Post by Clouseau on Oct 23, 2006 13:11:56 GMT
this maybe sounds a bit ridiculous at first, but read the whole way through the article... i'm still unsure about the idea, but they at least make a good argument for it... 
www.nola.com/living/t-p/lind/index.ssf?/base/living-0/116159891552550.xml&coll=1
what do you think?
www.nola.com/living/t-p/lind/index.ssf?/base/living-0/116159891552550.xml&coll=1
Paint it pink
Monday, October 23, 2006
Angus Lind
[NEW ORLEANS] - Would turning the town a lighter shade of red cause crime to drop?
Seems like we've tried a lot of things to stem the increase in crime and nothing seems to be working mainly because of an out-of-control drug scene and an undermanned police force. So I say . . .
Let's paint everything in the city pink -- every cell in Orleans Parish Prison and all its annexes, the Criminal District Court building and all the courtrooms inside, City Hall, the district attorney's office, police headquarters, Central City, the French Quarter, Canal Street, Hollygrove, Pigeontown, the Garden District, the Superdome -- and that should seal the deal.
Then crime will be gone and we'll be in the pink -- pastel pink, deep pink, hot pink, shocking pink.
I'm not a criminologist but I did sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
And I also read last week about a city in eastern India. Fed up with crimes ranging from murders to kidnapping, extortion and caste wars, the town of Aurangabad in Bihar -- a poverty-stricken, crime-infested backwards state -- is in the process of being painted pink.
I'm not making this up. You can look it up. It seems that the idea of pinkifying the town came from the dominant Rajput community, members of which migrated from the western state of Rajasthan where the capital, Jaipur, is known as the "Pink City." The idea has gotten favorable reaction, and people think it's a good idea to bring about a change, boost morale and at the same time beautify the city.
An official who is heading up the pink paint job, which began in the summer, said that while Jaipur has only a few pink buildings, Aurangabad will be India's first really pink city. At mid-October, it was estimated that 90 percent of the buildings in town, which has a population of about 150,000, now have pink facades, he said.
So what's the deal? Does pink do to criminals what kryptonite does to Superman? Does it stop them dead in their tracks? Is this something out of the playbook of the Pink Panther and Inspector Clouseau?
Pink in the world of colors is the color of little girls. It's feminine, it's delicate, it's a pretty color. Pink is for girls, blue is for boys -- all parents know that drill. In the metaphysical world, pink is supposed to be spiritually healing and the color of universal love. In the Catholic Church, pink is the symbol for joy and happiness. Paris Hilton's favorite color is pink, which says a lot. So . . . what's this all about?
Well, follow this color trail along with me out to Mason, Texas, some 100 miles northwest of Austin. This month, there was a story about Mason County Sheriff Clint Low -- and if that doesn't sound like the name of a Texas lawman, nothing does.
Seems Low operates a tiny, cramped jail and the inmates there wear pink jumpsuits and pink slippers. They sleep on pink sheets and are behind pink bars -- and they don't like it one bit. The sheriff says it's a small step to deter criminals from ever wanting to spend time there.
Low purchased the pink jumpsuits after becoming sheriff in 2005 and painted the jail pink about eight months ago. The pink cells, he says, are designed to keep tempers cool. The inmates say they don't like the idea of being seen wearing pink while on work details outside the jail.
So apparently there's something worse than an orange jumpsuit with "OPP" on it.
The sheriff said the repeat offense rate in the county is down 70 percent since switching to pink.
But the switch to pink isn't an original idea. Low got it from another western law officer, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz. In 1995, the sheriff found out that inmates were swiping the white boxer shorts issued to them with "MCSO" printed on them.
They were being sold on the street for two to three bucks apiece and were a hot item. When an inventory was taken, the staff realized that some $48,000 worth of boxers had walked and been sold for pocket money.
The sheriff ordered that from then on, all boxer shorts would be dyed pink, making them easier to spot if they were smuggled out. Rainbow pink was the shade chosen, not exactly a macho male favorite.
The pink boxers made national news and became a hot novelty item and eventually a source of income for the sheriff's posse, selling for $10 apiece. The commercial version, by the way, had a sheriff's star on each pair and a "Go Joe" on the side.
Within months, some $400,000 worth of pink boxers had been sold, the proceeds going to, among other things, overtime pay for holiday mall patrols, prostitution enforcement and an anti-smoking program. The boxers are still for sale and the inmates still wear them.
All because of pink. But before we paint everything at Tulane and Broad pink and clothe the inmates in neon pink, we might wait for some early returns from India. If their crime rate goes down, I say everything from a pink Presbytere and a pink Port of Call to a pink Parasol's and a pink Parkway Bakery is in order.
