World Class City Means More Enlightened Citizens? (Chicago, Detroit: purchasing, school)

[mjtinmemphis]

I was near trader joes in Lincoln Park today and just observing how the area seemed to lack diversity. One can go to Woodfield mall in suburban Shaumberg and see more diversity than that.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Alacran

Half these city dwellers live in white or black neighborhoods.

I'm the only one who should be speaking. by 3rd grade I met kids from Cambodia, Afghanistan, India, Vietnam, Colombia, Bosnia, Romania, China, etc, etc.

Now that's diversity.
Not some overgrown mustache hipster from Wicker Park
Or some Yuppie from Lincoln Park.

That's not diversity.

You're the only one who should be speaking? Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. how do you know our backgrounds? I grew up in Minnesota with people from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India, China, Bosnia, Germany, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. My next door neighbors were from China and my "across the street" neighbors were from India. My best friend's mom was a Mexican immigrant.

I actually feel more comfortable in any type of east Asian setting (wherever it may be) than almost anything else because of how many Asians I grew up with and were friends with. My last girlfriend was from Asia, the one before that was half Mexican, and the one before that was Hawaiian Chinese. And today my friends come from all over the world because it's how I grew up.


Yet I live in the Gold Coast, so by some peoples' definitions, I must not be very exposed to cultures even though on my floor alone I have two separate Indian/Pakistani neighbors, a Spanish one, and a Palestinian one not to mention an African American neighbor at the other end of the hallway.


Not trying to make it into a pissing match, but I find the statement "I'm the only one should be speaking" rather ignorant. You don't know other peoples' backgrounds on here and just because you live in an area like Lakeview doesn't mean you don't know tons of people from other cultures and what not and aren't cultured or what not. I'm guessing there's rather a lot of people on here who are friends with people from all walks of life.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Alacran

Half these city dwellers live in white or black neighborhoods.

I'm the only one who should be speaking. by 3rd grade I met kids from Cambodia, Afghanistan, India, Vietnam, Colombia, Bosnia, Romania, China, etc, etc.

Now that's diversity.
Not some overgrown mustache hipster from Wicker Park
Or some Yuppie from Lincoln Park.

That's not diversity.

There is a solid chance that both the yuppie from Lincoln Park and the HIPSTERSTACHE from Wicker Park have slept with all the kids you met back in 3rd grade, or at least their sisters. That is diversity as well.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by marothisu

You're the only one who should be speaking? Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. how do you know our backgrounds? I grew up in Minnesota with people from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India, China, Bosnia, Germany, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. My next door neighbors were from China and my "across the street" neighbors were from India. My best friend's mom was a Mexican immigrant.

I actually feel more comfortable in any type of east Asian setting (wherever it may be) than almost anything else because of how many Asians I grew up with and were friends with. My last girlfriend was from Asia, the one before that was half Mexican, and the one before that was Hawaiian Chinese. And today my friends come from all over the world because it's how I grew up.


Yet I live in the Gold Coast, so by some peoples' definitions, I must not be very exposed to cultures even though on my floor alone I have two separate Indian/Pakistani neighbors, a Spanish one, and a Palestinian one not to mention an African American neighbor at the other end of the hallway.


Not trying to make it into a pissing match, but I find the statement "I'm the only one should be speaking" rather ignorant. You don't know other peoples' backgrounds on here and just because you live in an area like Lakeview doesn't mean you don't know tons of people from other cultures and what not and aren't cultured or what not. I'm guessing there's rather a lot of people on here who are friends with people from all walks of life.

Breathe marothisu...it's ok.....

The Gold Coast is a diverse neighborhood from my limited exposure to the area. Quite different from Lincoln Park or W. Lakeview.

[Lucky Clover]

This happens in a lot of other big cities too.

Manhattanites look down on Brookylnites and other NYC residents. People who live in Beverly Hills look down on other parts of Los Angeles. It's not a Chicago thing. It's a class thing -- it's not something that's going to change either. Bragging about where you live is exactly what this site is -- just go look at the City vs. City forum. It has so many boosters from so many cities for a reason.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by Ace Rothstein

A lot of suburban people, mostly older, look down on people that live in the city. 20 years ago that was the prevailing thought of most residents from the suburbs. There are plenty of cities in the US where that is still true, Detroit and St. Louis being nearby examples.

Anyone who doubts this should just read the Chicago Tribune's comment sections. I look down on suburban infrastructure for sure, but I've found the people themselves represent every end of every spectrum and everything in between.

[fightforlove]

Originally Posted by Lorielicious

Two words I want everybody to stop using: 1) "diverse" and 2) "professional" in order to describe people, e.g. "30s professional male."

Now with that out of the way, what city can you go to where people don't look down on those who live in the suburbs? This is not Chicago-specific.

From my experiences, I think this attitude is a bit worse in Chicago though. I lived in Los Angeles for years, there is some of this cooler-than-thou-because-I-live-in-the-hip-city-neighborhood attitude there as well, but L.A. is more spread out geographically than Chicago and it's "happening" spots are more scattered. You can be from Long Beach, Northridge or the San Gabriel Valley and say you're "from L.A." because it's easier to say and it's technically true anyways and noone will care. otoh, Chicago is a more centralized city where most people go "into the city" to the happening places. So, the Chicago Nazis will get really pissed if you're from Lake Co., Bollingbrook, or even a neighborhood by O'Hare and tell people you're "from Chicago", even though these areas are also technically part of the Chicago metro.

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by Alacran

Half these city dwellers live in white or black neighborhoods.

I'm the only one who should be speaking. by 3rd grade I met kids from Cambodia, Afghanistan, India, Vietnam, Colombia, Bosnia, Romania, China, etc, etc.

Now that's diversity.
Not some overgrown mustache hipster from Wicker Park
Or some Yuppie from Lincoln Park.

That's not diversity.

Really? So you're the only one on this forum that socialized with people of different races as a child? That's funny.

[Irishtom29]

In my old neighborhood were Irish, Jews, Italians and Greeks. I didn't meet a white Protestant until I was out of high school; oh, I'd heard rumors of the existence of such creatures, of Mayflower People in Oak Park and German Lutherans (Ludderans) north of North Avenue.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

In my old neighborhood were Irish, Jews, Italians and Greeks. I didn't meet a white Protestant until I was out of high school; oh, I'd heard rumors of the existence of such creatures, of Mayflower People in Oak Park and German Lutherans (Ludderans) north of North Avenue.

Why do we have to label people? I didn't know what a protestant was until 10 years ago.