Why are whites moving into the HOOD?
As a black man, I'm curious about why whites are moving into communities where blacks are in the majority when at one time whites(and probably still) would flee a community or burn a cross when 1 or more black person moved in? I say some of these things tongue in cheek but I'm very interested in what the trend is all about. I'm also interested in why once you move into a neighborhood that's been "neglected" because of it's population, what do you expect? Do you expect things to be like where you came from, where more services were provided or where more affluent people lived?
I'm trying to gain some insight into what some white people are thinking and feeling about the communities and the "indigenous" population, so help a brotha out here.
I'm trying to gain some insight into what some white people are thinking and feeling about the communities and the "indigenous" population, so help a brotha out here.
Comments
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Subject: Re: Why are whites moving into the "HOOD"?
BassPlaya wrote: As a black man, I'm curious about why whites are moving into communities where blacks are in the majority when at one time whites(and probably still) would flee a community or burn a cross when 1 or more black person moved in? I say some of these things tongue in cheek but I'm very interested in what the trend is all about. I'm also interested in why once you move into a neighborhood that's been "neglected" because of it's population, what do you expect? Do you expect things to be like where you came from, where more services were provided or where more affluent people lived?
can you first ask why you used the word "indigenous"? Do you honestly think that all white people look at black people as an entire other species?
I'm trying to gain some insight into what some white people are thinking and feeling about the communities and the "indigenous" population, so help a brotha out here.
Because, I'm white, and frankly, I don't. The people who happened to live here before I moved in are...just the people who happened to live here. I moved here because I can afford the rent here, basically; there was no grand socio-political-racial plan or anything.
I hate to break it to you, but sometimes that's all there is to it -- people need a place to live, they check an apartment out, the apartment looks nice and so does the neighborhood, and so they sign the lease and move in. And that's that. -
Subject: Re: Why are whites moving into the "HOOD"?
queencallipygos wrote:
I don't know what all white people think. It's obvious to me that black people are human and not to long ago that view wasn't shared by a majority of people in this country. Indigenous loosely interpreted would mean people who are at a place before you get there or before you "discover" it.
can you first ask why you used the word "indigenous"? Do you honestly think that all white people look at black people as an entire other species?
I don't know what kind of filter your reading through that gives you the notion that indigenous means less than human.
There is a socio-economic plan, you can't afford to in the other areas.
Because, I'm white, and frankly, I don't. The people who happened to live here before I moved in are...just the people who happened to live here. I moved here because I can afford the rent here, basically; there was no grand socio-political-racial plan or anything.
You are not and cannot speak for everyone, but thank you for your perspective.
I hate to break it to you, but sometimes that's all there is to it -- people need a place to live, they check an apartment out, the apartment looks nice and so does the neighborhood, and so they sign the lease and move in. And that's that. -
I was motivated on several fronts. First and foremost, I felt comfortable with the neighborhood, I liked its vibe and I felt comfortable here. My studies in sociology have always revolved around inner-city issues (yes, even us white males have a vested investment in the betterment of everybody, regardless of race, etc.) Additionally my boyfriend is black and grew up in a similiar neighborhood and wanted to remain connected to the community. Finally, as a gay male, I honestly believe in the words of Martin Luther King (often echoed by the likes of Cornel West) that "for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom."
It's a novel concept, but it isn't always us vs. them. Divison is not the ultimate solution to the betterment of society as a whole. Whether it regards gender, race or sexuality, I believe we are bound together in our fight for human rights.
Yes, moving to a community may just be a symbolic gesture, but it also signals that I have something to contribute to the community, that I can come to a better understanding of the plight of areas and the racial injustices that persist.
Of course, I would be lying if I also didn't point out it is cheap, but we could have found cheap anywhere else — this is our home. -
I moved here because it's less expensive. I don't really expect anything of the neighborhood. And, the burning crosses and white flight took place before most of us were born. It's a different world. People still have their biases, but a lot of people are a lot less hung up on them than they used to be. I don't know any people in NY who would NOT move to a neighborhood because of the race of the people there. At least, they'd be too embarrassed to say it if they felt that way.
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Subject: Re: Why are whites moving into the "HOOD"?
