Author Topic: "Being White in Philly"  (Read 2944 times)

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RickZ

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"Being White in Philly"
« on: March 11, 2013, 09:25:58 AM »
Not really white or black trash edition.  (I can only think of Pan's high school stories.)

Note that the magazine published two covers for this article:  One cover going to local residents and the other cover for newspapers sent to hotels and other hospitality hotspots where tourists might actually read it.  So lets's disguise the article with a different cover; wouldn't want to flatten out a not very good 'Philly tourism industry', now would they?



http://www.phillymag.com/articles/white-philly/

Quote
Being White in Philly

My younger son goes to Temple, where he’s a sophomore. This year he’s living in an apartment with two friends at 19th and Diamond, just a few blocks from campus. It’s a dangerous neighborhood. Whenever I go see Nick, I get antsy and wonder what I was thinking, allowing him to rent there.

One day, before I pick him up for lunch, I stop to talk to a cop who’s parked a block away from Nick’s apartment.

“Is he already enrolled for classes?” the cop says when I point out where my son lives.

Well, given that it’s December, I think so. But his message is clear: Bad idea, this neighborhood. A lot of burglaries and robberies. Temple students are prime prey, the cop says.

--SNIP--

I’ve shared my view of North Broad Street with people—white friends and colleagues—who see something else there: New buildings. Progress. Gentrification. They’re sunny about the area around Temple. I think they’re blind, that they’ve stopped looking. Indeed, I’ve begun to think that most white people stopped looking around at large segments of our city, at our poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods, a long time ago. One of the reasons, plainly put, is queasiness over race. Many of those neighborhoods are predominantly African-American. And if you’re white, you don’t merely avoid them—you do your best to erase them from your thoughts.

At the same time, white Philadelphians think a great deal about race. Begin to talk to people, and it’s clear it’s a dominant motif in and around our city. Everyone seems to have a story, often an uncomfortable story, about how white and black people relate.

Take a young woman I’ll call Susan, whom I met recently. She lost her BlackBerry in a biology lab at Villanova and Facebooked all the class members she could find, “wondering if you happened to pick it up or know who did.” No one had it. There was one black student in the class, whom I’ll call Carol, who responded: “Why would I just happen to pick up a BlackBerry and if this is a personal message I’m offended!”

Susan assured her that she had Facebooked the whole class. Carol wrote: “Next time be careful what type of messages you send around and what you say in them.”

After that, when their paths crossed at school, Carol would avoid eye contact with Susan, wordless. What did I do? Susan wondered. The only explanation she could think of was Vanilla-nova—the old joke about the school’s distinct lack of color, its perceived lack of welcome to African-Americans. Susan started making an effort to say hello when she saw Carol, and eventually they acted as if nothing had happened. The BlackBerry incident—it probably goes without saying—was never discussed.

Another story: Dennis, 26, teaches math in a Kensington school. His first year there, fresh out of college, one of his students, an unruly eighth grader, got into a fight with a girl. Dennis told him to stop, he got into Dennis’s face, and in the heat of the moment Dennis called the student, an African-American, “boy.”

The student went home and told his stepfather. The stepfather demanded a meeting with the principal and Dennis, and accused Dennis of being racist; the principal defended his teacher. Dennis apologized, knowing how loaded the term “boy” was and regretting that he’d used it, though he was thinking, Why would I be teaching in an inner-city school if I’m a racist? The stepfather calmed down, and that would have been the end of it, except for one thing: The student’s behavior got worse. Because now he knew that no one at the school could do anything, no matter how badly he behaved.

--SNIP--

What gets examined publicly about race is generally one-dimensional, looked at almost exclusively from the perspective of people of color. Of course, it is black people who have faced generations of discrimination and who deal with it still. But our public discourse ignores the fact that race—particularly in a place like Philadelphia—is also an issue for white people. Though white people never talk about it.

Everyone might have a race story, but few whites risk the third-rail danger of speaking publicly about race, given the long, troubled history of race relations in this country and even more so in this city. Race is only talked about in a sanitized form, when it’s talked about at all, with actual thoughts and feelings buried, which only ups the ante. Race remains the elephant in the room, even on the absurd level of who holds the door to enter a convenience store.

