Jerry... I agree with you about the drinking age. Raising it to 21 hasn't
done a thing to curtail teenage drinking, and it seems a lot worse now than
it was when I was in high school. There was definitely drinking back in the
day, but it didn't seem quite so widespread. I mean... there were SOME
parties where there wasn't any alcohol available. Now, not so much.
The cops in Duval have definitely changed. I don't remember them hassling
us at all when I used to come up here from G'ville for football games and
concerts, and it certainly wasn't because we weren't breaking any laws. ;-)
There is a weird dynamic going on here that would be more appropriately
discussed only on THFGT... and maybe not even there. But it's very obvious
to those of us who live here, especially those who have teenagers.
Meanwhile, St. Johns County cops are either mellower or just seem so in
comparison to the ones in Duval.
Cee
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jerry Belloit" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 4:48 PM
Subject: RE: [gatortalk] Double Standard
I am not sure that the police selectively enforce the law in Gainesville
relative to Miami. The scale of activity in Miami is so much greater than
Gainesville. The 2009 population of Dade County is about 2.5 million.
The
population of Alachua County is about 400000. The number of football
players is about 100 in each. Thus, football players are about 8 times
more
likely to be seen in Alachua County vs. Dade County. Complicating the
analysis, Dade County has many more times the number of police departments
vs. Alachua County.
I think one of the big differences in Gainesville today vs. when I lived
there from 1971-1978 was that the legal drinking age was 18 when I
arrived.
I personally believe that raising the drinking age from 18 to 21 has
increased the alcohol problem rather than reduced it. Drinking had no
mystique when I was in college. I had been drinking for several years
before college. Those "terrible" Duval County cops never seemed to bother
me or my friends about drinking even when I was in high school. For us,
drinking was usually a beer or two after work or with pizza. I rarely
remember people drinking too much. If they did, the rest of us would
intervene and would make sure that they did not drive. If the police ever
caught us, we would promise to get those who had drank too much safely
home.
The only bad experience I ever remember about the police was the one I
told
about the St. Augustine police.
Even in Gainesville, during my early college years, the Gainesville police
were not the ones we had trouble with during the annual "riots". It was
the
Marion County police that people thought were goons. Generally the
students
got along pretty well with the local government. I even served as the
vice
chairperson of the Alachua County Housing Board while I was a student.
I am not sure if there has been a paradigm change with local government
and
the police department over the years relative to their attitude toward
students. I have read where some local governments in Florida (and
elsewhere) have increased prosecutions (tickets) in order to generate
revenue. That was true of Lawtey, and some suggested Waldo, but not true
of
any other areas I knew about back in my day.
Jerry
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of John Vega
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 3:14 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [gatortalk] Double Standard
I simply can not believe for a moment that Miami's football players are 10
times less likely than UF's to commit a minor or petty infraction of the
law.
I just don't believe it.
What is probable is that UF players are more likely to be arrested for the
same activities.
Look at Jenkins. In 20 years of practicing law, I have never heard of
anyone
being charged with "affray." Really.
And why was he arrested this last time? Because an officer saw him smoking
a
cigar in a car. I've seen lots of people smoke cigars in cars; never seen
anyone stopped for questioning.
After being stopped for questioning, the officer stated he smelled
marijuana
and ultimately found a small amount of it. An amount so small that it is
not
even a crime in some states.
I don't know if it is that things that get overlooked in a big city like
Miami get noticed in a small town; local resentment of football players,
or
even possibly racism; but there is a systematic problem here and I don't
think that it is the conduct of our football players. We recruit the same
exact players as Miami and FSU and their arrest records look spotless
compared to UF's.
I don't think that Jenkins should have been punished, much less thrown off
the team. I can't think of a single friend I had in college whose actions
wouldn't make Jenkins look like a saint in comparison. They are now
doctors,
lawyers, engineers and judges.
I also think that an anti-UF bias is why the total number of arrests is
attracting attention and not the minor nature of the infractions. Who
knows,
but if I were a potential recruit right now, I'd pick a school where I
could
fly under the radar.
-Zeb
--
GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY!
1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions
2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions
2008 National Football Champions |
Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel
(1996),
Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
--
GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY!
1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions
2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions
2008 National Football Champions |
Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel
(1996),
Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
--
GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY!
1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions
2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions
2008 National Football Champions |
Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996),
Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
