stop denegrating PG county! (Baltimore, Columbia: luxury, for sale, apartments)

[familymatters]

Tangent - Thank you for taking the time to express your experiences and sharing a piece of your story. The writing was easy to follow and honest, which this forum could benefit from more often.

If you'd humor me, I'd like to raise one notion and get your take on it:

Perhaps what you attribute to race could be moreso attributed to people with a low-set of values?

This may come to a suprise to you, but I'm black. Here's something else you might not assume:I also detest public weed smoking, public alcohol consumption, trespassers, hoodlums, gun-toting, the basic eyesore nuisance of nothing better to do losers hanging on the street corners all hours of the day and night. I have no sympathy for thieves, dealers, bullies or thugs.

The fact is you and I aren't a rarity. Most decent people above a certain economic range have very similar convictions. What I got out of your words leaned more towards the crippling effects of badly raised kids, crappy parents and overall lack of decency. I no more want to live around lawbreaking losers than you do. I could careless what color a thief, drug dealer, crackhead, methadone *****, or overall loser is: black, white, hispanic, asian or aqua blue, a loser is a loser is a loser.

I sense you're still dealing with some of the residual pains of growing up in such a divisive and unhealthy situation. I do hope along with the negative you also had an opportunity to meet/befriend some decent blackfolks, though you fail to mention any of that in your story. I trust that everyone you met during your time in Clinton wasn't a crackhead or a drug dealer and every teacher wasn't a black nationalist. You're human and humans have a tendency to first remember the worst and much later remember the better.

We should talk further. I could add some different perspectives that might make for an interesting convo.

Remember: Ghetto isn't a color its a state of MIND. The people you spoke about in this thread were GHETTO black folks. The same applies for Poor-White Trash White Folks - the operative word is POOR not white. I would not lump every white person into a group based on my experiences with a small percentage of "poor white trash" folks, not because I'm a saint, but because it's obvious that a few white trash folks are NOT reflective of all the KIND, BRILLANT, INTELLIGENT, PEACEFUL, LAWABIDING white folks I've had the pleasure to meet. It's possible when people have a limited test group they can be left with a lingering eschewed view of the whole, when actuality they only have experience with the few and the worst.

Look Tangent I feel you. I do. Put it this way:

I used to detest liver. Why? Becuase my mom is a terrible cook, thats way! (sorry mom) lol It wasn't until I ate some liver at a friends house that I realized, HEY liver is pretty good when it's prepared correctly.

ok I'm rambling. I hope I make a little sense.

It's not skin color, its mentality. It's the upbringing and the conviction or lack thereof that makes us either decent or losers.

[Alicia Bradley]

P.G. County is a pathetic hellhole. The population of the County is approaching 900,000, I've read, and yet even the "nicest" sections of it lack any semblance of civilization.

I moved to P.G. County (College Park, specifically) assuming that the area near the University of Maryland (considering how large the University is) would sport coffee shops, independent galleries, cute little restaurants, boutiques, etc., etc., etc. Um, no. What about the rest of the County, though? Any other little cutesy/funky little downtowns? Um, no. Ok, ok--even any bland and depressing (yet reliable) suburban strip malls, with even semi-nice shopping, *gag* Starbucks, etc.? Um, no. I'm certainly no Starbucks customer, but even Starbucks looks nice when compared to some bizarre local chain like Elmer Rosito's Pizza, Wings, Tacos, Barbecue, Chinese, And More, which has three old signs (from previous, similar establishments) still tacked to the dumpy building (the lot of which is filled with trash and weeds). Even the two or three Starbucks in the County are in strip malls whose other occupants are (if they exist, even, that is--abandoned commercial space seems to be another trademark of the County) dirty, sketchy, freaky (and not in a good way)-looking places. Case in point: downtown Hyattsville could be very cool, but it has a long ways to go. There's Franklin's, and one gallery, but the rest of the place looks like a bombed-out post-war zone.