BassPlaya wrote: As a black man, I'm curious about why whites are moving into communities where blacks are in the majority when at one time whites(and probably still) would flee a community or burn a cross when 1 or more black person moved in? I say some of these things tongue in cheek but I'm very interested in what the trend is all about. I'm also interested in why once you move into a neighborhood that's been "neglected" because of it's population, what do you expect? Do you expect things to be like where you came from, where more services were provided or where more affluent people lived?
I'm only in my thirties and grew up on the west coast, so anything to do with cross burnings and such is something I learned about in history class. All my schools were fully integrated, and minorities were represented roughly in proportion to their population in the community. Most "racial" issues weren't so much of race, but more of immigration status.
I moved into a "black" neighborhood only because of affordability. I was looking to be as close to my children and my work as possible. My budget dictated rent of $900/mo or under, and here I am. I honestly did _not_ consider the neighborhood "neglected", to me it seemed vibrant and alive. Which isn't why I choose it, but it certainly made me feel good about it. As far as services provided, I didn't really have much in the way of expectations, but I've found the variety, availability, and cost of goods and services to be far better than in more "affluent" areas where I have lived in the past.
In an nutshell, I would say that I came in without expectations on anything, but I have been (mostly) pleasantly surprised on all fronts by the community. -
Subject: Re: Why are whites moving into the "HOOD"?
BassPlaya wrote: I don't know what kind of filter your reading through that gives you the notion that indigenous means less than human.
I just found your word choice to be a little odd, is all. I've personally only encountered the word "indigenous" before this in old Victorian-era texts written by English explorers who were exploring Australia and discussing the people they encountered there, and that's what they thought. -
Subject: Re: Why are whites moving into the "HOOD"?
queencallipygos wrote: [quote=BassPlaya]I don't know what kind of filter your reading through that gives you the notion that indigenous means less than human.
I just found your word choice to be a little odd, is all. I've personally only encountered the word "indigenous" before this in old Victorian-era texts written by English explorers who were exploring Australia and discussing the people they encountered there, and that's what they thought.
Well, indigenous certainly doesn't mean aboriginals or anything, but I don't think it applies here either. The indigenous people to the neighborhoods would be the (here comes some more Victorian for ya) bourgeois class from Manhattan in the mid to late 1800s. Upscale, highfalutin white folk.
Not that it makes any difference. -
Subject: Re: Why are whites moving into the "HOOD"?
queencallipygos wrote:
Ever here of Chiapas and the indigenous struggle there?
I just found your word choice to be a little odd, is all. I've personally only encountered the word "indigenous" before this in old Victorian-era texts written by English explorers who were exploring Australia and discussing the people they encountered there, and that's what they thought.
http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/americas/mexico/chiapas -
Subject: Re: Why are whites moving into the "HOOD"?
BassPlaya wrote: [quote=queencallipygos]
Ever here of Chiapas and the indigenous struggle there?
I just found your word choice to be a little odd, is all. I've personally only encountered the word "indigenous" before this in old Victorian-era texts written by English explorers who were exploring Australia and discussing the people they encountered there, and that's what they thought.
http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/americas/mexico/chiapas
Heard of the events, just not ever heard the word "indigenous" used in connection to them. -
I moved here because it's less expensive. I don't really expect anything of the neighborhood. And, the burning crosses and white flight took place before most of us were born. It's a different world.
Incorrect, a cross was burned in Dix Hills in front of the home of the Pastor of the Christian Life Center in the late 1990's when he his wife and six sons first moved out there. The world is different because the signs have been removed, but the conduct and attitudes are the same, three nooses were hung on a tree last year in the USA and a man was chained to a pickup truck a few years ago and dragged to his death in the USA. In Jena, LA the people were upset about the protest yesterday and were on camera saying things like "outside agitators coming in here and stirring things up" and the nooses hanging from the tree were "just boys playing"; is a painted swastika on the side of a synagogue "just boys playing". Answer that "Sirrah"
Mod Edit: Added quote tags to make your post easier to read. Please use the board functions. If you aren't clear how to do something post a question in "Ask Brooklynian", we'll be glad to help you out -
guru wrote: I moved here because it's less expensive. I don't really expect anything of the neighborhood. And, the burning crosses and white flight took place before most of us were born. It's a different world.
