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I doubt "white guilt" has nearly as much to do with Peduto's stance as does political reality. Tyovan's point about the white working class and middle class being complacent is spot-on, though I am not certain I agree with his (her?) reasoning as to why this is occurring.
The potatoheaded mayor doesn't feel guilty. He's just trying to avoid having too close of a primary challenge from John Welch.
And thank you.
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Originally Posted by fat lou
A white guy can march in the streets and clog mailboxes about his right to live in Lawrenceville or Polish Hill or wherever till the cows come home, no one will give a rat's @s$. And that's the point.
x2
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Originally Posted by Graco1
This is truly the best response I have ever read on here. I couldn't agree more. However as much as the democrats are to blame for the city, republicans have done a terrible job themselves with the exurbs and surrounding counties. Both parties are to blame for the regional decline.
This is an endless cycle and it doesn't matter for race and gender. I read somewhere that they said 750,000 people have left the Pittsburgh area between 1950 and 2017. That is mind boggling. That is people of all races and backgrounds looking for greener pastures elsewhere.
Until both parties work together to make this a city and region that works for everybody, the problems will be the exact same and will be over and over forever and only the faces will change.
What you have stated has been stated before by others over the last 60 years. There was just no chat boards for posting it for everybody to read
Thank you.
There has to be some sort of regionalization. I hate the governance of the City and think its a joke. But I also realize that the region's health requires a healthy city and healthy suburbs. We have to overcome the bubble mentality that people have here - on both sides. I've met too many suburban folks who are legitimately afraid to go to Oakland, even though they've lived here their whole lives. And there are too many City dwellers who look at anyone who dares to set foot within the Most Holy Municipal Limits of Pittsburgh as being a thief or a leech.
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Originally Posted by gladhands
The false equivalency is sickening. Polish Hill and Lawreceville gentrified because the white working class cashed out and moved to the suburbs. THEY. WERE. NOT. DISPLACED.
...
TWO HUNDRED FAMILIES in East Liberty were served 90 day eviction notices.
And that 90 day limit turned into months and months, with cash assistance.
While some folks in Lawrenceville and Polish Hill likely did cash out, you're an unbelievable fool if you can't believe that a similar number of families have gotten priced out of those two neighborhoods due to rocketing rent.
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Originally Posted by SteelCityRising
Look at the MANY countries that have higher happiness indices than the U.S. They all have far less wealth inequality.
Those measures are quite off. Iceland is always near the top - but I met some very, very bitter people there. Their economy only corrected due to massive emigration.
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Originally Posted by sky329
here you go again u really need to stop that... nursing school. Pittsburgh has tons of them... how bout you try that so you can make a good wage and stop crying.. people have worked hard for their money, what have you done
Do you really want a nurse who's only motivated by money? Think about that.
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Originally Posted by SteelCityRising
Sorry. I didn't realize the "Black Homes Matter" rallies and the highly-publicized protests on behalf of the residents of Penn Plaza so they could stay in a trendy neighborhood was to also benefit working-class whites instead of working-class blacks exclusively. Thanks for enlightening me. I feel almost as "ahead of the curve" as half the people on this sub-forum now.
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People wonder why Hillary lost? I hate Trump, but every comment about "out-of-touch liberal elites" handing him his victory is spot-on. The Democratic Party used to represent and stand up for the plight of liberal working-class whites. Now we'be been disavowed as untouchables by the party, which is why we got the Cheeto-in-Chief who "drained the swamp" by plugging it up with his billionaire friends.
You're seeing the light sir!
The Democratic Party, in its current iteration, looks at folks like you and me as problems.
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Originally Posted by SteelCityRising
Tell me I'm wrong.
Tell me that a movement of working-class whites rallying and protesting against gentrification in order to stay in Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, and Polish Hill would receive the same applauding and support from the mayor, the media, City Paper, and this sub-forum's wealthier white progressives as the "Black Homes Matter" movement has been receiving in East Liberty.
Tell me that wealthy whites are just as empathetic towards the working-class whites they are displacing as they are towards the working-class blacks they are displacing.
Tell me why we're suggesting working-class blacks should be given a free pass to stay in a trendy neighborhood like East Liberty vs. the construction of a new Whole Foods to replace the laughably underbuilt one nearby while telling working-class whites they need to shape up or ship out to get out of the way of progress in the form of artisan pre-teen boy clothing stores and unicycle collectives in other rapidly-gentrifying neighborhoods like Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, and Polish Hill.