--SNIP--

That’s the other surprise: If you’re not an American, the absence of a historical filter results in a raw view focused strictly on the here and now. I meet a contractor from Maine named Adrian, who brought his Panamanian wife to live here, at 19th and Girard, where she saw fighting and drug deals and general bad behavior at the edge of Brewerytown. It all had her co-nvinced there is a “moral poverty” among inner-city blacks.

--SNIP--

One Fairmounter blames herself for her grill being stolen from her backyard, because if you don’t fence it in, she tells me, you’re asking for it. A pumpkin gets lifted from her front stoop in the fall, she buys another. That one gets stolen, she gets one more. It’s called city living. Flowerpots, even trash cans—they don’t stick around. Porch chairs have to be chained together. Your car window is likely to get smashed every now and then.

The danger can be a little steeper. One afternoon, at Krupa’s Tavern at 27th and Brown, a guy named Bob tells me about working in the mailroom at Rolling Stone magazine years ago and shows me an anthology of Beat-era writers he’s reading. I can’t resist asking him about his wire-rim glasses, which are way down on his nose and twisted at an absurd angle—there’s no way he can see out of them.

“Oh,” he says, smiling, “I went home one night from the bar and two guys smashed my face into the cement steps of my house”—that’s what messed up his glasses. “A few days later I got my wallet back in the mail—they had thrown it in somebody’s mailbox.”

He acknowledges that his assailants were black. “Not that that matters,” he says.

Not all the crime in Fairmount, of course, is perpetrated by black guys from Brewerytown, the neighborhood north of Girard. But that’s the perception, and it’s generally correct: Another day, I chat with two cops sitting in their car outside Henneberry’s, a drugstore on 24th Street, and ask them who commits crimes here, large and small. Mostly, they say, black guys from North Philly.

--SNIP--

The problems seem intractable. In so many quarters, simply discussing race is seen as racist. And so white people are stuck, dishonest by default, as we take a pass on the state of this city’s largely black inner city and settle for politely opening doors at Wawa, before we slip back to our own lives.

We’re stuck in another way, too. Our troubled black communities create in us a tangle of feelings, including this one: a desire for things to be better. But for that sentiment to come true—for it to mean anything, even—I’ve come to believe that white people have to risk being much more open. It’s impossible to know how that might change the racial dynamics in Philadelphia, or the plight of the inner city. But as things stand, our cautiousness and fear mean that nothing changes in how blacks and whites relate, and most of us lose out on the possibility of what Jen has found: real connection.

What, I wonder, would that look like? Claire, the widow I talked to in Fairmount who was walking her terri-poos, doesn’t worry about saying the wrong thing in her neighborhood, about offending her black neighbors, because she’s confident of her own feelings when it comes to matters of race. But like many people, I yearn for much more: that I could feel the freedom to speak to my African-American neighbors about, say, not only my concerns for my son’s safety living around Temple, but how the inner city needs to get its act together. That I could take the leap of talking about something that might seem to be about race with black people.

I wouldn’t do that, though, because it feels too risky. In fact, I would no more go there than I would stand out on the sidewalk some Saturday and ask a neighbor how much money he has in the bank.

But this is how I see it: We need to bridge the conversational divide so that there are no longer two private dialogues in Philadelphia—white people talking to other whites, and black people to blacks—but a city in which it is okay to speak openly about race. That feels like a lot to ask, a leap of faith for everyone. It also seems like the only place to go, the necessary next step.

Meanwhile, when I drive through North Philly to visit my son, I continue to feel both profoundly sad and a blind desire to escape.

Though I wonder: Am I allowed to say even that?

Definitely read the comments, not something I recommend too often.

3 comments from one reader to start off:

Quote
white kid in black gradeschool

As I white kid whose well-meaning parents enrolled him in a majority black school for the same noble reasons as "Jen", I just have to say that that decision is really negligent. I love how she makes it about herself. I love my parents dearly and have never told them about how lonely and terrifying it was to be one of the only white kids in my grade school. I love them too much to put that kind of guilt on them. I was constantly teased, picked on, and bullied by a few kids... and even the nicer kids never seemed to display any sort of empathy. Given the state of race relations in this country, and the overt disdain black people have for whites, I don't suppose I see how that would be surprising. Whites only think racism goes one way... they have no idea what its like for those of us in the trenches. Especially kids.

