ghettos-northern heritage or racism?

[k_jerome]

de facto racism seems to be causing more harm today than the "stars and bars" that a small minority of people display in the south.

what have those in northern states done about decades old ghettos and the conditions that created them? perhaps there is some muted pride in their existence, or a case of a necessary evil to keep "them" out of white neighborhoods?

since i am sure the confederate flag threads are in no way meant to be southern bashing, let me assure you that the insidious problem of northern racism that is leading to african american migration back to the south should in no way reflect negatively on those living in that region.

after all, it was other people that put those ghettos together. and what can possibly be done now? and there are bigger problems to tackle. like rednecks with stickers on their pickup trucks.

[texastoast]

1. Trust me. Ghettos are not just a northern thang

We have plenty of them in the south. New Orleans has its "projects." Houston has its "wards." Other places have their "across the tracks" or "on the other side of the river."

So what do we do about racism? All over the place?

[k_jerome]

3. the confederate flag is not just flown in the south...

it started somewhere. which is a more threatening export? the northern heritage of de facto racism and segregation lives long after the rebel flag becomes an impotent symbol of a dead cause. yet still, it is the focus of those that use it as an excuse to bash an entire region.

[kwassa]

8. Um, racism and segregation was not exported from the North

The entire country started with slavery, though it was a southern economic mainstay, with the plantation slavery system. It was abolished first in the north, and the abolitionist movements started in the north. Racism can be found everywhere.

[k_jerome]

9. african american ghettos originated in the north...

where they still thrive and grow. why is this?

[texastoast]

10. Just like the south

I don't really understand what you are trying to get at. Racism/bigotry causes problems, everywhere. The north has never been exempted from racism or bigotry. The south has seemed to want to hold on to the image the confederate flag perpetuates, but no, the north is not free of racism or bigotry. They just don't wave a flag about it.

[wtbymark]

2. I would say it's more a product of the class war

than racism. There are plenty of poor whites in the ghettos.

on edit: but I will add that urban planning has a lot to do with it. Civil engineers will purposly design highways to separate neighborhoods and geographically plan their cities to isolate the poor. Where do you think the term "wrong side of the tracks" came from?

[CottonBear]

4. Exactly. It's a class war these days. Poor people and the middle class

live separately from the uppper-middle class and the truly wealthy.

There are ghettoes everywhere. It's simply a term for a poor, segregated neighborhood.

[Warpy]

6. I was just about to say that same thing, plus

those northern ghettos have a habit of moving around, while the southern ones generally stay close to the center of town.

Boston's ghetto started off on the north side of Beacon Hill, moved to the South End and then down into Roxbury. When I left 15 years ago, parts of Roxbury were being gentrified and the ghetto had moved even farther south into Mattapan and east into Dorchester. The ghetto exists wherever landlords are using housing stock as their cash cows and don't do repairs and only care that the rent keeps rolling in. "Black" neighborhoods always have a sprinkling of white faces, usually people who were too poor to get out when the neighborhood started to change. More and more it's a class term more than a racial term as the upscale neighborhoods become more mixed and more white folks fall into the type of poverty that forces them to live in slums.

In NC, the ghettos were right off the main drag in the bigger towns, and there was NO WAY to gentrify that housing stock.

[MadHound]

5. If you would study your history

You would find that ghettos are race neutral. The original ghettos in this country housed Irish immigrants, later Italian, Jewish and African Americans among others. They are not a symbol of racism, they are a symbol of the dark side of capitalism, which has no regards for race.

However the Stars and Bars are a very well known symbol of racism and racial hatred. Claiming that it is some sort of "heritage" thing is nothing more than a polite fig leaf. Why would anybody wish to celebrate a heritage of racism, hate and treason?

Yes, there is racism, both in the north and south, nobody here is disagreeing with that. But after 160 years of hate, most of us are still astounded that there are people out there who are so willing to identify with it that they continue to embrace the symbol of the Stars and Bars.

[k_jerome]

7. as some of us are astounded...

that ghettos created to segregate blacks and whites still exist and thrive in the same northern cities that created them decades ago. i would really be surprised to see anyone from the north actually acknowledge this, however.

i am referring to the de facto segregation instituted in the north to seperate themselves from blacks and that created huge ghettos in cities such as new york and chicago. i am aware of the history of the term ghetto.

[kwassa]

12. The south has ghettos, too.

Why are you singling out the north? They are simply known as black neighborhoods, reflective of housing segregation as was historically practiced all over this country.

I don't get your point, either.

[texastoast]

11. Not the Stars and Bars

The confederate navy jack (a later version of the confederate battle flag) is the symbol most recognized. Here is the Stars and Bars. Not that it makes much difference. :7

[gizmo1979]

13. Ghettos and the plight of

the black male are far to complex to be labeled the cause of just one thing.However that said it's getting worse and no one wants to tackle the problem.The only solution I've seen is build more prisons and obviously that is not the answer.I think the answer lies in employment and education.If your 16 years old and you see your dad come home in his beat up chevy Nova after his 14 hour day beat and tired then walk outside and see the19 year old drug dealer in his brand new Lexus and gold jewelry which lifestyle are you choosing?