https://preview.redd.it/41ki98ssi5qa1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=10333c50e92759a6c9291b7b876915e1146d2a30

There.

Someone dropped their gun and the nice police man is trying to return it to them

Exactly

Your fine. Long as the gun doesn't have a user it's pretty harmless.

Better than poop.

Nothing that people should get freaked out about. That's one of the bad areas of Portland. When you live there long enough you get immune to that kind of stuff.

Bad areas of Portland? Is that a joke?

It's so bad that there isn't a house for sale anywhere near there for less than 400k if you could find one.

Coming from Baltimore I don't think anyone around here knows what a bad neighborhood looks like.

I think it's fairly unusual to see a Glock lying on the street and yeah I lived in medium shitty Baltimore neighborhoods for 5 years.

Exactly. I lived in St. Louis for a few years and there’s areas you don’t wanna be if you are light skin. Portland I can walk anywhere at night and not even be scared once unlike STL and Baltimore like you said.

"Bad" by Mainer standards usually means where the homeless and/or non-white people reside.

I lived in the area for a year or two and would laugh when people said it was a bad neighborhood... I used to live in Chicago though, and I've spent a lot of time in Baltimore.

I was never particularly concerned about being white in Baltimore. Very few white people being murdered. Random guns floating around though kept you on your toes.

Pretty sure someone drove their vehicle past something they weren’t involved in and then went to Reddit because they were nosy. Other things could have happened too.

https://wgme.com/news/local/police-investigating-report-shots-fired-near-congress-street-stroudwater-portland-frost-bike-gun#

Perhaps related to this? (gift article)

https://www.pressherald.com/?p=6999263&uuid=3d012147-7213-4fa2-99de-d744101b080e&lid=2377

Yeah I saw that but it was pretty far away from there.

u wild lmao ‘too nosy’ yo ass probably dropped the gun

Yeah it's true. If you see random guns lying in the street near where you live you are nosy.

I saw that, pretty far away from where the gun was, but maybe.

Seeing a random gun =/= seeing a police scene you’re not involved with and asking what’s up.

Return it bullet-first?

Yeah good point. I will be less concerned with random guns in my neighborhood, as long as the police are taking pictures of them.

Lmao @ people on reddit saying there’s no bad parts of portland ; while asking why there’s guns on the ground? Can’t make this shit up

Says you.

Of course, as long as they’re homeless or not white!

'Course it's not a joke. Let this be a word of advice to you: when I, in particular, speak of bad neighborhoods, I am talking about Maine specifically, and only Maine specifically. This is a Maine subreddit, not a Baltimore one. Keep on track and we're gucci.

I lived in downtown Portland near that exact area for 5 years. I've seen quite a lot of shit during my time there, more than I've ever seen within my 20+ years of living in the entire state. Hell, around that area is where I heard my first-ever gun being fired in a residential neighborhood. For a so-called "safe state" when it comes to crime--which, by the way, is true--I never expected that to happen in my lifetime and it scared the shit out of me when it did happen. Between that and the constant ambulance noises, that was my cue to haul ass.

Downtown Portland is a place I wouldn't be caught dead walking without a friend by my side. Too many shootings (30+ in a short span of time is not something you can just turn a blind eye to) and way too many sketchy people I've seen on the streets for my liking. And I speak as someone who was born a New Jerseyite--NJ and NY are far worse than Maine, but Maine is no crime-free utopia.

There ya go, someone with reason.

I've lived here in Maine for 20+ years. My first-ever gunshot that I heard was right down the street from my house, near where the incident OP is describing took place but not in the same spot. And that's not the only bad thing I've witnessed in the 5 years I lived in downtown Portland. The constant sounds of ambulances and fire trucks are just one of the reasons I moved the fuck away from there first chance I got.

Mainers are so heavily swayed and hypnotized by the fact that Maine is a low-crime state that they forgo any and all semblance of common sense. Maine is a low-crime state, but that doesn't mean I won't lock my doors every chance I get and carry pepper spray in my purse whenever I go out.

Dude. If you think youve seen some shit I got something to tell you.

The homeless scene in Portland is pretty out of control but in terms of crime this place is a cakewalk.

Yeah, you can compare two different places. I have lived very close to there at times recently and never felt it was a "bad" neighborhood. My girlfriend lives 4 blocks from there and it's about as chill as it gets.

Yes, living in places not in Maine definitely gives you perspective. I lived here 12 years ago and it was a lot ahittier then but way less shitty than many other places I've lived. I've had people murdered on my street in Baltimore somewhat regularly and I didn't like it much.

Regardless of anything, yes if I see a random glock lying on a median strip it gets my attention.

Nearby the corner in question, among other things is a massive outdoor concert venue, a lot of fairly expensive houses, several restaurants including some newly opening and not much "badness".

r/usernamechecksout

And yeah. Portland is going to have more visible crime than any other place in the state being one of the few cities in a large rural state. That doesn't make it bad. Sirens in that area might be related to the largest hospital in the state which is like 4 blocks away.

He has a "no snitches" shirt

Exactly. Some people just can’t help themselves with the “what aboutism”

We’re not comparing Baltimore and Portland. And if you think there’s no bad parts of portland? Okay… walk around down on Oxford st looking like you have money, maybe with a Gucci or Louie bag, get back to me…

> The constant sounds of ambulances and fire trucks are just one of the reasons I moved the fuck away from there first chance I got.

