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I am a woman of color, an artist, and definitely NOT even middle-class. I'm well educated, but find that all the well-paying jobs, are already taken by the Yuppie WASPS. These Yuppie WASPS, have ruined neighborhoods across the country, by their selfish obsession with gentrification. They do drive-up rents, to astronomical levels. As a result, less affluent folks
(especially blacks and browns), are forced to leave their own neighborhoods.
I was forced to move from the Bay area in California, because of the scourge of Yuppification, that has taken over there. Ever since the tech-boom out there in the 80s and 90s, Yuppies have destroyed the Bay area, for everyone who isn't affluent and white. The drastic increase in racism, homelessness, sky-high rents, unemployment, etc., is a direct result of the Yuppie take-over, in the Bay area during the past 25 years.
So Yuppies deserve to be despised, as far as I'm concerned. Yuppies use their wealth, to force their will on those of modest incomes, with no thought as to the consequences of their actions. Yuppies have no social conscience whatsoever-their only motivation is ferocious greed!
That was a pretty ignorant statement. Yuppies are just as deserving to live anywhere they choose to, as are the poor black and brown folks that live for free in generational poverty and also have become the scourge of neighborhoods. One is ok but not the other? As soon as the poor black and brown people are removed so that working/middle class people can occupy those homes and apts and reclaim the neighborhoods as safe/clean, then we can work on those evil Yuppies. Agreed?
I am a woman of color, an artist, and definitely NOT even middle-class. I'm well educated, but find that all the well-paying jobs, are already taken by the Yuppie WASPS. These Yuppie WASPS, have ruined neighborhoods across the country, by their selfish obsession with gentrification. They do drive-up rents, to astronomical levels. As a result, less affluent folks
(especially blacks and browns), are forced to leave their own neighborhoods.
I was forced to move from the Bay area in California, because of the scourge of Yuppification, that has taken over there. Ever since the tech-boom out there in the 80s and 90s, Yuppies have destroyed the Bay area, for everyone who isn't affluent and white. The drastic increase in racism, homelessness, sky-high rents, unemployment, etc., is a direct result of the Yuppie take-over, in the Bay area during the past 25 years.
So Yuppies deserve to be despised, as far as I'm concerned. Yuppies use their wealth, to force their will on those of modest incomes, with no thought as to the consequences of their actions. Yuppies have no social conscience whatsoever-their only motivation is ferocious greed!
Sonya.
There's NOTHING wrong with Yuppies. Stop hatin' and ranting like a mad woman. I'd take Yuppies over low-income/ghetto people any day!!! At least I don't have to worry about being shot or seeing drug transactions in plain sight in a neighborhood full of yuppies. Wish I could say the same for a neighborhood full of low-income thugs.
And there's NOTHING wrong with GENTRIFICATION. You're just scare cause probably you're next in line to be displaced. Oh well...get with the program or move to Newark. I hear there are NO plans on gentrifying Newark no time soon. If you want stability...go there. I heard it's really nice this time of year there...good luck!
You two are the ignorant ones, for assuming that neighborhoods occupied by blacks and browns, are automatically full of dangerous thugs! Your racism is definitely in evidence, when you make statements like that. You sound like you hate the poor, and blame them for living on welfare. If you're so peeved about that, then get off of your duffs, and help fight for equal job opportunities for the poor and minorities, so that they can have equal access in the job market!
And I'm not ranting. I'm just stating the FACTS, about how Yuppie gentrification, DOES displace those with lower incomes, from their neighborhoods. And Yuppies don't just force
the poor out of their neighborhoods, they also force working and middle-class people out too.
So SobroGuy, your statement about middle/working class people 'taking over' poor neighborhoods, just doesn't wash. After all, the middle and working class folks, are being forced out of their neighborhoods, by Yuppies too.
SobroGuy, you mention that Yuppies have a right to 'live anywhere they want'. That DOESN'T mean that they should have the right, to force existing residents out of their neighborhoods, by driving-up rents in those neighborhoods. I agree with others on this thread, who have pointed out that Yuppies have prospered, on the backs of those that are less affluent than them.
SobroGuy, if you want to try and justify Yuppie greed and selfishness, don't expect many people to support you, on that philosophy. As for me, I'll continue to fight for us underdogs, who have been victimized by Yuppie greed and selfishness.
I don't think yuppies gentrify a neighborhood with the intent to displace poor people. How can you blame them for trying to live below their means or just living where they want to live? They're not "forcing their will" on anyone, they're just paying what the market demands and if you can't pay the market price for something, that's not someone else's fault - that's YOUR fault. I don't complain about the price of Bentleys or Rolls Royces because I know I can't afford them so I go to a cheaper alternative. I really have no say in the matter. If demand goes down and the price drops for something I want, then I'm more inclined to buy. Why wouldn't the opposite be true?
