Why go where you are not wanted (Atlanta, Forsyth: renting, homes)

[BlueLuce]

Comments are welcomed on the following story:

A black co-worker is talking to a white co-worker about the MARTA vote for Gwinnett County. They discussed the history of the vote and why it didn't pass in the 1990's. The black co-worker states that it didn't pass because Gwinnett was predominately white, middle-upper class, with reliable transportation. They had no need for MARTA and were not interested in populating Gwinnett with the type of people that needed mass public transportation, mostly lower income minorities. Much to their dismay, the influx of minorities of all classes and hues into Gwinnett county happened regardless of their actions. The white co-worker asks a pointed question "Why would the minorities move where they are not wanted?" The black co-worker states that until there are equal quality schools, banks, restaurants, auto services, jobs, health providers, etc. in the minority neighborhoods, minorities will always move to where they can receive the best quality. If that happens to be in white neighborhoods, so be it.

[Huckleberry3911948]

go where there is opportunity. makes sense to me.

[j0ja]

Actually, you could name off about any county in metro Atlanta and the changes demographically have already happened. There is a thread here about White Flight and it mentions the minority population in metro Atlanta has climbed while that of the white population percentage wise has tappered off within the past decade or so. People go where the jobs are, pure and simple.

[mike929]

I live in Gwinett county and never realized that i never see Marta or anything mass transit related. But people no matter what race will always go to where the places with the most opportunity like Huck stated.

However I guess it would be nice to have something out here.

[straighttalker75]

Originally Posted by j0ja

Actually, you could name off about any county in metro Atlanta and the changes demographically have already happened. There is a thread here about White Flight and it mentions the minority population in metro Atlanta has climbed while that of the white population percentage wise has tappered off within the past decade or so. People go where the jobs are, pure and simple.

Uh, that's actually the exact opposite of what the WSJ article says. The article is about the REVERSAL of white flight.

"In Atlanta, which has among the longest commute times of any U.S. city, the white population rose by 26,000 between 2000 and 2006, while the black population decreased by 8,900. Overall the white proportion has increased to 35% in 2006 from 31% in 2000."

How can you read an article and understand the exact opposite of what the article is telling you in plain English? Wow.

[straighttalker75]

Originally Posted by BlueLuce

until there are equal quality schools, banks, restaurants, auto services, jobs, health providers, etc. in the minority neighborhoods, minorities will always move to where they can receive the best quality. If that happens to be in white neighborhoods, so be it.

Interesting theory... so, would you say the minorities have "equalized" the quality of schools, health care, etc., etc., in Gwinnett county? It appears they have "destroyed" such, and in so doing, if that is "equalizing" it, then.. so be it.

The problem is that some people want things, but they don't want to pay for it. They demand things, and feel they should be given. So lower class people move in to a nice area, and here come the single parent families, no home structure, no father figures in these kids lives, and they run wild and destroy schools and neighborhoods. These low-class people have no respect for others, or their own property, much less anyone else's.

It seems like you are taking pride in this situation. I don't understand the point of your post, quite honestly.

[BlueLuce]

Originally Posted by straighttalker75

Interesting theory... so, would you say the minorities have "equalized" the quality of schools, health care, etc., etc., in Gwinnett county? It appears they have "destroyed" such, and in so doing, if that is "equalizing" it, then.. so be it.

The problem is that some people want things, but they don't want to pay for it. They demand things, and feel they should be given. So lower class people move in to a nice area, and here come the single parent families, no home structure, no father figures in these kids lives, and they run wild and destroy schools and neighborhoods. These low-class people have no respect for others, or their own property, much less anyone else's.

It seems like you are taking pride in this situation. I don't understand the point of your post, quite honestly.

Quite honestly, it is a post for discussion purposes.

The problem in the story is that minorities are equated with low-class. Lower class people of all races have different needs than other classes. Many people, rather than join together to bring others up, would rather ridicule and ostracize those who are loss fortunate. There was a time where the church, the school etc. would assist those single-parent homes because they cared enough to help. No one takes pride in situations where people want to succeed and a few bad apples ruin the opportunity. But the tone of your comments bring to light the negative manner in which low-class people are looked upon.

[j0ja]

straighttalker75 replied:

Uh, that's actually the exact opposite of what the WSJ article says. The article is about the REVERSAL of white flight.

"In Atlanta, which has among the longest commute times of any U.S. city, the white population rose by 26,000 between 2000 and 2006, while the black population decreased by 8,900. Overall the white proportion has increased to 35% in 2006 from 31% in 2000."

How can you read an article and understand the exact opposite of what the article is telling you in plain English? Wow.

Noticed I mentioned metro counties and NOT the City of Atlanta. METRO Atlanta is not just the City of Atlanta. With the exception of Fulton County on the whole, I bet big demographic changes apply to almost every surrounding county in the metro area, except for a few token exurb counties, such as Forsyth.

Yes, the WSJ article mentions the City of Atlanta (meaning INSIDE the city limits), roughly 500K, people becoming more white, while the rest of Atlanta, namely METRO Atlanta (suburban and exurban areas), with its 20 counties is becoming more minority as a whole. The METRO area is well over 4 million people, maybe close to 5 million. If you read my post carefully, you see I did not specifically mention the City of Atlanta. The only thing is I probably referenced the wrong article, but there is one linked in this forum about demographic changes for the entire metro area. The percentage of whites in the entire metro of Atlanta area has declined within the past decade.

And as for the English part, you need to be more tactful and do more due diligence in your next post, OK?

[straighttalker75]

Originally Posted by j0ja

And as for the English part, you need to be more tactful and do more due diligence in your next post, OK?

Sorry, I was irritated by this topic and let that come through my post. Your point about the metro area is taken, although I still think you are confusing this article with a different one that appeared in the NY Times.

[straighttalker75]

Originally Posted by BlueLuce

There was a time where the church, the school etc. would assist those single-parent homes because they cared enough to help. No one takes pride in situations where people want to succeed and a few bad apples ruin the opportunity. But the tone of your comments bring to light the negative manner in which low-class people are looked upon.

Dude, get real. You think there are enough churches in the freakin universe to cover all the bad parenting going on in Clayton county, for example?

Secondly, if you want to have an honest discussion like you said, then the first thing to do is dispense with the naive attitude and ingenuous remarks about class and race.