Baltimore Ghetto Birds: Voices In The Sky

I’ve heard it on two separate occasions now with my own ears, here in the fine city of Baltimore, MD.

People call them “ghetto birds”: police helicopters which zip around - especially at night - shining high-intensity spot-lights down on unwitting residents below.

Somehow the whole endeavor is supposed to fight crime. And I’m sure it has its applications, but when you’re standing in your own back yard and a bright light splashes down on your from above with the swirl of engines out of nowhere… well, it’s fucking startling. You start feeling like you’re living in an occupied territory.

Then when you combine that with those same helicopters somehow being given the privilege to broadcast verbal commands out of the night sky (with crystal clear and quite loud audio), well, I don’t know how you could potentially feel good about something like that happening in the city you live in.

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3 Reader Responses

1. Believe! In Baltimore’s Blue Light Special - [tmbchr]™ Says:
   March 31st, 2008 at 11:07 am

   […] I love that every time there is a quote about how much neighborhood residents “love” these cameras that it is always attributed to a “police department spokesperson” and never actually to a neighborhood resident. Personally, I don’t understand how people can be expected to live in a neighborhood which has these non-stop distress beacons blasting all through the night. Imagine living in an apartment building on the corner of one of these lights and having that shit blink constantly… Eventually, your awareness of these bright flashing lights becomes more and more dimmed, and you grow more and more accustomed to helicopters chasing you and voices of authority coming out of the sky. What you’re seeing here is psychological conditioning on a mass scale: preparations for worse things to come. The future’s so bright (with blinking lights), I gotta wear shades. […]

2. Ted Heistman Says:
   March 31st, 2008 at 11:51 am

   Tim,

   Since the beginning of time living in a city has sucked unless you have money. That’s how its always been. I’d get out of that hell hole if I were you. Your needs are so few you can live anywhere. I’ve lived in shitty areas before, like a poor neighborhood in Binghamton NY. You don’t realize how much the atmosphere is dragging you down until after you leave.

   Aesthetics matter. Madison,WI is OK but my goal is to be surrounded by natural beauty everyday. Its good for the soul.

3. Big Elk Says:
   March 31st, 2008 at 6:33 pm

   Couldn’t agree more, Ted. Environment is everything. I have a little more work to wrap up here first - about one or two month’s worth and then I’m hitting the road again.