Racism (Chicago, Oak Park, Hanover Park: tax, standard of living, bill)

[goodmonroe]

I am an AA, just relocated to Chicagoland, bought a house in Highland Park 3 mos ago but have only lived in it, thus far, two weekends; will be spending most of my time in a Grant Park area Condo. However, I am very amused and thankful for the comments and plan to live a very happy life in Chicagoland for the next 30 years.

[cdc3217]

Originally Posted by jak88

Most people are not racists, they are classists. I have never looked at a black person who is wearing a suit and tie and decided I didn't want to be around him. However, I fear for my life sometimes when I am walking in the worser parts of downtown Chicago and I see black youth walking around in gangbanger clothing. Isn't because I don't like the color of their skin, but I am a realist and realize that poor people have different lifestyles from those in upper brackets, and resort to different measures of obtaining money than the rest of us.

Perhaps...but not all of them. Not even the majority. To discriminate solely by appearance and not by behavior is prejudice. I agree you don't skip through [insert bad neighborhood] saying "top of the morning" and asking the smelly dude on the corner to change a hundred for you, but its a slippery slope as to when to feel threatened and when you're just being prejudiced.

Its one thing if a person exhibits hostile behavior with their posture, appearance, words, and company they keep.

Its something else if their behavior is walking down the street in raggedy clothes and a bad haircut. If you're in a poorer neighborhood than you're used to, expect a lot of folks to look poorer than you're used to. That's not criminal and shouldn't be feared in and of itself.

[Lookout Kid]

Chicago is in the top ten of the most segregated cities, but is not number one. Detroit is. And by the way, New York City is one notch up the segregation list over Chicago!

Chicago's racism is probably similar to any other large city with large minority populations.

[racerx68]

Chicago is a melting pot. Just our attitudes alone sometimes can give us the label racist. Blacks use the "N" word all the time here and so do whites. You have a problem with that I would say stay away from Chicago. It's not as bad as Boston or NYC where every other word is a racial slur, but it is also how people talk, their lingo in the city. The "N" word can mean friend e.g. Buddy, Holmes ect.. I am in a bi-racial relationship and have never had any trouble with cops in Chicago or the burbs. If you obey the law you are fine. I just cant afford to live here much longer myself. The job market stinks compared to the cost of living. Home prices went up 30% in the last 7 years or so and wages went down. Not a good combo. Chicago ranks like #43 for jobs and it's the 3rd or 4th largest city in the country. That's messed up. We do have great pizza, Greek, Mexican and other ethnic cusine all over the place so I will miss the food when I leave.

[snl720]

Originally Posted by sbd78

I recently moved out of Mokena. I never noticed that Mokena had a black part of town. It seemed to be mostly caucasion to me. I don't mean that in any kind of negative way, that's just what I noticed about Mokena's demographics. And I thought all of Mokena goes to Lincolnway anyway?

Yes, All of Mokena goes to Lincoln Way East HS along with all Frankfort kids. All of New Lenox, Manhattan, and tiny portions of Joliet go to Lincoln Way Central. The new Lincoln Way North will have all kids from Frankfort Square and the tiny portion of Tinley Park. The new Lincoln Way West (which has not started construction yet) will be all of Manhattan and some of New Lenox since New Lenox is getting huge.

[jimmie31]

Originally Posted by jak88

Most people are not racists, they are classists. I have never looked at a black person who is wearing a suit and tie and decided I didn't want to be around him. However, I fear for my life sometimes when I am walking in the worser parts of downtown Chicago and I see black youth walking around in gangbanger clothing. Isn't because I don't like the color of their skin, but I am a realist and realize that poor people have different lifestyles from those in upper brackets, and resort to different measures of obtaining money than the rest of us.

If you live in an upper middle to upper class area, you probably won't encounter racism. The racism you may encounter may come off as racist, but it is really what I call classism in disguise.

What about the White teenagers walking around in "gangbanger" clothes do you fear for your life. I live in Naperville illinois and see alot of white teens walking around in
"gangbanger" clothes and I am very fearful of my life. Have you had any problems with these youth? So as long as Black men wear suits you are ok? What a shame a Black man has to have on a suit for you to feel ok. My husband wears work clothes everyday and we are weathly I guess you would fear for your life if you met him.

[Avengerfire]

Does this crap ever die on these boards?

[elisabetm]

[quote=jimmie31;3011123]What about the White teenagers walking around in "gangbanger" clothes do you fear for your life. I live in Naperville illinois and see alot of white teens walking around in
"gangbanger" clothes and I am very fearful of my life. Have you had any problems with these youth?

These kids are hilarious. I'm from Detroit and now live in Naperville. I love to stare down these fake little wannabe's. You know that they go home to a daddy that's a lawyer, doctor or some other high paying profession and a mommy who pulls in some nice cash too. They head back to a mini mansion, a lexus, piano lessons and the Naperville standard student uniform of Hollister/Abercrombie. I'd love to drop them into the core of Detroit. It's fun to play dress up but maybe they need to understand the reality of what they are trying to represent...

[Preaching2thechoir]

My son is black and attended Lake Forest Academy and is now a student at SLU. During the week it was mandatory that they wear shirts, ties, dress shoes and pants. But when I went to football games, etc. all of the kids wore baggy pants, listened to hip hop and had that hood rat look. 99.9 percent of those kids were white, drove beamers, mercedes, porsches, etc. and had filthy rich parents.

I don't think race plays a part in it in light of the fact that my son has friends of all races and they all dress that way. They're just kids trying to fit and wear whatever its popular. I don't see anything wrong with that. When I was coming up, we did the same thing.

[CubsRock!!!]

Chicago isn't any more racist than any place else, actually it's probably a lot less racist than many other cities.

I'm white and have been pulled over and harrassed by white cops my entire life. They don't ticket or arrest me because I never did anything wrong, they just get a thrill off harrassing someone. Cops have always been like that, it's a power trip plain and simple. I'm not saying they're all like that, but some of them are and those are often the ones you read about in the news paper or see a report on CNN going ballistic on someone. Cops like that think their badge, gun, and taser give them the right to do whatever they please.

Anyway...Back to Chicago being racist. I can't believe someone even posted a topic on racism. Whoever it was had to know it would stir the pot hoping for a heated discussion, that's why they did it. So what else is new?