Apartheid. USA 1988

December 12, 1987:

The 1980 census showed that 394 counties, covering 45 percent of the land area of the United States, including virtually all of Alaska, have six or fewer people per square mile. In all, only 2.2 million people lived there. Over the past two years these sparsely populated areas of the US have gained increasing attention from authorities and health care professionals. In the history books, the great American Frontier disappeared around 1890. Now it is argued, however, that this death sentence was proclaimed prematurely. Specialists say that the vast open spaces of the American West remain the nation's most misunderstood and dangerous region, and one that needs to be viewed in

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an entirely different light than rural counterparts elsewhere. Experts say that rates of violent death among youths in the most isolated parts of the West are higher than those in big-city ghettos, and studies show residents of the underpopulated areas, that some still label the frontier, have worse health conditions and shorter lives. Also more than distances are involved. The Frontier is also defined by the West's boom-and-bust economy and dangerous occupations like mining, forestry and oil drilling. Also at play are less tangible factors: the historic machismo of the West and the transient nature and fragile economies of many Western towns. Some experts contend the combination has produced a far more rootless, violent world than small towns or rural areas elsewhere.^181.

The Guardian Angels from New York City, with their red berets and metal-studded belts, who have become known for their subway patrols, have now moved their crime-fighting above ground, and cover such dangerous tough intersections as Eighth Avenue and 30th Street, where they are trying to rid the neighborhood of drug dealers. The move is troubling some longtime Angels supporters as well as the New York City Police. ‘The Police Department has no real plan to deal with the “crack” problem,’ said Curtis Sliwa (33), founder of the group, he runs with his wife, Lisa. He said the Angels had 250 teenagers, mostly black and Hispanic on the streets patrolling neighborhoods unarmed. ‘If the citizens don't do it for themselves, it is not going to get done,’ said Mr Sliwa.

The Police said they could deal with the problem without the ‘Guardian Angels’ and that they were worried the Angels' efforts might sometimes amount to interference. ‘They are a little too macho at times,’ said Deputy Inspector Richard Mayronne of the mid-town South Precinct.^182.

181. The New York Times, from a report by Peter Applebome

182. The New York Times, from a report by Winston Williams