ASSAULTED on Prospect PL.

liftandcut

I feel I'm entitled to winning Knicks, Jets, and Yankees teams. Oh, and I'm also entitled to $5/lb. swiss cheese, fast service at Cafe Shane, a cat-back exhaust for my car, and, um, visible panty lines. Schwing!

armchair_warrior

yes boo bear we have it worst! consider a minority. but treated like a white person by Afirmative action. and beaten up by everyone cause we are a minority. have you ever walk into a white or black or hispanic area and got spit at or punch or named called cause of youre race? if that happens to a black or hispanic guy. it would be consider a racist act. but when it happens to me or my friends nothing gets done about it. just another random assualt etc..... part of living here in nyc.

liftandcut

Come on, man. Half these cats are probably scared of you because they think you know Gung Fu. Smile!

armchair_warrior

liftandcut wrote: Come on, man. Half these cats are probably scared of you because they think you know Gung Fu. Smile!

i'm just sick of people using race as a excuse for everything. i hate to bring it up. i think its lame. i hate playing this race card as others on this board like to do. there is one human race and we are all human. some folks dont see it as class and education. but they only see the basic skin color of the man that is the cause of problems.

liftandcut

Jeez, lighten up. Sorry if that wasn't funny, man. My bad.

liftandcut

But you're always going to be sick of people bringing up race because this country was built on racism, and it will always be relevant. That's just the way it is. The legacy of white racism has created a situation that isn't going to be solved any time soon.

rbg

Subject: Sure Feels Nice

I'm so glad I'm no longer the only Black person on this board who's fed up with the me-centric gentrifiers...I'm so sick of this "victimization" crap...You live in the hood, so deal with it. Perhaps Boobear is right---its not about being black or white---its about being corny...Corniess is perceived as a sign of weakness in the 'hood...Why is it that I've been in PH for 11 years and have NEVER been mugged, beat up, etc? Why is it that I know the so-called drug dealers, "thugs," etc, and you don't??? Its not because I'm black, but because I've taken the time to get to know my neighbors---black and white...Stop walking around with your noses stuck up in the air and learn to be a part of the community.

and ps...some of my best friends are white, too.

rbg

Subject: Armchair--cut it out!

With all do respect, Armchair Warrior, all the "my plight is worse than your plight," is so Ethnic Studies 101. To say that Asians have it the worst is such a tired, lame, argument....Who cares that you come from a workingclass background?? Most of us do...Find a new story and drop the "I've been a victim" crap...Its not cute.

armchair_warrior

Subject: Re: Armchair--cut it out!

RBG wrote: With all do respect, Armchair Warrior, all the "my plight is worse than your plight," is so Ethnic Studies 101. To say that Asians have it the worst is such a tired, lame, argument....Who cares that you come from a workingclass background?? Most of us do...Find a new story and drop the "I've been a victim" crap...Its not cute.

the reason i brought it up was cause everyone keeps bring this race crap out. i'm just using it to say dont bring that crap up or i could too. i'm not the one here who keeps bring race up. i tend to avoid it.

boobear

the reason i brought it up was cause everyone keeps bring this race crap out. i'm just using it to say dont bring that crap up or i could too. i'm not the one here who keeps bring race up. i tend to avoid it.

Avoid it? You've been doing everything but. Every other post is about your being Asian.

yes boo bear we have it worst! consider a minority. but treated like a white person by Afirmative action. and beaten up by everyone cause we are a minority. have you ever walk into a white or black or hispanic area and got spit at or punch or named called cause of youre race? if that happens to a black or hispanic guy. it would be consider a racist act. but when it happens to me or my friends nothing gets done about it.

WHO doesn't consider your getting beat up and called a ch--k a racist act? I bet everyone on this board would. And you "have it the worst?" I didn't realize this was a contest.

But seriously, I really feel for Asian guys. You're perceived as being wussy and asexual and nerdy. Is that worse than being perceived as an uneducated thug? Well, 50 Cent gets all-u-can-eat at the Ass Buffet; I doubt the same could be said of William Hung.