white kid in black gradeschool

One thing that I came to see as a kid was that there was no end to the scorn for being white. While I didn't "wish I was black" per se, I definitely craved validation from the only people I was surrounded by, and for us handful of white kids, there was no higher compliment in life than being accepted by black kids as "cool", and somehow transcending our being white. I had one friend in 4-5 grade, and actually a few up through 8th grade. That said, there was no greater scorn among black kdis than that for kids who tried too hard to be black,. The irony was that those kids did actually find acceptance from a small group of friends, but that acceptance was in no way carried over to anyone outside of their group that accepted them: they were targeted by anybody outside that group, and generally made to look the fool. I never took that last step-- It was impossible for me because my parents were white educated liberals... it was mostly lower class kids who actually had no home life who turned into those kids, Actually, that isn't true, I did know 2 others more like my background who turned out like that. The worst part was that my parents, like Jen, thought that I was getting so much cultural value out of this experience. They couldn't have been further from the truth: I probably would be more positively disposed to black people as a group had I grown up in the suburbs. Again, even though I still have actual black friends, I definitely do not fall for all the white people are all racist lines. I really, really hope Jen's kids turn out OK-- I can guarantee they will probably have MAJOR issues throughout the rest of their lives. Not to mention, the academics, no matter how much Jen decides she just loves the teachers and the schools, are TERRIBLE. No one cares about schoolwork, even the teachers. Jen's on a moral superiority mission, and her children are the victims. I guarantee 100% that they dread going to school. If white privilege is the right to a carefree childhood, they are being robbed of their birthright. Almost every day I wish things had been different for my childhood. And to tie this in a little bit with the story: I have never been able to tell my story to anyone. White people's brains would blow up, black people get hostile (see comment to my first post)... it's just a story that simply doesn't compute in today's racial narrative.

white kid in black gradeschool

why did my other comments get deleted? I really spent a lot of time thinking about them and putting them down. I'm so disappointed because you are leaving up comically racist posts but taking down ones from someone who actually experienced something no one on here ever experienced. I didn't say anything racist at all. I'm really more sad than anything.

And this little exchange:

Quote
D.R.

millions really? You guys sound like you were slaves or something. I sympathize with your plight however this is what black people go through all day everyday whether it be overt or covert. I don't denounce your suffering but you still would have rather been white in your childhood than black trust me!

ncpride

Slaves? No. Bullied, taunted, verbally abused (racial slurs) physically attacked, yes. My being White did not make my childhood any easier than yours. I know you don't like to hear it, but a lot of us learned about 'racism' at the hands of black kids.

The truth about black racism is racist.  Gee, now that's a surprise.

Of course, the Fellatio Media lapdogs were all in an uproar.

http://www.examiner.com/article/philadelphia-magazine-blasted-for-being-white-philly-cover-story

Quote
Philadelphia Magazine Blasted For ‘Being White in Philly’ Cover Story

The hot button topic of race became a subject of hot debate this month in the region with the article “Being White in Philly” by Philadelphia magazine’s writer-at-large Robert Huber. The story, told solely from a white point of view, immediately drew a firestorm of complaints, especially when PhillyMag Editor Tom McGrath wrote: “Indeed, among our discussions was a debate about whether we—a magazine with exactly zero people of color on its full-time editorial staff—even had license to report and write on such a sensitive topic.”
 
“This month’s Philadelphia Magazine cover story is just another example of an ongoing attack on Black Philadelphia,” said Councilwoman Marian Tasco. “Considering the recent census, African Americans could continue to hold political power for years to come but if they remain economically disadvantaged they will never be full partners or independent.”

Tasco made her remarks during a long speech last Thursday on the floor of council chambers in which she lambasted several local media outlets for what she said appeared to be a concerted campaign against African Americans. Councilwomen Cindy Bass and Maria Quinones Sanchez echoed Tasco. Bass blasted Philadelphia Magazine, though she refused to say its name out loud charging that “there is no one on your editorial board who is African American? So, it doesn’t make a difference if you’re talking about race if you’re not talking to different people? You need to be able to dialogue with different people.”
 
