You know you're from WEST Plano when.... (Dallas, Beverly Hills: incomes, live)

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Grainraiser,

No- you missed my point completely. I said that I think income disparity is what creates diversity- having a broad range of incomes (ie, Woodrow- where there are free lunch kids in class with kids who live on Tokalon or Lakewood Blvd)- is what creates a diverse environment. A white kid with money is pretty much the same as a wealthy black, Hispanic, or Asian kid. This is a point that our President has made over & over, that economic disparity is the new great divider for our country, not race.

Furthermore, HPISD does have some students of non-white origin, NOT zero- as you misquote again & again. I am not saying it's the melting pot of Dallas but there IS a difference between some and zero.
Because I happen to have a recent HP yearbook handy, here are the race breakdowns of each class:
12th grade- 3 Asian, 7 Hispanic, 1 Indian, 1 Middle Eastern= 12 (4% of class)
11th grade- 6 Asian, 4 Hispanic = 10 (3% of class)
10th grade- 1 Black, 4 Hispanic, 2 Middle Eastern, 4 Asian = 11 (3% of class)
9th grade- 5 Hispanic, 1 Black, 6 Asian, 2 Middle Eastern = 14 (3% of class)

Again, I know 3-4% is no a lot, but it's not zero.

When the whole "Thug Day" controversy ensued, DMN published details. I think the total number was about 100 minorities, in a school of about 2000. There were a total of 6 black kids in grades 9-12. That's not much, but it's not zero.

[theloneranger]

Originally Posted by the_hollywoodian

I'm glad you felt the need to go on this long-winded denunciation of the so-called "new money" mentalities, and the tear-down phenonena, which of course is all a result of those "parvenus" who continue to encroach upon and threaten your perfect, all-white oasis of "high class" old money folks. It demonstrates immensely the integrity of your character, or in your case atleast, lack thereof.

We obviously have very different definitions of character. However, I will say that my neighborhood is not what you are depicting it as--it's not perfect or all-white, it's not "high class," and it's not all old money. It's a normal neighborhood in Dallas--perhaps what you could call "upper middle class," but not what you are describing. We can't all live in western Plano.

Originally Posted by the_hollywoodian

Yes, another Texas stereotype confirmed as observed by those "Yankees" (which by the way I thought was a denigration strictly reserved for northerners) on both coasts.

If that's a Texas stereotype, it's one I'm proud of. And "Yankee" generally refers to anyone from outside the South, at least from what I've always heard.

Originally Posted by the_hollywoodian

Texas and the rest of the south is quite frankly, the laughing stock of both eastern and western coasts, as well as many midwestern cities as well. So your pride may be just a bit misguided.

No, we just choose to be proud of our families and communities and traditions and culture rather than only our bank accounts.

Originally Posted by the_hollywoodian

Who are you calling a lady, boy? I don't presume to know anything about you other than what I can gather from your pomp-ridden, self-aggrandizing posts. It seems such you're a college aged kid with a massive ego problem and a delusional perception of reality.

Around here, lady is a compliment. Unless you are a (gentle)man, in which case I appologize for the mistake. I really don't see how I have an ego problem--I don't think I've been particularly boastful about myself in any of my posts, and I think most of the other posters would agree. And for you, someone who isn't from Dallas and as such, does not know the least thing about the way things are here, to say I have a delusional perception of reality is ridiculous.

Originally Posted by the_hollywoodian

I knew we'd uncover it somehow - that smug, condescending, entitled, and superior attitude coming from someone who presumably grew up in a so-called "old money area", (remember, the bastion of true class and sophistication), who should by default exude that fleeting quality known as civility.

Look kid, your family might have money, but your cavalier attitude is not only hypocritical, but I'm sorry to say, largely exaggerated beyond the scope of reasonable reality. Come to Holmby Hills or the Upper East side of Manhattan, or the established wealthy elite towns of New Caanan or Darien, Connecticut and see if your supposedly deep Southern roots hold any significance there. I can assure you, definitively, that they will not, so any merits of distinction you may hold in Texas is not perceived or recognized as being anywhere near the same calibur of worth outside of Texas.