OK then, where would you like me to move? I'm not here to answer for the evils of the world, and I resent you asking me to. I'm just trying to make a living and take care of my family. I don't condone any of the activities that you have mentioned, among many other activities that I don't condone that are done by people of all races, colors, and creeds. No one race has the market cornered on evil.
Incorrect, a cross was burned in Dix Hills in front of the home of the Pastor of the Christian Life Center in the late 1990's when he his wife and six sons first moved out there. The world is different because the signs have been removed, but the conduct and attitudes are the same, three nooses were hung on a tree last year in the USA and a man was chained to a pickup truck a few years ago and dragged to his death in the USA. In Jena, LA the people were upset about the protest yesterday and were on camera saying things like "outside agitators coming in here and stirring things up" and the nooses hanging from the tree were "just boys playing"; is a painted swastika on the side of a synagogue "just boys playing". Answer that "Sirrah" -
Well, indigenous certainly doesn't mean aboriginals or anything, but I don't think it applies here either. The indigenous people to the neighborhoods would be the (here comes some more Victorian for ya) bourgeois class from Manhattan in the mid to late 1800s. Upscale, highfalutin white folk.
Wrong again, it would be the victims of genocide and the folks who got some beads and poisoned blankets. Continue -
guru wrote: Incorrect, a cross was burned in Dix Hills in front of the home of the Pastor of the Christian Life Center in the late 1990's when he his wife and six sons first moved out there. The world is different because the signs have been removed, but the conduct and attitudes are the same, three nooses were hung on a tree last year in the USA and a man was chained to a pickup truck a few years ago and dragged to his death in the USA. In Jena, LA the people were upset about the protest yesterday and were on camera saying things like "outside agitators coming in here and stirring things up" and the nooses hanging from the tree were "just boys playing"; is a painted swastika on the side of a synagogue "just boys playing". Answer that "Sirrah"
OK then, where would you like me to move? I'm not here to answer for the evils of the world, and I resent you asking me to. I'm just trying to make a living and take care of my family. I don't condone any of the activities that you have mentioned, among many other activities that I don't condone that are done by people of all races, colors, and creeds. No one race has the market cornered on evil.
daver, nice answer.
guru - what do Dix Hill, Jena LA and Jasper TX have in common? That's right - they're not Brooklyn.
guru / bassplaya - Every thread boils down to same thing - Years ago and somewhere else - someone said or did something terrible to someone else - so f*ck you Newbie!
Newbie = mostly white people or anyone else who has the audacity to move into a nabe that they and their parents weren't born into - and G*d forbid you make more than 10 bucks an hour. Also G*d forbid if you'd like to buy something you'd like or were accustomed to buying in the nabe that you now live in or take offense to behavior that would near universally be declared unneighborly/unseemly/criminal.
Enough already. Burning cross guy - asshole. Noose kids - assholes. Black kids (note plural) who nearly beat to death solitary white kid over noose incident - assholes. African tribesman who sold other African tribesman to Portuguese slavers - assholes. Portuguese slavers - assholes. US Southern plantation owners, US Northern merchants, Union forces, CSA forces, carpetbaggers, Klansmen, rednecks, Northern elites, cops, CIA, FBI, Albanian mobs, Korean grocers, Hasidic landlords, illegal South Americans who shoot black college kids in Jersey - every fucking man, woman and child who's ever drawn breath since the Earth cooled and started spinning around the Sun - ASSHOLES.
Assholes and they're to blame for every bad thing that ever happened to any poor Black person in the "HOOD". Ok, how's that? We admit it. You win.
Now what? Do we build a gigantic time machine and you get to travel back and eradicate every evil act that ever was - or do you put that shit aside and try to get on with your life and do right by the people who are here now?
People (white people too) live where they want to live. It’s none of your damn business. What's to understand? It’s not like there's any ONE answer that can be given for why individuals do what they do? Cheap rent, they're on the run from the law, it's convenient to work, it's where their grandma grew up, they're stalking someone, they like Black chicks, they like Black dudes, they're studying Black people so that when the race war comes they'll know how Black people think, they always wanted to live in brownstones, their cat liked the view - who knows?
