What is Pasadena like ?

[happjack]

Originally Posted by ginbelt

Well, since I hear that all the time, especially on anonymous internet forums like this and on Sunspot "Talk", why not put the shoe on the other foot??

hmmm...i guess because two wrongs make a right?

Originally Posted by ginbelt

But that doesn't mitigate the fact that I've also heard, personally, of enough separate incidents involving different sets of people, to come to the conclusion that Pasadena has earned its reputation. Sorry. Have you ever heard a statement like "you might not get shot in Baltimore city...but you stand a better chance of it happening THERE than in the safe suburbs" --- or some variation of that?

anecdotes : several years worth of validated crime data :: apples : oranges



btw, i'm not a b-more hater. i like the city a lot, and spend a good bit of time there with my family.

[ginbelt]

Originally Posted by happjack

anecdotes : several years worth of validated crime data :: apples : oranges.

Maybe. Maybe not. You see, the FBI does not compile statistics on hatred and intolerance. If they did, though, Pasadena might be a contender for the Gold medal. (ps, I'm not the only person who has noticed this either). Anecdotes are no less valid because they haven't been compiled in some book somewhere. They still happened.

[happjack]

ginbelt - again, i ask that you do not lump together all 15,000 residents and the dozens of various neighborhoods throughout the pasadena area.

my first two posts in this thread were an attempt to convey the fact that there is some socio-economic diversity in the area...a fact that is different than the perception most people have of pasadena. now, i realize that does not necessarily equate to racial diversity. however, i find that the more educated middle and upper-middle class people with whom i mostly socialize are far more accepting of minorities and would be appalled by the type of behavior that you describe.

if you want to share some SPECIFIC examples of what happened and where it happened to your "several" friends that might be more helpful than broad accusations.

i'm not nearly naive enough to assume there are no racists in pasadena. however, as an active member of the community i have not seen examples of this...although, admittedly, i've seen a few trucks flying the stars and bars. i have developed relationships through church and kids' sports leagues with multiple minority families, and they have never mentioned the types of problems that you cite.

please, post some facts and let people make their own judgments.

[happjack]

so one idiot is representative of the entire area?

okay, now i completely agree with everything you said about pasadena. sorry i wasted bandwidth trying to provide a logical response to an argument in which you very clearly hold the only correct position.

and if anyone knows of a town where no one has ever used a racial epithet, please let me know. i'm pretty sure we can all just put on our ruby red slippers, click our heels to get there and live happily ever after.

[gallowsCalibrator]

Please attack ideas and not posters.

[happjack]

ginbelt - i am sorry for the treatment you and your friends/family received in pasadena. i can assure you, and anyone else who might consider living here, that it is not representative of the area...especially in the neighborhoods that i recommended.

i'm not sure there's anywhere else for this debate to go but down, so i won't respond in this thread again unless there are specific questions about the area that i can answer. i'm fairly confident that my thoughts about pasadena otherwise have been clearly made.

~jack