Comment

Creationism Spreading in Schools, Thanks to Vouchers

131
CuriousLurker1/16/2013 8:19:16 pm PST

re: #77 Dark_Falcon

The problem is James that earlier in my life I was quite afraid of ‘the ghetto’ and badly wanted to keep it at bay, a concern for many young and old in Chicago back in the 1980’s/ early 90’s. I’ve grown up much since then and I now live on the same floor as more than one black condo owner. But I remember how I used to feel and I struggled to put my changing thoughts into words.

So I can say that I oppose segregation now, but that was not always the case.

Let me tell you something about the ghetto—without getting mad & yelling at you this time—it’s not as scary as you might imagine. Since you mentioned a black condo owner, I’m gonna assume we’re talking about black ghettos.

Before I moved to the East Coast I could’ve counted the black people I knew personally without taking off my shoes (taxi passengers don’t count as one doesn’t really “know” them). There simply weren’t that many in my hometown, so I had little exposure.

Granted, you and I are VERY different in terms of personality (but maybe not so different in others), so that probably colors how I approach things as well as how I digest them—you know what they say, “It’s not what you see, it’s how you look at it.” Anyway, it’s also entirely possible that black ghettos in the NY/NJ area are very different from those in Chicago, LA, the South, etc. It’s also possible that because I’m a woman, and an observably Muslim one, that black folks in the NY/NJ area view me differently (because there are so many Muslims up here, many, many of whom are black).

That said, I’ve lived in black ghettos in both NJ and NY. When I first arrived in NYC, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, I was staying with some Muslim women acquaintances. One of them, a Palestinian, had this crazy Puerto Rican friend who was married to a fellow Palestinian and was also a native Brooklynite (she wasn’t Muslim). Her first words of advice to me about surviving in New York were (insert heavy classic Brooklyn accent): “Just act like you belong wherever you’re at. Own it. Don’t act paranoid, don’t act lost or confused, and don’t take any shit from anyone. Do that and you’ll be fine. I promise.” She was right.

In Brooklyn, my move to the ghetto was by necessity: I had little money, had just gotten a job, and took the first tiny apartment I could afford. It was right next to a huge housing project—we’re talking about nightly gunshots being “normal” (after a while you stop worrying about them unless they sound like they’re really close). Along with black Americans there were also lots of people from the Caribbean (West Indians, Jamaicans, etc.) in the neighborhood. There were 3 or 4 Muslims in my apartment building.

It wasn’t all that bad. I had to walk about 3 (pretty dark) blocks to get to the subway (I was working a graveyard shift in Queens), but you know what? No one ever bothered me. There were people milling about in the street 24/7, so I never felt creeped out (like I sometimes did in Manhattan or Queens where it can feel positively desolate late at night).

Sure there were lots of young guys swaggering around dressed in baggy pants and all that, but it was the fashion. In fact, whenever I stopped one them to asked about something, they were unfailingly respectful & helpful. Not a single person ever bothered me in the 6 months I lived there. The only people that got in trouble were those who were engaged in shady activities. Everyone knew who was who and who was doing what—if people knew you were just a working stiff who minded your own business, they left you alone (others looked out for you).

I’d tell you about the ghetto in Jersey City, which I ended up living in by accident (I was still a newbie & unaware of how hard it is to find a good, affordable apartment in the NY/NJ area), but I’m running out of space. Suffice it to say that the same rules applied, more or less. HTH