Why do you Black people live here in the hood - oh that's right - it don't matter. As long as no one hassles you - keep doing what you're doing. And be sure to return the favor to the newbies. -
guru wrote: Well, indigenous certainly doesn't mean aboriginals or anything, but I don't think it applies here either. The indigenous people to the neighborhoods would be the (here comes some more Victorian for ya) bourgeois class from Manhattan in the mid to late 1800s. Upscale, highfalutin white folk.
Sorry, the apartments and neighborhoods weren't there then. Them white folk are indigenous to those neighborhoods. The folks you are talking about are indigenous to the land.
Wrong again, it would be the victims of genocide and the folks who got some beads and poisoned blankets. Continue -
i moved here to hang out with bknest, but he never returns my calls...
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daver wrote: OK then, where would you like me to move? I'm not here to answer for the evils of the world, and I resent you asking me to. I'm just trying to make a living and take care of my family. I don't condone any of the activities that you have mentioned, among many other activities that I don't condone that are done by people of all races, colors, and creeds. No one race has the market cornered on evil.
I never said anything about where you should live or move, if I had a vacancy you could live in my house. You are not suppose to answer for any evils except your own, I would think. I don't think you would ever condone the activities I mentioned or internalize them. In these United States of America unfortunately one race absolutely has the market cornered and you should not feel accountable for any evil done by anyone except yourself, you should not be responsible for the crimes of your own kids. -
guru - what do Dix Hill, Jena LA and Jasper TX have in common? That's right - they're not Brooklyn.
The point is I might travel/move/pass by any of these places and could be victimized by these current or recent events. They have me in common! -
BoogieKnight wrote: [quote=daver][quote=guru]Incorrect, a cross was burned in Dix Hills in front of the home of the Pastor of the Christian Life Center in the late 1990's when he his wife and six sons first moved out there. The world is different because the signs have been removed, but the conduct and attitudes are the same, three nooses were hung on a tree last year in the USA and a man was chained to a pickup truck a few years ago and dragged to his death in the USA. In Jena, LA the people were upset about the protest yesterday and were on camera saying things like "outside agitators coming in here and stirring things up" and the nooses hanging from the tree were "just boys playing"; is a painted swastika on the side of a synagogue "just boys playing". Answer that "Sirrah"
OK then, where would you like me to move? I'm not here to answer for the evils of the world, and I resent you asking me to. I'm just trying to make a living and take care of my family. I don't condone any of the activities that you have mentioned, among many other activities that I don't condone that are done by people of all races, colors, and creeds. No one race has the market cornered on evil.
daver, nice answer.
guru - what do Dix Hill, Jena LA and Jasper TX have in common? That's right - they're not Brooklyn.
guru / bassplaya - Every thread boils down to same thing - Years ago and somewhere else - someone said or did something terrible to someone else - so f*ck you Newbie!
Newbie = mostly white people or anyone else who has the audacity to move into a nabe that they and their parents weren't born into - and G*d forbid you make more than 10 bucks an hour. Also G*d forbid if you'd like to buy something you'd like or were accustomed to buying in the nabe that you now live in or take offense to behavior that would near universally be declared unneighborly/unseemly/criminal.
Enough already. Burning cross guy - asshole. Noose kids - assholes. Black kids (note plural) who nearly beat to death solitary white kid over noose incident - assholes. African tribesman who sold other African tribesman to Portuguese slavers - assholes. Portuguese slavers - assholes. US Southern plantation owners, US Northern merchants, Union forces, CSA forces, carpetbaggers, Klansmen, rednecks, Northern elites, cops, CIA, FBI, Albanian mobs, Korean grocers, Hasidic landlords, illegal South Americans who shoot black college kids in Jersey - every fucking man, woman and child who's ever drawn breath since the Earth cooled and started spinning around the Sun - ASSHOLES.
Assholes and they're to blame for every bad thing that ever happened to any poor Black person in the "HOOD". Ok, how's that? We admit it. You win.
Now what? Do we build a gigantic time machine and you get to travel back and eradicate every evil act that ever was - or do you put that shit aside and try to get on with your life and do right by the people who are here now?
