looking for doesn't exist (404)”>The page you were looking for doesn't exist (404);
<p>Lots of places are “safe” in Berkeley. Just don’t go to places you’re not supposed to be.</p>
<p>@limper
Experience and common sense has also revealed that those that are on the losing side of an argument will oftentimes resort to pettiness, insults, and/or elusive behavior.</p>
<p>@xviral
I agree in regards to both issues. Although, the city and university could do without such people.</p>
<p>so…“criminals prey upon the weak i.e. those who already live in fear”…but you are suggesting that everyone shut themselves in and not even use their electronic devices in public to avoid anticipatory crime. there’s something logically unsound in that. Whatever, I couldn’t care less about this argument. Hyper-vigilantism and cowardice are both stupid.</p>
<p>I didn’t resort to insults kiddo. I suggested that you fix your grammar because the majority of your passage made no sense. “Even my psyche professor who was head of research in Berkeley and even she laughs at how mentally inept young college students are now.” This sentence, in particular, was absolutely atrocious. The next time that you try to call someone inept (even if you’re talking in general and not at anyone in particular), please be sure that you’re not playing heavily on irony. Thanks in advance, bro.</p>
<p>@KeelyMK</p>
<p>Not in the least. These are different issues.</p>
<p>Am I suggesting that everyone shut themselves in?</p>
<p>Hell no, many of you don’t get enough exercise or human contact as it is. Try this for a change. Turn of your TV, XBox, and internet and go out for a walk. Instead of looking down and clutching on to your iphone because are afraid of everyone and everything… try smiling at a stranger. Then with an open mind, relax your apprehensive ego and share a laugh or story with someone outside your clique. You may even enjoy it and realize that not every guy or black person is trying to rape you like the fear propaganda you grew up with. Liberate yourself from all that crap and maybe you will open yourself to the wonders and joys of life.</p>
<p>BPKid: hate to burst your bubble about hating curves, but classes are curved just the same at UCLA as they are at Berkeley! It is safe down here though.</p>
<p>You are the biggest closet-racist I’ve ever had the displeasure of interacting with. “chilling at berkeley with my black friends”, “not every guy or black person is trying to rape you”. *** makes you think that we’re afraid of black people? Turn your mediocre psychology on yourself. I’ll be back later to see the witty, poorly written garbage you’ve come up with as a retort.</p>
<p>“Criminals prey upon the weak i.e. those that already live in fear which is often quite appearant. Yes you are a sheep and bet your vocals squeak as well. Your insecure reactions give you away but maybe you can make them laugh as your defense. I also see it all the time when chillin with my Berkeley black friends or the locals which is why I’m XD at people like you BP. Thanks for the amusement and lending support to what I’m saying.”</p>
<p>I am not sure how I supported anything you stated, I cited numbers that agreed 100% with what I am saying. I also pointed out your racism. I have friends, I don’t codify them by color. You sound more like the angry kid in college who thinks he is better than everyone else and laughs at others in misery to make himself feel better. AKA the 27 year old forum ■■■■■ with nothing better to do than start fights on a forum. </p>
<p>"As far as I’m concerned if you are dumb enough to leave your laptop in your car then you deserve to get it stolen. If you are clueless enough to be bragging about your blackberry in a seedy part of town then you deserve to get that swiped right from you. If you are ■■■■■■■■ enough to ride an expensive mountain bike to school with only a cheap lock to protect it then you deserve to get it stolen. I’ve seen these things happen and feel little sympathy for stupidity. "</p>
<p>Really? You hate humanity that much? Were you victimized in high school or did you just suffer from an antisocial personality disorder from birth? honestly you seem to have some sort of sadistic narcissistic personality disorder. I dealt with unintelligent people everyday where I use to work, I didn’t hate them for being slow- I helped them. This desensitization to crime and violence that you people around the bay area develop is sick. Where I come from if someone smashes your window a cop comes out and scours the neighborhood. Up here they call you a few hours later and give you a report number, gee thanks! Anyways my bad on the personal insults, sometimes I just can’t help but let the ■■■■■■ look at themselves in a mirror for a bit. Especially when all of his ■■■■■ remarks are so hilarious “my psych professor said weak minds are sheep lawlawlawlaw” yeah I could have told you that without earning a phd buddy, learn to form your own opinions and not rely on someone else’s opinion and title to re-manufacture a sound bite as you call it to make yourself seem smart, because you aren’t- you are just bitter.</p>
