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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think the OP is looking for someone in the African American community to come out and acknowledge that there are major, major issues amongst AA youth and in particular young males, not just in this city but across the country.  I am the minority in my predominately AA neighborhood, and it pisses me off to no end when my otherwise perfectly lovely AA neighbors will bitch and complain about the young male loafers but absolutely say nothing to them or their parents/guardians.  I am white.  Why are you bitching to me?  Do you think that I would have a ton of success speaking to these kids' parents/guardians about their children cursing in front of my young child, throwing litter in the alley near my house, driving their shitty cars too fast down my one way street full of young children, blaring "gangsta rap" out the windows?  I'm gonna go with NO.  They would accuse me of being "racist" instead of being a neighbor who is annoyed by this generally disrespectful and thuggish behavior.

Mind you, I have gone out of my way to be friendly and say hello, offer my name, ask for theirs, etc. and these gestures are often met with a non-response or a barely audible mumble.  For once, I would like these neighbors who have been in the community forever and claim to care so much about it to actually do something useful.  If you've been here forever, do something.  Say something.  You know these people.  I don't.  And let's not kid ourselves that as a white newcomer anyone gives a shit about what I have to say or whether I or my family feel respected in our own neighborhood.  I'm not painting all of my neighbors with a broad brush - I know these troublemakers are the minority.  But nor am I going to pull the wool over my eyes and pretend like there is not an endemic problem when I know full well there is.  I've heard these kids' relatives moaning about someone calling the police to shut down their loud drunken parties or to stop them using the street as a drag strip.  "Why are they picking on my boy?"  Wah wah wah.  And I also know full well b/c I've heard the rumors through my neighbors that they always assume that some white family called the cops, when I also know b/c I've been told that some of the AA families near me have done so.  Assumptions are made on both sides and the fact that we can't speak about them honestly is the problem.  But again, I know that if I were to say something to these people that I'd be putting my family at risk for retaliation.  Don't try to tell me that's not the case either.[/quote]

I feel your frustration, our situations (and races) are reversed but our neighborhood issue was skateboarders. Urinating behind houses, skating on the sidewalks and using yard walls as guardrails. Signs were even put up to say no skating. Notices sent out. The parents are the type who when you greet them with a smile or hi as you walk by, they look away and do not respond. The old ladies in the neighborhood kept coming to me as if I could magically help. [/quote]

Thank you.  And as a white person I will absolutely call those little shits out as punks, and probably racist to boot.  I'm not ignorant to the fact that these issues go both (all?) ways.  And I know that as a AA, if you said something to them they would try to retaliate, and their ignorant relations would feel that they were completely justified.  I agree 100% with all the posters who are saying that racism is everyone's problem and that we are all called upon to help deal with it.  [/quote]

Completely agree![/quote]

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