People (white people too) live where they want to live. It’s none of your damn business. What's to understand? It’s not like there's any ONE answer that can be given for why individuals do what they do? Cheap rent, they're on the run from the law, it's convenient to work, it's where their grandma grew up, they're stalking someone, they like Black chicks, they like Black dudes, they're studying Black people so that when the race war comes they'll know how Black people think, they always wanted to live in brownstones, their cat liked the view - who knows?
Why do you Black people live here in the hood - oh that's right - it don't matter. As long as no one hassles you - keep doing what you're doing. And be sure to return the favor to the newbies.
Most of my tenants and my families tenants are currently white, I held no malice towards them based on historical events nor current events. Your level of anger is disturbing and your passive defense is more disturbing. Your arguments are weak and your assumptions are senseless. I could care less about who makes ten dollars an hour because I am trying to make a whole lot more than that. I enjoy taking money from white people so you will always be welcome, you are on a strange trip friend and completely lost. -
I moved here 10 years ago because it was affordable. And I loved the brownstones and diversity and easy commute to work. It felt comfortable and welcoming. I felt like I was HOME! It's actually been quite a shock to me over the last couple months to read the posts on Brooklynian and discover that I am actually not welcome
I have been so proud of being a Brooklyner. But now I am for the first time getting the sense that perhaps most people here look at me and think I don't belong. It's very sad to me. I thought Brooklyn was the one place that anyone can belong. But the anger that keeps coming up on every thread is sadly proving that's not that case.
Can't we all just get along? -
KGirl wrote: I moved here 10 years ago because it was affordable. And I loved the brownstones and diversity and easy commute to work. It felt comfortable and welcoming. I felt like I was HOME! It's actually been quite a shock to me over the last couple months to read the posts on Brooklynian and discover that I am actually not welcome
KGirl: For what it is worth, my experience has been that while this attitude does exist on the streets, it is very minimal compared to how much of it there is on this board. So don't sweat it. I have been so proud of being a Brooklyner. But now I am for the first time getting the sense that perhaps most people here look at me and think I don't belong. It's very sad to me. I thought Brooklyn was the one place that anyone can belong. But the anger that keeps coming up on every thread is sadly proving that's not that case.
Can't we all just get along? -
Amen to that. The "hood" or "nabe" is truly a blessed place. Far more free spirited people than whats on evidence in here. I think you'll find that Brooklynian is is a 'virtual' meeting place in every sense of the word, while what you have been experiencing in the street is actually REAL. LOL
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daver wrote: [quote=KGirl]I moved here 10 years ago because it was affordable. And I loved the brownstones and diversity and easy commute to work. It felt comfortable and welcoming. I felt like I was HOME! It's actually been quite a shock to me over the last couple months to read the posts on Brooklynian and discover that I am actually not welcome
KGirl: For what it is worth, my experience has been that while this attitude does exist on the streets, it is very minimal compared to how much of it there is on this board. So don't sweat it. I have been so proud of being a Brooklyner. But now I am for the first time getting the sense that perhaps most people here look at me and think I don't belong. It's very sad to me. I thought Brooklyn was the one place that anyone can belong. But the anger that keeps coming up on every thread is sadly proving that's not that case.
Can't we all just get along?
Very interesting conclusions. -
i moved here because i really like black people. no really! it's true. i'm being facetious. i know we're part of the "gentrification" process, even though we'll probably be gentrified right out of here in a few years. but actually, i grew up in a mostly black and puerto rican neighborhood in manhattan, and my boyfriend, who is blond haired and blue eyed, grew up in black neighborhoods out west. his step-father is black. (okay, so we're not the average white couple). but given the choice to live in bed-stuy or some jena-like neighborhood in brooklyn (and they DO exist), i'd much rather live here.
it's not a negative to us that the neighborhood is mostly black. it IS a negative that no chinese restaurant will deliver past 7 and there's no supermarket nearby. i don't expect luxurious amenities, but i would like to buy groceries without getting on the train. doesn't everyone want a better grocery store? it's a working class area, so i know people don't have time to be dealing with the sad supermarket situation around here.
we moved here as opposed to sunset park or elsewhere in greenpoint because the subway is more convenient, the rents were good, the apartment was good, and the community gardens and brownstones are nice. AND because the neighbors were nice. duh. -
BoogieKnight wrote:
This thread is about white people sharing their story of why they decided to move into a neighborhood that's predominately black when historically whites move out of neighborhoods when one or more black families arrive. What part of that don't you understand? Don't try to derail my thread with nonsense.
guru / bassplaya - Every thread boils down to same thing - Years ago and somewhere else - someone said or did something terrible to someone else - so f*ck you Newbie!