So I feel for you, Armchair, I do. If it makes you feel better, that guy Jin on "Lost" is really hot. Maybe that will give you some hope. I think I got off track here, I forget what my point was. But Jin is seriously hot.

parkin' place

Hi Brooklynlover!

alafairnadia

2 things:

1. identity in every part of this country is NOT necessarily about skin color as a racial tell. race is encompassed, or perhaps undermined, by ethnicity and cultural origin as well. I grew up in Miami, where being hispanic automatically made me non-white. my best friends from high school (and still very good friends) were both hispanic - one a blonde, blue-eyed half-Panamanian woman (whose mother is black) and a black Cuban woman. we were all defined as non-white and were treated that way by everyone around us. skin color had very little to do with our primary* identities and our peer groups. language, immigrant status, culture, and ethnicity were far more important.
leaving Miami created some level of cultural shock for me. those of you who've met me (or looked at my user pic - that's me) know that I've got white skin and don't "look hispanic". I've always been very sensitive to the fact that I am treated differently - when I grew up I was not part of the culture that was deferred to and now I am.
and that's why, upon moving to NYC, I've found myself living in neighborhoods like Harlem and Prospect Heights - I feel a million times more comfortable living in a diverse neighborhood. I feel comfortable having a diverse group of friends, hanging out in diverse spaces, giving my business to establishments that are owned by folks from all different walks of life, etc.
but neighborhoods like Harlem or PH are never as comfortable for me as I'd like them to be because skin color is such a huge issue in NYC. the off-the-cuff comments and snap-judgments made by people on both "sides" (whatever the sides may be) illustrate this perfectly. and, I think, on some level show how flawed it is to define "gentrification" and class issues using skin color alone.

2. everyone, everywhere is entitled to, among other things, safety while walking down a public street. see the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as followed by the UN. that said, boobear mentioned "willful ignorance" and, on that point, I agree. the entire world needs a UN because basic safety is not a guarantee anywhere. we all need to be vigilant, stay as safe as we can. it is our responsibility to ourselves to do everything reasonably possible to stay safe. there are angry people everywhere willing to do outrageous things for all sorts of reasons. I think it's valid to be understanding of the myriad of causes of their anger, but it isn't valid to be understanding of their violent expression of the anger.

*obviously, as with many cultural/ethnic groups, skin color played a secondary role - the goals of lighter skin and improved hair were often discussed by my family and the families of my friends. my black Cuban friend married a white Argentine man and they just had a baby (the one reaching into my shirt - I posted that pic somewhere on this board). my great aunt's first question upon seeing the baby's photo: "oye, ese bebe es negro?"

brooklynlover

Subject: Hi Parkin' Place

Hi Parkin' Place

rbg

Subject: Korean Men are hot!

Boobear...
I agree with you. Korean men are HOT---some of them are built like brothas...

parkin' place

Why did my font turn all orange?

Do you think if I stood at my window right now, buck naked, and jerked off with the window open, you guys would change the topic on this post?

brooklynlover

Should I carry an umbrella while walking my pug, in flipflops. I don't want to mess up my mohawk. Well it can use some jell.

parkin' place

:twisted:

I'm aimin' for you!

boobear

Parkin Place, you're my favorite.

I agree, and simultaneously acknowledge my part in all this. Movin' on.

lox

liftandcut wrote: Please, on at least 20 occasions since I moved to PH, I've had the good fortune of walking toward a white person, usually a woman, to watch her cross the street, only to see her get to the corner and cross back over to the original side she was walking on. It's fucking ridiculous. But really, it's nothing new. It has happened to me many times, no matter where I've lived. I gotta say that white vision must be getting better, because at least they cross when they see me from the other end of the block, instead of from the usual 30 feet away. It makes it less obvious, and certainly, less hurtful. Cheers!

I'm "white" and grew up in a redneck saturated town in Florida. If I was alone I'd try to keep my distance from groups of white kids hanging out in the back of pickup trucks. It's called avoiding a situation that could be hazardous to your health.

wrecky718

Lox wrote: [quote=liftandcut]Please, on at least 20 occasions since I moved to PH, I've had the good fortune of walking toward a white person, usually a woman, to watch her cross the street, only to see her get to the corner and cross back over to the original side she was walking on. It's fucking ridiculous. But really, it's nothing new. It has happened to me many times, no matter where I've lived. I gotta say that white vision must be getting better, because at least they cross when they see me from the other end of the block, instead of from the usual 30 feet away. It makes it less obvious, and certainly, less hurtful. Cheers!

