Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
They take it as a reflection on their city, and thus them- most Philadelphians traditionally harbor and inferiority complexes to NYC directly. Or really dislike people calling it dirty, blighted or crime ridden and take that personally. Additionally, a lot of the boule black population doesn’t super rock with Philly like that.
Learn something new everyday. I never knew those insults really bothered black Philadelphians that much, especially the crime ridden one.
Could you expand on this a little bro? From where I'm at Philly has a well-respected, robust, known black culture. What is there to feel inferior about? Outside of childish jabs like Philly is "dirty" or "rundown". And even then, that's really an indictment on the city itself rather than black Philly directly.
Most Black Philadelphians are EXTREMELY proud of being the home of the Marian Anderson, the Roots, McCoy Tyner, Jill Scott, Wilt Chamberlain, Frankie Beverly (Black Royalty), Patti LaBelle (Black Royalty), Teddy Pendergrass, etc. The musical tradition of the city is ridiculously rich. Most Black people are likely to bring this up in a discussion about Philly vs New York compared to stuff like regional GDP, art museums, public transit, etc.
Most Black Philadelphians are EXTREMELY proud of being the home of the Marian Anderson, the Roots, McCoy Tyner, Jill Scott, Wilt Chamberlain, Frankie Beverly (Black Royalty), Patti LaBelle (Black Royalty), Teddy Pendergrass, etc. The musical tradition of the city is ridiculously rich. Most Black people are likely to bring this up in a discussion about Philly vs New York compared to stuff like regional GDP, art museums, public transit, etc.
This was my initial assumption based off Philly guys I know personally and seeing the influence in mainstream culture. So the inferiority complex is just limited to comparisons with black NYC?
This was my initial assumption based off Philly guys I know personally and seeing the influence in mainstream culture. So the inferiority complex is just limited to comparisons with black NYC?
Yes. Why would they have an inferiority complex to any other city? They have superiority complex to Jersey and Baltimore
So you definitely know about the bitter old heads that talk about the city as if it were Baghdad.
My dad has lived in Philly most of his life. Not bitter.
If you were to walk into a Black barbershop in Philly and ask what makes Philly better than NYC, most answers would come down to style, beards, the music, food, etc. There would probably be no responses about the size of their respective GDPs, skyscrapers, museums, and all of the things that people on City-Data that a lot of people in the real world spend little time thinking about. If anything, talking like that in the barbershop would probably get you put out lol.
Yes. Why would they have an inferiority complex to any other city? They have superiority complex to Jersey and Baltimore
Just trying to differentiate the complexes that black Bostonians have versus the ones black Philadelphians have. Where I would say in Boston, it's really with any city that has a recognized black culture. And with y'll, I guess it's NYC-specific.
This was my initial assumption based off Philly guys I know personally and seeing the influence in mainstream culture. So the inferiority complex is just limited to comparisons with black NYC?
I am not aware of any inferiority complex among Philly's Black community. That might be a thing among yuppie professionals and maybe folks along the Main Line because they see NYC's international prestige, powerful economy, cultural institutions, world class transit, etc. and envy all of that. But no, I don't think Black Philadelphians feel second-rate compared to New Yorkers for that reason, and if anything, feel they have more "soul" than New Yorkers.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 05-22-2022 at 07:01 PM..
Learn something new everyday. I never knew those insults really bothered black Philadelphians that much, especially the crime ridden one.
Yeah I think everybody in Philly in some way are proud of the murder rate, it enforces the Rocky Balboa image and tough ghetto inner city streets.. even the white population are in a way proud of the condition of those streets as that type of condition draws empathy. People want to feel important in some way and identifying with a struggle in America is a popular way to have a superficial voice.
My father grew up in Trenton and is a bitter old head who disliked Philly that Ashby mentioned. He says when he got to Boston Philly and Bostons ere equally as bad in his opinion Philly has devolved into an embarrassment and never improved.
I’ve certainly heard native Black Philadelphians fall into the Neglaphia stereotype. But I wouldn’t say they hate it by any stretch.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
