Tell me about the pace and culture of professionals in Atlanta (cell phone, better)

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

Yeah, like any "Chinese" restaurant in the hood where they have a lunch special. Pick your meat or veggie and add rice.

This is true.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Charleston survives on tourism and it's 'southern charm', while Atlanta is a commercial hub. You won't find very many BBQ or southern food restaurants down here, but you will find a lot of cosmopolitan food.

Ummm, yes you will (not as many BBQ spots but definitely Southern/soul food spots). But you you'll find the cosmopolitan eateries as well.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by ATL Golfer

The misinformation here is just so wrong its baffling.



News flash. Racial riots did not skip Atlanta. Racism is still very prevalent. I'll agree its better than our neighbors to the west, but we didn't avoid a whole lot in the way of civil rights issues.

But there were fewer in Atlanta and they were a lot less 'intense.' For instance, Atlanta was one of the major cities that didn't riot in the aftermath of King's assassination, and he was an Atlanta native. That says a lot.

[residinghere2007]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

But there were fewer in Atlanta and they were a lot less 'intense.' For instance, Atlanta was one of the major cities that didn't riot in the aftermath of King's assassination, and he was an Atlanta native. That says a lot.

On this, just wanted to note that I don't remember reviewing information about any large amount of southern cities in particular having riots after King's death. It seems they were concentrated especially in the NE and Midwest and out west.

I would think Atlanta would be in mourning and not riot due to a fallen hometown resident.

But in regards to Atlanta having Civil Rights issues and racial issues, I also do feel the city has had its share. I think too often people just don't discuss them to any great lengths due to wanting to maintain the image of being a "city to busy to hate." But Atlanta did hate and its actions/in-actions in regards to discrimination were not all that different from other southern cities IMO.

I do think one could say it was not as violent as other cities, but it still was discriminatory and had the same discriminatory practices in place as other southern cities throughout the CRM and beyond in regards to housing issues, same as all other larger (and smaller) American cities.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by residinghere2007

On this, just wanted to note that I don't remember reviewing information about any large amount of southern cities in particular having riots after King's death. It seems they were concentrated especially in the NE and Midwest and out west.

That's a fair point. As far as major cities go, the Southern cities that experienced riots were all border cities (DC, Baltimore, Louisville).

I would think Atlanta would be in mourning and not riot due to a fallen hometown resident.

The two aren't mutually exclusive. Although an Atlanta native, King belonged to all of Black America and in the cities that did riot, shock and grief gave way to anger pretty quickly.

But in regards to Atlanta having Civil Rights issues and racial issues, I also do feel the city has had its share. I think too often people just don't discuss them to any great lengths due to wanting to maintain the image of being a "city to busy to hate." But Atlanta did hate and its actions/in-actions in regards to discrimination were not all that different from other southern cities IMO.

I do think one could say it was not as violent as other cities, but it still was discriminatory and had the same discriminatory practices in place as other southern cities throughout the CRM and beyond in regards to housing issues, same as all other larger (and smaller) American cities.

There is no Southern city that didn't have Jim Crow laws on the books, including Atlanta. But the lack of violent events and lack of strong opposition of integration did make a big difference, as did the relative size and influence of Atlanta's Black population.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by residinghere2007

On this, just wanted to note that I don't remember reviewing information about any large amount of southern cities in particular having riots after King's death. It seems they were concentrated especially in the NE and Midwest and out west.

I would think Atlanta would be in mourning and not riot due to a fallen hometown resident.

But in regards to Atlanta having Civil Rights issues and racial issues, I also do feel the city has had its share. I think too often people just don't discuss them to any great lengths due to wanting to maintain the image of being a "city to busy to hate." But Atlanta did hate and its actions/in-actions in regards to discrimination were not all that different from other southern cities IMO.

I do think one could say it was not as violent as other cities, but it still was discriminatory and had the same discriminatory practices in place as other southern cities throughout the CRM and beyond in regards to housing issues, same as all other larger (and smaller) American cities.

The Atlanta way" is historically noted as negotiation/cooperation between black and white leaders rather than experiencing violence and boycotting. By the way, the discriminatory practices of the day were not just found in southern cities like many people like to think, but were common nationwide. Just look back at television and other forms of entertainment, for example...life for minorities in the US was far from equal anywhere.

There are several differences in Atlanta's civil rights history that sets it apart from other cities...the peaceful integration of schools is one that places like Boston and Chicago can't match. Atlanta had the first black mayor of a southern city and the first black member of congress from the South. It also experienced peaceful desegregation of the bus system without a boycott as well as many other aspects of daily life. Atlanta had one of the nations most prosperous black communities prior to the Civil Rights Movement and still has a very large black upper and middle class. There are many more examples of Atlanta's civil rights leadership that painted the city as progressive for its day, so to say that it wasn't different from other cities is just untrue.

