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Look hon, you've been on this forum for a big, whopping, grand total of five days. I've been on City-Data for over five YEARS. In those five years, I've seen countless of ill formed, ignorant posts and threads declaring Boston to be a racist city. Why do they say Boston is a racist city? Because:
-of a notorious busing incident that happened nearly a half century ago
-Boston doesn't have as many blacks as Chicago/NYC/Atlanta/whatever
-Boston doesn't have any soul food joints/jazz clubs/decent black owned businesses
-there are no majority black, upper middle class neighborhoods
-Hollywood says Boston is only filled with WASPs and poor white Irish rednecks or gangsters who all speak with exaggerated accents
-some ignorant fools on Twitter people assumed were from Boston made racial comments about a black hockey player
And so on and so on. Yawn.
Frankly, most people who have been on this forum long enough have seen posters of your ilk, so don't be surprised when people call out your recent join date and number of posts and draw conclusions about your goals here.
So please "hon" tell me this, unless I have been a member since 2007 I cannot post anything?!?!? I must say I am shocked at the discomfort on this thread when it comes to discussing racism.
And here is my final point, those of you that have chosen to question my "goals" are the very reason why racism exists.
You're really defensive. I never said you couldn't or shouldn't post. Of course you're free to post what you want. By the same token I'm free to do the same which is why I asked why this discussion means anything to you. Instead of defending your right to post-- a right no one is challenging-- why don't you contribute something to the discussion instead of the same weak, tired stuff we've all heard over and over again.
You're really defensive. I never said you couldn't or shouldn't post. Of course you're free to post what you want. By the same token I'm free to do the same which is why I asked why this discussion means anything to you. Instead of defending your right to post-- a right no one is challenging-- why don't you contribute something to the discussion instead of the same weak, tired stuff we've all heard over and over again.
Now don't you go backtracking on your earlier comment to me.....Maybe not, but your posts implied that you agree with that sentiment (specifically your remarks about the hockey fans and the governor). I'm not sure why someone with the name "Philadelphia Princess" with fewer than 10 posts feels the need to comment on Boston being racist while citing a Gawker poll.
Why must I have a "need" to comment on Boston being a racist city. Am I not allowed to comment as you are allowed to do so? Help me out here, I am simply trying to understand when, where and how I should post my comments on an open forum such as this one. Or better yet.... when I am allowed the "need" to comment?
I also believe there is a expectation from some black folks that Boston's black culture will be similar to other US cities. In Boston I agree when you compare it to cities like Atlanta, DC, Philly and NYC there is not a strong African American cultural presence in the city, relative to population.
On the other hand though Boston has an extremely strong Black West Indian, Brazilian and Cape Verdean culture when you compare it to many (If not most US cities) How many cities can say they have 3 24 hour West Indian stations on the FM dials? There is also 2 large carnivals, countless restaurants and events catering to this community. Myself being Jamaican was more than happy with my cultural experiences when I still lived in Boston full time. There is actually a large Caribbean professionals event I plan on attending this weekend before I head back to London.
I do concede though that many of my African American friends who visited Boston did find it lacking in that department, but my Black friends from the Caribbean and Africa commented on the wealth of options. I guess it is all what interests you and you are looking for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by green_mariner
What if you are American Black?
Boston isn't Atlanta. It isn't Chicago, or NYC, or Baltimore, or Detroit, or NOLA, or even South Central LA. Boston has never been a hub of American blacks who hailed from the South like some of these cities are. It isn't known as the birthplace of certain forms of music like rap, jazz, blues, and so on like Detroit/NYC/LA/NOLA are. It isn't known for its soul food cuisine of the sort popular in black majority Southern cities. So yeah, if you're an American black looking for this in Boston, you may be disappointed.
Having lived in Chicago for 5 years, I've been introduced to tons of things that I never encountered living in Boston: real Southern style food/soul food (greens, sweet potato pie, cornbread dressing, black eyed peas, etc), Southern style Baptist churches, caramel cake (yum!), members of majority black frats and sororities, tons alumni of HBCUs, cotillions (never even knew what this was before!), etc. Now my experience may be different from the average American black living in Boston b/c I'm a first generation Haitian-American, so maybe I just wasn't exposed to these things growing up.
I can see how American blacks, those blacks descended from the diaspora who came up from the South post Civil War and Jim Crow, I can see how some of them may see Boston as racist b/c it lack these things, because so much of Boston's reputation is steeped in Irish heritage and portrayed in the media as mostly Irish or Italian. It's unfortunate how little attention is paid to the huge black population that exist in Boston. It's home to countless blacks from the Caribbean, Africa, and other locales. It's home to tons of Brazilians, Dominicans, Asians from Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Jewish Americans, and so on. People who think Boston is a "white" city are sadly ignorant of the diversity it truly has.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TAM88
You can't let movies paint a picture of what areas of Boston are like. South Boston is a prime example. That area has become so gentrified over the last decade, it's almost unrecognizable to those that grew up there in the 60s, 70s and 80s. So much development, so many young professionals and new stores and restaurants. I've only live in South Boston for about 5 years and it's changed quite a bit.
I wish main stream media would broaden their horizons and stop focusing on Boston Irish gangsters and the Boston Irish/Italian population as a whole. Boston is so much more than what The Departed, Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, The Town, The Boondock Saints, Dropkick Murphys, All Souls, and *shudders* Southie Rules shows.
Note to self: I really should put my degrees in creative writing & television to some use and pitch/create projects devoted on non Irish/Italian Bostonians. I would love to see more TV shows, movies, and books based on Haitians, Dominicans, Brazilians, and so on living in Boston to remind people that Boston isn't just populated by the Irish.
