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You want to give us the impression you are a thug, then we will see you as one. Get it? I will see them the way they are presenting themselves since what else do I have to go on? They could be the sweetest nicest kids inside but onlookers would NEVER know that.
You want to look and act like a trouble making thug, you will be chalked up as that.
Bottom line. I prefer to stay away from those who choose to act like animals who have no self control, self regard or regard for others who don't want to hear the screaming, the commotion, etc. I wont go to a rap concert,show, but I would go to a Barry Manilow. Get the picture? So why would I want have my family and I surrounded by that in a mall? And that you have it...is the beginnings of the decline.
And too bad God wouldnt save the respect and manners people had years ago. When things like virginity did matter, and respect did matter. And having a child out of wedlock did matter, not just no big deal that you are the father of 3 different children with 3 different women. Or your a mother with 3 children with 3 different fathers. It's just disgraceful.
Oh, and wearing pants to actually COVER your underwear. Times are changing and it's not for the better.
I WANT the OLD ROOSEVELT FIELD BACK. Things are looking seriously down if RF goes down.
And too bad God wouldnt save the respect and manners people had years ago. When things like virginity did matter, and respect did matter. And having a child out of wedlock did matter, not just no big deal that you are the father of 3 different children with 3 different women. Or your a mother with 3 children with 3 different fathers. It's just disgraceful.
Oh, and wearing pants to actually COVER your underwear. Times are changing and it's not for the better.
I WANT the OLD ROOSEVELT FIELD BACK. Things are looking seriously down if RF goes down.
Funny....I don't recall the Biblical passages on undergarments. Was that a New Testament thing? In a strictly historical canon, it could be argued that nothing but underwear was popular at the time of Jesus' disciples....the loincloth was a big hit in Egypt...
Also funny that your reports that the end is nigh from the frontlines of Long Island's premier shopping destination seem to hinge on a basic misunderstanding and unwillingness to accept aspects of a culture different from your own. What your saying in this thread was said about James Dean, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Marlon Brando, Jimi Hendrix, so-on-and-so-forth...and yet we're all here and alive in 2009 no worse off.
Sure, I don't think it's a great thing for children to have to grow up in disjointed, unstable families - but you are presenting no evidence of this, this is not something you have seen with your own eyes. You are making a pretty large leap from a FUBU sweatshirt to a scene of a comatose, heroin junkie overdose in a public housing project while naked, filthy children cry and go hungry. That's a pretty big assumption...
I'm not saying you personally, but it seems to me that people who have a hard time coming to terms with the world around them changing seem to be the same ones who have a very hard time coming to terms with their own fleeting youth and obsession with holding on to the ideals of an earlier time. You said it yourself - times aren't changing for the better? Everything changes...collectively, we won't be able to judge for good or bad until long after we're all gone, however in our own lives reality is nothing more than what we make of it. You can run from Long Island, run from New York, run from the values of a new generation, a different demographic, etc....but you can't live in a box, and eventually you'll have nothing to run from except your own empty memories and life full of bitterness, longing and loss.
I'm really not singling you out, I'm just trying to explain that this is the way I dismiss any sentiments similar to yours. It isn't about property values, or safety or cleanliness or anything like that. It's all just a bunch of nostalgia from where I sit, directed outward instead of inward...where it belongs.
Maybe if you learn to accept your fate you can even come to enjoy the prospects of a rapidly changing world, a new face in the neighborhoods, etc....while still holding onto your memories.
I respect everyone's post. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion about how towns (or malls) have changed. I live in Queens, have family in LI, and can't pretend to know everything. If I was a victim of crime, or if my 'hood had gone downhill I can't promise how I'd react. I don't think any posters here mean any harm.
I go to RF all the time. i don't wanna be too general but I can't help but see a mix of chronic pessimism, xenophobia, paranoia, racism, and utopianism among some of the posters. And I'm a regsitered Republican ......
In regards to the utopianism...what do you expect to see in a parking garage elevator, lace and lillies? Kids hanging out at the mall? OMG! When was this mythical age when RF was perfect?
As someone who's there all the time: the idea of feeling unsafe in that mall is utterly ridiculous!
