What's up with people in Chicago (live in, safe, move to)

[dewthedru]

people will react to stories of violence being committed by minorities in various ways. they can use it to reinforce feelings and fears that they already had and use the occasion to justify it. or they can take a minute and realize that it's a cultural subset of a minority group and doesn't represent all, or even a decent percentage of them. this is the harder road to take and many are just to lazy to do the mental math.

i understand this dilemma all to well. i spent years living in the ghetto in a different city. there were perhaps 10-15 murders within 1/2 mile of where i lived and most were committed by one group. we were also robbed repeatedly and my family was assaulted and bloodied.

i came to understand that my black neighbors were just as scared of these thugs as we were and they came to our assistance on more than one occasion. it wasn't a "black" thing. it was a thug/drug mentality held by a small portion of the young guys living in our neighborhood. it would have been both unjust and dumb to paint everyone with the same brush.

so....if you see a single black guy in LP, he's probably there because he wants to escape the same crap we're all trying to avoid. having said that, if i see a bunch of yoots that look and sound like they just got off the train looking for trouble, i'm steering my family in the other direction.

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by mortpes

In this country all over there are groups of people and individuals that are doing urban terrorism daily. So they are changing how people look at each other. Major future implications.

The majority of violence in most cities occurs in a few neighborhoods and is usually perpetrated by people who look just like the victims.

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by dewthedru

people will react to stories of violence being committed by minorities in various ways. they can use it to reinforce feelings and fears that they already had and use the occasion to justify it. or they can take a minute and realize that it's a cultural subset of a minority group and doesn't represent all, or even a decent percentage of them. this is the harder road to take and many are just to lazy to do the mental math.

This is an excellent point. It's all about simple math. There are going to be a certain percentage of bad apples in any bunch. Most people aren't socially developed enough to judge people based on the content of their character. Americans are lazy and it's much easier to lump people into large, manageable groups. Personally, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt until they prove me wrong. In other words, you are innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around.

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

I've noticed that many of my black friends are way more prejudice against other "ghetto" black people in the city than they ever are against whites and hispanics.

I don't know which is worse, self-destructive, violent blacks or racist whites. I guess it depends on how I feel that day.

[gomexico]

Originally Posted by DipGrant

I am an African American male and I think I know subtle/covert racism when I see. I currently live in a city that is predominantly white and I rarely get cues of racism. Whats going on in this city where whenever a black man crosses peoples path they seem so edgy. Things like asking for ID twice after already being checked in twice, from getting strange looks from people during a date with a woman who was white, too drug store managers following me around. Check this out, during a recent trip to the gym I went to my rental car to put some things in the back. One white women was just about to leave, then just stopped and was staring at me for a couple minutes. She went back to the gym and had one of the staff members escort her to her car which was parked near my car.

This all happened in the popular trendy north side neighborhoods. Is there a APB put out on individual black men, because I think residents who reside there need to get a wake up call. Not every young black male is going to mug you and are part of a flash mob.

This probably has more to do with you and the vibes you give-off or your appearance (other than skin tone) than a general reaction.

[j_cat]

Why be offended that someone's afraid of you? Talk about a luxury "problem". On the rare occasions that I find someone's afraid of me, I kind of enjoy the power it gives me, though I try not to abuse it of course.

[Chicago60614]

How on earth was my post deleted for being off topic!?!? It couldn't have possibly been MORE on this topic.

Kinda just proves how much of a problem it is around here.....

[deliz]

?? Yea right. Are you walking around naked?? I live in the northside with many an African American neighbor and friends. Never heard these complaints. I think your paranoid

[DoneWithDallas]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow...002456511.html

Racism or politics as mentioned earlier in this thread?

[DipGrant]

Originally Posted by Chicago South Sider

When it comes to black men, Chicago is easily the most racist major city in the country. NOne of what you say surprises me in the least. I've had white women clutch their purse as I walk past them on the street. If you spend any time in trendy north side neighborhoods you will see quite a bit of this sort of thing. It is what it is.

You're telling me. Some of the posters are claiming its all in my head, and people are being guarded. I say that is complete baloney. I have visited Philly, and they have been having problems with flash mobs and muggings in Center City. I don't think I came across a white women who walked to the others side or clutched there purse during my time there. They were actually pretty cordial. Businesses were friendly and did not even ask for my ID. I'm dressing the same way as I did while I was in Philly. Rarely, if ever did I get any sense any cues of subtle racism. Not even in NYC. Heck why don't they act like this in Salt Lake City or the racist city of them all "Boston". At least the residents who live in Boston make it obvious rather than so subtle. Subtle racists are the worst.


Different story in Chicago. I can not think of the times I counted where I saw white people crossing the street while I was approaching them. On a packed CTA red line train during rush hour you can see all the white folks either choosing to stand rather than take a clear open seat with a black man. Not just me. I just found it so amazing, I was telling myself. " did all the closet covert racists decide to move to the north side of Chicago"? My date who was a transplant from Michigan was clutching her purse throughout our meeting!! Should have called her out. It's a great gorgeous city, but people need to get their priorities straight. Not only from white people, but at times I received it from Asians and Latinos as well in the north side.