New York times op ed on maintaining black spaces

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Imagine a white person writing an Op-ED in the times complaining that their " white space" was violated by an AA wanting to use it.

Agreed, and for good reason.

Not sure why we can't hold both whites and blacks to the same standards. And by that I mean that an action or statement that is racist when done by a white person to a black person shoiuld be considered to be equally racist if the skin colors were reversed.

We will - after 500 years of whites being enslaved by blacks. Then we'll be even.

Where does this 500 years number come from? Slavery in what was to become the US lasted maybe 250 years, tops. In many parts of the 13 Colonies, it ended even earlier than that.

And it’s not like slavery started in 1619. It was a feature of many human societies from the moment that humans invented societies.

Slavery in what became the United States of America began in 1619.

That’s true only if you ignore slavery in the Spanish colonies that would later become part of the US. As well as pre-Colombian slavery among Native-Americans.

[Anonymous]

It’s telling that so many on this thread are considering “Claire and Tanner” first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you link it?

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/opinion/gentrification-los-angeles-little-library.html

Aaaaaaand this is why people will be voting Republican in November. This myopic singular focus on identity politics. This is just utter, navel-gazing, polarizing click bait tripe that further Balkanizes an already polarized United States. At worst the author is a clueless naive bigot and at worst a racist. Oops I forgot in this day and age she can’t be racist.

+1
Yep. Amazing that the left seems incapable of realizing how utterly divisive and polarizing their particular brand of identity politics is. I want no part of whatever it is they're selling. And the author can keep her library all to herself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s funny how everyone is a social justice expert these days pontificating on privilege, and checking it, and who can self flagellate the most and look the most virtuous. I’ll be over here investing in Opportunity Zones and banking on gentrification in rough neighborhoods.

And I am happy to welcome all into my development plans, and provide investment advice, no matter skin color or creed. As long as they are all about making money, we are good! Money knows no color. You guys can have a pity party about these mailboxes. It’s all so stupid and will be as disco was to the 70’s in retrospect. I’m so unwoke! Shame!

You had me until the disco part. You can pry my Bee Gees out of my cold dead hands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The NYT should not be publishing racial garbage like that article. It’s truly appalling.

+1
Just one of many reasons we ended our NYT subscription years ago. Ridiculous people writing absurd columns for their navel-gazing readers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The NYT should not be publishing racial garbage like that article. It’s truly appalling.

+1
Just one of many reasons we ended our NYT subscription years ago. Ridiculous people writing absurd columns for their navel-gazing readers.

Then you clearly don't subscribe to the WSJ b/c some of their opinion pieces are straight BS. Every opinion page is different than the news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The NYT should not be publishing racial garbage like that article. It’s truly appalling.

+1
Just one of many reasons we ended our NYT subscription years ago. Ridiculous people writing absurd columns for their navel-gazing readers.

Then you clearly don't subscribe to the WSJ b/c some of their opinion pieces are straight BS. Every opinion page is different than the news.

I actually do subscribe to the WSJ and completely disagree with your "BS" claim. While I don't agree with every opinion piece, the vast majority of them hit the nail on the head. The NYT simply prints social justice drivel, that apparently, its audience laps up.

[Anonymous]

Good lord. I just read the piece and there are so many fragile white people on this board who are incapable of reading nuanced personal thoughts or thinking about what it would be like to be a Black person in America.

Who are all you people who think Black Americans shouldn't have any complicated feelings toward White Americans? For god's sake, whites forced Blacks to live separately from them for centuries, wouldn't allow them into white spaces. And so when Black Americans reacted by pulling together and feeling protected in their own spaces they had been forced into for centuries, claiming them as their own, now you want to cry foul when one person writes about her complicated reaction to seeing her neighborhood demographics change?

This writer's uncle had a cross burned on his lawn in the late 1940s in LA because he dared to move into a white neighborhood. You think his niece shouldn't be able to express her conflicted feelings as she sees white people in her Black neighborhood, as she reflects on her family's history, this country's history? She didn't go out and do anything to the couple. She doesn't say her feelings are what she should have had. She is trying to work through them.

And clearly this country isn't ready to move on from its past when so many of you refuse to acknowledge it, to read about it, to think about it, to wonder what kind of ramifications the past has for today.

