I really truly wish it were as simple and clear-cut as you're making it out to be.
Without a doubt, a social policy of containment exists. "Affordable housing" exists primarily in these neighborhoods of containment because socially we don't understand the economic and social value of "forcing" more affluent neighborhoods to take an equivalent number of disadvantaged families into their communities. How CAN we expect the less fortunate to assimilate into the mainstream of society when we continually place them at a disadvantage?
However, and because of this prevailing social policy, to say that whites living in impacted areas are less impacted than are minorities is absurd. As a white living in an impacted neighborhood, I am treated with hostility and contempt (because I'm white) by the MAJORITY of my neighbors. I am NOT afforded anywhere near the same level of security, safety, or livability of my counterparts living in non-impacted neighborhoods. Be they white or black.
I end-up being just another statistic, just like my minority neighbors. My house is burglarized, my garage is broken into, my property is destroyed. In fact, I am probably MORE of a target, BECAUSE I am white.
I struggle on a daily basis, to not let my personal experiences become the basis of prejudice against a race or ethnicity. It is only through becoming personally familiar with INDIVIDUALS in my neighborhood that this happens.
As long as we (as a society) continue to allow the majority of MINORITIES to live in very finite sections of our city, we will continue to experience this type of discriminatory culture. For it is only through one-on-one experiences that we are given the opportunity to realize that a person's skin color has very little to do with their character.
Dennis Plante Jordan
Eric Oines Writes:
Anecdotal stories do not translate into tends or overall social conditions. Impacted neighborhhods are a result of institutionalized racism - whether it be institutions of government, non-profits, for-profits, realtors, bankers, healthcare providers, schools, etc..
Some folks are able to work around those institutions, as described in the anecdote above. Nevertheless, all the data points toward race, not class or income, as the primary determinent of discriminatory behavior. Poor white folks are statistically better off than poor Black folks. Rich white folks are most certainly better off than rich Black folks. And it goes all through the spectrum.
Fact is, even in an area that has been historically "impacted" - like VV and the rest of Phillips, white folks are better off than people of color and less "impacted". When I lived in VV from '93-'96, I knew this fact every day, all day long. I work in Phillips and spend a lot of time in VV. I still know it every day, all day long.
I am NEVER the guy they're looking for...
_________________________________________________________________
Instant message during games with MSN Messenger 6.0. Download it now FREE! http://msnmessenger-download.com
REMINDERS:
1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait.
________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
