12-25-2020, 02:47 AM
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12-25-2020, 09:02 AM
(12-25-2020, 02:47 AM)americus 2.0 Wrote: [ -> ]I wonder what Michelle Obama has to say about that since she blames "white flight" in Chicago when she was growing up on racism.
When I was growing up, a long time ago, we lived in a pure white neighborhood. I can safely say that almost no one in our neighborhood would have welcomed a black family moving in. And if more than one black family had moved in, some people would have moved out. It would have been from fear of crime, fear of declining property values, and fear that all their white neighbors would move out and leave them as the only white family in the neighborhood. I think a lot of "white flight" was self-fulfilling in that way. Probably a lot of them would have just wanted to beat the rush, so to speak. No realtor who wanted to stay in business would have sold a house in my neighborhood to a black family.
Racism was pretty normal among white people where I grew up. One time, when I was in high school, a lot of guys were standing around after gym class, and one of my friends asked me if I would marry a black girl. I said, yes, I would marry her if I loved her. And the next thing you know, I was surrounded by a bunch of guys screaming at me about it. One of them even punched me.
Racism was so normal among white people back then. We just accepted it.
So there's no doubt in my mind that a lot of white flight was because of racism. I'm not saying it was in Michelle Obama's case, because I don't know much about her situation.
12-25-2020, 09:43 AM
I would bet that a lot of South Chicago is like a lot of Detroit.
The neighborhoods become less desirable because they're perceived as high crime, so not only are people moving out, the homes aren't getting the maintenance they need and they start to fall apart. And then the neighborhood becomes even less desirable. There might be people paying rent on time, but they still have to leave because the landlord does not have enough funds to keep the building up to code.
It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, like Marty said. When the sellers all believe property values are about to go down, they will sell desperately. When there are more sellers than buyers, the property values actually go down. When the property value has gone down, and all the neighboring property values have gone down, there's no incentive to do maintenance.
The increase in crime comes later, after the actual poverty sets in.
The neighborhoods become less desirable because they're perceived as high crime, so not only are people moving out, the homes aren't getting the maintenance they need and they start to fall apart. And then the neighborhood becomes even less desirable. There might be people paying rent on time, but they still have to leave because the landlord does not have enough funds to keep the building up to code.
It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, like Marty said. When the sellers all believe property values are about to go down, they will sell desperately. When there are more sellers than buyers, the property values actually go down. When the property value has gone down, and all the neighboring property values have gone down, there's no incentive to do maintenance.
The increase in crime comes later, after the actual poverty sets in.
12-25-2020, 10:32 AM
(12-25-2020, 02:47 AM)americus 2.0 Wrote: [ -> ]I wonder what Michelle Obama has to say about that since she blames "white flight" in Chicago when she was growing up on racism.
The whole article is predicated on her family's story about White Flight.
12-25-2020, 10:37 AM
Spending most of my childhood in rural Kansas, I don't recollect ever talking to a black person until I was 13-years-old. Race was never a topic of discussion, or much thought, because I never encountered anyone but other white people.
Then I moved to Louisville to a nice neighborhood and went to a nice school that was in the midst of the busing turmoil. Talk about a culture shock. I went from a small copacetic school which did not allow locks on lockers to a school where 8th grade kids were talking of knife fights and selling joints in the locker room during gym class. To say I was confused, bewildered and overwhelmed is an understatement.
Then I moved to Louisville to a nice neighborhood and went to a nice school that was in the midst of the busing turmoil. Talk about a culture shock. I went from a small copacetic school which did not allow locks on lockers to a school where 8th grade kids were talking of knife fights and selling joints in the locker room during gym class. To say I was confused, bewildered and overwhelmed is an understatement.
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