<p>@arcadefire</p>
<p>how curved? up here it is pretty much every remotely technical major has ridiculous curves 20% A’s 30% B’s, which by itself is not so bad; it just turns out that getting into the 80th percentile (consistently) at Berkeley is really hard. (a lot of people that live in their books up here, not like at cc where you could study the day of the test and be the highest score lol)</p>
<p>how are math/econ classes curved? that’s what I am really curious about if you are familiar.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>On the one hand, you’re right. Its always better to walk around with your head up, making eye contact with folks, and speaking directly and forcefully. Awareness is always your best defense. Often this sort of confident behavior can diffuse potentially dangerous situations before they even start, and you might meet some cool folks. However, I still think its prudent to carry a weapon of some type. This isn’t being afraid, its being prepared. Fear has nothing to do with it; you’ll know fear when you get assaulted and have no way of defending yourself.</p>
<p>Now, I was talking with some family who lives in the area, and they said most of Berkeley isn’t any more crime-ridden than anywhere else. This isn’t something you need to really concern yourself with, its not that big deal, and I’ll bet nobody on here will encounter a truly violent, dangerous situation during the next couple years. I just take it upon myself to be a proponent for fighting back, since it seems to me that our society had become real good at creating a bunch of cowards and “good little victims” ready to bend over for a criminal. Its one reason I’m a huge supporter of the Second Amendment despite being otherwise socially liberal. </p>
<p>And on that note, if anyone wants to help me start a marksmanship club/ non-partisan gun rights group up at Cal in the fall, let me know :D. There’s a great range in the hills pretty close to campus. </p>
<p>Oh yeah, and race has nothing to do with this; the only time I was ever assaulted with a deadly weapon, it was by a white guy.</p>
<p>Pffft, my black friends don’t give a crap if I call them black. They are from piedmont and Oakland and Berkeley hills not Africa. ****, numerous got better grades and choice of engineering degrees than I did. It’s not like I go around calling my Asian friends Yellowman or Mexican friends Brownman unless was messing around with them. Plus the bums and blacks in Berkeley are mostly harmless though and just because some look scary doesn’t mean they actually are. There is no need to go into or thru any ghetto parts of the east bay and Berkeley is relatively safe no matter what time</p>
<pre><code>I’m not as eloquent a writer as an English major but I still dominated both verbally and on paper in the classroom. Since I read and accept both sides, I must admit that I still agree with different premises of social darwinism and personal responsibility.
</code></pre>
<p>Maybe it is a bit sadomaschistic to love screwing with the curves but felt that way due to the cheaters. Other than that, if you didn’t study enough to know the issues and academic arguments and how they interplay with consensus reality then you deserve to get the lesser grade. Life goes on, deal with it.</p>
<p>Although you can carry certain knifes, I don’t think they are necessary, nor the best way to defend yourself. I guess it cool to carry around in sort of rugged individualist manner for fun if was going camping or something but not on the streets. Plus if a victim was to get shot in Oakland (i have friends who thats happened too) then having a knife isn’t going to be any benefit in defense.</p>
<p>I agree with the desensitation of social empathy when it comes to California in general but adding apathy to the bay area. That is why you have to become more aware and take responsibility and some times a bold stand against even small injustices. Not all, but most people are moral cowards more than anything in actual situations. I agree that is a sign of a sick society and thus why its important. I’m even chatting with a nice police officer right now…</p>
<p>Prior to today, I was worried that I might not have been academically prepared to transfer to Berkeley. Now I know that anyone can make it, apparently.</p>
<p>I agree with angryengineer 100%.</p>
<p>I agree with angryengineer about being open-minded…and that’s about it. Until we live in a world where prisons are mostly empty, and people don’t get kidnapped and raped, I’m just going to keep carrying my pepper spray if that’s okay by you (which I don’t care if it is).</p>
<p>You have a right to feel safe, and if smiling at people and being open-minded does it for you then right on. If carrying pepper spray does, then so be it. Just don’t resort to calling people “weak” because you don’t know what they’ve been through or how they see the world.</p>