Would Silver Spring and Wheaton be considered a ghetto? (Baltimore: crime, lawyers)

[mwruckman]

Wheaton is not a Ghetto the more accurate term is a Barrio! It is fit for a king, a Latin King that is.

[kimreyesmakeup]

No, I wouldn't say that it's ghetto- I'm on Franklin about 1/4 mile from downtown and after the revitalization Silver Spring is hopping. Wheaton used to be a little rough but now it's also gentrifying and although most of the asian population has been replaced with hispanic I really enjoy all the international grocery stores and restaurants.
We moved into Silver Spring in 1997 and even before all the new growth we are in a lovely old neighborhood and I really enjoy the diversity in neighborhoods!

[itinérant]

For the love of God Silver Spring is not ghetto. Silver Spring is working class in places, middle class in places, and upper-middle class in places. I lived over near the Parkway Deli and loved it. Big improvement from the neighborhood where I grew up (as well as Ohio State University campus).

The only reason people suggest SS is ghetto is that you see AA's there. I just saw one today. Went to pick up mail from him that I forgot to have forwarded. He has a PhD in math, is extremely cordial, and is without a doubt the best neighbor I have ever had.

So let's be serious.

[motoreater]

I am really at odds as to what the collective definition of "ghetto" is for this area. I can't find use for the word in most cases I read here. Does appearance alone justify the label "ghetto"? If so, lots of towns/cities across America are full of ghettos.
Using this logic, resort beach towns are ghettos during the off-season.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by itinérant

For the love of God Silver Spring is not ghetto. Silver Spring is working class in places, middle class in places, and upper-middle class in places. I lived over near the Parkway Deli and loved it. Big improvement from the neighborhood where I grew up (as well as Ohio State University campus).

The only reason people suggest SS is ghetto is that you see AA's there. I just saw one today. Went to pick up mail from him that I forgot to have forwarded. He has a PhD in math, is extremely cordial, and is without a doubt the best neighbor I have ever had.

So let's be serious.

To be even more serious, the true definition of a ghetto doesn't even include African Americans. There can be Irish ghettos, Italian ghettos, Asian ghettos, and even white ghettos. Not sure how all of a sudden African Americans became the poster child for ghettos. White ghettos still do exist.

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

To be even more serious, the true definition of a ghetto doesn't even include African Americans. There can be Irish ghettos, Italian ghettos, Asian ghettos, and even white ghettos. Not sure how all of a sudden African Americans became the poster child for ghettos. White ghettos still do exist.

From what I remember from history, ghetto was used to orignally reference jewish people in Europe (Italy I believe during the 17th century. That reference stuck into the 20th century when immigrants came to America in droves. But at that time it still wasn't considered negatively. Once here that term was generically applied to any immigrant community/neighborhood where one ethinicity dominated the area. It began to have a negative spin when the Germans used it to reference jewish-only neighborhoods. That reference migrated to the U.S when WWII enlisted came back from Europe and introduced the German connotation here. This slang definition of the term took off in the 50s/60s when public housing came into play. At first, it still applied to any homogenous group but later referenced African-American groups at its base and expanded to include other ethnicities only when their ethnic affilliation was used as a pre-fix (i.e. "peurto rican ghetto")

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

From what I remember from history, ghetto was used to orignally reference jewish people in Europe (Italy I believe during the 17th century. That reference stuck into the 20th century when immigrants came to America in droves. But at that time it still wasn't considered negatively. Once here that term was generically applied to any immigrant community/neighborhood where one ethinicity dominated the area. It began to have a negative spin when the Germans used it to reference jewish-only neighborhoods. That reference migrated to the U.S when WWII enlisted came back from Europe and introduced the German connotation here. This slang definition of the term took off in the 50s/60s when public housing came into play. At first, it still applied to any homogenous group but later referenced African-American groups at its base and expanded to include other ethnicities only when their ethnic affilliation was used as a pre-fix (i.e. "peurto rican ghetto")

Very true. And to add to your point, I believe the usage of the word ghetto is similar to the usage of the n-word. People who often time use these words do not understand the full context of the word, they only know it for how it is used in slang form, but don't understand the complete historical context. I would imagine people perspective of ghetto would quickly change if they spent time in a third world country. Sometimes as a nation, we are so spoiled, that we can't see beyond our four walls.

