Why is Boston so famous for its racism?! (high income, rich)

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by redplum33

It's not just education. There is resentment towards any type of success.

No, at worst it's interpersonal jealousy/crabs in a bucket. Not resentment towards success itself. That is very much the opposite. Most people in the inner city believe heavily in the prosperity gospel and glorify material success.

And education isn't really devalued in inner-city Boston the way it is in most inner cities, people simply don't understand what it takes to be successful and what avenues to pursue in the 21st century. most inner-city folks really don't know that- most people in my family don't know anything about things like GMAT LSAT, etc etc. Let alone who to finance your education that far... Beyond basic FAFSA and associates/bachelors they don't know that stuff, I'm still learning and teaching myself. Add to that wealth and wealth management information is non-existent.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Not resentment towards success itself. That is very much the opposite.

Not a racial or Boston thing but there is very much a growing resentment toward success in the US.

I am not saying it's a bad thing, but years ago being ultra-rich would have not been seen with the negative connotation it is seen today.

[Space_League]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Not a racial or Boston thing but there is very much a growing resentment toward success in the US.

I am not saying it's a bad thing, but years ago being ultra-rich would have not been seen with the negative connotation it is seen today.

I've heard this argument from my parents generation. I've heard in the 1980s BEING FILTHY RICH was like the ultimate dream of people in a way that it just isn't today. Materialism was more in style I guess part of the Reagan era America.

Perhaps the pendulum shifted too far from "The rich necessarily deserve to be rich" to "The rich necessarily got that way by stealing from others".

Not saying that definitely happened in the last 30-40 years but if it did that it wouldn't be the first time

[msRB311]

I'm sure there is some resentment in any family when one person becomes very successful and the others don't. Or even if someone marries someone who has money and the others don't.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Not a racial or Boston thing but there is very much a growing resentment toward success in the US.

I am not saying it's a bad thing, but years ago being ultra-rich would have not been seen with the negative connotation it is seen today.

oh I see-were making this political now...*sigh*

"you didn't build that" is not resentment towards success.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

oh I see-were making this political now...*sigh*

"you didn't build that" is not resentment towards success.

?? as I said is not necessarily a bad thing. I don't think a few decades ago someone like Bezos would have been mocked for going to space or would have been considered just someone that prey on low wage workers to amass obscene amounts of money. Or FB to be a company that makes money fooling you.

I mean if these guys that started from very little aren't peak success I don't know what it is. Bezos or Gates most definitely built their success but a lot of people (me included) don't necessarily see them as a model.

[msRB311]

People have something against billionaires:

http://chng.it/YStr6dJrk7

I have seen what some people get for bonuses at companies on top of their salary and it seems ridiculous. Getting a 5 million dollar bonus per year on top of a 400k salary is insane to me. I dont think it's the 'norm' but it definitely happens here in MA.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Not a racial or Boston thing but there is very much a growing resentment toward success in the US.

I am not saying it's a bad thing, but years ago being ultra-rich would have not been seen with the negative connotation it is seen today.

I don’t think it’s a new thing at all. My town has always been socioeconomically mixed. Two adjacent census tracts have very different economic demographics. One is white collar professional. The other is working class. I grew up in the 1960s being very aware of the resentment. The census tract beyond those has the gated summer communities with truly affluent people.

Metro Boston is massively socioeconomically segregated. With local control over the public schools, that’s never going to change. My take on it is that it’s classist, not racist. If you’re in a blue chip suburb or a fancy neighborhood, you don’t care that the college prof, physician, or corporate executive next door is Korean or Iranian or West African. You care that they share your educational and work ethic.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I don’t think it’s a new thing at all. My town has always been socioeconomically mixed. Two adjacent census tracts have very different economic demographics. One is white collar professional. The other is working class. I grew up in the 1960s being very aware of the resentment. The census tract beyond those has the gated summer communities with truly affluent people.

Metro Boston is massively socioeconomically segregated. With local control over the public schools, that’s never going to change. My take on it is that it’s classist, not racist. If you’re in a blue chip suburb or a fancy neighborhood, you don’t care that the college prof, physician, or corporate executive next door is Korean or Iranian or West African. You care that they share your educational and work ethic.

But that is kind of a problem. Why does it matter if your next door neighbor is a union electrician vs a lawyer or dentist? As long as you are all paying your bills and raising good kids who cares? Apparently you do.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I have seen what some people get for bonuses at companies on top of their salary and it seems ridiculous. Getting a 5 million dollar bonus per year on top of a 400k salary is insane to me. I dont think it's the 'norm' but it definitely happens here in MA.

If you stop and think how quickly a bad leadership team can run a business into the ground and how much shareholder value a strong leadership team can create in a few years, it’s cheap money.