Across the Philadelphia media landscape, the backlash was equally swift. The story drew national criticism from Richard Prince’s Journal-isms and local online news site Philebrity, who offered the “Anatomy Of An EPIC FAIL: How PhillyMag’s Race-Baiting Cover Story Went Over Like A Fart In Church This Weekend”: “To make matters still even worse, PhillyMag pulled a classic PhillyMag move with this issue: They printed two covers, one with Huber’s article on the front, and another with M.Night Shyamalan’s wife, Bhavna Vaswani, for the hospitality industry — the idea being that (probably correctly) hotel visitors in Philly would rather not be troubled with PhillyMag’s fairly consistent history of classicism and racism, writ large on the cover once and for all.”

--SNIP--

It looks as though from a black persepective, white people have no business talking about black racism.  Just like so many blacks today think whitey should not be allowed to teach anything concerning Black History Month.  The reverse, though, is that blacks are more than qualified to teach about 'white (racist) history' throughout the year.

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2013, 09:51:14 AM »
Quote
That’s the other surprise: If you’re not an American, the absence of a historical filter results in a raw view focused strictly on the here and now. I meet a contractor from Maine named Adrian, who brought his Panamanian wife to live here, at 19th and Girard, where she saw fighting and drug deals and general bad behavior at the edge of Brewerytown. It all had her co-nvinced there is a “moral poverty” among inner-city blacks.

I'd say the Panamanian wife's viewpoint sans the "historical filter" is the correct and wise viewpoint. There is no reason why the trend in behavior among inner city Blacks should be filtered or mitigated because of history. All that leads to is making excuses, and making excuses leads to an absence of personal responsibility, which in turn, places Blacks in chains as surely as if they wore the iron.

It looks as though from a black persepective, white people have no business talking about black racism.  Just like so many blacks today think whitey should not be allowed to teach anything concerning Black History Month.  The reverse, though, is that blacks are more than qualified to teach about 'white (racist) history' throughout the year.

I think that attributing that perspective to Blacks is near-universal enough to be accurate. Except that it doesn't make exception for those millions Blacks for whom skin color is not a perpetual excuse for bad behavior. And it doesn't account for the millions of Whites who perpetuate societal permission for that same behavior.

If I had to more accurately characterize the perspective that White people have no business talking about Black racism, I would characterize it as a liberal perspective, not a Black one.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

RickZ

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2013, 10:26:49 AM »
Quote
If I had to more accurately characterize the perspective that White people have no business talking about Black racism, I would characterize it as a liberal perspective, not a Black one.

I most certainly, vociferously and unilaterally disagree.

No, many black people (much more than a simple minority) think white people cannot teach black kids (not just during Black History Month but overall) as they don't have the proper 'perspective'; I've heard and read that more than once over the years from a plethora of black 'thinkers' (an oxymoron if there ever was one).  It's also the same with black baby adoptions by white adoptees.  Many in the black community take offense at that, and so push to stop such adoptions as they are 'out of race' and 'not in the child's benefit'.  Of course, drugs, gangs, prison or the graveyard are all quite acceptable black 'values'.

We can't talk about black racism because that's racist.  But the fact remains that murder is a majority black proclivity (what, 12% of the population overall but 50% of the murderers?), with victims being both white and black; white on black murder is much more rare.  Blacks raping whites is pretty common; not so common is whites raping blacks.  Of course, I'm a racist crackuh for pointing out those inconvenient truths.

Blacks do not want to discuss their dirty little no-so-secret:  They are flaming, unapologetic racists proud of their hereditary and institutional racism.  It's just so much easier to blame whitey for all the ills of their depraved black culture.

Back in 1982, I was going to apply for food stamps as I was on unemployment, and I really was not doing well financially.  A black lady at the unemployement office answered, when asked if I can get food stamps, "Honey, you're the wrong color."  But play the 'what if?' reverse game:  A white bureaucrat telling a black they're the wrong color.  Hilarity ensues. Mass protests and riots ensue.

This commieracistniggathug-in-chief black precedent and his pitting one group of people against the other racial demogoguery has allowed my inner racist to come out, and I'm good with that.  Two can play the racist game.  Pushback:  It's a bitch.

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2013, 10:33:23 AM »
My point is that White liberals think all those same things. It is liberalism regardless of skin color that provides the fertile ground for this "you can't talk about Black Racism" dynamic.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

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RickZ

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2013, 10:43:41 AM »
White liberals and their 'white privilege guilt trip' cover up racism by blacks.  Blacks think the way they do without white liberal guilt.  That is to say, they be racists on their own without help from whitey, although liberals providing cover is a bonus.  I've yet to hear anyone accusing a liberal of having a functioning brain.