So please "hon" tell me this, unless I have been a member since 2007 I cannot post anything?!?!? I must say I am shocked at the discomfort on this thread when it comes to discussing racism.
And here is my final point, those of you that have chosen to question my "goals" are the very reason why racism exists.
Please quote me where I said that you can't post here unless you've been on C-D since '07. I'll wait....
Welcome to the Internet, hon. On any forum, "noob", people who are new to a forum, will be scrutinized more closely than those who have been on a forum for years and have "proven" themselves. The Internet is rife with trolls and with a topic like this dealing with racism, it's not uncommon to see trolls flock here. These people waste time on google stringing together search terms like "Boston", "racism", "racist", and so on then once they find a suitable thread, join up to spew their toxic opinion. Many then disappear into the wind to repeat this cycle on other forums.
So yeah, on a site like this, people are going to look at your join date, look at the number of posts you've written, look at the content of those posts, and, if you're mostly on here spewing idiotic rhetoric on hot topic threads like this, if your very first post on C-D is a controversial response on a controversial thread, then yes, don't be surprised if people call you out and question your agenda. Grow a thicker skin and prove yourself and people won't think your a troll.
Now don't you go backtracking on your earlier comment to me.....Maybe not, but your posts implied that you agree with that sentiment (specifically your remarks about the hockey fans and the governor). I'm not sure why someone with the name "Philadelphia Princess" with fewer than 10 posts feels the need to comment on Boston being racist while citing a Gawker poll.
Why must I have a "need" to comment on Boston being a racist city. Am I not allowed to comment as you are allowed to do so? Help me out here, I am simply trying to understand when, where and how I should post my comments on an open forum such as this one. Or better yet.... when I am allowed the "need" to comment?
Hon, you're allowed to do whatever you want on this forum so long as it adheres to the site's TOU. And I and others are allowed to question why a poster who has only been on this site for 5 days with apparent ties to Philadelphia and no apparent ties to Boston is wasting so much time on the Boston forum claiming that Boston is racist. The majority of your posts seem to just be about bashing Boston and calling it a racist city. That's going to make you look suspicious on any forum.
Boston isn't Atlanta. It isn't Chicago, or NYC, or Baltimore, or Detroit, or NOLA, or even South Central LA. Boston has never been a hub of American blacks who hailed from the South like some of these cities are. It isn't known as the birthplace of certain forms of music like rap, jazz, blues, and so on like Detroit/NYC/LA/NOLA are. It isn't known for its soul food cuisine of the sort popular in black majority Southern cities. So yeah, if you're an American black looking for this in Boston, you may be disappointed.
Having lived in Chicago for 5 years, I've been introduced to tons of things that I never encountered living in Boston: real Southern style food/soul food (greens, sweet potato pie, cornbread dressing, black eyed peas, etc), Southern style Baptist churches, caramel cake (yum!), members of majority black frats and sororities, tons alumni of HBCUs, cotillions (never even knew what this was before!), etc. Now my experience may be different from the average American black living in Boston b/c I'm a first generation Haitian-American, so maybe I just wasn't exposed to these things growing up.
I can see how American blacks, those blacks descended from the diaspora who came up from the South post Civil War and Jim Crow, I can see how some of them may see Boston as racist b/c it lack these things, because so much of Boston's reputation is steeped in Irish heritage and portrayed in the media as mostly Irish or Italian. It's unfortunate how little attention is paid to the huge black population that exist in Boston. It's home to countless blacks from the Caribbean, Africa, and other locales. It's home to tons of Brazilians, Dominicans, Asians from Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Jewish Americans, and so on. People who think Boston is a "white" city are sadly ignorant of the diversity it truly has.
I wish main stream media would broaden their horizons and stop focusing on Boston Irish gangsters and the Boston Irish/Italian population as a whole. Boston is so much more than what The Departed, Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, The Town, The Boondock Saints, Dropkick Murphys, All Souls, and *shudders* Southie Rules shows.
Note to self: I really should put my degrees in creative writing & television to some use and pitch/create projects devoted on non Irish/Italian Bostonians. I would love to see more TV shows, movies, and books based on Haitians, Dominicans, Brazilians, and so on living in Boston to remind people that Boston isn't just populated by the Irish.
Thank you Eevee now THIS is the kind of information I am looking for about Boston. I actually love New England, it's charming and beautiful for the most part. A few years my job transferred me to Vermont and I was sorry to leave. The last time I was in Mass was in February, I was attending a meeting at Harvard and stayed at The Charles Hotel. It started snowing and I was reminded of the movie Love Story. My job is talking of transferring me to Boston, I wanted to get some candid ops about Boston. I lived all over the world, many places in the US, London, Brussels - my fav place, Paris, and Rwanda. For some reason...Boston made me pause. Unfair...probably.
While I understand that SF is synonomous with a diverse community, I'm not sure why Boston would be considered a "white" city. As some posters have stated, there have been some portions of Boston known for their ethnic proclivity, but that's usually true with other places, such as Harlem, NY.
I think of NYC as an area (I lived 8 hours away in upstate NY), and Harlem as being part of that area. If Harlem was mentioned, I think of people of color.
Regarding Boston, "Southie" is known to be Irish I believe, and the "North End" is known for being Italian (boy, I hope I'm right). Otherwise, I would consider Boston to be as diverse as NYC or SF, except it's smaller.
I raised my children in NH in a town of 3,000. My daughter left to find diversity -- she went to Boston.
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. My job is talking of transferring me to Boston, I wanted to get some candid ops about Boston. I lived all over the world, many places in the US, London, Brussels - my fav place, Paris, and Rwanda. For some reason...Boston made me pause. Unfair...probably.
