Are You Leaving DC After September 14?

[liliblu]

Originally Posted by ffknight918

I'm glad your husband doesn't have that attitude. There are A LOT more racist blacks in this city than there are whites. It's to the point where they can call 911 and they don't want me to help because I'm white. Well even though I'm white I can see that you've been stabbed five times and you're losing a lot of blood. I can USUALLY see when their house is on fire as well, but they don't care. They don't want my help. They only want it from the black firemen. Of course not everyone is like this. It's just a small portion, but I've never seen it the other way around.

You really expect people to believe this silliness? Blacks in DC are lettting their homes burn down because you're white? Are you the only fire fighter on the scene of these fires? Are people (excuse me blacks) pushing all the other white fighter fighters out of the way as their homes burn? Why aren't these incidents covered in the news? Stabbing victims are coherent enough to say, "no ffknight918, I'd rather die than except your help"?

[stars99]

I guess DC does not have the same issue that NYC has (a "Whites Only" hiring policy for it's fire dept.)?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

- we're gonna turn Shaw into another Bethesda! watch out!

Yes, and this is exactly the reason why many (not all) voted for Gray over Fenty. I viewed this election as a referendum on gentrification more than one based upon race. People who don't want all of DC to evolve into Bethesda (or North Arlington, to give a shout out to we Virginians) aligned themselves towards Gray to slow down that progress. It's a shame that some of us are cheering for DC to become a "world-class city" instead of a steeply-divided city.

Others say they didn't vote for Fenty because they didn't like his "personality." You don't vote for someone based upon who smiles more or kisses more babies. What is this, high school? You vote for someone based upon the results he or she has delivered or is promising to deliver. I'm going to reserve judgment on Gray and give him a chance to prove himself; however, don't try to tell me that a good chunk of his supporters were not seeking to slow down gentrification. Rhee was appointed to "slash-and-burn" in an attempt to strongly overhaul DC's public schools because the poor school quality remains one of the few reasons why many middle-class suburbanite families who now live in Maryland or Virginia refuse to move back into the District. Some likely see such a strong commitment to improving educational quality to directly equate to MORE gentrification.

Here's an idea. Instead of trying to hold your city back and jeopardize rapid progress because you are afraid of being priced out why not work to "keep up?" Fairfax County has come close to chewing me up and spitting me out numerous times over the past year-and-a-half with its frenetic pace, astronomical cost-of-living, and plethora of cutthroat "Type A" personalities, yet I still persevere, do I not? I'm picking up a second part-time job to help pay my bills. I worked hard to educate myself and am going to pursue my Master's Degree as well. Working hard may not be attractive sometimes, but it does tend to pay off in the long-term.

[robertjohnson]

Clairity

Originally Posted by coldbliss

Yes, because an overwhelming majority of students, teachers, administrators and parents are black. I am not saying that a black schools chancellor who fires teachers and closes schools will be popular in Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8. But race DOES matter in The District. African Americans still make up the majority of the DC population but more political leadership positions are going to non-blacks. You have powerful non-black government officials making crucial decisions that affect the lives of black DC residents such as mass layoffs of teachers and government workers. This creates a sense of mistrust along race and class lines.

When over 70 resident of black residents in DC disapprove of Fenty and Rhee, there is something seriously wrong here. I think Fenty and Rhee have done a lousy job of community outreach and the message for tough reform gets lost in the translation. But I also think there is paranoia and reflexive mistrust of non-black administrators and politicians. People let their worst fears take over and any nuanced reasoning gets tossed out of the window. Failure all around.

This election confirms that this city is severely divided along racial and class lines. Whites would rather have non-black people in power and blacks would rather have more black people in power. If this is how people are voting on September 14, then the city has made little progress.

I guess its not as painful when its 'people that look like us' that are screwing you. Do yourselves a favor. Forget race (yeah i know) and elect the candidate that will ********* less. Youll miss the sweet talk but in the end you will be better off.
Remember, it's your foot thats in the boot thats on your neck thats keeping you down.
Peace.

[robertjohnson]

Originally Posted by coldbliss

Yes, because an overwhelming majority of students, teachers, administrators and parents are black. I am not saying that a black schools chancellor who fires teachers and closes schools will be popular in Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8. But race DOES matter in The District. African Americans still make up the majority of the DC population but more political leadership positions are going to non-blacks. You have powerful non-black government officials making crucial decisions that affect the lives of black DC residents such as mass layoffs of teachers and government workers. This creates a sense of mistrust along race and class lines.

When over 70 resident of black residents in DC disapprove of Fenty and Rhee, there is something seriously wrong here. I think Fenty and Rhee have done a lousy job of community outreach and the message for tough reform gets lost in the translation. But I also think there is paranoia and reflexive mistrust of non-black administrators and politicians. People let their worst fears take over and any nuanced reasoning gets tossed out of the window. Failure all around.

This election confirms that this city is severely divided along racial and class lines. Whites would rather have non-black people in power and blacks would rather have more black people in power. If this is how people are voting on September 14, then the city has made little progress.

I guess its not as painful when its 'people that look like us' that are screwing you. Do yourselves a favor. Forget race (yeah i know) and elect the candidate that will ********* less. Youll miss the sweet talk but in the end you will be better off.
Remember, it's your foot thats in the boot thats on your neck thats keeping you down.
Peace.