Why I'm Leaving Baltimore (lower-class, neighborhood, theater)

[SmokeyLisa]

Charlotte, Houston, Pittsburgh, I have lived in all 3 areas and each has it's problems with racial tension, youth gone wild. I guess I'm a cynic because I think most major cities have similiar problems and you can let these problems eat at you. Outside of the city it is not always in your face but it is still there in a lot of cases.

[Rushmore]

Originally Posted by jonjj

By the way Rushmore, is that a confederate flag on her shirt? Just asking.

I think so. When I Googled "rednecks," that's one of the first pictures that came up.

Please tell me you didn't really think that was us.

Lord have mercy.

[Rushmore]

Originally Posted by jonjj

I'll conclude with my San Francisco story as someone (I think Rushmore) mentioned that city. He may actually understand this:
While traveling on a city bus heading to the Pacific in SF, a few words between some Black chicks sitting in the back with some Latina chicks sitting across from me ended up in a battle with me ducking in my seat. Eventually half the bus was at it as the "gentlemen" riding on the bus started to add their two-cents. By the time it was over, there were paddy-wagons and I later (about six months later) had to testify as to what occured. It was exciting though!

San Francisco has its fair share of this sort of thing (it's a magnet city for many hundreds of miles in diameter...where else would people gravitate?), but all in all, I found the general racial environment to be better than anywhere I have ever lived. Folks smiling, saying hello, that sort of thing.

Now, take a short drive across the Bay Bridge into Oakland, and it's truly a potential problem. Talk about "simmering racial tension." Yikes.

Those who say that these problems are a product of economic inequality are definitely not wrong, but by the same token, not everyone who is struggling displays open animosity to those around them.

I don't know if this story will bolster or hurt my case, but the other day, right before the worst of the snow, walking down Mt. Royal, I was panhandled by a 50-ish African-American guy who simply stated he was having a hard time and needed a hand. I gave him a few bucks. The point of my story, though, is that we then stood there on the sidewalk for a good ten minutes and had a genuinely cordial and pleasant conversation. There was no struggle or animosity between us; after the initial interaction, we were just two guys who stopped and had a chat.

We shook hands and then each went on our way, and I wished that I could have done something more for him.

I'm not trying to quaint or precious or whatever. I'm just saying that I always appreciate a civil and pleasant exchange with anyone, regardless of who they are.

[jonjj]

Originally Posted by Rushmore

I think so. When I Googled "rednecks," that's one of the first pictures that came up.

Please tell me you didn't really think that was us.

Lord have mercy.

hehehe--I must say, your expertice at expressing your opinions did not match the photo; especially with the cigarette box hanging out of her mouth. My apologies.

[mia78]

Originally Posted by sibelian

mia78: you're exactly right ! I am tired of the negativity .... and I don't want it affecting me. Luckily for me, I work with so many good people. They really ground me. I'm gonna miss 'em. But it's time for a change.

I see you're in Durham. Do you work at Duke, or go to school there ? How are you liking it ? My partner and I are looking hard at both Atlanta and Jacksonville.

My husband works at Duke and I LOVE it here. I'm from MD and he's from NJ. I wouldn't go back to either unless I was literally dragged kicking and screaming.

[kinkytoes]

Give the person a break. My least favorite part of Baltimore was the too-high number of gross, uneducated and confrontational black people as well and I'm black!
It was depressing. Luckily they were and are being displaced at a rapid clip, and I say good riddance.

[Rushmore]

Originally Posted by jonjj

hehehe--I must say, your expertice at expressing your opinions did not match the photo; especially with the cigarette box hanging out of her mouth. My apologies.

No apologies necessary.

We are moving to Florida, after all.

So of course, I need to bone up on my Nascar and, uh, Toby Keith and Dixie Chicks stuff.

And get down to the shooting range, obviously.

Yeehaw.

[Bigbluelandrover]

I guess I will also make the necessary announcement that I am black. Sorry but I hate spending too much time in Baltimore for the already mentioned reasons. It reminds me of the inner city of Cincinnati-my hometown and another racially polarized city with a history of segregation and the first public housing project.

Being poor and lower class does not mean you have to act like a thug or moron on a daily basis,but then again my peers said I was "acting and talking white" as I grew up. I don't even have the desire to visit home as I still feel the negativity from blacks AND whites that are from the burbs and never been within 3 ft of a black person.

To the Fairfaxian- I have been all through PG and my main complaint is that service is awful and the people in Bowie think they are "elite" ha,ha! I am a member of a AA sorority and all the women work hard to make PG a better place, YOU Fairfaxian need to find like-minded people. If you think racial tensions are non-existant in Va then maybe you haven't been into Loudoun County or even Reston. Lol.

[Do a Barrel Roll]

Originally Posted by Bigbluelandrover

To the Fairfaxian- I have been all through PG and my main complaint is that service is awful and the people in Bowie think they are "elite" ha,ha! I am a member of a AA sorority and all the women work hard to make PG a better place, YOU Fairfaxian need to find like-minded people. If you think racial tensions are non-existant in Va then maybe you haven't been into Loudoun County or even Reston. Lol.

I'm not saying that racial tensions don't exist in Virginia (and even Northern VA), but

1) Compared to Maryland and most of DC, it's a relief!
2) Most of the prejudice I've seen in NoVA is targeted more towards Latinos than blacks
3) As for my visits through Reston, nothing I observed from it gave it an indication of racial tension. In fact, I've seen more interracial couples (including those involving blacks)than I have in most neighborhoods in DC and Arlington.

And as for outer-beltway PG County, it is fairly snooty, a lot of HBCU-minded blacks who may be handling their business and have their careers, but are racially militant, very self-segregating, and sympathetic of thuggish and ghetto behavior. And some of the offspring of these HBCUers try so hard to act like they're from Southeast, you see the same faux-thuggish attitudes that's rampant inside the beltway. Although you do find a fair amount of genuine people on the outside beltway (at least more than you find inside the beltway), the ghetto and militant mentalities are seeping outside of the beltway in PG County.

[nanlev]

Moved here 2.5 years and I couldn't agree more with the original post, but many of the issues the poster has outside of race are just "city issues." High taxes, noise, potholes, city government corruption, etc. With regards to race, if you moved to a portion of the country that was primarily low-income white, I bet you would run into the same thing. Ignorance begets ignorance.

There are certainly things about Baltimore that I like, but they don't outnumber the fact that oftentimes I feel like a minority in a city that is over 60% black and not necessarily educated. I hate to generalize (I know some of you may be thinking too late) and say that ALL my lower-income neighbors are disrespectful and without any social tact, that's simply not true, but many are. I don't regret my move here, but won't be likely to stay once the housing market rebounds. Perhaps if I could have afforded to live in Roland Park or Mt. Washington, my experience would be different.