LOL

Again. The hospital is down the street. That would explain the sirens. I work as an ER nurse. Patients get shipped from all parts of the state all day and night to Maine med. Lights and sirens. Does not indicate a lot of violence in the neighborhood. I lived between 295 and Maine med for a while, I don't remember ever noticing a siren.

You heard a gunshot and several other things in 5 years living in a city? That is not super surprising.

It's a city.

And yes. I was surprised to see a gun on the median strip in what is a pretty calm residential neighborhood. Seemed interesting.

The homeless thing last summer near the post office was pretty out of control. But I think I prefer it to a place that has one murder a day for like 25 years (even though Baltimore is my fav place I've ever lived).

Portland is pretty safe compared to how it was 25 years ago. FSU and PSU ran the streets. OutLaws and Iron Horsemen shooting at each other in tattoo shops… I’m a delivery driver in Portland and will say even the loser druggys from Elm to Oxford are pretty harmless

“ You heard a gunshot and several other things in 5 years living in a city? That is not super surprising.

It's a city.

And yes. I was surprised to see a gun on the median strip in what is a pretty calm residential neighborhood. Seemed interesting. “

This is comedy, who needs bob Marley?

“ You heard a gunshot and several other things in 5 years living in a city? That is not super surprising.

It's a city.

And yes. I was surprised to see a gun on the median strip in what is a pretty calm residential neighborhood. Seemed interesting. “

This is comedy, who needs bob Marley?

Yeah I suppose. Speaking of fsu, I spotted one of their members riding a motorcycle around when it was -15 a few weeks back. The meth has to be super strong these days

😂

Serious. Billy didn’t give one fuck.

In terms of crime in Maine? You could say that. I haven't bore enough witness to the homeless scene in Portland so I can't say anything about that with confidence and I actively choose not to lest I want to look like a fool.

Different strokes for different folks. Can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves. Can't snap someone out of the "Maine is totally and 100% safe, so safe I would let my infant play in the road of a through street" haze if they don't want to come to reality. Pretty much every city I've lived in in Maine has been safer than the downtown area of Portland to some extent or another.

The more harsh stuff comes forth the further you go down Congress Street, near where the library is and such. Double that if you go out at night.

A gun on the street would get my attention too. It just would have the same effect as someone telling me I'm a woman.

Work in the law profession and then get back to me on what constitutes the subjective term of "bad neighborhood" to you.

Crime is crime, visible or not. Crime is bad. People can be bad. Bad people can make a city bad. Not a hard train of thought to follow.

And I'm aware of where the sirens are coming from, but thank you anyway. I didn't make my way in downtown Portland by having a lack of directional skills.

> just one of the reasons

Read that again, but slowly.

Sadly, using whataboutisms is common whenever I, or anyone else, brings up that Maine is not a crime-free state or, in this case, Portland is a bad city. They always have to bring up an entirely different city in an entirely different state that...well, most of the time, is more dangerous than anything Maine has to offer, just because...I guess they have to be right or something. It's funny to watch but also sad at the same time.

You're not gonna bait me into talking about cities or states I've never been to and their crime stats that I know nothing about. Not happening.

I've lived in cities for the last 30 years. I don't consider any of them "safe". I leave my shop on congress Street at 1030 most every night and walk to my car. Like in any other city I walk quickly and don't talk to people when I'm walking.

That said, there were 29 homicides in all of Maine in 2022. 15 were domestic. That would be 14 homicides by strangers in the entire state of Maine. There were 333 murders in Baltimore city alone during that period. Not the entire state of Maryland. Just the city. I used to walk around Baltimore at night too. It's an absolutely wonderful place to live but yeah, I watched my back something fierce.

Anyway. If you're convinced Portland is unsafe that's on you but in the relative space of a US state, yes Maine is absurdly safe. Do I take precautions going out, of course.

People commenting here seem like they are shitting their pants leaving their houses which is sad.

“Oh you think portland has bad areas?! How about I bring up two cities that are in the top ten for crime rates in America!!!”

… uhhh okay? Lol

I mean you seem totally clueless about why their would be sirens near a hospital.

Ohhhh, so you're a nurse. You're not in the law profession. That explains a lot.

Again, I'm aware of where the sirens are coming from. I have a good sense of direction. I know where the hospital is. I've been to the hospital before. If I didn't have a good sense of direction then I'd be fucked over.

That being said, I never insinuated that ambulances and firetrucks = "Portland is a bad city". That's nonsensical, "I just pulled a hammy" reaching. People get hurt all the time, whether they're shot by a gun or have a heart attack. Pretty normal stuff. I'm not factoring that into the equation.

Hearing all that stuff was surprising in my first year of living there because I lived in the suburbs all my life, not in the city, and thus, that's what I was used to. I grew numb to it after that. Almost any Joe Nobody would be surprised to see a gun on the median strip in a residential neighborhood, but when you've seen enough things, it becomes more of a "meh" thing to you. Obviously, that was probably not true in your case. It was true in mine. You do you.

I read your other post, so the other reasons are presumably various flavors of delusion.

Only to someone that leaves their doors unlocked and walks around without protection not named "a condom" in Maine.

To smart people, that's not the case. I didn't move because of delusion. I moved to keep myself safe in a safer city. Smart people would, too. You don't seem like one of them.

My Portland door is unlocked right now, lol.

Now I do understand that you had to move somewhere else to find a place with the padded walls.

Classic deflection from a person with no common sense. Keep playin' the hits and living in your delusion! I'll keep being smart.