Comedian Steve Hofstetter is coming to Baltimore, and he would like to reassure his concerned fans that he will be JUST FINE when he is here, thank you very much.
Making the point that on Facebook in particular, his fans seem to express deep concern for his safety whenever he is playing a show in Baltimore, he reminded people he is from Queens, does not get his crime analysis from Fox News, and wondered why people don’t worry about him when he visits cities with worse crime statistics than Charm City, like St. Louis or Memphis.
He closed by informing people that “The Wire” was not a documentary, and that he’d see whoever was “BRAVE ENOUGH” at the Soundstage at the Inner Harbor on May 8.
The post garnered at least 2,700 likes, generated more than 500 comments, and was shared 124 times as of this writing. Most of the commenters appreciated his mockery of Baltimore’s outsized association with crime and danger, citing their personal experience with living or visiting the city over the years.
Many noted that “The Wire” is a television masterpiece, but reflective of only one part of the city’s multiple subcultures. Others joked that they prefer to keep that rumor afloat so as to keep the racists away. Some bluntly called Baltimore’s “dangerous” reputation itself racist.
One person admitted to going out at night, and some people even chimed in from beyond the grave!
Welcome to Baltimore, Steve. Thanks for having this city’s back, challenging the stereotype, and appreciating all that Baltimore has to offer. Including “The Wire.” Check out Hot Plate if you are looking for non-chain restaurant choices for great places to eat, too. Just in case Fogo de Chão, Capital Grille, and Hard Rock Cafe do not whet your appetite.
I’ve lived in South Baltimore for over 20 years. I don’t go to the Inner Harbor after dark anymore. It’s definitely worse down there now than it was back then. And no amount of hippie gaslighting is going to change facts.
You think “hippies” live downtown, do you?
This was great until the remarks about Fox News. If he is speaking about our local Fox News, I don’t know what ‘terrified white guy’ he is talking about. WBFF is the ONLY channel that challenges our mayor and City Hall. (If it is the other Fox News, come on- how often do they mention Baltimore?)
Yeah, Fell’s Point is fine, filled with partiers and people in a gentrified bubble, but walk a few blocks north and you’re in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the U.S. Then continue to walk a mile, and you’re in a beautiful, safe neighborhood. Then turn right and walk 3 blocks, and you’re in an open field where they tore down _hundreds_ of row-houses because they were abandoned and basically a drug-dealing/car-jacking enterprise-zone. Then turn left and walk 5 blocks and if you’re not hyper-aware of whether there are a gang of kids nearby wearing masks, waiting to car-jack someone, you’ll be their prey. This is not stereotype, this is the mundane reality of Baltimore. I’m a leftist, and it’s pathetic how young urban liberals pretend that crime in Baltimore is just not a big deal, and that public education here is worse than a sick joke. These are literally the reasons one-quarter of Baltimore’s population departed the city in the last 30 years. It’s great that the murder rate has gone down, and the population possibly stabilized, but it’s still like a war-zone compared to comparable-sized cities all over the country. Walk through Sandtown, Upton, Shipley Hill and tell me that Baltimore is all good now. Low-expectation-liberals, apologists for entities like Johns Hopkins and UnderArmor and an endless succession of mayors who are either corrupt, incompetent, complacent or charlatans, or all of the above, and all of us who tolerate this are complicit in denying future generations any hope of this city once again becoming vibrant and safe.