I'm "white" and grew up in a redneck saturated town in Florida. If I was alone I'd try to keep my distance from groups of white kids hanging out in the back of pickup trucks. It's called avoiding a situation that could be hazardous to your health.
Does walking toward a black male always = "avoiding a situation that could be hazardous to your health"?

sterling2000

Subject: Re: Complainers

BrooKlyNLoVeR wrote: These so called punk kids my not be highly educated, read the NYTimes or own a skateboard, but they know their history.[/i]

If they know their history, then why are the dooming themselves to repeat it? Continuing a generally socially unacceptable behavior (i.e. harrassing people over a historical beef) seems like perpetuating a bad part of the history, rather than working to change it up.

Education doesn't necessarily lead to enlightenment, and enlightenment doesn't have to come through straight book-learning either.

We're in a weird space when education, the NY Times and skateboards(!) become topics of insult.

lox

wrecky718 wrote: [quote=Lox][quote=liftandcut]Please, on at least 20 occasions since I moved to PH, I've had the good fortune of walking toward a white person, usually a woman, to watch her cross the street, only to see her get to the corner and cross back over to the original side she was walking on. It's fucking ridiculous. But really, it's nothing new. It has happened to me many times, no matter where I've lived. I gotta say that white vision must be getting better, because at least they cross when they see me from the other end of the block, instead of from the usual 30 feet away. It makes it less obvious, and certainly, less hurtful. Cheers!

I'm "white" and grew up in a redneck saturated town in Florida. If I was alone I'd try to keep my distance from groups of white kids hanging out in the back of pickup trucks. It's called avoiding a situation that could be hazardous to your health.
Does walking toward a black male always = "avoiding a situation that could be hazardous to your health"?

No. I was talking about avoiding any situation that makes a person feel uncomfortable. I avoid walking over steaming manhole covers. Risk is different for each person. I'm Italian/American and at 2:00 AM I would avoid a group of white kids in Bensonhurst just like I would avoid a group of black kids in PH/CH. I lived in Alphabet City for many years before moving here and when coming home late at night I had both women and men cross the street when I was heading towards them. They had no idea who I was and what I might do. I was never offended.

ar

Again, Homeowner is always the grounding element.
She called me on a quote and her point was more than well taken. Apology.
She also brings the specifics of other points out, all relevant to the topic as a whole. I think she sees the big picture better than many of us.

escap

Wow, you gotta love this board. Sorry to tune in so late here, and I haven't read every single post, but one thing I was surprised about is that no one questioned the original premise of this whole controversy--that the attack was the result of anti-white sentiment, and particularly a reaction to gentrification. That's a huge leap of logic given the limited facts, including that the attacker may have been half white. None of you has actually talked to the attacker, yet you're all making astonishing assumptions about the guy's motives, all the result of a provocative post by someone who calls herself "Rich Black Girl" and has a long history of concluding any attack on a white person must be in response to gentrification. Projecting, anyone?

As some people have pointed out, it's just as likely--more so, even--that a black guy get assaulted in ProHo than a white guy, so where's the racial/anti-gentrifying motive there? The attacker may have been hispanic, and since ProHo is not historically a hispanic neighborhood, perhaps he's a recent (or non-) resident himself. The guy may be pro the Atlantic Arena--who the heck knows so why are we projecting all these feelings on him. I hope he's reading this board, and if he is I'm sure he's laughing.

Weren't any of you ever kids? Didn't any of you ever commit random, senseless acts of vandalism, destruction, violence, etc., or at least know someone who did? I am personally skeptical about the socioeconomic contemplativeness of your average teenager. Boredom or immaturity are far more likely motivators.

The point is, who cares? So what if he is mad about gentrification, or Ratner, or is a racist, or a thug? What's the difference? Not even RBG has said that understanding the root cause excuses the act, so we're all in agreement here.