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2013, 11:03:15 AM »
White liberals and their 'white privilege guilt trip' cover up racism by blacks.  Blacks think the way they do without white liberal guilt.  That is to say, they be racists on their own without help from whitey, although liberals providing cover is a bonus.  I've yet to hear anyone accusing a liberal of having a functioning brain.

Well, as I said initially, attributing that perspective to Blacks is near-universal enough to be accurate. I'm not disagreeing wholly with your point. I'm only noting that without the "White privilege guilt trip" of liberalism, whether or not Blacks "permitted" discussion of Black racism would be irrelevant. Whites who capitulate by fearing frank discussion of Black racism would not fear a frank discussion without the liberal "White privilege guilt trip". If not for liberalism and the de facto speech codes that come along with it, Whites would not stand silently in the face of Black racism.

The same dynamic can be witnessed in the so-called "hip-hop culture", where niggas and hos and crime are glorified as a legitimate aspect of "Black culture" (whatever the hell that means) while White liberals dare you to question the behavior with the threat of being labeled racist.

Liberalism is what ties it all together.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

charlesoakwood

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #6 on: March 11, 2013, 11:10:03 AM »

White liberals and prejudiced blacks share one
thing in common, extreme bigotry.

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #7 on: March 11, 2013, 11:19:43 AM »
The only "dialogue" white people are permitted to have in the racial narrative isn't a spoken dialogue at all. It's the fact that they move out of formerly habitable cities from coast to coast. All of them will cite motives like "better schools", "lower taxes", "less crime", and those are really all just proxies for "whiter".  And of course, that is intolerably racist of them. Part of the liberal agenda is to penalize it as much as possible. That was one of Obama's many axes to grind in his years as a community organizer, the fact that white people take their money with them to the suburbs rather than doing their duty by remaining in the urban cesspools and allowing the parasitic urban governments to continue feeding on them. One form this resentment is taking is in cities and states looking into "exit taxes" levied on people who move away.

Detroit might as well be the prototype. How does a city go from being one of the wealthiest, most developed on the planet to an absolute hell hole in the span of 1 or 2 generations?
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Offline Libertas

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #8 on: March 11, 2013, 11:29:49 AM »
How?

Letting yourself be overtaken by scum is one reason.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/03/11/kilpatrick-verdict/

And anybody trying to levy an "exit tax" on somebody for exercising their right of free movement should result in people storming offices and dragging statists outside to face the people.

So, combination of asshats being given power and other asshats rolling over and giving them the power.

Taking the power back once you've lost it and your population has bailed?  Good luck.
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Offline Glock32

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2013, 11:35:29 AM »
"The Fourth Estate is less honorable than the First Profession."

- Yours Truly

RickZ

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2013, 11:36:00 AM »
Detroit might as well be the prototype. How does a city go from being one of the wealthiest, most developed on the planet to an absolute hell hole in the span of 1 or 2 generations?

Wait until we have our own Sarajevos popping up all over the place.  It will happen in weeks, not generations.

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #11 on: March 11, 2013, 11:48:57 AM »
I know we're responding to a specific issue of a magazine but shouldn't the thread be accurately titled, "Being White in America"?

And with that let me aks you something.... Just what is the state of race relations in your neighborhood? Are you living Øbongo's dream or do you live with a constant undercurrent of tension (like I experience here in western Washington)?


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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #12 on: March 11, 2013, 11:50:03 AM »
More on the idea of exit taxes: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/12/20/death_spiral_states_eye_exit_taxes



I remember hearing this, bears repeating though:  "Exit taxes imposed on [people fleeing] have a long history, including their use in both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union."

GTFO, let them burn!

Right out of Atlas Shrugged, eh?
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Offline Libertas

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #13 on: March 11, 2013, 11:56:24 AM »
Actually, seeing this thread title...

Regarding any "white" in Philly (or anywhere overrun by libiots et al)...

WTF are you doing there, fool?!   ::whatgives::
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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #14 on: March 11, 2013, 12:18:25 PM »
I know we're responding to a specific issue of a magazine but shouldn't the thread be accurately titled, "Being White in America"?

