I Went To The Worst Ghettos In The United States: Part Two

“They call it The American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it” - George Carlin

Sad how America intervenes in other countries and the world at large doesn’t know that this exists in America

Im jamaican, we have our ghettos in the cities, but living in the countryside in our small homes we are quite comfortable. Most of us are doing subsistence farming and living a healthy lifestyle with our lush greenery. Its not just about the almighty dollar and fast cars. Our warm sunshine, beautiful beaches and nature in general, makes us happy.

I'm from Europe, Slovenia and when I traveled to USA I was shoked at the things you can see there. Never seen SO many homeless people. When I was younger America was a dream place, we all wanted to move there. We thought it was like in the movies lol. This is really sad...

I showed my friends from Colombia a picture of Detroit and they said "what a waste of beautiful homes. It's like cooking a huge delicious meal and letting it rot."

I spent a summer working on the Hurricane Katrina recovery. I worked mostly in the New Orleans ninth ward. We demolished a lot of houses but I can safely say that most of them needed demolishing before Hurricane Katrina. I was very careful to get out of there before dark. And I ALWAYS had my little friend with me. Tucked down between the seats. And when I had to drive through Acres Home subdivision in Houston I would never stop at red lights at night. Carjacking was a sport there.

I'm from East Cleveland the neighborhood has went down significantly since the 80s. Hard to believe it was once where Rockefeller house once was. It's so sad how much my neighborhood has went down crooked police and politicians and drugs 😢

Wow, Nick, you said something really deep - "A lot of people who grew up poor thought they were destined for great things; they thought the world loved them, but the world loves itself."

I drove a truck 24 years. One of the most expensive toll roads and one of the worst maintained is the Pennsylvania Turnpike . The high tolls are supposed to go toward keeping the toll road well repaired. When I mentioned this to a local he said "Look at the streets where the politicians live. That's where the toll $$ goes. They're in perfect condition" so the corruption is not new

This is a masterpiece of showing the living conditions of people who are neglected by the rich & powerful persons who are making the wrong decisions.

I currently reside in Australia, but not originally from. In all my years of traveling in different parts of the world, I am so shocked to see so much of America is so dilapidated. I expected to see things when I was in India and Pakistan but not in America. The United States is basically a third world country now.

I just got back from Japan and the difference between that country and the US is night and day. We truly are a third world country in disguise.

Omg. Finally it’s been said out loud: “ sending tons and tons of our money to other countries when we need it here the most.”

Full blooded Native American here 💯 and you are absolutely Right about us. Drugs & Alcohol is a big part of our lives. We do need jobs, counseling & better communities. Sad.

This video makes me appreciate what I have. Drugs will never make me homeless but being on disability will

This kind of video is very important, because it shows a dimension of the United States that may not be well-known to both outsiders and to Americans, themselves. One thing that strikes me is the spatial structure of poverty of cities in the United States. Unlike in many developing world cities, where poverty is often characterized by density and crowding, and in fact, a high level of activity (including economic activitiy, such as selling something), in the United States urban poverty is characterized by low density and very low levels of (especially economic) activity. There is a huge wealth of underutlized space and structures that could seemingly be renovated and used. The problem is not one of lack of wealth in the country, obviously. The problem is a society that is sick (in these slum areas I imagine that there are extreme levels of social problems). I can imagine some people in developing world countries thinking that the areas shown don't look so horrible...there's even plenty of space to grow food! The problem is a "sick" population with no easy way out.

"Every one of these houses were someones dream" I don't think many people realize that nowadays or maybe the dream is gone? Another great one Nick!

Our country is literally crumbling. I am embarrassed by our country's state. It's only going to get worse. Sadly.

I just got back from remote Tibet. All new train lines, airports, luxury cars everywhere. I saw People selling fruit and vegetables by the side of the road - much of which was picked from the surrounding hillsides - using their smart phones for payment. They did not require permits of any kind. They made a good living and their houses were provided by the government. Didn’t see any graffiti or homeless people. Or anyone stressed about their mortgage. Life there is beautiful.

I grew up in East Oakland and it wasn't bad when I was a kid, I'm now 60. We lived in the ghetto but my mother always told us that the ghetto was outside of her door and we were not allowed to possess a "ghetto" mentality. I attended the best high school in the ghetto but it was a private school, Bishop O'Dowd, at ten we attended the largest church, Allen Temple. I believe we turned out well because of all of the above AND because my parents were highly educated and believe in the power of prayer. NOW, you couldn't pay me to enter the city limits! I moved out of Oakland to the new city of Antioch which was great for 20 years but now that city is not safe. The same people from Oakland, San Francisco, Richmond, etc., have moved there and many have brought inner city problems with them. Add that to a corrupt police department and poor urban planning and I believe it is placing us on the prescipise of history repeating itself. I believe all cities must evolve with the times.