[Ricky93]

I guess it really depends on somebody's standards. I've always been amazed with what most White people in the DC area view as being a ghetto. I have friends from SE DC, Capitol Heights, and Temple Hills who view Silver Spring as the Promised Land.

I grew up in a family with an around 140K annually and my parents chose Silver Spring to settle in when we moved to Maryland, and I'm glad they did. They could have afforded a place Chevy Chase or Bethesda, but I wouldn't have been able to grow up around the diversity I was here.

[LunaticVillage]

No, Silver Spring and Wheaton are not ghetto, by any means. Silver Spring is exceedingly diverse. Definitely one of the most diverse towns in Maryland and the entire East Coast. The area is home to a sizable Black population as well as a large population of African immigrants, recent and old, from Ethiopians to Nigerians. Silver Spring and Wheaton have large working class Latino populations; mostly Salvadorans. These are hard-working people who don't cause trouble. Comparatively, Silver Spring is not as wealthy as Potomac or Bethesda, but most places in America are nowhere near wealthy as these places. The vibe in Silver Spring is very laid-back and cosmopolitan. Downtown Silver Spring feels more urban than most places in DC, proper. A lot of decent regular working class folks mixed in well with upper middle class folks. These people mind their own business for the most part. Unemployment is very low in Silver Spring. There are tons of businesses where work can be had for working class folks. The rest of the adult population mostly has cushy government jobs or government contract jobs. In Wheaton, you have some shady MS-13 types from Langley Park who might frequent hole-in-the-wall Latin nightclubs along University Blvd, but thats about it. You might have some teenage wannabe thugs and overgrown 20 somethings with a juvenile mentality who listen to too much Rick Ross who try to act like Silver Spring is hood, but it is not.

The real ghetto areas in Maryland are in PG County mostly bordering NE & SE DC and, of course, Baltimore City and parts of Baltimore County like Lansdowne. Nowhere in Silver Spring has the unpredictable, crazy ominous vibe of open drug dealing, 24-7 loitering, rampant public drunkeness, violence, social disorganization, structural unemployment etc. like Baltimore.

But as others have said, what is ghetto here in America would not qualify as ghetto in Africa, Lain America, the Caribbean or Southeast Asia. Nobody starves to death in America. Ironically, the hood in America has some of the highest obesity rates. Poor folks in the hood in America have dozens of $200 sneakers, welfare, EBT and public housing. But yes, poverty in America can be bad when occupational drug addicts squeeze out babies and don't take care of them. It is sad that countless young kids in the inner city end up selling drugs and joining gangs because their parents don't take care of them. Like Tupac said, the "hate you gave little infants f***s everyone". Poverty is also terrible for the homeless in America. But it is hard to feel sorry for folks living off the government in "the hood" in America in tidy well-maintained single family homes with front lawns, garages and illegal cable TV hooked up with a big Cadillac sitting outside in beautiful California cities like Compton crying about how bad they have it. And this is coming from someone who grew up in what was very much known as "the hood" in California.

[Captain_Fingers]

Originally Posted by DoveDiva

This is hilarious.


I live on what's considered the "poor" side of MoCo...and a house just sold in my neighborhood for about $600K. That's over a half a million. Far from poor.

Silver Spring and Wheaton are far from 'hood/low income/insert other word here. There's a Whole Foods in Silver Spring, and a Costco in Wheaton. Those aren't found in low-income areas.

And don't forget the new townhouses by Wheaton Plaza - not exactly cheap from what I hear. Plus Wheaton has Chuck's!