Being white in Philly: A Discussion of the Philadelphia Magazine article (Springfield: upper-class, theater)

[FindingZen]

OK: Whether or not the perception of safety in the Temple area varies by personal anecdote or interpretation of hard crime figures, the diverse student population and primarily black residents still live there. Given that most all of them would likely prefer a crime-free environment but live (mostly by circumstance) and learn (mostly by there nonetheless, how is this connected to how white people in the city and surrounding area view race relations?

[frankgn87]

Actually... Clery crimes are crimes that are a safety threat to students and employees of a university.. Has nothing to do whether students commit the crimes or not.. I am involved with this on a day to day basis.
Non Clery crimes would not necessarily pose a threat of danger to the students of employees. You really shoud do your homework before spewing non truths here

Originally Posted by Summersm343

Temple University Crime

Philadelphia Police have not yet released a crime report for 2012... but here are the 2011 numbers.

Clery-crimes are what you want to focus on... Clery crimes are crimes committed by outside sources. Non-clery crimes, are crimes committed by students.

Clery- Crimes 2011
Rape- 3
Robbery- 4
Aggravated Assault- 3
Burglary- 4

Total- 14

That doesn't seem like a lot of crime to me... does it Frank? Of course you won't understand this because you can't comprehend anything, but at least everyone else can see how wrong you are.

Just to prove you wrong even further.... here is the Non-Clery Crimes (crime committed by students)

Non-Clery Crimes 2011
Liquor Law Violations/ Arrests- 12
Disciplinary Actions/ Referrals- 184
Drug Abuse Violations/ Arrests- 17
Disciplinary Actions/ Referrals- 2
Simple Assault- 10
Harassment- 63
Fraud- 10
Theft- 310
Vandalism- 37
Disorderly Conduct- 11
All Other Offenses- 50

Total- 491

http://www.temple.edu/safety/core/fi...2012_FINAL.pdf

As I said... UNLESS YOU CONSIDER A BUNCH OF DRUNK COLLEGE KIDS TO BE A THREAT TO YOU, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. TEMPLE'S CAMPUS IS ONE OF THE SAFEST PLACES IN THE CITY.

And like I said, the majority of those crimes on that site are committed by drunk students.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by rraC ynnaD

I'll get the ball rolling: I treat people as individuals and I don't judge them based on their skin color, ethnicity, sexual orientation or faith.
THAT being said, I DO have preferences. I've been around long enough to see what Puerto Ricans and blacks generally do to neighborhoods, etc., which is, they bring a certain level of violence and many of them are racist as hell towards whites and Asians. White poor people are no picnic, but they're not nearly as violent. I don't want to sit in movie theaters, drink, dine or shop where there are lots of blacks and Puerto Ricans - It's a totally different culture than what I'm willing to tolerate. I want to live with white people. It's not about hate, it's about comfort.
One more thing: I try to avoid getting behind African-Americans in checkout lines.

Your honesty is appreciated. It does seem like your experience may be primarily with lower-income and working-class blacks and Puerto Ricans. There are certainly thriving middle-class neighborhoods that are predominantly black: East Mount Airy, Wynnefield, and Fern Rock, off the top of my head. There are definitely blacks that live in diverse neighborhoods in NW, West and South Philly as well as Center City. For the most part, I would predict they make a positive contribution to their communities.

I admit that I don't know enough about the Puerto Rican/Hispanic community to form a similar opinion. Perhaps others here can help.

I half-jokingly concede that you may not want to see a popular movie in a predominantly black or Hispanic crowd as they may spend "half the film" talking back at it. Then again, perhaps it's more of a "working-class" culture thing. I don't know.

The reluctance to wait behind blacks in checkout lines is interesting. Would you care to elaborate on your reasons?

[RightonWalnut]

Originally Posted by frankgn87

Actually... Clery crimes are crimes that are a safety threat to students and employees of a university.. Has nothing to do whether students commit the crimes or not.. I am involved with this on a day to day basis.
Non Clery crimes would not necessarily pose a threat of danger to the students of employees. You really shoud do your homework before spewing non truths here

Here are the numbers again: I consider Non-clery crimes to be committed by students because usually THEY ARE committed by drunk students. They are not considered a threat to students or staff because THEY ARE COMMITTED BY DRUNK STUENTS.

Just look at these crimes

Liquor Law Violations/ Arrests- 12 (drunk students)
Disciplinary Actions/ Referrals- 184 (drunk students)
Drug Abuse Violations/ Arrests- 17 (high students)
Disciplinary Actions/ Referrals- 2 (high students)
Simple Assault- 10 (drunk students fighting)
Harassment- 63 (drunk students hitting on girls or verbally fighting with other guys/girls)
Fraud- 10 (fake ID's)
Theft- 310 (at least half of these can be chalked up to drunk students, probably more)
Vandalism- 37 (drunk students)
Disorderly Conduct- 11 (drunk students)
All Other Offenses- 50

^^ I don't even consider the majority of these to be serious crimes.
There are 14 clery crime... I don't consider drunk students to be a threat.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by rraC ynnaD

I don't suffer from "white guilt," so I don't care.

Neither do I. But you do suffer from a lack of curiosity. So that reason, your earlier post (Post 30) is simply snide and meaningless.

[mancat100]

I think it's more of a class thing than a race thing. Low class (as opposed to lower class) people just plain suck and ruin things for everyone else. In Philly there are lots of low class people. Many of them are awful blacks. Many of them are awful whites. They all disgust me.

Occasionally I will admit that a prejudiced thought pops into my head when I witness bad behavior by blacks. When this happens I make it a point to remind myself of all the worthless white people I've come across. Then equilibrium returns.

[rraC ynnaD]

Originally Posted by Tone509

The reluctance to wait behind blacks in checkout lines is interesting. Would you care to elaborate on your reasons?

More often than not (in my experiences), there's some kind of "issue" or they start asking stupid questions.
White women seem to like to wait until the cashier tells them their total before they start digging for exact change. White men tend to have their money out, ready to pay and go.

[FBJ]

Originally Posted by frankgn87

Being White in Philly | Philadelphia magazine


Interesting.. And there are those who say that Temple is safe..


Basically.. The whites are moving to the burbs.. The city is turning into a black city..

They may have gotten the Temple area confused with Drexel or University of Penn because the Temple area has never ever been safe.

And this city has been mostly black for years and not something new.

[scosm]

Originally Posted by rotodome

The only (not so groundbreaking) point in that article that I think has any value, with this thread and all comments on the PhillyMag site being supporting evidence for it, is that it is very difficult to have an open discussion about race in America.

Not on this forum, that's for sure! Sad article and I'm sorry it gets any traction here. I think there are ways to discuss race intelligently without making some of the statements here.

[mullligan150]

Didnt "white flight" happen in the 60's and 70's? just commenting on the OP's comment. Didnt read the article.