Most of the black people in my neighborhood, actually the overwhelming majority own their own homes and make more than 10 dollars per hour and they didn't just start doing that today nor when they moved here.
Newbie = mostly white people or anyone else who has the audacity to move into a nabe that they and their parents weren't born into - and G*d forbid you make more than 10 bucks an hour. Also G*d forbid if you'd like to buy something you'd like or were accustomed to buying in the nabe that you now live in or take offense to behavior that would near universally be declared unneighborly/unseemly/criminal.
I suggest you get a hold of information before you post here, a white kid was not beaten nearly to death, that's a myth a lie used to justify the harsh treatment to a group of black kids.
Enough already. Burning cross guy - asshole. Noose kids - assholes. Black kids (note plural) who nearly beat to death solitary white kid over noose incident - assholes. African tribesman who sold other African tribesman to Portuguese slavers - assholes. Portuguese slavers - assholes. US Southern plantation owners, US Northern merchants, Union forces, CSA forces, carpetbaggers, Klansmen, rednecks, Northern elites, cops, CIA, FBI, Albanian mobs, Korean grocers, Hasidic landlords, illegal South Americans who shoot black college kids in Jersey - every fucking man, woman and child who's ever drawn breath since the Earth cooled and started spinning around the Sun - ASSHOLES.
No we educate the people like you who believe lies that the media feeds to them which further perpetuates your distorted view of one group based on the color of their skin.
Now what? Do we build a gigantic time machine and you get to travel back and eradicate every evil act that ever was - or do you put that shit aside and try to get on with your life and do right by the people who are here now?
Right, whites can move where they want because they aren't "steered" the way that black people are and they also aren't stigmatized the way black people are.
People (white people too) live where they want to live. It’s none of your damn business. What's to understand? It’s not like there's any ONE answer that can be given for why individuals do what they do? Cheap rent, they're on the run from the law, it's convenient to work, it's where their grandma grew up, they're stalking someone, they like Black chicks, they like Black dudes, they're studying Black people so that when the race war comes they'll know how Black people think, they always wanted to live in brownstones, their cat liked the view - who knows?
No ones looking for ONE answer just some information that some people are sharing, you don't want to share fine, get out of this thread.
Sometimes they live here because that can't buy or rent anywhere else even if they do have the money, income, etc. You seem to be oblivious to racist practices that still happen.
Why do you Black people live here in the hood - oh that's right - it don't matter. As long as no one hassles you - keep doing what you're doing. And be sure to return the favor to the newbies. -
windowbox wrote: i moved here because i really like black people. no really! it's true. i'm being facetious. i know we're part of the "gentrification" process, even though we'll probably be gentrified right out of here in a few years. but actually, i grew up in a mostly black and puerto rican neighborhood in manhattan, and my boyfriend, who is blond haired and blue eyed, grew up in black neighborhoods out west. his step-father is black. (okay, so we're not the average white couple). but given the choice to live in bed-stuy or some jena-like neighborhood in brooklyn (and they DO exist), i'd much rather live here.
This post of yours will be ignored since it is not inflamatory, doesnt fit the stereotype some envision, and is otherwise unobjectionable. Please stop this sort of posting. It doesnt help to facilitate non-stop rants about the evils of gentrification, which is afterall the whole point of Brooklynian. Find something upsetting to say, or please refrain from posting. Thank you.
it's not a negative to us that the neighborhood is mostly black. it IS a negative that no chinese restaurant will deliver past 7 and there's no supermarket nearby. i don't expect luxurious amenities, but i would like to buy groceries without getting on the train. doesn't everyone want a better grocery store? it's a working class area, so i know people don't have time to be dealing with the sad supermarket situation around here.
we moved here as opposed to sunset park or elsewhere in greenpoint because the subway is more convenient, the rents were good, the apartment was good, and the community gardens and brownstones are nice. AND because the neighbors were nice. duh. -
Great post Guvna!
