My thoughts and opinions on Pittsburgh after being in NYC for almost 3 years... (York: mortgage, credit)

[sealie]

You don't dwell on former adversity year after year? Really?
Have you MET you?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

Not true in the least. Poor white people did and still do blame minorites and immigrants for the condition that they are in. "they" are taking "our" jobs.

I must admittedly run in different circles then because I don't know of any fellow whites who say they can't get hired because of minorities stealing their jobs and/or discriminating against them in the hiring process.

I'm personally NOT a fan of Affirmative Action in the workplace because I think it's a joke that a less-qualified minority applicant should be chosen over a better-qualified white applicant based solely upon race, but with that being said I've also yet to see a fellow white in my HR-related circle turn down anyone based upon their race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc.

Getting back on-topic, I refuse to accept that Pittsburgh is any more racist or any more involuntarily racially segregated than any other American city. Working-class blacks can and do live on my block here in Polish Hill, and we all get along very well with one another. There's no reason for working-class blacks in Homewood to blame whites for their plight when they can easily move to more racially heterogeneous neighborhoods IF THEY CHOSE.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by sealie

You don't dwell on former adversity year after year? Really?
Have you MET you?

I still harbor a huge grudge and a lot of hatred towards people who bullied me for being gay growing up as well as the people who slighted me in Northern Virginia, but with that being said I haven't let those factors hold me back professionally or in life in general in the same manner as the OP (and many like him) apparently have in terms of their bias against whites holding them back from doing anything with their lives.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I disagree. If you're wronged/slighted for something you don't dwell on it for year after year after year and use it as a perpetual excuse to justify your suffering. You fight back and vow to make your life better DESPITE that adversity that was FORMERLY standing in your way. You make something of yourself to SPITE those who at one point wanted to hold you back from enjoying success.

Back in Northern Virginia some people whom I thought were my friends colluded to hurt me for their own personal gain. I didn't let them stunt my life. I moved away for a fresh start and am planning to build a wonderful life here in a new city in the hopes that one day I'll be successful, much to their chagrin. In similar fashion if blacks feel like whites in Pittsburgh are racists who are holding them down in concentration camps like Homewood, then why don't they opt to instead work hard, go to college, learn trades, etc. to become success stories and spite those racist whites who didn't think they had it in them?

Did these same group of NOVA people also collude to hurt your father? Your mother? Your siblings? How about your grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles? How about our neighbors?

Again, it's not a reason not to try hard and work to better oneself, but you really need to put what happened to large swaths of non-white people into perspective. It was a lot bigger and systemic than you are giving it credit for. I dont know what happened to you in NOVA, but I can't imagine it was on a societal scale like somethings from our past. Did those in NOVA refuse to allow you to attend the college of your choice? Did they refuse to lend money to you? Or did they lend it to you at a higher interest rate? Did they put you on a bus and promise you a job in a far flung city, only to have nothing set up for you on the other end?

Again not an excuse, and no reason for you to feel guilt. Definitely a reason though for you to stop calling people lazyand entitled.

[UKyank]

Ah, Americans & their infatuation with race...

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Again, it's not a reason not to try hard and work to better oneself, but you really need to put what happened to large swaths of non-white people into perspective. It was a lot bigger and systemic than you are giving it credit for. I dont know what happened to you in NOVA, but I can't imagine it was on a societal scale like somethings from our past. Did those in NOVA refuse to allow you to attend the college of your choice? Did they refuse to lend money to you? Or did they lend it to you at a higher interest rate? Did they put you on a bus and promise you a job in a far flung city, only to have nothing set up for you on the other end?

You're talking about things that stopped happening 40, 50, or 60 years ago. It's time to move on and stop bringing that up.

[Blackbeauty212]

SCR - You just don't get it do you.... But let someone come out and fling Gay stereotypes all over the place and pigeonhole the entire LGBT community based on those stereotypes, and you'd being singing a different tune, suddenly you're the victim of a bunch of Bigots. The hypocrisy is thick today.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I grew up in an area I disliked. I worked hard, studied hard, and moved away.

I moved to an area I disliked even more. I worked hard and moved away.

Now I'm in an area I love and am making it work.


My point is that the people of Homewood, for example, have had GENERATIONS to proactively turn things around, yet, instead of doing so, are STILL opting to rest on their laurels and blame everyone else around them---"the system"; "the man"; "the government"; "whitey"; or whatever else happens to be convenient INSTEAD OF bootstrapping it like the rest of us. The OP is a prime example. If he couldn't get a job, then "it must be someone else's fault". Hey, OP, maybe there was something wrong with YOU?! I hire independent of factors like race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, etc. I think everyone deserves a chance (or even a second chance). I'm sure I'm BY FAR not the only quasi-HR professional in Pittsburgh with the same mentality.

BS There are Homewood residents that work more hours and make more money than you. Instead of complaining like yourself.....they chose to work hard and save to buy a east end home. Your generalizations are racist and sickening.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

You're talking about things that stopped happening 40, 50, or 60 years ago. It's time to move on and stop bringing that up.

Still happens today...... A black person with the same credit score as a white person would pay a higher interest rate. Did you follow the housing bust?

[sealie]

I have, in IT, actually seen Indian managers who only hire Indian programmers, and I have seen a LOT of whites complaining about it, but certainly this happens as well in construction jobs with Hispanic workers. IT can also be sexist and ageist, hiring for "cultural fit" so nothing would really surprise me there. Maybe people see -isms where they don't exist, sometimes, but I can see why.