Does anyone else think the Atlanta urban core isn't that bad at all? (store, statistics)

[Indy2Mia2Atl]

The Underground in my opinion IS ghetto. Not just because of "black folk", but because it seems to cater to a lower income crowd--don't matter the race. I wouldn't necessarily consider it unsafe to patron, tho.

[UrbanConquistador]

Originally Posted by Indy2Mia2Atl

The Underground in my opinion IS ghetto. Not just because of "black folk", but because it seems to cater to a lower income crowd--don't matter the race. I wouldn't necessarily consider it unsafe to patron, tho.

Exactly.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Onthemove2014

Because of black folk?

No, that's not it. Downtown, and Five Points in particular, started to slide when Rich's and Macy's closed. A lot of other upscale retail closed. too. Then most of the big banks, stock brokers, legal, accounting and insurance firms moved out. Things like that were the traditional bread and butter of downtown, and once they were gone many ancillary businesses went downhill as well.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by Onthemove2014

Because of black folk?

Originally Posted by JPD

If I had only seen the area right outside of Termini Station when I was in Rome, I might have thought Rome was pretty crappy.

I think tourists are generally smart enough to know that you shouldn't judge a city by the area right around the main downtown train station.

If you took away every human being, and I were still that tourist visiting Five Points for the first time, I'd still have that image. Why? Because of the ghetto stores there. By contrast, there are plenty of Blacks in the Fairlie-Poplar district, and it looks far less ghetto than Five Points.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the stores are inherently bad. It's just that some people would get a bad impression of the place if, say, it were lined with nothing but strip clubs.

[arjay57]

Why do y'all think Fairlie Poplar has never really caught fire? It seems to me it would be absolutely perfect as an area lined with cafes, bars, galleries, etc.

[DTL3000]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Why do y'all think Fairlie Poplar has never really caught fire? It seems to me it would be absolutely perfect as an area lined with cafes, bars, galleries, etc.

Well, I'd be willing to put money on the shape of 5 Points and the homeless as having a lot to do with it. I agree that it should be a hopping place with all the GSU students as well as the Govt workers and the sports fans trickling in from Phillips and the Dome. Also, don't forget the Rialto and the other theatre right around the corner.

I just think a lot of businesses don't want to deal with the daily hassle of some lunatic coming in and screaming about not getting an order they didn't pay for which will probably happen due to the shape of nearby 5 Points.

[chiatldal]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I don't care what people wear. I'm no fashion plate myself and could easily be taken as an old bum off the streets (and sometimes am).

However, there's no denying that most of us use our clothing to communicate messages to others in society. If you put on a suit & tie, you are conveying that you are most likely a businessman and wish to be identified as such. If you wear a Caterpillar hat and sleeveless shirt, you're signaling that you identify with the Larry the Cable Guy demographic and most people will read you that way. If you wear your pants below your hips, you're telling folks you identify with the culture where sagging is popular.

Nobody is forcing any of us to make these fashion statements. We do it because we believe they represent to rest of the world who we are and how we see ourselves. It's naive to claim we don't know what our clothing signifies. And it's rarely because of economic forces -- a t-shirt with sleeves doesn't cost more than one without them. nor does it cost more to wear your pants at the waist.

A lot people who listen rap music commonly sag there pants. To people sagging there pants it's representing an edgy fashion statement, which is not the same as what other are viewing it. If some one buys a 50 to 200 dollar pants and sag them there not lower class. To them it's not different then punk rockers and etc it has nothing to do with class. It fair to call it rebellious but has nothing to do with class.

Another thing 90% of the time when people sag they don't show there under clothes in fact most wear gym clothes under there pants so your not even looking at under clothes but gym shorts over them. Not to mention a significant of the time, there wearing large enough T-shirts.

Also the whole sag pants thing is straw man because most of time all you can notice is there pants is baggy "not sagging" you can't actually see are there pants below there waist. Most of this crowd don't even sag there pants they just buy baggy pants.

The parallel red neck thing don't even makes sense first off these people are very image conscious. In fact the communicate messages of what they're trying to give off is often is flashiness which is the opposite. 2) Than this is trend base 5 to 10 years from now these people will be on to next trend. 3) Black "red necks" have a rural background. 4) Realistic Most younger AA identity with urban culture so your not talking about a sample of AA. This is why race pops up because unlike "red necks" which is a small sample of whites, were taking about generally younger AA as whole. Which is why the comparison don't sense.

If we choose to dress a certain way I don't know that it's fair to complain about people recognizing the message we're trying to send.

Tell that to trayvon martin family, I can't help if people chose to be prejudice. My point is the message trying to be send is not the same as what being received.

I going to keep posting this,
- One Hour - One City: Atlanta - 5 Points!

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by chiatldal

A lot people who listen rap music commonly sag there pants. To people sagging there pants it's representing an edgy fashion statement, which is not the same as what other are viewing it. If some one buys a 50 to 200 dollar pants and sag them there not lower class. To them it's not different then punk rockers and etc it has nothing to do with class. It fair to call it rebellious but has nothing to do with class.

Well, that's what I said. Clothing style is an intentional statement of how someone identifies and how they wish to be identified by others.

[Onthemove2014]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

If you took away every human being, and I were still that tourist visiting Five Points for the first time, I'd still have that image. Why? Because of the ghetto stores there. By contrast, there are plenty of Blacks in the Fairlie-Poplar district, and it looks far less ghetto than Five Points.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the stores are inherently bad. It's just that some people would get a bad impression of the place if, say, it were lined with nothing but strip clubs.

What makes a store "ghetto"? Black folk in it?

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by Onthemove2014

What makes a store "ghetto"? Black folk in it?

Did you even read post #184?