The question is pretty silly if the OP just wants to talk about how blacks are still the subject of racial prejudice. White people who have moved to Bed Study clearly don't have issues with living amongst blacks. Why not go to the Park Slope board and ask blacks who live there why they chose to live there, and whether they found obstacles to doing so if you want to have that discussion. -
BassPlaya wrote: [quote=BoogieKnight]
This thread is about white people sharing their story of why they decided to move into a neighborhood that's predominately black when historically whites move out of neighborhoods when one or more black families arrive. What part of that don't you understand? Don't try to derail my thread with nonsense.
guru / bassplaya - Every thread boils down to same thing - Years ago and somewhere else - someone said or did something terrible to someone else - so f*ck you Newbie!
Most of the black people in my neighborhood, actually the overwhelming majority own their own homes and make more than 10 dollars per hour and they didn't just start doing that today nor when they moved here.
Newbie = mostly white people or anyone else who has the audacity to move into a nabe that they and their parents weren't born into - and G*d forbid you make more than 10 bucks an hour. Also G*d forbid if you'd like to buy something you'd like or were accustomed to buying in the nabe that you now live in or take offense to behavior that would near universally be declared unneighborly/unseemly/criminal.
I suggest you get a hold of information before you post here, a white kid was not beaten nearly to death, that's a myth a lie used to justify the harsh treatment to a group of black kids.
Enough already. Burning cross guy - asshole. Noose kids - assholes. Black kids (note plural) who nearly beat to death solitary white kid over noose incident - assholes. African tribesman who sold other African tribesman to Portuguese slavers - assholes. Portuguese slavers - assholes. US Southern plantation owners, US Northern merchants, Union forces, CSA forces, carpetbaggers, Klansmen, rednecks, Northern elites, cops, CIA, FBI, Albanian mobs, Korean grocers, Hasidic landlords, illegal South Americans who shoot black college kids in Jersey - every fucking man, woman and child who's ever drawn breath since the Earth cooled and started spinning around the Sun - ASSHOLES.
No we educate the people like you who believe lies that the media feeds to them which further perpetuates your distorted view of one group based on the color of their skin.
Now what? Do we build a gigantic time machine and you get to travel back and eradicate every evil act that ever was - or do you put that shit aside and try to get on with your life and do right by the people who are here now?
Right, whites can move where they want because they aren't "steered" the way that black people are and they also aren't stigmatized the way black people are.
People (white people too) live where they want to live. It’s none of your damn business. What's to understand? It’s not like there's any ONE answer that can be given for why individuals do what they do? Cheap rent, they're on the run from the law, it's convenient to work, it's where their grandma grew up, they're stalking someone, they like Black chicks, they like Black dudes, they're studying Black people so that when the race war comes they'll know how Black people think, they always wanted to live in brownstones, their cat liked the view - who knows?
No ones looking for ONE answer just some information that some people are sharing, you don't want to share fine, get out of this thread.
Sometimes they live here because that can't buy or rent anywhere else even if they do have the money, income, etc. You seem to be oblivious to racist practices that still happen.
Why do you Black people live here in the hood - oh that's right - it don't matter. As long as no one hassles you - keep doing what you're doing. And be sure to return the favor to the newbies.
I call the most extreme bullsh*t on this last response of yours. You original post was flame bait and you got it. Your disclaimer of being partly in jest is crap. So many of our posts revolve around why are newbies moving - in why are they here - white people don't live here - what do thy expect - blah-blah. Every response / question on this board is twisted by you into some polemic on race in America - boiling down to how Black people are forever screwed by everything and everyone.
Do you not get how offensive and inflammatory your question is? If you ever moved to a traditionally other race/creed/whatever nabe - for reasons all your own - would you like one of them asking you what you're doing there? Particularly when you could read numerous threads and posts made by the questioner in which his contempt/fear/distrust of your kind is clear to all?