The sad thing is, I often hear people criticizing the kind of arguments I'm making as "racist"--ridiculous!! Take Chicago--a much greater city in many ways than D.C., but I digress. In Chicago, there are lots of majority-Black-and-nouveau-hip sections cropping up on the west, south, and even north sides.

I would be thrilled to see P.G. County become livable and aesthetically interesting and harmoniously multicultural and--I could go on and on. But it isn't going to happen anytime soon, from what I've seen. For now, I'm counting the days until I can get out of this place.

[lscalder]

I am guessing you have never been to the rest of the county such as Bowie,Laurel,Upper marlboro. Bowie have plenty,plenty of shopping centers.
Have you been to Bowie Town Center. When folks like you post remarks like the one you post. Its usually folks who have only been to one section of the county. You can do all your shooping in Bowie. I live in Upper marlboro and if they start building shopping malls here. i would pack up and sell my home. The purpose of my family living here is peace and quite. I like to come home to the suburban life. Where I have no traffic and my son is at peace when he is playing outside. No one can find my Community unless I give you my address. Most people who purchase in Bowie,Upper Marlboro,Brandywine,Mitchellville all want peace and quite.
Once we have shopping. The county would have to put bus routes,Train station. I donot want any of this in My area. If you want shopping move some where else. I moved from Historic Takoma Park Nw where everything is in walking distant to move to the suburb of Pg county. I hate to see other people in my community who donot live or visiting family or friends. Once the county start building folks from all over who come and shop. I hope this doesnot happen for now. Not everyone want what you want. If you want shopping in Pg county why not take your 650k and up and buy your self a home closer to shopping area.

[SUNYPoser]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

P.G. County is a pathetic hellhole. The population of the County is approaching 900,000, I've read, and yet even the "nicest" sections of it lack any semblance of civilization.

I moved to P.G. County (College Park, specifically) assuming that the area near the University of Maryland (considering how large the University is) would sport coffee shops, independent galleries, cute little restaurants, boutiques, etc., etc., etc. Um, no. What about the rest of the County, though? Any other little cutesy/funky little downtowns? Um, no. Ok, ok--even any bland and depressing (yet reliable) suburban strip malls, with even semi-nice shopping, *gag* Starbucks, etc.? Um, no. I'm certainly no Starbucks customer, but even Starbucks looks nice when compared to some bizarre local chain like Elmer Rosito's Pizza, Wings, Tacos, Barbecue, Chinese, And More, which has three old signs (from previous, similar establishments) still tacked to the dumpy building (the lot of which is filled with trash and weeds). Even the two or three Starbucks in the County are in strip malls whose other occupants are (if they exist, even, that is--abandoned commercial space seems to be another trademark of the County) dirty, sketchy, freaky (and not in a good way)-looking places. Case in point: downtown Hyattsville could be very cool, but it has a long ways to go. There's Franklin's, and one gallery, but the rest of the place looks like a bombed-out post-war zone.

The sad thing is, I often hear people criticizing the kind of arguments I'm making as "racist"--ridiculous!! Take Chicago--a much greater city in many ways than D.C., but I digress. In Chicago, there are lots of majority-Black-and-nouveau-hip sections cropping up on the west, south, and even north sides.

I would be thrilled to see P.G. County become livable and aesthetically interesting and harmoniously multicultural and--I could go on and on. But it isn't going to happen anytime soon, from what I've seen. For now, I'm counting the days until I can get out of this place.

Just because you live in a wretched place doesn't mean all of PGC is the same. I've live in Fort Washington, West Tantallon for the past 10 years - which contains an affluent black majority country club and golf courses.
I highly doubt that the little neighborhood you inhabit allows for just judgment on the rest of the county.
If you live in squalor, that's your problem - don't blame it on the county as a whole.

[emsgoof]

Originally Posted by SUNYPoser

Just because you live in a wretched place doesn't mean all of PGC is the same. I've live in Fort Washington, West Tantallon for the past 10 years - which contains an affluent black majority country club and golf courses.
I highly doubt that the little neighborhood you inhabit allows for just judgment on the rest of the county.
If you live in squalor, that's your problem - don't blame it on the county as a whole.

