[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by JMadison

That's the whole problem with the current state of affairs. The Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness of those who want away from urban conditions in compromised. All the blacks have to do to take over is arrive.

White flight may or may not be right, but it *is* the reaction to the effects of an area africanizing. I.e. the well documented increase in problems and decrease in values.

Then to add to the whole aggravation, if folks move back into "the hood" and property values go up... everyone screams "gentrification!".

You can't win this one under the current social conditions. Which of course is leading to a new phenomenon. "White Fatigue" wherein folks are just plain getting tired of hearing about "black this, black that" and "white guilt this, white entitlement that".

Problem is, africanization is on the increase. As I review different metro areas as part of career planning, more and more the numbers are increasingly africanized. Making the planning that much more problematic.

For example,

"Take a six figure job?"
"Sure..."
"It's in Detriot."
"Ah crap, have I got enough savings left to find the same job somewhere else?"

Bottom line is, people are willing to pay good money or for go it to avoid the whole situation.

What exactly are they "avoiding" though? If it is crime, then, the reality of that is that the overwhelming majority of crime is between people of the same background and can manifest itself in various ways. So, while some places have to worry about say gun violence, some places have to worry about drunk drivers. Both violent crimes and alcohol related vehicle fatalities kill roughly about the same amount of people in many years and that's not counting reckless driving deaths, which seem to be more common outside of cities. Here's some interesting information:http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-dr...tatistics.html

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/data/table_01.html


I think the issue with gentrification, which it is, not what it becomes, is that it ends up just driving the people out instead of doing something about the neighborhood when they are there and it makes it seem like people can just buy their way into anywhere they want. It's not about right or wrong, but just how some see it.

Then, you have places where the demographics change, but the quality hasn't declined much, if at all. Sometimes it is a thing of perception because of the change in demographics too.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by and the

How long has Lathrup Village been majority black and where is the crime rate low relative to?

I know it's been majority Black for at least 15 years, because I would go to church sometimes at Southfield-Lathrup High when I was going to college in Michigan.

Also, if you go to that high school, they show the senior class of each year at the school and you can see the changes through the years.

[lobster5757]

Diversity is what makes our country great. That is all I know.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

What exactly are they "avoiding" though? If it is crime, then, the reality of that is that the overwhelming majority of crime is between people of the same background and can manifest itself in various ways. So, while some places have to worry about say gun violence, some places have to worry about drunk drivers. Both violent crimes and alcohol related vehicle fatalities kill roughly about the same amount of people and that's not counting reckless driving deaths, which seem to be more common outside of cities.

I think the issue with gentrification, which it is, not what it becomes, is that it ends up just driving the people out instead of doing something about the neighborhood when they are there and it makes it seem like people can just buy their way into anywhere they want. It's not about right or wrong, but just how some see it.

Then, you have places where the demographics change, but the quality hasn't declined much, if at all. Sometimes it is a thing of perception because of the change in demographics too.

Gentrification is one thing to look at. A person should be able to live wherever he or she wants. That is your right and it should be that way. With that said, new people, richer people moving in won't solve the problem with crime. The way to solve that problem is to establish a precedent in the community. Businesses should be brought in to the communities and investing in those communities, helping people in the communities. If the people who need the help are driven away from the community to live somewhere else, it won't help them. There needs to be a rebuild of communities. When there is a breakdown in the community, social ills are certain. People should be welcomed to move in and if they wish to come, they should add to the places they live in.

The case you presented about demographics changing in a classic case. I do not think this "white flight" is anything new. It has been going on for ages. Some of Detroit's suburbs made sure to exclude blacks and other minorities. Now that practice is illegal. The difference now is that some people hide how they feel. There are cases when the quality of a neighborhood declines and people are looking for a better place to live. That is understandable. With that said, just because the demographics change, that doesn't mean a place is going to decline.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

Gentrification is one thing to look at. A person should be able to live wherever he or she wants. That is your right and it should be that way. With that said, new people, richer people moving in won't solve the problem with crime. The way to solve that problem is to establish a precedent in the community. Businesses should be brought in to the communities and investing in those communities, helping people in the communities. If the people who need the help are driven away from the community to live somewhere else, it won't help them. There needs to be a rebuild of communities. When there is a breakdown in the community, social ills are certain. People should be welcomed to move in and if they wish to come, they should add to the places they live in.

The case you presented about demographics changing in a classic case. I do not think this "white flight" is anything new. It has been going on for ages. Some of Detroit's suburbs made sure to exclude blacks and other minorities. Now that practice is illegal. The difference now is that some people hide how they feel. There are cases when the quality of a neighborhood declines and people are looking for a better place to live. That is understandable. With that said, just because the demographics change, that doesn't mean a place is going to decline.

Good points and I think with the whole gentrification and movement thing is that it is just another band-aid that perpetutes a cycle.

With the change of demographics, while there are disparities in terms of income/economics and race, it isn't always that simple. If people went to places like Lakeview and Wheatley Heights in NY, many communities in Prince George's County, MD, many communities around Atlanta and communities like Ladera Heights, View Park-Windsor Hills and Baldwin Hills in CA, among others, they would understand how complex and varied things really are.

[and the]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

I don't know, but the crime rate in Lathrup is lower than in Taylor or Pontiac. I have proof.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Lathru...-Michigan.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Taylor-Michigan.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Pontiac-Michigan.html

There is no simple cause to crime. There are many factors.

Well gee, if the crime rate is lower than Taylor or Pontiac..............Do you know how silly that sounds? Nobody really wants to live in Taylor OR Pontiac.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by and the

Well gee, if the crime rate is lower than Taylor or Pontiac..............Do you know how silly that sounds? Nobody really wants to live in Taylor OR Pontiac.

I know alot of people don't want to live in Pontiac. I know about the situation there. I don't know much about Taylor other than former MLB player Steve Avery is from there.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by and the

Well gee, if the crime rate is lower than Taylor or Pontiac..............Do you know how silly that sounds? Nobody really wants to live in Taylor OR Pontiac.

I think the point is that the demographics in terms of ethnicity and crime go against the stereotype. Part of that could be due to the economic aspect of the community.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by lobster5757

Diversity is what makes our country great. That is all I know.

Not really. It's what's destroying our national character, society and traditions. The upside is that if I ever wanted to live in a third-world country I could just stay put and it would come to me.

I know this is an unpopular observation but there's a direct correlation between "minority" populations and the crime rate in cities and towns. The upside is that soon they will be the majority populations due to illegal immigration and high birth rates and then there will be few "Americans" left to complain.

Political correctness run amok!

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Not really. It's what's destroying our national character, society and traditions. The upside is that if I ever wanted to live in a third-world country I could just stay put and it would come to me.

I know this is an unpopular observation but there's a direct correlation between "minority" populations and the crime rate in cities and towns. The upside is that soon they will be the majority populations due to illegal immigration and high birth rates and then there will be few "Americans" left to complain.

Political correctness run amok!

There is a correlation, but remember that correlation is not causation. Race does not cause someone to committ a crime. Another question you should ask yourself and do some research on is "Why is it that there are so many crimes committed by minorities, or anyone for that matter?"

As for diversity, it doesn't have to be bad. Part of it can be economics. If you have a diverse community and it's middle to middle-upper class, not so many issues.