I never claimed to grow up in an "old money area." That does not mean I don't know people who live in those areas nor does it mean that my family does not have family money and that I don't know how to behave. I don't quite care whether my "supposedly deep Southern roots," which I haven't commented on in the slightest, matter in Connecticut or Beverly Hills or Baghdad for that matter. All that I care is that I carry myself respectably and I think that those that know me will agree that I do.

Originally Posted by the_hollywoodian

Wait, you punched a kid in the face because he insulted your father? I expected a bit more from someone supposedly a member of Dallas "high-class elite". You realize, don't you, that that's a class A felony in Texas, right? So, someone hailing from the bastion of refinement and class is prone to violent behavior, unable to deal with any criticism which may bruise, or otherwise damage his frail ego?

I must ponder though, if this a staple of all who originate from these areas, or just a select few.

What you call a "Class A felony" (something which doesn't exist in Texas' legal system) I call chivalry and honor, a concept I hope your children will pick up in Texas. I really enjoy your use of quotation marks for things I've never said or claimed, but yes, people from Texas are prone to defend their honor if you insult them or their families.

Originally Posted by the_hollywoodian

I won't disagree with you, as your posts have given me a laundry list of examples of why I'd never consider Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, or any other so-called bastion of "old money". Because, personally, I could forgo the undercurrent of passive racism, unfounded beliefs of self-grandeur, and superiority complexes common among many of those residents.

Oh the irony.

I'm sorry if I've offended you at all. All I intended to do was to give you an honest answer to your original post, based on my personal experiences having lived the vast majority of my life in Dallas. I personally would not care to live in western Plano, and find the behavior of some, but by no means all, of its residents to be repulsive. I believe that, and not any "self-admitted bias" against western Plano, is what my posts convey, and that I've done so for the most part in a civil and humble manner. However, I will not stand by and listen to you put forth false claims about myself, any other poster, or my hometown. That's just rude. I genuinely hope that you find western Plano to your liking, and, if you wish your children to not be snobby, as you claimed in your first few posts, that you are successful in that endeavor.

[the_hollywoodian]

Originally Posted by Big G

Uh, maybe the several dozen times I've spotted assorted professional athletes in the SuperTarget at Park/Tollway, or at LifeTime Fitness on Preston/Legacy? It's like in People magazine. Famous athletes shop! They buy diapers! Their wives nag them! I saw Michael Irvin at Best Buy buying Rock Band 2 for the XBox 360 last Christmas

I'm not denying that several professional black athletes, who play locally in Dallas, and in other cities choose to live in West Plano. From what I understand there's also a pretty large percentage living in Irving (so our realtor tells us). But I think your reasoning is quite flawed if you choose to believe that every black person living in Gleneagles is somehow associated with a pro-team, as you suggested in that post.

Originally Posted by Big G

There's only a certain number of neighborhoods with $2-3 million houses, and a lot of those neighborhoods are less than welcoming to blacks.

If you say so.

Originally Posted by Big G

Over half of the pros I've seen (mostly football, some basketball & baseball, probably split 25% white/75% black) don't even play for Dallas teams. Why do they live in Gleneagles? Well, everyone has to live somewhere. As I'm sure you are aware, Texas acts as sort of a tax haven, as there is no state income tax. These guys can live anywhere they want in the off-season, and it makes financial sense for them to live in Texas.

Absolutely. It makes a lot of sense why a number of pro-athletes would choose Texas. The issue I took offense to in your initial post was the rather brazen assertion that "all those blacks living in Gleneagles-Willowbend are professional athletes". When asked for the reasoning and sources behind such a thought process, you were unable to provide a single piece of evidence, except to revert back to the small sampling of black pro-athletes you've seen around the neighborhood.

Can you understand how this is not really a sound hypothesis? Unless you've been door to door at every single residence in the neighborhood that encompasses Willowbend-Gleneagles, you can not conclusively state that there are more black pro-athletes living in Willowbend-Gleneagles than there black executives, as you did in that post.