How many of you would criticize a Jewish American who says they wouldn't buy a German car or anything German for that matter? I've known families who still abide by that rule, even though today's Germans are not rounding up and murdering Jews, and they even offer them citizenship if their ancestors were kicked out.

Trauma doesn't end with generations. It gets passed along, and especially if no amends are made to help people affected by it, it will fester for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. I just read the piece and there are so many fragile white people on this board who are incapable of reading nuanced personal thoughts or thinking about what it would be like to be a Black person in America.

Who are all you people who think Black Americans shouldn't have any complicated feelings toward White Americans? For god's sake, whites forced Blacks to live separately from them for centuries, wouldn't allow them into white spaces. And so when Black Americans reacted by pulling together and feeling protected in their own spaces they had been forced into for centuries, claiming them as their own, now you want to cry foul when one person writes about her complicated reaction to seeing her neighborhood demographics change?

This writer's uncle had a cross burned on his lawn in the late 1940s in LA because he dared to move into a white neighborhood. You think his niece shouldn't be able to express her conflicted feelings as she sees white people in her Black neighborhood, as she reflects on her family's history, this country's history? She didn't go out and do anything to the couple. She doesn't say her feelings are what she should have had. She is trying to work through them.

And clearly this country isn't ready to move on from its past when so many of you refuse to acknowledge it, to read about it, to think about it, to wonder what kind of ramifications the past has for today.

How many of you would criticize a Jewish American who says they wouldn't buy a German car or anything German for that matter? I've known families who still abide by that rule, even though today's Germans are not rounding up and murdering Jews, and they even offer them citizenship if their ancestors were kicked out.

Trauma doesn't end with generations. It gets passed along, and especially if no amends are made to help people affected by it, it will fester for decades.

Her uncle had a cross burned on his lawn. She had to see a white couple look at her little library. Indeed, our country has made no progress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I, unlike most of you, spent the time to read the op ed. There was NOTHING racist about what she said. Inglewood is one of the remaining majority black neighborhoods in LA. It was black because white people didn't want to live there. Now that LA is expensive, white people want to come back. This article is about gentrification. I get it.

The reality is that a neighborhood changes when white people move in. Some of it is good and some of it is bad. More services come, but that sense of community goes away. That is not a racist statement. My white friends who live in older black neighborhoods talk about young white people moving in all the time. They hate it. The culture of the neighborhood changes. Here's one example, black people speak to you when you walk down the street. When you don't speak it feels disrespectful. Many white people don't speak. They just don't. There have been articles about this. They walk into their homes and don't interact with the neighbors. That is a cultural thing. Older black people sit on their porches.

It's not good or bad, it's just different. When young white people move into black neighborhoods, they don't always take the time to understand the culture of the neighborhood. This is not all white people, but it's many. That is not a racist statement, it just points out differences.

It's sad that by just pointing out differences, you are immediately labeled a racist. How about you get to know our culture. If you are black in America, you understand white culture, but the reverse is not always true.

I don't assume that I understand Latino culture (of course depending on where you are from that differs) or Indian culture or Asian culture. I like that there are differences and love learning. How is that racist?

Imagine a white Italian American writing the same OP-ed lamenting the fact about Latino people using their library, because Little Italy in Baltimore and many other cities has been transformed pretty much entirely by a huge influx of Hispanic residents.

So let me get this straight - white people move in = racism, because of gentrification. White people move out = racism, because of white flight. White people move into the city, but stick with themselves = racism, because the city is segregated.

So where exactly are people supposed to live? Gentrification can also be GOOD, because many black Americans can start acquiring intergenerational wealth once they are able to cash in on the explosion in real estate prices.

It's white people moving into spaces that became black because there was no where else for these folks to live. Now these same places are desirable so white people want to move in. With that comes housing appreciation (which I understand can be great for some) and a cultural change in the neighborhood. It's not about the white people being racist. It's about culture. I guess she underestimated the ability white people to understand nuance.

Being triggered by seeing some white peoples looking at a little library seems deeply bizarre.

She was "triggered" by white people moving into a space she considered a safe space for black people. It jarred her to think about changes. You obviously didn't read the article. It was thoughtful and gentle and full of pain.