This nabe of yours - which is it - homeowners who have always made way more than 10 bucks an hour - or people trapped here by evil racist practices? Allegations of some Corcoran brokers steering Blacks and White prospective buyers hither thither - of course means that every Black person who’s ever purchased a home has been steered away from where they wanted to live.
I'm tired of you and similarly minded posters making every person of color some damn permanent victim. -
Allegations of some Corcoran brokers steering Blacks and White prospective buyers hither thither - of course means that every Black person who’s ever purchased a home has been steered away from where they wanted to live.
You didn't see the article about brokers steering the couples last year to certain houses; a black couple with higher income and perfect credit was shown houses in lesser areas than a white couple with low income and poor credit. You are extremely defensive of your race and very sensitive and that is disturbing, speak for yourself or you might be defending some real creeps. You are not all white people and you are not a rich or entitled white person so you do not have a clue. -
Even though I am black (part actually, but i consider myself black), I was raised in a very very VERY white community. When I first moved here after college, both my parents were very apprehensive. Two months in, I LOVE this neighborhood. I know this is going to sound weird, but I like being the majority. I think if white people don't mind being the minority, more power to them. To me, if I see white people, I liken it to me growing up in a white community. I felt welcome there and hopefully those white people feel as welcome as I do here. It's just skin color, guys.
I'm not for the kumbaya bullshit, BUT, living here is a state of mind, it's not intrinsic to your skin color. Some black people would not like it here as well. I just wanted to say that I love this neighborhood...and when I first got here, I figured I was going to move, but now I just want to move to an upper level (I live on the ground floor --- and even then it's not loud at all).
I wasn't raised to feel differently around black as opposed to white people. I think the white people here learn what it's like to be a minority...doesn't that perspective actually HELP race relations? Even though I didn't face overt racism in my old community, sometimes I got 'looks' that made me feel I wasn't welcome (hey, some people are racist, what can i say?) and NONE of my white friends got what I was talking about. Now the white people that live here probably have that perspective and would understand. So it strengthens race relations even along those lines.
I support it, personally. Then again, I'm not 'indigenous' nor do I pretend to be just because I'm black. I really don't have much of an opinion on gentrification, but I like the nabe as it is, so if it changes because new people (like me i guess) displace the people who originally lived here, that would truly suck...but diversity is a very very good thing. On my block, for every four black people I see, I see one non black person...I think that's pretty cool. Just as long as the Clinton Hill/Bed Stuy area doesn't become Williamsburg or Park Slope, I don't care who lives here. -
I'm one of the site admins, and before I respond, I'd like to remind everyone to please do your best to keep this discussion civil. Too many of our discussions on race get so nasty so fast, and it's really a shame, because there can be some good information and views exchanged. Just try to keep in mind that you're talking with your neighbors, please? If too many personal attacks start happening, we won't hesitate to lock the thread. We really hate having to do that.
Okay.
For what it's worth, I moved to New York after growing up and later living in very Wonder Bread areas of Arkansas and Kansas. The casual racism I grew up around started bothering me pretty early on, and the way other white people just assumed I'd agree and want to join right in when they'd make racist remarks or jokes often resulted in a lot of nasty confrontations as I grew older and more confident about calling people on it. Not that I think I deserve a gold star, by any means, but it was one of the main reasons I eventually left the South, in spite of many other things I love about that part of the country. There were other factors, of course, but the biggest one was that I couldn't stand being around such deeply-ingrained racism anymore. (Kansas wasn't nearly as bad, but it was still an issue there too.)
I don't want to be some place where everybody looks like me, honestly.
That said, the main reason I live where I do now (Crown Heights) is economic. I looked around a lot on my last apartment hunt, and the place I live in was the only one I was able to find in a relatively safe area that was in my price range. But if I had to choose between two similar apartments in two similar neighborhoods, one predominantly white and one not, I'd go for the more diverse neighborhood in a heartbeat.
So to answer your question about whether I expected where I live now to be like where I came from, BassPlaya: No, and I'm glad it isn't. Sure, it would be nice to have some services and amenities that may be more common in other neighborhoods, and I may join in on waxing rhapsodic about the possibility of, for instance, a good coffee shop on Washington, but that stuff is far from the most important thing to me.
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