Pittsburgh Misconceptions (Fox Chapel, McDonald, Lawrenceville: chapel, private schools, college)

[Gerbil]

Yeah, I don't really care about statistics for the whole region, because that includes suburbs etc. In fact if it's the MSA, doesn't it include adjacent counties? No offense to Washington County or whatever, but they are obviously going to be less diverse than the city, and will thus drag the statistics down.

What I am saying is: there is diversity here. Not in every single neighborhood, but it's here. Obviously 90% of the people I see in my daily life are not all white. You can experience diversity here. It is more concentrated in certain parts of the city, that's all.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Gerbil

What I am saying is: there is diversity here. Not in every single neighborhood, but it's here. Obviously 90% of the people I see in my daily life are not all white. You can experience diversity here. It is more concentrated in certain parts of the city, that's all.

The ironic thing is that some folks -- and I'm not pointing fingers at anyone in this thread, so don't anyone leap to the defensive -- only consider a given area diverse if every patch of the place has the same approximate and mixed demographic distribution as every other patch -- that is, it's not diverse until it all looks alike. I think this comes from a reflexive discomfort with ethnically segregated neighborhoods because ethnic segregation carries a heavy stigma of discrimination, even when it is voluntary segregation.

[JoeP]

But you didn't just state that I'd like the South -- you stated why I would like the South: because apparently, everyone in the entire South all think alike, my views would all be conveniently pre-selected for me, they would be reaffirmed everywhere I go, and therefore I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of thinking for myself and forming my own opinions. If you believe I'd be comfortable in that kind of environment and then seriously wonder why I would take offense, I'll reiterate you don't know enough about me -- and add that you don't deserve to ever know enough about me -- to know what my personal preferences are.

Just refer to my previous response.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Just refer to my previous response.

I'm done talking about this. You have anything else to add, PM me.

[JoeP]

I was done before the "cupcake" comment.

[claremarie]

What I am saying is: there is diversity here. Not in every single neighborhood, but it's here. Obviously 90% of the people I see in my daily life are not all white. You can experience diversity here. It is more concentrated in certain parts of the city, that's all.

Obviously, the 2% of the population of the greater Pittsburgh area that is not white or black must all live in your neighborhood.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by claremarie

Obviously, the 2% of the population of the greater Pittsburgh area that is not white or black must all live in your neighborhood.

I know you're origionally from the Pittsburgh area, claremarie, but your posts seem to indicate that you're not very familiar with the actual city neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.

Next time you come to Pittsburgh, I'll take you on a day long tour.

[claremarie]

Hopes, my mom grew up in Lawrenceville. Within walking distance of her house were three Catholic Churches -- the Polish church, the German church, and the Irish church. I'm quite familiar with the ethnic culture in Pittsburgh. I spent a lot of time there. And there's no need even to look at the Census figures to know that Pittsburgh is not particularly ethnically diverse...when the dry cleaners, landscapers, convenience store clerks, McDonald's cashiers, parking lot attendants, gas station attendants, and airport employees are virtually all white (with a few blacks) , you know that Pittsburgh's Asian/Hispanic/Indian/African population is virtually nil.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by claremarie

And there's no need even to look at the Census figures to know that Pittsburgh is not particularly ethnically diverse...when the dry cleaners, landscapers, convenience store clerks, McDonald's cashiers, parking lot attendants, gas station attendants, and airport employees are virtually all white (with a few blacks) , you know that Pittsburgh's Asian/Hispanic/Indian/African population is virtually nil.

That's not an accurate description of the way it is here anymore. It's actually the other way around now in many city neighborhoods. Of course, the suburbs are an entirely different story, but almost every city has a larger white population in the suburbs.

[Gerbil]

Yeah right, I'm sure all the minorities live in my neighborhood and nowhere else. That makes a ton of sense.

But wait. I don't just see them in my own neoghborhood. And I have lived in several different neighborhoods. They must all move with me, and go where I go all the time.

When I rode the bus in to work this morning, only about half the people riding with me were white. The rest were a mix of black, Asian, Middle-Eastern and Indian. I guess those were all of the minorities in the whole city, right? They all just got on the same exact bus as me.