I crossed with I LOve LI BUT once on this board but I applaud her for being a white person to go to Green Acres. It's a nice mall......White people can't take the postion that minorities "improve" and the refuse to be around them. Goes both ways. I'm not a very good person but I go to Green Acres all the time too.
Thanks for listening.....
well said all around. I'm getting tired of the pessimism the most because you can go there (or most other "bad rep" places) and have a good time, without EVER feeling unsafe.
I WANT the OLD ROOSEVELT FIELD BACK. Things are looking seriously down if RF goes down.
I see your point of view but you are making it sound worse than it actually is. I took my family and twin infants there on a weekend around people of all types. We sat at the food court for a while too. At no time did we ever even think we were unsafe and at no time were we bothered by anybody. Everyone is there for themself. To assume some black kids are looking for confrontation, not likely in public places like this. There are plenty of "desirable" people there too to make you feel safe if that's your thing. You are not getting your old anything back, we live in a new century - ignore who you have to and unless something actually happens to you, I suggest you try to open up from your shell and live a little more.
I see your point of view but you are making it sound worse than it actually is. I took my family and twin infants there on a weekend around people of all types. We sat at the food court for a while too. At no time did we ever even think we were unsafe and at no time were we bothered by anybody. Everyone is there for themself. To assume some black kids are looking for confrontation, not likely in public places like this. There are plenty of "desirable" people there too to make you feel safe if that's your thing. You are not getting your old anything back, we live in a new century - ignore who you have to and unless something actually happens to you, I suggest you try to open up from your shell and live a little more.
Guess it depends on which day you go, what time. The crowd is quite different based on times. I never said anyone personally bothered me or my family. It's just not an atmosphere that I desire to be around.
I gotta open up from my little shell of a world where quality of life and safety actually matter.
Go take a look at the garbage that is left by the bus stops that people take after leaving the Wal-Mart area, over by the Wendy's on Old Country Rd. Or the shopping carts that build up here, from the lovely shoppers who refuse to buy their own shopping carts and take the store ones all the way to the bus stop. It looks like a disgusting dump.
I am done here....in time, you will see the change won't be a good one for anyone who cares about safety and property values. I'm out.
This thread is yet another example of LI paranoia and why I want to get out of here! People are making their fears a self-fullfilling prophacy by avoiding these malls, causing stores to close and leaving only the more undesirable element to frequent them. Roosevelt Field as long as I can remember has always been a mix of upper middle class types and black teenagers, how is this different than 10 years ago? The economy sucks right now so there are less stores open, but has the mall gone gangster? I wouldn't say that.
I've lived here for 10 years and I've noticed a racial change at many of the malls but not necessarily a class change. Broadway Mall used to be mainly white and middle class now it is Indian and middle class (with some working class Hispanics thrown in). I do feel like a minority there now being white, but do I feel unsafe? No. I've come to accept that this is the way things will be for the rest of my life. White people for the last 35 years have decided to avoid the maternity ward and big corporations have flooded the country with immigrants in order to drive down costs. So, Why is anyone surprised now that the people down at the local mall no longer look like you?
There is no where to run and no where to hide in this regard. So instead of trying to run away why don't you give these stores your business and try to jump start this economy? Some people speaking Spanish or a bunch of gangster wannabes are not going to scare me away and they shouldn't scare you either!
Let's break down some of what I've seen at RF in my last few visits there:
1. Two young girls screaming in ebonics at each other near the food court over a particular male in their lives
2. A group of guys yelling "check out that ******* ass...I'd tear that up!"
3. Pure chaos at the RF Cinema caused by young thugs and their "girlfriends" We are talking about full and LOUD conversations during the dialogue of a movie for which you have paid 20 dollars. (I'd hate to see what it is like during a Tyler Perry movie).
This isn't about accepting people of other races, cultures, ethnicities, etc.
It's about CIVILITY. Do we want to aim high with our standards and push for a society where people behave with dignity, respect, and manners. Or, do we simply accept the lowest common denominator?
Patronizing posts about accepting change and living with your fate are useless in this regard. We all know change is inevitable, but not all change is for the better. History gives us many moments where change has been detrimental. Many of us would like to stand up against that change and voice our concerns. Whether or not we lose that battle is irrelevant. It's a matter of principle.
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but I go to Green Acres all the time too.