If you find it so astounding that there is a very likely possibility that your thought process and the reasoning behind it is in fact flawed (and, I must admit, a bit racist), perhaps it's time to address your own prejudices.

Originally Posted by Big G

Your words, not mine.

Ever heard of sarcasm? It was meant as a parody in response to your original post.

Originally Posted by Big G

Did I say that? What I said was, anyone making TEN TIMES what I do would be prominent enough to be in publications like Black Enterprise or Forbes. I stand by that statement.

Not exactly. You see, the Census caps the amount of income anyone in any neighborhood can report at two million dollars. An areas' mean/median income (especially in wealthy place) is often kept artificially low because of this, so it's quite possible that a large number of people in places like West Plano are not reporting their full incomes.

In any case, semantics aside, the point of using the parameters of "ten times" wasn't meant to be taken literally. Rather, it was to point out that yes, shockingly, there are professional blacks who do make handsome sums of money, and do it through means other than professional sports or drugs (because something tells me that you'll try to take it there next).

Originally Posted by Big G

I'm going to go out on a limb and say - less ignorant than you.

Your posts thus far have shown otherwise.

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by the_hollywoodian

I keep hearing about the inflated, albeit unjustified ego common amonst many Texans, and hadn't quite experienced it yet - thanks for providing me a glimpse thereof. Truthfully, to those "Yankees", the only traditions Texas is known for, and looked down upon for, is a prevalent resistance to change and healthy dose of backwardness, pervasive examples of blatant racism and discrimination, and a massive ego problem.

Texas and the rest of the south is quite frankly, the laughing stock of both eastern and western coasts, as well as many midwestern cities as well. So your pride may be just a bit misguided.

If you believe that, why are you moving here? Also why are you letting a few people on an internet forum shape your perception of a metro area of around 6 million people?

[Big G]

Originally Posted by the_hollywoodian

The issue I took offense to in your initial post was the rather brazen assertion that "all those blacks living in Gleneagles-Willowbend are professional athletes".

Let's revisit the original post in this entire thread, shall we? As I recall, it was a Facebook posting listing a couple dozen stereotypes about West Plano. Some funny, many exaggerated, almost all with some basis in truth.

THIS was the context in which I stated that, "All the blacks in Gleneagles are professional athletes.", exaggerating the fact that there ARE numerous athletes living in the area.

You're the one who read all this latent racism into the line. Chill out, dude.

FWIW, Gleneagles is no longer the "in" place for the Cowboy. They tend to either live right by Valley Ranch, in Southlake, or up in Frisco or beyond.

[Lakewooder]

OH I missed all the fun.

the_hollywoodian managed to **** off everyone here and galvanize us into a force he (or she) cannot 'defeat'.

Sorry if we are not the 'calibur' (sic) of Holmby Hills.

Isn't that where the Clampitts lived?

[Big G]

Lakewooder:

The funniest thing is, he hacked off numerous posters on here who ordinarily would not agree on anything. When was the last time you and I saw eye to eye?

Big G

[the_hollywoodian]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

the_hollywoodian managed to **** off everyone here and galvanize us into a force he (or she) cannot 'defeat'.

Not exactly. This may come as a shock to you, but I don't get the impression you're very popular on this forum. At all.

In fact, I've received numerous messages from people thanking me for my directness in this thread. Curiously enough, all the messages made mention of 'Lakewooder', and all rather simply characterized you as a nuisance that just won't go away.

So you my friend are highly erroneous in your claims of unity, as it appears quite evident that you are not a very famous character on this forum.

Oh, and the fictitious 'Clampitts' [sic] resided in Beverly Hills.

[Lakewooder]

Pardon me but I've been to the house and it's not in Beverly Hills - in fact it's just behind Nancy Reagan at the former 666 St. Cloud.

[the_hollywoodian]

Well, in the show they supposedly lived in Beverly Hills, but actual filming took place in Bel-Air, Hollywood, and parts of LA, according to Wikipedia.