I am politically active in our local scene and I am an activist for most leftist ideals.
I would never say a thing bad about Obama in the real world. The inner city I belong to loves Obama. They know the rich and powerful will never have to pay any dues, but that if anyone will ever give a shit out the inner city poor, it just may be Barack Obama.

We in the inner city never expected Obama to get us out of poverty. We did not think he could change the world. But he was our man, he still is now, and he is mad popular.

I ran for office last year. I found that I might be harassed or worse when not wearing Obama gear in gang controlled parts of the city (where no one ever campaigns anyway). When wearing an Obama hat or something even the tough test gang members and thugs would show props to Obama and would let me campaign on their turf.

We all know that the Afghan / Iraq wars are failures and should be stopped - we know that no one has that kind of power - the military industrial complex owns us and always had/will. We don't blame Obama for failing to end war.

We don't blame him for failing to get us health treatment. Corporations profit from insurance, not treatment. We know Obama can't stop corporations from putting profit before people.

We know that the drug war is a failure - we know it is destroying our inner city. We see rich users get off without jail, while nickle bag dealers go away for 5 years. We know that this failure will never end and didn't think Obama could do a thing about it.

So we in the inner city, we still love Obama. We will never turn on him. We know that we are fucked any which way the dice fall. The rich will get what they want, the poor will get blamed and stigmatized. But we prefer Obama calling the shots.

When you fight every day for security, food, housing / heat, and clothing, you don't have much time to worry about any political considerations - you can only focus on what is needed to survive through the night. That being said we have a great deal of pride in Obama's ability to get elected nationwide and we will have his back all through his term and throughout history.

There were many times where I thought to myself, "Okay. I will either meet some Democratic Party voters or I will get mugged. Lets do this."
I am writing a story about the experience now.
At one point a member of The Working Families Party came up from Harlem to help me out.
We went to a building that looked condemned. 3 Working Family Party members were registered to vote at this address. The lady from Harlem said to me, "Looks like they moved. Lets try somewhere else." But I noticed that there was a AC on - in a second floor window. I said, "Let me try to get in. I think they still live here."
The lady from Harlem looked at me as if I was insane. "It looks like a crack house," She said.
I didn't want to tell her that the building didn't have any gang tags, and that we had already did most of the established gang territory earlier in the day.

So I pushed against a plywood door type thing that acted as a front door.
It opened and I went in.
It turned out that the 3 people living there were 3 women (mom and 2 adult children) that were living with an insane, violent, black radical that called for the death of all white men. The man wouldn't open the door for me (I am white), but he also didn't open the door and kill me.

The next day my black running mate went back to the building and got the three signatures. The father wouldn't allow my runningmate to talk to the (registered voters) women (wife and two adult kids), but allowed her to pitch our campaign to him. The women were not allowed to ask questions or read what they were signing. They waited silently until the man said that they had his permission to sign the petition.

My running mate told me I was lucky I did not die at that building. She thought that she might die as she is gay and the man was full of all sorts of hatred and homophobia. She got out okay.

There are many other stories, mostly about crack, heroin, or pot deals that I had to navigate while getting petitions signed. There were also some interesting confrontations between gang kids (no one over 15 sells drugs in my city - the adults just watch the kids hold down the spots) wanting to know why a white guy was in the hood knocking on doors, but not buying weed.

Good times, all in all.

Drugs: America's Holy War by Arthur Benavie.

thanks for the read tip.

Peace and low stress in the New Year..

thank you for work. Thank you for not giving up on these people.

Peace and low stress for you and yours in the New Year..

This post is the absolute TRUTH. This entire last paragraph should be stickied to the front page of this damn site:

When you fight every day for security, food, housing / heat, and clothing, you don't have much time to worry about any political considerations - you can only focus on what is needed to survive through the night. That being said we have a great deal of pride in Obama's ability to get elected nationwide and we will have his back all through his term and throughout history.

Kicked and rec'd. My only regret, mdmc, is that I could only rec this once. From one person born and raised in an inner city to another, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The funny part is the entire right wing and quite a few on the left wing who were/are throwing around, "you think he's going to be some kind of messiah, so you support him and boy will you be disappointed" talking points were surely talking about minority folks in the inner cities. And it is the inner city folks who new better than any other block of voters that there is no such thing.

Kicked and recommended.

Benkard Ave is held by the BBK (Benkard Burrio Kings). The poor CRIPS (from NYC, I think) came up here, set up shop, and within a month were all in jail or dead.
The local gangs keep the national gangs out of the city.
They take care of the local kids and residents. The gangs keep the drug addicts in check and have a "you get our back, we got your back" relationship with the local ghetto residents.