Of course it wouldn't. It would be labelled as a deplorable, regressive, racist organization.
Folks like you and I are looked at like Afrikaners.
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Originally Posted by SteelCityRising
Then tell the "progressives" on this sub-forum to lash out against the "Black Homes Matter" movement instead of defending it. Otherwise they're a bunch of reverse-racist hypocrites, no?
I'm pretty sure being a reverse-racist is a prerequisite to be a Progressive
Actually, I worked harder and did everything I could to better my situation/s.
I was also told that nobody owes you anything. You have to earn it.
Unless you're mentally or physically unable to work or support yourself, you aren't owed anything.
I still haven't seen anything you've done to try to help your cause other than the "woah is me" excuse.
What have the people of East Liberty done to warrant the praise of white progressives on here other than wail "woe is me"? Another double-standard much?
Working-class white already working full-time? Get a second job and boot-strap it.
Working-class black working full-time OR part-time? We'll find a way to help you.
The "Black Homes Matter" movement isn't doing any favors for race-relations between working-class whites and working-class blacks in this city. That's for certain. I can't just start a group "White Homes Matter" for my part of town, can I?
The false equivalency is sickening. Polish Hill and Lawreceville gentrified because the white working class cashed out and moved to the suburbs. THEY. WERE. NOT. DISPLACED. I've heard an anecdote or two, on this forum about a person who couldn't pay the landlord's new rent, but they're just that...anecdotes.
TWO HUNDRED FAMILIES in East Liberty were served 90 day eviction notices. The ELDI was allowed to buy properties for pennies on the dollar and sell them for market rate to major developers. That kind of gentrification hasn't been seen anywhere else in the city. East Liberty really is a unique case. It's the absolute worst form of gentrification, and in no way is it analogous to what's happened to Lawernceville or Polish Hill.
To hear an underachieving transplant compare his inability to afford desirable neighorhoods to which he has no historical connection (other than being a low-income white man) to the plight of those displaced from the communities they grew up in is incredibly off-putting and offensive.
Hey dude, I've lived in Lawrenceville for forty years. How about you? I know plenty of people who grew up in Lawrenceville and would like to stay here but they can't afford it, so they moved to Millvale or Etna or wherever. And this has happened to well over two hundred people, I assure you. What's your connection to the neighborhood, that you're going to school me on what goes on here?
And so what if someone grew up in a neighborhood, how does that entitle them to live there their whole lives? So is everyone who grew up in Fox Chapel entitled to a mansion on the cheap on Fox Chapel Road, even if they don't make anywhere near as much money as their parents made?
As I admitted, my IQ isn't exactly anything to write home about.
As such, here's my main question about this Whole Foods fiasco:
"Why is Black Homes Matter so widely-lauded to keep working-class blacks in East Liberty while working-class whites who are having trouble staying in other city neighborhoods are told to go pound sand?"
I get the "life ain't fair" arguments, but other than that abysmal cliche is there something else I'm missing as to why I should gladly relocate to make way for wealthier whites while working-class blacks should get to stay put?
I was once called "selfish" on here by someone who told me that if I moved outside the city, then my landlord could double the rent so someone else could live in my place while my landlord would live more comfortably with the additional rental income. Honest question that I'd love to have gladhands to answer for me: "Would they say the same thing to me if I wasn't white?"
What have the people of East Liberty done to warrant the praise of white progressives on here other than wail "woe is me"? Another double-standard much?
Working-class white already working full-time? Get a second job and boot-strap it.
Working-class black working full-time OR part-time? We'll find a way to help you.
The "Black Homes Matter" movement isn't doing any favors for race-relations between working-class whites and working-class blacks in this city. That's for certain. I can't just start a group "White Homes Matter" for my part of town, can I?
Actually, you should be constantly looking for a better job that pays more if you're not happy with your salary.
You're crying over spilled milk. What's done is done. Until you actually find a way to change what you don't like you're going to just continue to blame everyone else that you feel should be doing something.
"When you say somebody should do something, you need to realize that you are somebody".
I agree to an extent. I'm only going to be willing to leave my neighborhood, though, to "make way for progress" if those who stopped the Whole Foods projects need to do the same. Otherwise if the mayor is going to make waves to keep East Liberty affordable for working-class blacks, then I'm going to make waves and start a similar movement to keep Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, and Polish Hill affordable for working-class whites. Fair is fair, right?