Name different shades and hues of pink for streets: Perrier pink, Pelopidas pink, Pauger pink, Perdido pink (site of City Hall), Pirates Alley pink, Prytania pink, Pontchartrain pink and finally, Poydras pink (site of the Riverside Hilton) and Paris Avenue pink.
Just a coincidence -- Paris and Hilton being in the same sentence.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Angus Lind
[NEW ORLEANS] - Would turning the town a lighter shade of red cause crime to drop?
Seems like we've tried a lot of things to stem the increase in crime and nothing seems to be working mainly because of an out-of-control drug scene and an undermanned police force. So I say . . .
Let's paint everything in the city pink -- every cell in Orleans Parish Prison and all its annexes, the Criminal District Court building and all the courtrooms inside, City Hall, the district attorney's office, police headquarters, Central City, the French Quarter, Canal Street, Hollygrove, Pigeontown, the Garden District, the Superdome -- and that should seal the deal.
Then crime will be gone and we'll be in the pink -- pastel pink, deep pink, hot pink, shocking pink.
I'm not a criminologist but I did sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
And I also read last week about a city in eastern India. Fed up with crimes ranging from murders to kidnapping, extortion and caste wars, the town of Aurangabad in Bihar -- a poverty-stricken, crime-infested backwards state -- is in the process of being painted pink.
I'm not making this up. You can look it up. It seems that the idea of pinkifying the town came from the dominant Rajput community, members of which migrated from the western state of Rajasthan where the capital, Jaipur, is known as the "Pink City." The idea has gotten favorable reaction, and people think it's a good idea to bring about a change, boost morale and at the same time beautify the city.
An official who is heading up the pink paint job, which began in the summer, said that while Jaipur has only a few pink buildings, Aurangabad will be India's first really pink city. At mid-October, it was estimated that 90 percent of the buildings in town, which has a population of about 150,000, now have pink facades, he said.
So what's the deal? Does pink do to criminals what kryptonite does to Superman? Does it stop them dead in their tracks? Is this something out of the playbook of the Pink Panther and Inspector Clouseau?
Pink in the world of colors is the color of little girls. It's feminine, it's delicate, it's a pretty color. Pink is for girls, blue is for boys -- all parents know that drill. In the metaphysical world, pink is supposed to be spiritually healing and the color of universal love. In the Catholic Church, pink is the symbol for joy and happiness. Paris Hilton's favorite color is pink, which says a lot. So . . . what's this all about?
Well, follow this color trail along with me out to Mason, Texas, some 100 miles northwest of Austin. This month, there was a story about Mason County Sheriff Clint Low -- and if that doesn't sound like the name of a Texas lawman, nothing does.
Seems Low operates a tiny, cramped jail and the inmates there wear pink jumpsuits and pink slippers. They sleep on pink sheets and are behind pink bars -- and they don't like it one bit. The sheriff says it's a small step to deter criminals from ever wanting to spend time there.
Low purchased the pink jumpsuits after becoming sheriff in 2005 and painted the jail pink about eight months ago. The pink cells, he says, are designed to keep tempers cool. The inmates say they don't like the idea of being seen wearing pink while on work details outside the jail.
So apparently there's something worse than an orange jumpsuit with "OPP" on it.
The sheriff said the repeat offense rate in the county is down 70 percent since switching to pink.
But the switch to pink isn't an original idea. Low got it from another western law officer, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz. In 1995, the sheriff found out that inmates were swiping the white boxer shorts issued to them with "MCSO" printed on them.
They were being sold on the street for two to three bucks apiece and were a hot item. When an inventory was taken, the staff realized that some $48,000 worth of boxers had walked and been sold for pocket money.
The sheriff ordered that from then on, all boxer shorts would be dyed pink, making them easier to spot if they were smuggled out. Rainbow pink was the shade chosen, not exactly a macho male favorite.
The pink boxers made national news and became a hot novelty item and eventually a source of income for the sheriff's posse, selling for $10 apiece. The commercial version, by the way, had a sheriff's star on each pair and a "Go Joe" on the side.
Within months, some $400,000 worth of pink boxers had been sold, the proceeds going to, among other things, overtime pay for holiday mall patrols, prostitution enforcement and an anti-smoking program. The boxers are still for sale and the inmates still wear them.
All because of pink. But before we paint everything at Tulane and Broad pink and clothe the inmates in neon pink, we might wait for some early returns from India. If their crime rate goes down, I say everything from a pink Presbytere and a pink Port of Call to a pink Parasol's and a pink Parkway Bakery is in order.
Name different shades and hues of pink for streets: Perrier pink, Pelopidas pink, Pauger pink, Perdido pink (site of City Hall), Pirates Alley pink, Prytania pink, Pontchartrain pink and finally, Poydras pink (site of the Riverside Hilton) and Paris Avenue pink.
Just a coincidence -- Paris and Hilton being in the same sentence.
what do you think?
