[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>To this I would like to ask if anyone else has seen an increase in the number of
>pedestrians using the street. I hesitate to say that this is becoming a "cultural
>thing" but I feel that some of the comments I have received when voicing my concerns
>to someone using the streets have been at one with spite and discrimination. We have
>sidewalks for people and streets for cars.
>
Sometimes I let myself get agrivated this way too. Formally, we have
sidewalks for people and streets for wheeled traffic--not just cars.
Informally, what we really have is territory. I claim my block by
standing in the middle of the street talking to my neighbor(s), it's
part of the culture of this neighborhood--and many others. It's also
part of the drug dealing subculture that has arisen since the late 80's,
so any time the 'just nabes' are standing in the street talking, we are
contesting the ownership of this block with the drug dealers and their
customers, the clowns who get their cars towed to the towing company and
the dimestore cowboys just out to act the fool in cars. While we're
standing in the street we're looking all around, making sure the kids
are keeping their bikes and trikes on the sidewalk, making sure no one
too little goes too far and that the child is always in our sight.
They're not our kids necessarily, but we do it because Lake Street is at
the corner, our block is one way, and any number of jerkwaters do stupid
things--like ignore the direction of the one way or backing up for a
block. At the same time we're exchanging information about the
neighborhood, building concensus on how to deal with the 50 kids in our
immediate environment for the summer, and on and on. We're being
neighbors, we're telling you, if you're passing through, that we see you
and have noted you.
>But back to the response I have had. When I ask why the sidewalk is not being used, I
>have been verbally assaulted, threatened, told to mind my own @#%&$*& business and
>accused of being a racist.
>
This is done to let you know that you're the outsider. True, there are
much gentler ways to let you know that, but the point is, you're being
given the verbal finger. It could be that you asked your question in a
tone that already told them something about yourself. I'm not excusing
the behavior, but if you've hit a nest of drug dealers, for example,
they're conducting business and if you're not a customer, they are
warning you to stay away. It's up to you to decide whether or not to get
into it with them, but they're so snarkey (cause they use their
products), that it's always tricky.
>But we can all still be MN Nice.
>
For the last several years I've been watching various versions of MN
Nice in my neighborhood and frankly I'm negatively impressed. I've
watched a nitwit from Edina, for example, sashay around in a public
meeting like some misplaced royalty, totally clueless about how to
behave politely in this neighborhood. I've watched white males who
semi-privately refer to their neighbors as "good niggers and bad
niggers, breeders, cunts", take over a neighborhood organization with a
clearly articulated goal of getting control of any money coming into the
neighborhood from whatever public sources to drive out the people of
color and take over the real estate goldmine this neighborhood has
become due to growth of the city. I've seen rude on a grand scale and
I'm still seeing it.
>We must try to remember and impress upon all citizens that we are all in this
>together.
>
That is patently not true. A very great many think they are in "this" to
improve their situation at the expense of neighbors. I don't think my
neighborhood is much different from many another in that respect.
WizardMarks, Central
>
>
>Valdis Rozentals
>SAW
>
>_______________________________________
>Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
>Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
>http://e-democracy.org/mpls
>
_______________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
http://e-democracy.org/mpls