Originally Posted by lscalder

I am guessing you have never been to the rest of the county such as Bowie,Laurel,Upper marlboro. Bowie have plenty,plenty of shopping centers.
Have you been to Bowie Town Center. When folks like you post remarks like the one you post. Its usually folks who have only been to one section of the county. You can do all your shooping in Bowie. I live in Upper marlboro and if they start building shopping malls here. i would pack up and sell my home. The purpose of my family living here is peace and quite. I like to come home to the suburban life. Where I have no traffic and my son is at peace when he is playing outside. No one can find my Community unless I give you my address. Most people who purchase in Bowie,Upper Marlboro,Brandywine,Mitchellville all want peace and quite.
Once we have shopping. The county would have to put bus routes,Train station. I donot want any of this in My area. If you want shopping move some where else. I moved from Historic Takoma Park Nw where everything is in walking distant to move to the suburb of Pg county. I hate to see other people in my community who donot live or visiting family or friends. Once the county start building folks from all over who come and shop. I hope this doesnot happen for now. Not everyone want what you want. If you want shopping in Pg county why not take your 650k and up and buy your self a home closer to shopping area.

That's fine, but stop trying to say PG is the best thing since sliced bread based on your part of the county...

[lscalder]

That's fine, but stop trying to say PG is the best thing since sliced bread based on your part of the county...

We are speaking base upon our experiences in Pg county. If we have no bad experiences why should we post negative remarks when we have only experience positive experience. I am sorry for those who experience negative experience but if you want peace and quite you have to pay for it. If you want positive experiences in any county you have to pay the price no matter where you choose to live.

[SUNYPoser]

Originally Posted by emsgoof

That's fine, but stop trying to say PG is the best thing since sliced bread based on your part of the county...

And you should stop trying to say it's the worst thing based on your part of the county...

[emsgoof]

Originally Posted by SUNYPoser

And you should stop trying to say it's the worst thing based on your part of the county...

I will if you will...




















Didn't think so...
PG ain't all sunshine and roses like you make it out to be.

[kjg1963]

I'm new to this forum and have read many threads with interest. I find the threads on PG county interesting. I have lived in PG all my life. I grew up on New Hampshire Avenue just a block or two away from beautiful downtown Langley Park (very close to MoCo line). I have lived in Adelphi, Riverdale, Hyattsville, and now happily settled in Laurel. Yes, as I've gotten older, made more money, and had kids, I did move to the most northern (safer?) edge of PG. I couldn't imagine moving back to anywhere close to where I grew up. I'd be scared to death. But it doesn't make me dislike PG county. I never really thought about my feelings of being here all my life until I saw this forum. To be honest, I don't have any strong feeling one way or the other. I've never been a victim of a crime, my son survived the "terrible" schools, and my daughter is still hanging in there at the Science and Tech program at Eleanore Roosevelt in Greenbelt. Luckily, they got a good start in elementary schools that cared and had hands on teachers and administrators.

I've seen the changes in all the areas of PG county and there are areas I would never live in. But fortunately for me, I realize PG is a big enough county to find a nice place to call home. Funny, I know the demographics in PG have changed over the years, but I never really noticed because where I grew up, the neighborhood was already diverse. Lower middle class working people (AA and white) and I believe it was probably a 50/50 ratio. I don't think PG should be known only as either "the worst" or as the "most affluent AA" county. There is so much more than that. I don't hate it and I don't love it. Its just always been home, for good or bad.

[SUNYPoser]

Originally Posted by emsgoof

I will if you will...




















Didn't think so...
PG ain't all sunshine and roses like you make it out to be.

Or you could try not putting words in my mouth and laying off the corny cliches, that is if you have that ability. I never said it was or wasn't "sunshine or roses", I said not to judge an entire county based on a select experience. Do try reading and perhaps even practicing comprehension before making foolish assumptions.