How many whites are triggered by seeing black people walk down the street, by the way. That is the sort of sh!t black people have to deal with all the time. And when they speak up about their experience they get slammed by whites who can't handle the fact that there are racist whites in the US. Instead of getting mad at the racist whites, they get mad at blacks for reporting on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. I just read the piece and there are so many fragile white people on this board who are incapable of reading nuanced personal thoughts or thinking about what it would be like to be a Black person in America.

Who are all you people who think Black Americans shouldn't have any complicated feelings toward White Americans? For god's sake, whites forced Blacks to live separately from them for centuries, wouldn't allow them into white spaces. And so when Black Americans reacted by pulling together and feeling protected in their own spaces they had been forced into for centuries, claiming them as their own, now you want to cry foul when one person writes about her complicated reaction to seeing her neighborhood demographics change?

This writer's uncle had a cross burned on his lawn in the late 1940s in LA because he dared to move into a white neighborhood. You think his niece shouldn't be able to express her conflicted feelings as she sees white people in her Black neighborhood, as she reflects on her family's history, this country's history? She didn't go out and do anything to the couple. She doesn't say her feelings are what she should have had. She is trying to work through them.

And clearly this country isn't ready to move on from its past when so many of you refuse to acknowledge it, to read about it, to think about it, to wonder what kind of ramifications the past has for today.

How many of you would criticize a Jewish American who says they wouldn't buy a German car or anything German for that matter? I've known families who still abide by that rule, even though today's Germans are not rounding up and murdering Jews, and they even offer them citizenship if their ancestors were kicked out.

Trauma doesn't end with generations. It gets passed along, and especially if no amends are made to help people affected by it, it will fester for decades.

Her uncle had a cross burned on his lawn. She had to see a white couple look at her little library. Indeed, our country has made no progress.

You are pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. I just read the piece and there are so many fragile white people on this board who are incapable of reading nuanced personal thoughts or thinking about what it would be like to be a Black person in America.

Who are all you people who think Black Americans shouldn't have any complicated feelings toward White Americans? For god's sake, whites forced Blacks to live separately from them for centuries, wouldn't allow them into white spaces. And so when Black Americans reacted by pulling together and feeling protected in their own spaces they had been forced into for centuries, claiming them as their own, now you want to cry foul when one person writes about her complicated reaction to seeing her neighborhood demographics change?

This writer's uncle had a cross burned on his lawn in the late 1940s in LA because he dared to move into a white neighborhood. You think his niece shouldn't be able to express her conflicted feelings as she sees white people in her Black neighborhood, as she reflects on her family's history, this country's history? She didn't go out and do anything to the couple. She doesn't say her feelings are what she should have had. She is trying to work through them.

And clearly this country isn't ready to move on from its past when so many of you refuse to acknowledge it, to read about it, to think about it, to wonder what kind of ramifications the past has for today.

How many of you would criticize a Jewish American who says they wouldn't buy a German car or anything German for that matter? I've known families who still abide by that rule, even though today's Germans are not rounding up and murdering Jews, and they even offer them citizenship if their ancestors were kicked out.

Trauma doesn't end with generations. It gets passed along, and especially if no amends are made to help people affected by it, it will fester for decades.

Her uncle had a cross burned on his lawn. She had to see a white couple look at her little library. Indeed, our country has made no progress.

You are pathetic.

If her uncle had written this piece, I'd be fine with it. But from her it just seems divisive.

[Anonymous]

I swear, this is such a nothingburger and people are literally triggered by it. Sad.

I'm white and am not triggered by it. I, and, I think, most of the commenters here, just think it's a dumb, pointless article.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good lord. I just read the piece and there are so many fragile white people on this board who are incapable of reading nuanced personal thoughts or thinking about what it would be like to be a Black person in America.

Who are all you people who think Black Americans shouldn't have any complicated feelings toward White Americans? For god's sake, whites forced Blacks to live separately from them for centuries, wouldn't allow them into white spaces. And so when Black Americans reacted by pulling together and feeling protected in their own spaces they had been forced into for centuries, claiming them as their own, now you want to cry foul when one person writes about her complicated reaction to seeing her neighborhood demographics change?

