Racism and Bay Ridge? (Benson: dangerous, to move, areas)
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I'm giving my experience. How much experience have you had with race in Bay Ridge?
Plenty, otherwise I wouldn't be commenting. I've seen more interracial couples in Riverdale than I have there in Bay Ridge and we have a higher White majority here than in Bay Ridge. Now I know that the neighborhood isn't as racist as it used to be but I don't think that the OP should go there with her guard down either. As I said before the racism in a lot of neighborhoods is usually subtle and not necessarily blatant. These days it isn't so "cool" to be openly racist.
Personally I find closeted racists to be worse because it's like a Pandora's box. You don't know what to expect and every now and then someone looses it and snaps, just when you think everything is eh okay.
I know that Bay Ridge is a large neighborhood. Can anyone weigh in about racism there? My husband is African and I am white. We have a toddler and are looking to move to an area with a good neighborhood school. We currently live in Crown Heights, and I have been harassed and gotten comments while living here; however, the place we move to, we plan to be there for a while.
Thanks in advance!
An associate of mine hosted her birthday party at a place in Bay Ridge and the vibe (outside not in the establishment itself) was uncomfortable (we're all African-American females). There were definitely lots of stares and the feeling was just generally unwelcome. I wouldn't call it hostile- no on harrassed us (and that would have been a mistake anyway since many of us were carrying some sort of protection b/c we had already heard about racial attitudes in Bay Ridge). However, this was my first and only time being in that neighborhood so I can't say whether or not it's a regular thing that happens.
An associate of mine hosted her birthday party at a place in Bay Ridge and the vibe (outside not in the establishment itself) was uncomfortable (we're all African-American females). There were definitely lots of stares and the feeling was just generally unwelcome. I wouldn't call it hostile- no on harrassed us (and that would have been a mistake anyway since many of us were carrying some sort of protection b/c we had already heard about racial attitudes in Bay Ridge). However, this was my first and only time being in that neighborhood so I can't say whether or not it's a regular thing that happens.
Plenty, otherwise I wouldn't be commenting. I've seen more interracial couples in Riverdale than I have there in Bay Ridge and we have a higher White majority here than in Bay Ridge. Now I know that the neighborhood isn't as racist as it used to be but I don't think that the OP should go there with her guard down either. As I said before the racism in a lot of neighborhoods is usually subtle and not necessarily blatant. These days it isn't so "cool" to be openly racist.
Personally I find closeted racists to be worse because it's like a Pandora's box. You don't know what to expect and every now and then someone looses it and snaps, just when you think everything is eh okay.
Really? I wonder what brings you down to Bay Ridge from Riverdale to give you all this experience? Especially enough experience to accuse people of being 'closeted racists'?
I would hope that the OP posted this to hear from people with actual experience so that that they can make their own decision, not from people from 30 miles away giving their suppositions on what it's like.
As I said before, this is my actual experience. If you had some specific negative experience to share, let's hear about it, rather than give your unbased biased opinion.
An associate of mine hosted her birthday party at a place in Bay Ridge and the vibe (outside not in the establishment itself) was uncomfortable (we're all African-American females). There were definitely lots of stares and the feeling was just generally unwelcome. I wouldn't call it hostile- no on harassed us (and that would have been a mistake anyway since many of us were carrying some sort of protection b/c we had already heard about racial attitudes in Bay Ridge). However, this was my first and only time being in that neighborhood so I can't say whether or not it's a regular thing that happens.
And that's the Bay Ridge I know of. In the past there were incidents of African-Americans being harassed (maybe they weren't beaten up) but they had things thrown at them by random people or the stares and vibes of not being welcomed. This is what I was getting at. Why move to a neighborhood where you have to put up with that when you can live elsewhere?
Bay Ridge has never been a Bensonhurst where you had reports on the national news of racism, that's why you have some people saying it isn't that bad.
What I do know is kids are not stupid these days. They can tell when there's a hostile environment, and personally if I had an interracial child I would not want them subjected to that type of environment. As adults one may be able to ignore it if it isn't so blatant, but I would imagine that it would become rather irritating after a while.
I have friends that lived there and whenever I'm there it's never been a place where you saw African-Americans freely walking about in large numbers and the ones that did usually stuck out and got stares and not nice ones either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by grvthang
Really? I wonder what brings you down to Bay Ridge from Riverdale to give you all this experience? Especially enough experience to accuse people of being 'closeted racists'?
I would hope that the OP posted this to hear from people with actual experience so that that they can make their own decision, not from people from 30 miles away giving their suppositions on what it's like.
As I said before, this is my actual experience. If you had some specific negative experience to share, let's hear about it, rather than give your unbased biased opinion.
I'm a New Yorker. I have friends from all over and have spent plenty of time in Bay Ridge and am there regularly. You act as if Bay Ridge is another country or something.
I think I saw something like this happen on Good Times once. Does that count?
And of course this happens all the time on the mean streets of Bay Ridge. Oh wait, it doesn't.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 11KAP
bay ridge is where all the hillbillies in brooklyn live lol?
lol... I wouldn't go that far... Listen Bay Ridge is a great neighborhood and I want to make that very clear. It's very safe, family oriented and has some decent middle class and upper middle class residents. Not all of the residents are racists, but I'd be telling a lie if I didn't admit that there is some subtle racism there, a lot of which obviously goes unreported. Clearly some African-Americans have heard that the neighborhood doesn't welcome them and arrive on edge. That's enough to tell you something, so isn't just imaginary.
As I said none of my friends are Black, but we all knew that the neighborhood just wasn't the place where Black people would be seen walking about often and I'll leave it like that.
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