The Evil Underneath
How I Think Hanging Downtown Could Hurt You

Photo by Michelle | VOX Staff

By Michelle | VOX Staff

Downtown Atlanta used to be a vibrant place where tourists and locals were happy to come and shoppers were happy to spend their money. I think back to all the times I’ve heard older people talk about how Underground Atlanta used to be so clean, nice and pretty. From what they told me, it seems like back in the ‘90s, the Underground used to be like today’s Lenox.

There are still a lot of things to do downtown. You can go shopping, get your hair or nails done, go to museums, go to the park, play board games and more. The Underground is also home to a lot of annual events, and for people 18 and older who love the night life, it offers a variety of different clubs.

But people who have any type of business about themselves go down there, handle their business, then leave. The Underground has become a hangout for drug users, pimps, thieves, prostitutes, teenage runaways and other people going down different destructive paths in life. I think it can only drag your life underground if you’re a passive or impressionable type of person.

The Underground lures you in with the nice shops, the cute clothes and the aroma of all the foods cooking. A lot of cool people come to the Underground to shop and hang out, which seems to make not-so cool people want to go there too. The more impressionable ones might get into the wrong crowds and start doing things they see other teens doing, like drugs. Eventually they’re on a path down self-destruction.

I was once on that path myself and I went downtown because I knew I wouldn’t be judged because everyone else was doing the same thing: smoking weed or doing other negative things, watching our lives pass us by. Luckily I have a family and friends who care about what happens to me, so they got me counseling.

Not the Same
I still go to the Underground to shop and hang out when I’m bored. But even when I go there, I’m like, Please don’t let any of these guys or homeless people walk up to me! As I walk down the trash-littered streets of downtown near the Underground and Five Points MARTA station, a variety of different smells descend upon me, as well as a variety of different guys. If I had a dime for every time I heard “Shawty!” or “A Lil Buddy!” or “Lil Mama!” I’d be rich. It’s really sad.

Other people I know go down there to buy drugs, because that’s where the so-called best drugs are. My associates also go there to hang out with people who are supposedly cool. Most people who are negative like to be around other negative things and people, that way they don’t have to worry about people looking at them funny or making assumptions about them.

I’m not saying everything associated with the Underground is negative, because I still go down there to shop and eat. But the majority of people who are not shoppers or tourists seem to be down there because they are up to no good or have nothing else better to do.

Nitty Gritty
I went on a mission to find out why so many negative people like to hang downtown. I went undercover so that people would act natural, not as if I were a reporter. I toured downtown for a couple of days and took notes and pictures on all the negatives and positives that I observed going on around the Underground.

As I walked around, I tried to seem as unnoticeable as possible, dressed in a black shirt, pants and shoes. I listened in on people as I passed them and jotted down juicy details. I overheard one teen saying, “Girl, I only come down here to find someone to smoke with!” This almost made me want to walk up to the girl and give her some advice, but I kept walking because I was on a mission, and I knew what would happen if I stuck my nose in their business.

At least three people tried to sell me weed. As I rounded a corner to go into the Underground, I saw about 10 teenagers sitting by the side entrance to the Underground rolling up marijuana and smoking it. The smell was so strong that I was surprised the police or security guards didn’t smell it and come say something. I really wanted to take a picture, but that’s just something you don’t do downtown.

Unbelievable
I walked around for a little while and wandered over to this club area. I knew they weren’t going to let me in, so I just stood back and watched the party-goers. I saw a few people who I knew were underage going into the club, standing in line and hanging around. I just thought about how they were so young and already being corrupted.

I ran into two sisters I knew at the bus stop at Five Points. As we stood around chatting, I found out that one of them was pregnant with her second child and the other one was on some very serious drugs. When I first met them, maybe a year ago, they weren’t into heavy drugs. I mean they smoked weed, but I don’t consider that a heavy drug. Now they’re popping pills and snorting powder. As they were talking I was amazed at how drastically they had changed since I saw them last summer. Both of them had dropped out of school, and they didn’t stay at home anymore. They were hanging around a lot of guys who were being very disrespectful, calling girls out of their names and touching them inappropriately in public. I was thinking about how I didn’t want to talk to the sisters anymore because they were being very loud and embarrassing, and I didn’t want people to associate me with being rude too. I was silently praying in my head for them to go away when, like magic, my bus appeared. We said our goodbyes and I left.

Negative people, Negative Behavior?
When I used to hang at Underground Atlanta about a year ago, it was to just to waste time or get into bad stuff. The kinds of people I hung with were also up to no good, so we got along just fine. In my opinion, the Underground and the shops surrounding it are nothing but a haven for people with no goals and nothing to do with their time.

I think hanging around negative people at the Underground will lead to negative behavior, which eventually leads to becoming one of those people.

“We just come down here to smoke, get something to eat, and then leave,” said Janishsa*, who is 18 and smelled of marijuana.
A lot of kids go downtown to buy drugs. They may start off smoking weed, but once you’re at a certain tolerance level, marijuana may not cut it for you anymore, so a lot of people evolve to try heavier drugs.

“I used to smoke weed about a year ago, but now the only thing that get’s me crunk is that powder,” said Josh*, 18.

When I first met my friend Shian*, 15, three years ago, she was a virgin. Then she started hanging downtown, smoking weed and having sex with a lot of people. I don’t know why, but ever since she started smoking weed she’s just been really wild, and just doesn’t seem to care about herself. When I used to go out with her downtown she would speak to everybody, and dudes would look at me like I’m just a piece of a$$. Now she and I don't even hang out anymore because she’s not trying to change her lifestyle, and I don’t need those types of people in my life.

“Man these young girls down here aren’t nothing but hoes or runaways!” said Black**, 18. Although I don’t fully agree with his reasoning, I somewhat agree, too, because I know many people who go downtown for those reasons.

Above Ground
I don’t think some teens should hang out at Underground because I have seen how once they get sucked in, they don’t always come back out. I know of a lot more positive places where teens can hang out and not get into anything negative.

Teens could go to any other mall for shopping or food, skating rinks, movie theaters or parks to barbecue, swim and just have fun. Some other places teens could hang out are the library or book stores like Barnes & Nobles or Borders, or the safest places, home or at another positive friend’s house.

We should be mature enough to make the right decisions about where we hang out and what we should do there. We should step up to the plate and encourage our friends and family not to get caught up in the negative aspects of hanging at the Underground or anywhere, because it’s not the only place where there are drugs, prostitution and bad influences. I believe it’s time for us to step up and take our friends and family back.

Michelle, 15, likes Brandon a lot.

*Last names withheld
**Name changed