As a minority I'm sick and tired of hearing everyone complain about how white people get all the best jobs and they push all the poor people out. Welcome to America, America is a white country, point blank, period. Of course there is going to be more white people doing everything, everywhere, it's 75% white, what do you think? My parents came to America from the poor, rural Philippines to get their Masters and PhDs in engineering and worked their asses off. If you think you were disadvantaged in the hood, try to come to a third world country and see what it really means to struggle against all odds to make it. I thank God everyday that I live in the greatest country in the world and have the opportunities to work hard and enjoy the fruits of my labor - I don't take that lightly for a day in my life. If you don't have the common sense to understand that hard work = higher quality of life, then you don't deserve to have a say in the matter. No one is entitled to a free handout. When you see rich people "enjoying life", it's because they and / or their families put their nose to the grindstone until they reached their goals and didn't blame society for their problems.
Stop whining man, we have a black president. Enough said.
I am a woman of color, an artist, and definitely NOT even middle-class. I'm well educated, but find that all the well-paying jobs, are already taken by the Yuppie WASPS. These Yuppie WASPS, have ruined neighborhoods across the country, by their selfish obsession with gentrification. They do drive-up rents, to astronomical levels. As a result, less affluent folks
(especially blacks and browns), are forced to leave their own neighborhoods.
I was forced to move from the Bay area in California, because of the scourge of Yuppification, that has taken over there. Ever since the tech-boom out there in the 80s and 90s, Yuppies have destroyed the Bay area, for everyone who isn't affluent and white. The drastic increase in racism, homelessness, sky-high rents, unemployment, etc., is a direct result of the Yuppie take-over, in the Bay area during the past 25 years.
So Yuppies deserve to be despised, as far as I'm concerned. Yuppies use their wealth, to force their will on those of modest incomes, with no thought as to the consequences of their actions. Yuppies have no social conscience whatsoever-their only motivation is ferocious greed!
People do not own neighborhoods. Some of those "WASPS" as you call them may be the great grandchildren of the people who originally built those neighborhoods. Maybe they are just reclaiming what their late relatives had? Cities evolve, deal with it.
Gentrification is the only real means to improve our cites, because the cold hard facts are that money talks. It's certainly better than having some city full of ghettos that have no tax base to support city services and infrastructure. People who live in places like Detroit or St. Louis are probably begging for some gentrification.
Also I'm not sure what race has to do with anything. Someone who lives in the Bay Area should know that Asians and other races can be a big part of gentrification. Maybe it is just easier to call out "whitey" to suit your agenda
First of all, your ancestors were not brought here as slaves, and discriminated against for centuries. And yes, discrimination against blacks still exists, despite the fact that
we have a black president. If you come here as an immigrant, Biskit, then you just don't have the long history of discrimination, like black Americans have. So you have no right to try and deny that racism is still alive and well, against blacks, and other minorities too. Just because you're 'sick and tired' of hearing about racial discrimination, doesn't mean that it isn't real. If you think that racism isn't alive and well, then you are either incredibly naive, or you choose to deny it, despite considerable evidence of it's existence.
As for you 5Lakes, race has everything to with gentrification. And class does too. WASPs make up the vast majority of the Yuppie demographic. Asians, and other races, are only a
small part of the Yuppie class, compared to WASPs. So, the part that affluent Yuppie WASPs
play in gentrification, is central to the discussion regarding gentrification. It's not a matter of
'calling out whitey', as you claim. It's just a matter of being honest, about the disproportionate numbers of WASPs, that make up the Yuppie class.
You mention that residents don't 'own' neighborhoods. That still doesn't change the fact that
long-time residents of certain neighborhoods, are being forced out, because Yuppies who move in, drive-up rents to astronomical levels. So, Yuppies ARE imposing their (economic) will
on less affluent residents of neighborhoods, when gentrification forces them to move on, because Yuppies drive up rents in the neighborhood.
5Lakes, You assume that gentrification, is the only way to improve poor neighborhoods. What's really needed, is the political will of the federal, state, and local governments, to commit to improving poor neighborhoods, without forcing existing residents out. You also
assume, that residents of places like Detroit and St. Louis, are 'begging' for gentrification.
Before you make those kinds of assumptions, why not ask residents of those places, how they'd feel about being priced-out of their neighborhoods, by greedy Yuppies.
I maintain, like most people on this thread, that Yuppies are fundamentally selfish, greedy, shallow folks. And they have no concern for less affluent people, who they displace from their neighborhoods.
This is a losing battle. The reality is the vast majority of residents of NYC don't hate Yuppies, nor do they believe Yuppies are evil and a scourge on neighborhoods. If you want to talk facts, the people coming in and driving up the rents in lower income communities are not whites, they are people of color. You keep blaming the 2% of Yuppy whites that are moving into low-income neighborhoods, when the reality is it is the other 98% of middle class colored folks moving in that are driving the changes...but you don't see those cause they look like everyone else. And let's not forget, it is LLs that are raising rents due to demand, NOT anyone else. Furthermore, you don't own the right to live in a neighborhood no matter if you lived there for 5,000 years...just ask the Native Americans. Some people move in, others move out..and life goes on and life ain't fair. Welcome to adulthood.
But hey who needs facts and reality...let's just blame whitey for everything. Thats seems to have solved most problems right?
