New York times op ed on maintaining black spaces

[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.

Whatever helps you justify the author’s racism is fine. It’s still racist.

[Anonymous]

In the 1990s, we had discussions about black kids in school self-segrating and sitting by themselves at the cafeteria table. This is a result of that. Black kids probably turn into adults who are exhausted by whites. I am a white person who grew up in a working class inner city neighborhood. We made fun of people in the next wealthy country over who drove to our neighborhood to buy drugs in their BMWs. We called the white county the Land of the Lexi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Whatever helps you justify the author’s racism is fine. It’s still racist.

Nothing the author said was racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Whatever helps you justify the author’s racism is fine. It’s still racist.

Nothing the author said was racist.

No, I’m pretty it was racist. Yeah.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anybody read the op ed by Erin Kaplan. In it, there is a quote

What I resented was not this specific couple. It was their whiteness, and my feelings of helplessness at not knowing how to maintain the integrity of a Black space that I had created. I was seeing up close how fragile that space can be, how its meaning can be changed in my mind, even by people who have no conscious intention to change it. That library was on my lawn, but for that moment it became theirs. I built it and drove it into the ground because I love books and always have. But I suddenly felt that I could not own even this, something that was clearly and intimately mine.

I have to admit this makes me, as a white person, feel hopeless. How can we ever get along if "white people" just looking at a little library set up for the public by the author triggers her? And what does she expect the readership to gain from this paper? Is it supposed to encourage me to avoid black neighborhoods? To understand if my black neighbors seem hostile for no apparent reason? Who was her intended audience and why?

And why did the NY time publish this? Who were they expecting it to impact, and how?

Sounds like they are racist, but because it's directed at whites, they believe it is their right to be that way.

NY times likes confrontations and riots..the MSM want war, it pleases their shareholders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Whatever helps you justify the author’s racism is fine. It’s still racist.

Nothing the author said was racist.

Let’s try this:
What I resented was not this specific couple. It was their “blackness”, and my feelings of helplessness at not knowing how to maintain the integrity of a “White” space that I had created. I was seeing up close how fragile that space can be, how its meaning can be changed in my mind, even by people who have no conscious intention to change it. That library was on my lawn, but for that moment it became theirs. I built it and drove it into the ground because I love books and always have. But I suddenly felt that I could not own even this, something that was clearly and intimately mine.

Does above paragraph sound okay to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Whatever helps you justify the author’s racism is fine. It’s still racist.

Nothing the author said was racist.

Let’s try this:
What I resented was not this specific couple. It was their “blackness”, and my feelings of helplessness at not knowing how to maintain the integrity of a “White” space that I had created. I was seeing up close how fragile that space can be, how its meaning can be changed in my mind, even by people who have no conscious intention to change it. That library was on my lawn, but for that moment it became theirs. I built it and drove it into the ground because I love books and always have. But I suddenly felt that I could not own even this, something that was clearly and intimately mine.

Does above paragraph sound okay to you?

Actually, if you wrote that, my response would be - let's have a conversation. Not RACIST!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anybody read the op ed by Erin Kaplan. In it, there is a quote

What I resented was not this specific couple. It was their whiteness, and my feelings of helplessness at not knowing how to maintain the integrity of a Black space that I had created. I was seeing up close how fragile that space can be, how its meaning can be changed in my mind, even by people who have no conscious intention to change it. That library was on my lawn, but for that moment it became theirs. I built it and drove it into the ground because I love books and always have. But I suddenly felt that I could not own even this, something that was clearly and intimately mine.

I have to admit this makes me, as a white person, feel hopeless. How can we ever get along if "white people" just looking at a little library set up for the public by the author triggers her? And what does she expect the readership to gain from this paper? Is it supposed to encourage me to avoid black neighborhoods? To understand if my black neighbors seem hostile for no apparent reason? Who was her intended audience and why?

And why did the NY time publish this? Who were they expecting it to impact, and how?

Sounds like they are racist, but because it's directed at whites, they believe it is their right to be that way.

NY times likes confrontations and riots..the MSM want war, it pleases their shareholders.

Exactly this. The NYT, WaPo, et al are very much complicit in race-baiting and deliberate divisiveness. Democrats simply refuse to admit it.
DP

[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? If by amends your mean reparations, yes, that hasn’t happened. It will—just not yet. Amends have been partially made through civil rights laws, affirmative action in various areas, and through other steps. There is some good news out there. No need to be so depressingly cynical.

[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.

No amends? If by amends your mean reparations, yes, that hasn’t happened. It will—just not yet. Amends have been partially made through civil rights laws, affirmative action in various areas, and through other steps. There is some good news out there. No need to be so depressingly cynical.

Reparations were paid to the living citizens sent to the Japanese internment camps. Reparations were never paid to the living freed slaves, to our shame. And never will be, since there are no more living freed slaves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Whatever helps you justify the author’s racism is fine. It’s still racist.

Nothing the author said was racist.

Let’s try this:
What I resented was not this specific couple. It was their “blackness”, and my feelings of helplessness at not knowing how to maintain the integrity of a “White” space that I had created. I was seeing up close how fragile that space can be, how its meaning can be changed in my mind, even by people who have no conscious intention to change it. That library was on my lawn, but for that moment it became theirs. I built it and drove it into the ground because I love books and always have. But I suddenly felt that I could not own even this, something that was clearly and intimately mine.

Does above paragraph sound okay to you?

To me the silliest part is "clearly and intimately mine". That's ridiculous. When you make a little library, you are making a public thing, not something that is "yours". It is a gift from you to all who use it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Whatever helps you justify the author’s racism is fine. It’s still racist.

Nothing the author said was racist.

Let’s try this:
What I resented was not this specific couple. It was their “blackness”, and my feelings of helplessness at not knowing how to maintain the integrity of a “White” space that I had created. I was seeing up close how fragile that space can be, how its meaning can be changed in my mind, even by people who have no conscious intention to change it. That library was on my lawn, but for that moment it became theirs. I built it and drove it into the ground because I love books and always have. But I suddenly felt that I could not own even this, something that was clearly and intimately mine.

Does above paragraph sound okay to you?

Actually, if you wrote that, my response would be - let's have a conversation. Not RACIST!

And what would you say to the author of this in the conversation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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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.

Whatever helps you justify the author’s racism is fine. It’s still racist.

Nothing the author said was racist.

Let’s try this:
What I resented was not this specific couple. It was their “blackness”, and my feelings of helplessness at not knowing how to maintain the integrity of a “White” space that I had created. I was seeing up close how fragile that space can be, how its meaning can be changed in my mind, even by people who have no conscious intention to change it. That library was on my lawn, but for that moment it became theirs. I built it and drove it into the ground because I love books and always have. But I suddenly felt that I could not own even this, something that was clearly and intimately mine.

Does above paragraph sound okay to you?

Actually, if you wrote that, my response would be - let's have a conversation. Not RACIST!

And what would you say to the author of this in the conversation?

NP. I'd think she was fragile and tell her to grow up and get over it. And probably not really listen to her indignation and self-righteous babble because I really don't care what she thinks. I do know one thing: she doesn't own her neighborhood and she has no legal nor moral right to tell other people not to move in. Those are the rules we live with these days. She has to cope, just like others have to cope with different neighbors moving next door.

In short, life goes on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Whatever helps you justify the author’s racism is fine. It’s still racist.

Nothing the author said was racist.

No, I’m pretty it was racist. Yeah.

Nope.