Black family victim of racial vandalism in Alpharetta (Atlanta, Roswell: houses, neighborhood)

[kayrob]

Saw it on tonight's news. Had a racial slur painted on the back of their home, bricks tossed through windows etc. Apparently its not the first time its happened to them either.

[MsDubya]

Dang, and to think I was considering Alpharetta along with other areas...

[kelabu]

I wonder where the family is from originally. It irked me that the mom said she felt like if it could happen in a neghborhood 'as nice as this one' it could happen anywhere. Ummmm.....those in the 'nice' neighborhood considered it nice because people like you didn't live in these areas 20 years ago. I can't stand it when people move somewhere thinking that purely test scores and upper income people means a good environment for your children. I feel so sorry for that boy. He said he just wants to move and mom has her head in the sand thinking this must be the best place for them simply because north fulton and forsyth are the in places right now.

[jxu66]

Wow, that's shocking. That seems to be a divide line between North Fulton/Forsyth and North Gwinnett along the Chattohoochee river. There are significant number of wealthy african americans on this side of river (Sugarloaf, Duluth and Suwanee) while there are very few african americans live on the other side. Afterall, some houses in Sugarloaf area as expensive as if not more expensive than those houses in North Fulton.

[kayrob]

Originally Posted by kelabu

I wonder where the family is from originally. It irked me that the mom said she felt like if it could happen in a neghborhood 'as nice as this one' it could happen anywhere. Ummmm.....those in the 'nice' neighborhood considered it nice because people like you didn't live in these areas 20 years ago. I can't stand it when people move somewhere thinking that purely test scores and upper income people means a good environment for your children. I feel so sorry for that boy. He said he just wants to move and mom has her head in the sand thinking this must be the best place for them simply because north fulton and forsyth are the in places right now.

True. What some are always harping on as a great area might not be so great for all concerned. Not saying that this might not just be an isolated incident rather than indicative of the mindset of the area as a whole. But it's disturbing nonetheless.

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by kayrob

Saw it on tonight's news. Had a racial slur painted on the back of their home, bricks tossed through windows etc. Apparently its not the first time its happened to them either.

Which station? I've looked at the web sites for all four network affiliate stations, ajc.com, and beaconcast.com (the site for the Beacon weekly newspapers in Roswell, Alpharetta, and Milton) and haven't turned it up.

[kelabu]

I saw it on ch2 wsb I think....

[Mongooz]

Not surprising. Alot of racists settle in collective areas the create thier own little world. My fiance worked in alpharetta for a year, and he said he was very uncomfortable with the social climate, and he is white! Check out the census and demographics for zip codes, that may help. When is says 99.9% white, you might consider that to be a little strange, considering it is Georgia/ATL area, fastest growing African American population in the country. Its still really horrible to hear about.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by kayrob

Saw it on tonight's news. Had a racial slur painted on the back of their home, bricks tossed through windows etc. Apparently its not the first time its happened to them either.

That's just sad, man... We need to find these idjuts something better to pick on, like palmetto bugs maybe.

I really don't understand it...

[rackensack]

Finally found it. Family: We're Being Targeted By Racists - News Story - WGCL Atlanta

While the location is technically in Alpharetta, it's quite close to my neighborhood in Roswell -- only a few miles away in a straight line. I'm going to be interested to see what comes out of this. It's possible that there really are gangs of rampaging racists in North Fulton who just happen to pick on this one family. It's possible that there are a couple of stupid kids in the same neighborhood who have a beef with someone in the house and picked this way to get back at them. It's possible there's a couple of stupid kids in the neighborhood who just think it's a cool way to get some kicks. Whatever it is, it's deplorable, unacceptable, and of course illegal and destructive (both physically and socially). What it isn't, IMO, is an indictment of everyone who lives in North Fulton county and happens to be melanin-deficient as a racist, bigoted troglodyte.

This was the action of one or more certain specific individuals -- that much is indisputable. What remains to be determined is whether that action was directed, motivated, or influenced by any sort of collective effort or was solely the action of those individuals. Until that's established, I'd rather not jump to the conclusion that because the majority of the people in North Fulton county are not black, they live there for that reason specifically, or that they bear any collective animus toward those who are. Even one incident of this sort is too many, and certainly would make anyone who is black question whether they are subject to similar treatment in this area, but our response to it must be determined by a clearer understanding of who did it and why. I believe the cause of social harmony and acceptance would be better served by an effort on the part of everyone in the community -- white, black, and every shade in between -- to condemn the action and the actors and to serve notice that none of us will tolerate such behavior than by saying "See, all those white people up there in Alpharetta really do hate black people even if they don't admit it." Surely that's destructive in its own way as well.