Oh hey, I hear what you're saying. But you don't really think that Peduto and his ilk care about lower-income white people, do you? I assure you that they do not.
But what you should really do is join the vast majority of people in this region and leave the city limits. That's what I plan to do in the near future. I've had enough of paying three percent of my paycheck to this goofball administration.
Oh hey, I hear what you're saying. But you don't really think that Peduto and his ilk care about lower-income white people, do you? I assure you that they do not.
But what you should really do is join the vast majority of people in this region and leave the city limits. That's what I plan to do in the near future. I've had enough of paying three percent of my paycheck to this goofball administration.
Exactly. I love visiting family, friends, and the city itself but I couldn't wait to move out of it.
"Land-banking" has been making some headway as of late, and that needs to gain more traction. I personally wouldn't mind living in Beechview, Homewood, the Hill District, Knoxville, or Marshall-Shadeland, but some of you think that just because these neighborhoods are blighted means there are hundreds of vacant affordable rentals available on CraigsList. People who think this obviously haven't done much scouring for rental ads in these neighborhoods as of late. Most "non-trendy" neighborhoods in this city STILL have low rental vacancy rates, which keeps the rental market tight. Meanwhile hundreds, if not a few thousand, homes in these "non-trendy" neighborhoods sit rotting. How can the city help to get those homes back onto the tax rolls, renovated, and subdivided into reasonably-priced multi-unit apartment dwellings to house those who are being priced out of East Liberty, Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Polish Hill, and many other neighborhoods?
Is there a way that the city could purchase some of these homes for $1, forgive the back-taxes, and then offer a tax abatement to a private developer who will spend $100,000-$150,000 doing the bare minimum in getting one of these homes up to code and subdivided into a few "no frills" rentals with stock cabinetry, dented appliances, etc. priced at affordable price points for the working-class? There's a huge disconnect in this city. Many of us rent because we can't get over the barrier of entry to homeownership. Some of us never will. There should be enough cheap apartments available in no-frills CITY neighborhoods to handle the overflow of those renters being displaced. Right now there isn't, as evidenced by how difficult it has been to find affordably-priced replacement rentals for those relocating for the now-dead-in-the-water Whole Foods.
Also, I know tyovan4 would hate this suggestion, but if the city limits were able to annex Sharpsburg, Etna, Millvale, Dormont, Bellevue, Avalon, and Wilkinsburg there would be much less pressure on rental prices in the city because there would be more desirable walkable "city neighborhoods" to choose from. Some of us have residency requirements for our jobs. Some of us also want to live within city limits in order to have a feeling like we can help turn the table on population loss.
Tell me that a movement of working-class whites rallying and protesting against gentrification in order to stay in Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, and Polish Hill would receive the same applauding and support from the mayor, the media, City Paper, and this sub-forum's wealthier white progressives as the "Black Homes Matter" movement has been receiving in East Liberty.
The
Tell me that wealthy whites are just as empathetic towards the working-class whites they are displacing as they are towards the working-class blacks they are displacing.
Tell me why we're suggesting working-class blacks should be given a free pass to stay in a trendy neighborhood like East Liberty vs. the construction of a new Whole Foods to replace the laughably underbuilt one nearby while telling working-class whites they need to shape up or ship out to get out of the way of progress in the form of artisan pre-teen boy clothing stores and unicycle collectives in other rapidly-gentrifying neighborhoods like Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, and Polish Hill.
There has been no working class white displacement. The old-timers cashed out.
Hey dude, I've lived in Lawrenceville for forty years. How about you? I know plenty of people who grew up in Lawrenceville and would like to stay here but they can't afford it, so they moved to Millvale or Etna or wherever. And this has happened to well over two hundred people, I assure you. What's your connection to the neighborhood, that you're going to school me on what goes on here?
And so what if someone grew up in a neighborhood, how does that entitle them to live there their whole lives? So is everyone who grew up in Fox Chapel entitled to a mansion on the cheap on Fox Chapel Road, even if they don't make anywhere near as much money as their parents made?
I don't even know where to begin. You have anecdotes about working-class white displacement, but zero data.
I also fail see the connection between mass evictions and your hypothetical scenario involving cheap Fox Chapel housing.
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