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

I've been thinking of going there. The only "Chicago-style" pizza place I've seen in my part of the metro is the Chicago Pizza & Sports Grille in southern Smyrna, which has a nice light deepdish pizza I admit I like, but it's not what I remember from places like Edwardo's back in other metros.

The only deep dish I've found down here is Nancy's.

But if you're interested in a good Chicago thin crust, Aurelio's at 1255 Johnson Ferry Rd
Marietta, GA 30068 has a scoutmob deal running > Aurelio's Pizza | Friday, June 10, 2016 | Scoutmob

[residinghere2007]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

The Atlanta way" is historically noted as negotiation/cooperation between black and white leaders rather than experiencing violence and boycotting. By the way, the discriminatory practices of the day were not just found in southern cities like many people like to think, but were common nationwide. Just look back at television and other forms of entertainment, for example...life for minorities in the US was far from equal anywhere.

There are several differences in Atlanta's civil rights history that sets it apart from other cities...the peaceful integration of schools is one that places like Boston and Chicago can't match. Atlanta had the first black mayor of a southern city and the first black member of congress from the South. It also experienced peaceful desegregation of the bus system without a boycott as well as many other aspects of daily life. Atlanta had one of the nations most prosperous black communities prior to the Civil Rights Movement and still has a very large black upper and middle class. There are many more examples of Atlanta's civil rights leadership that painted the city as progressive for its day, so to say that it wasn't different from other cities is just untrue.

I am VERY aware of the bold due to the fact I am from the Midwest and one of the reasons why the Midwest in particular during the CRM of the 1940s forward was violent was because of similar overt oppression faced by black citizens in various urban centers. Discrimination was all over America as you stated, those who study black history know this and especially so if they study local history of their particular community or state.

On the 2nd paragraph, I did mention that Atlanta was less violent. However, as stated, it still "hated" in regards to having discrimination in place. Housing discrimination was common in Atlanta, like it was in Chicago through the 1980s. Most major urban areas, like Atlanta had large black middle class populations as well - Chicago especially, Detroit, Cleveland, and even the city I am from - Toledo, OH as quite a few people in my own family were considered middle class even in the early 1900s.

Point is that Atlanta was not "too busy to hate." It just hated without violence. FWIW, IMO it is interesting as my own hometown was the same. They never had any crazy riots (not since the 1800s until the most recent one in 2005), the schools were integrated in the 1870s well before most any other places in Ohio or the Midwest in general, and black people were treated with a high degree of civility. I never expected after delving into local history of that area that I would find much discrimination based on NW Ohio being very active in the Underground Rail Road and having a vocal abolition voice prior to the Civil War. But I did find that the area was discriminatory against black people in regards to residency (blacks had to live in "negro" areas or alongside lowly viewed European immigrants - here it was the Germans, Polish, Hungarians, Irish, and Jews). There were traditional "sundown" customs for various neighborhoods. Black people, no matter their skills or educations could not acquire specific types of jobs (usually supervisory or managerial positions) not even in industrial/manufacturing occupations which dominated the local economy, only exception was Standard Oil where one of my ancestors was employed as a supervisor. There were a host of other ways the city "hated" its black residents and due to there never being much violence, to this day people believe that everything was basically "hunky dory" as I call it all the time. It was better than other places in the Midwest, similar to Atlanta was better versus the rest of the SE, but there was still "hate" and still racist institutions and still discrimination directed toward the black community.

[Ant131531]

When was the last time Atlanta has had a large scale riot? The 60s? It just doesn't seem like protests and riots ever get out of hand here...

[bu2]

Originally Posted by residinghere2007

FWIW, I found that that is just the culture in Atlanta in regards to professionalism.

I think many people around here don't want to acknowledge/admit it but IMO it is true. I also had some experience of being interviewed and then was supposed to come for 2nd interviews or even to just come pick up paperwork for background/drug testing and then it was crazy hard to get in touch with someone at the companies.

I did end up taking a job at one of those companies but I had another job offer at the time and so I called that office and told them that I had another job offer and due to being unsure if they still wanted to hire me that I would be taking the other offer. They finally did call me to get me set up that day. When I started there, I saw why they were so forgetful. They were super busy and HR stuff was just something they didn't routinely handle so they just kept putting it off.

In general, I do think that the professionalism in Atlanta in regards to response times is very slow compared to other areas across the country. It is hard to get a response via email or via phone. You have to be very persistent. I think people who have lived there for a long time just think it is normal or that it isn't different from other areas. But it is and it permeates many aspects of daily life and did especially for me since my career involves coordinating with various companies and government agencies on a daily basis. The worst part of the job was always basically pulling teeth to get someone to respond to inquiries. I spent a lot of time tracking down people via car because they wouldn't answer their phones or email.

I wonder if that is Atlanta or if it is the new reality where people don't check phone messages or e-mail. And with people in meetings all the time, its hard to get them to answer cell phones.

People ignore communication that isn't their style. Some people you can't get ahold of except by text. Others you have to catch on their cell phone. Others prefer e-mail. Phone messages are a thing of the past.