This writer's uncle had a cross burned on his lawn in the late 1940s in LA because he dared to move into a white neighborhood. You think his niece shouldn't be able to express her conflicted feelings as she sees white people in her Black neighborhood, as she reflects on her family's history, this country's history? She didn't go out and do anything to the couple. She doesn't say her feelings are what she should have had. She is trying to work through them.

And clearly this country isn't ready to move on from its past when so many of you refuse to acknowledge it, to read about it, to think about it, to wonder what kind of ramifications the past has for today.

How many of you would criticize a Jewish American who says they wouldn't buy a German car or anything German for that matter? I've known families who still abide by that rule, even though today's Germans are not rounding up and murdering Jews, and they even offer them citizenship if their ancestors were kicked out.

Trauma doesn't end with generations. It gets passed along, and especially if no amends are made to help people affected by it, it will fester for decades.

"No amends" have been made? Are you serious? Amends have been made, and then some. And regarding the bolded, you're right about that. This country will never move on from its past because certain people, you included, don't *want* to move on. You want to continue being thought of as a victim, or continue thinking of others as victims. Meanwhile, millions of Americans - including many POC - are beyond ready to move on. You won't allow us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I, unlike most of you, spent the time to read the op ed. There was NOTHING racist about what she said. Inglewood is one of the remaining majority black neighborhoods in LA. It was black because white people didn't want to live there. Now that LA is expensive, white people want to come back. This article is about gentrification. I get it.

The reality is that a neighborhood changes when white people move in. Some of it is good and some of it is bad. More services come, but that sense of community goes away. That is not a racist statement. My white friends who live in older black neighborhoods talk about young white people moving in all the time. They hate it. The culture of the neighborhood changes. Here's one example, black people speak to you when you walk down the street. When you don't speak it feels disrespectful. Many white people don't speak. They just don't. There have been articles about this. They walk into their homes and don't interact with the neighbors. That is a cultural thing. Older black people sit on their porches.

It's not good or bad, it's just different. When young white people move into black neighborhoods, they don't always take the time to understand the culture of the neighborhood. This is not all white people, but it's many. That is not a racist statement, it just points out differences.

It's sad that by just pointing out differences, you are immediately labeled a racist. How about you get to know our culture. If you are black in America, you understand white culture, but the reverse is not always true.

I don't assume that I understand Latino culture (of course depending on where you are from that differs) or Indian culture or Asian culture. I like that there are differences and love learning. How is that racist?

Imagine a white Italian American writing the same OP-ed lamenting the fact about Latino people using their library, because Little Italy in Baltimore and many other cities has been transformed pretty much entirely by a huge influx of Hispanic residents.

So let me get this straight - white people move in = racism, because of gentrification. White people move out = racism, because of white flight. White people move into the city, but stick with themselves = racism, because the city is segregated.

So where exactly are people supposed to live? Gentrification can also be GOOD, because many black Americans can start acquiring intergenerational wealth once they are able to cash in on the explosion in real estate prices.

It's white people moving into spaces that became black because there was no where else for these folks to live. Now these same places are desirable so white people want to move in. With that comes housing appreciation (which I understand can be great for some) and a cultural change in the neighborhood. It's not about the white people being racist. It's about culture. I guess she underestimated the ability white people to understand nuance.

Being triggered by seeing some white peoples looking at a little library seems deeply bizarre.

She was "triggered" by white people moving into a space she considered a safe space for black people. It jarred her to think about changes. You obviously didn't read the article. It was thoughtful and gentle and full of pain.

How many whites are triggered by seeing black people walk down the street, by the way. That is the sort of sh!t black people have to deal with all the time. And when they speak up about their experience they get slammed by whites who can't handle the fact that there are racist whites in the US. Instead of getting mad at the racist whites, they get mad at blacks for reporting on it.

DP. As other PPs have pointed out, how would this piece have gone over if the author was white, talking about how triggered she is by the sight of black people enjoying her little library? Spare us all. What she really needs to do is post a sign saying, "No Whites Allowed." That would clearly make her feel better and maybe then she wouldn't have to emote to the NYT. And shame on the NYT for publishing this.