And with that let me aks you something.... Just what is the state of race relations in your neighborhood? Are you living Øbongo's dream or do you live with a constant undercurrent of tension (like I experience here in western Washington)?



My area is so Caucasian that most of the Blacks one encounters here speak with an African accent, and are very pleasant and civilized. One of my son's best friends is an American Black kid who speaks with a regular Minnesota "Yah, you-betchya" accent, and the urban "hip-hop culture" is as foreign to him as it is to a Martian.

A few short miles into the urban cesspool, however, will find a Black population that is as segregated, as depraved, and with as large a chip on its collective shoulder as anywhere - perhaps even more so.

"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

charlesoakwood

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #15 on: March 11, 2013, 12:19:42 PM »

If one lives in Big City and is not "well off" or
"poor" he is being taken advantage of.

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #16 on: March 12, 2013, 07:41:44 AM »
You see folks, nuclear war could be a beautiful and hugely successful enterprise. Most of the major population centers would be destroyed with those that live in them and that apparently would be a great thing for those "chip on their shoulders" scum. 25 megatons would bring them all together in a huge fireball of dust and ash. None will be separated from the heap, no skin color, no ethnic features, no music and certainly no food stuffs.

A few years of sacrifice to the hazards of radiation is all that's needed. ;D
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UPDATE: "Being White in Philly" spurs investigation from mayor's office
« Reply #17 on: March 16, 2013, 10:55:55 PM »
Sickening. Intimidation, tyranny, whatever you wanna call it. Government stepping in to "investigate" the publishers of an article that dares to openly discuss race without the PC filters.

At least it looks like the paper isn't going to quietly apologize and scurry off with its tail between its legs....

Quote
Controversial Article Published In Local Magazine Has Mayor Nutter Asking For Investigation

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A controversial article published in Philadelphia Magazine this month has the attention of the Nutter Administration.

The article, titled “Being White in Philly,” features a series of interviews with anonymous white residents from different areas of the city who share stories about their interaction with black residents.

Mayor Nutter calls the article’s tone “disgusting,” and he’s asked the Human Relations Commission to investigate some of the sensitive racial issues explored in the piece.

Nutter spokesman Mark McDonald says this is all about fact finding.

“I think he feels that there are enough problems in this article that it warrants a closer look,” McDonald explains.

PHRC executive director Rue Landau says the commission shares Mayor Nutter’s concerns, and they were already looking at intergroup relations in the city, particularly in changing communities.

The PHRC will hold a public meeting in the Fairmount/Brewerytown section of the city on April 18th, and residents are encouraged to attend to share their stories, concerns, and recommendations for changes. The location has yet to be determined.

In a statement, Philadelphia Magazine editor Tom McGrath says the mayor, like any reader, is entitled to think and say anything he wants about the article and that the need to have a deeper discussion about race in Philadelphia is exactly why they ran the story in the first place.

The full statement from Philadelphia Magazine’s editor Tom McGrath about Mayor Nutter’s letter to the PHRC reads:

I applaud the mayor for asking for an inquiry into the state of racial issues in Philadelphia. The need to have a deeper discussion about race in Philadelphia is exactly why we ran our story in the first place.

Like any reader, the mayor is entitled to think and say what he wants about the story. That said, his sophomoric statements about the magazine and mischaracterization of the piece make me wonder if he’s more interested in scoring political points than having a serious conversation about the issues. Furthermore, his call for a “rebuke” of the magazine by the PHRC is rich with irony. This is the same mayor who just yesterday was shouted down by an unruly mob in City Council; now he himself wants shut down conversation about an important issue in our city. In short, the mayor loves the First Amendment–as long as he and the government can control what gets said.
"A strict observance of the written laws is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the end to the means."

- Thomas Jefferson

RickZ

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #18 on: March 17, 2013, 03:04:03 AM »
In times of uiniversal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act -- subject to liberal sanction, of course.

Online Pandora

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Re: "Being White in Philly"
« Reply #19 on: March 17, 2013, 03:55:16 AM »
I was born a revolutionary.  And a radical.  Who knew.   ::whatgives::
"Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain

"Let us assume for the moment everything you say about me is true. That just makes your problem bigger, doesn't it?"