You mention that most New Yorkers don't hate Yuppies. If that's so, then why would a thread like this, exist in the first place?? And if you think, that only 2% of the affluent in this country are white, and the rest are minorities, then you're seriously out of touch with reality!
The fact is, whites make up the overwhelming majority, of the affluent population in America (Yuppies). As a result, they control all of the major institutions, and the economic power structure in general. And whites have (and still do), use their affluence to oppress the poor (who are disproportionately minorities). So that's not a 'blame everything on whites thing', that's a factual thing. It's not a condemnation of all whites either. Just a statement of fact, that the economically powerful in this country, are still overwhelmingly made up of whites. Your denial of that fact, doesn't make any difference.
Yes harsh realities exist in this world, and life isn't fair. And yes, landlords will drive-up rents if they can, because landlords are only motivated by money. I know that harsh realities exist. But landlords couldn't drive-up rents, if affluent Yuppies didn't gentrify neighborhoods, in the first place.
I, (and most others on this thread), are trying to make a point, about why we find Yuppies repugnant. And that point is, just because Yuppies are able, and willing, to force the poor out
of their neighborhoods, doesn't make it right. It all boils down to values. And Yuppies seem only to value their own greed, and selfishness. This is why most of us don't care for Yuppies. And you can try to justify greed ans selfishness. But, most of us on this thread, just don't find those values to be admirable.
First of all, your ancestors were not brought here as slaves, and discriminated against for centuries. And yes, discrimination against blacks still exists, despite the fact that
we have a black president. If you come here as an immigrant, Biskit, then you just don't have the long history of discrimination, like black Americans have. So you have no right to try and deny that racism is still alive and well, against blacks, and other minorities too. Just because you're 'sick and tired' of hearing about racial discrimination, doesn't mean that it isn't real. If you think that racism isn't alive and well, then you are either incredibly naive, or you choose to deny it, despite considerable evidence of it's existence.
As for you 5Lakes, race has everything to with gentrification. And class does too. WASPs make up the vast majority of the Yuppie demographic. Asians, and other races, are only a
small part of the Yuppie class, compared to WASPs. So, the part that affluent Yuppie WASPs
play in gentrification, is central to the discussion regarding gentrification. It's not a matter of
'calling out whitey', as you claim. It's just a matter of being honest, about the disproportionate numbers of WASPs, that make up the Yuppie class.
You mention that residents don't 'own' neighborhoods. That still doesn't change the fact that
long-time residents of certain neighborhoods, are being forced out, because Yuppies who move in, drive-up rents to astronomical levels. So, Yuppies ARE imposing their (economic) will
on less affluent residents of neighborhoods, when gentrification forces them to move on, because Yuppies drive up rents in the neighborhood.
5Lakes, You assume that gentrification, is the only way to improve poor neighborhoods. What's really needed, is the political will of the federal, state, and local governments, to commit to improving poor neighborhoods, without forcing existing residents out. You also
assume, that residents of places like Detroit and St. Louis, are 'begging' for gentrification.
Before you make those kinds of assumptions, why not ask residents of those places, how they'd feel about being priced-out of their neighborhoods, by greedy Yuppies.
I maintain, like most people on this thread, that Yuppies are fundamentally selfish, greedy, shallow folks. And they have no concern for less affluent people, who they displace from their neighborhoods.
Sonya.
If you want to talk about the dynamics of gentrification that is one thing, talking about the misfortunes of Blacks does not help you argument with this topic. It just makes you sound angry. And maybe you should be? But I think that is a totally different discussion. You don't think that poor whites get displaced because of gentrification? In Chicago, where I live, gentrification has pretty much occurred in working class White and Hispanic areas over the last few decades.
Another thing, it is not the yuppies who start the process of gentrification. It's usually artists and gays that first move in, and then yuppies follow. It's not like these yuppies are on a mission to displace people. Most of these so called yuppies who move into lower class areas do so because they are priced out of already established neighborhoods. They just want a centrally located and interesting neighborhood to live in. Landlords raise the rents to take advantage of this process. If anything it is the landlords, many of which have owned the buildings for decades, who are the greedy ones. And who could really blame them?
And may I ask how do you propose that the government keep existing residents in these neighborhoods? They are typically renters, and it’s not like the landlords are going to keep them around to be nice at the expense of losing money. As poor neighborhoods increase so will the property values. That is just how it works. If these neighborhoods were full of home owners then they would probably not complain because they could cash out on their increased home value.
Oh, and many yuppies are not necessarily WASPs these days either. WASP = White Anglo Saxon Protestant. This is not the 1930's, so it's not like the WASPs still have dominance over the upper class elite these days. Most WASPs (as defined by the true definition) live in the suburbs or rural areas, like trucks, and listen to country music. I'm technically a WASP and my family history mostly consists of poor coal minors and hillbillies from Appalachia. Most urban yuppies I know come from Catholic backgrounds these days. Maybe on the west coast it’s different because there are less Catholics?
For the record I'm not a big fan of the yuppie culture either, but the amount of true yuppie urban areas in this country is very limited in the grand scheme of things.
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