Just two years ago a BLOOD member was selling pot at a know Rasta corner. An old Jamaican lady quietly asked him several times to stop dealing drugs on that corner. This was how the Rasta gang told the kid to move on (the kid is Robyn Rivera - I had posted a story here about his death). No fight, no loud words. A couple days later they found Robyn's shoes hanging on an electric wire in front of the BLOODS main crack spot. They found Robyn in the woods with his feet and hands cut off.

This rasta gang does no street fighting, tagging, or other gang activity. They traffic people, guns, and pot. They protect their neighborhoods and stay out of the turf wars. But when they act, they are heavy. They didn't even kill Robyn, they cut off his hands and feet and left him to die. If Robyn had only respected that old Jamaican lady and move his weed spot he would still be alive.

The cops make the least amount of money in Newburgh (my hood). All surrounding areas pay their cops more. So we cant keep good cops and we only get cops that are too quick to beat up people or to look the other way.

The gangs do a lot to keep the peace in an unregulated economy.

they're still alive is somehow better than just killing him? Have you stopped to think about this for any length of time? The level of coldness and cruelty that would allow someone to cut off a person's hands and feet is horrifying. I'm sorry but the rasta gang aren't "good guys" either.

None of these gangs are good guys.
Robyn Rivera (the victim) was a student of mine.
The problem with having an unregulated commercial martket (aka the drug war) is that this is how disputes are mediated.

Cutting off a man's hands and feet and letting him bleed to death is killing him.

They killed him all right. They did it in one of the worst ways I can think of. Robyn was found with his feet and hands tied. He suffered for a very long time before dying.

Happy New Year.

ps - my city is Newburgh, NY - which has some good military history. We have the purple heart, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and Washington's Headquarters / Hasbrouck House - the first saved historical site in NYS(I think).

peace and low stress

cutting his hands and feet off is worse than killing him outright. It serves an example of the previous sentence, "But when they act, they are heavy."

most gangs do the drive by thing - they shoot up the block repped by another gang they have beef with.

I was attempting to show how hard core some of these disputes get.

The Rasta gang is low key and deadly.

What they did to Robyn was far worse then a drive by , imho.

My bad for the poor communication. Peace and low stress in the New Year.

by maiming and permanently crippling a rival dealer.

far worse then the usual gang execution or drive by.

Pure human garbage and a total waste of space.

You know, I saw the name Benkard Avenue and thought, "hey what a coincidence" .... then saw Newburgh.

I was born and raised in Newburgh .... grew up out in the "Town" part, but for the first 5 years of my life, lived in what was (at that time) a little Italian neighborhood on Washington Street (across from the Rec).

Greetings from a former Newburgher.

Stay safe.

The area that you grew up in is still an Italian holdout. Sacred Heart Church still anchors that Catholic scene on the corner of Robinson and Washington.

Were you here back in the days of Sweet Orr and the city on the river days? I lived here since the mid 70's, so I missed all the golden age stuff..

We lived on Washington St. from 1961-1966, then in the Town of Newburgh from 1966-1979. My mom is still in the same house (near where 84 and the Thruway intersect).

I went to NFA from 1976-1979 and remember riots near Halloween and SWAT teams coming to the school and onto the school buses.

We don't agree on everything but you have my highest respect for what you do in the real world.

If you accept the premise that the first 8 months of the Administration were focused simply on keeping the economic system from imploding then the President is just getting started on his agenda. Three years from now there will be a great deal that has been accomplished that will make your neighbors even prouder, but it will still only be a start and not an end to the change that is required.

That was my premise for running.
I also wanted to show that you did not need to be rich to run, you just needed to do the hard work and get the most votes.

I will pm you when I finish the story I am writing about the experience. I will also be running in 2011 for city council again.

Peace and low stress..

And that's saying something.

nt

that they consciously see it as the normal state of affairs.

Thread's over, afaic.

(please ignore my other reply).. it is just awful..

but I can top it quick fast and in a hurry -

4 year old missing days before Christmas

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=NEWS81
http://www.cityofnewburgh-ny.gov/hom/home.htm


This stuff would be nationwide if it was an upper middle class missing child..

Christmas Eve the cops were in my back yard. They looked in our basement and under our back porch. They were looking for a dead kid on Christmas Eve. Tis the season.

I don't mean to bum ya out. It is just that this is what the inner city is concerned about. And we all LOVE Obama!

I'd never even heard of it before today, but apparently it was dubbed "NY State's Most Violent City" about 7 years ago. It's on the Hudson north of NYC (hence the NYC Crips sending people to set up shop there).

This does remind me that, even though Obama strikes me more as a centrist than a progressive, the simple fact that he is in the White House can make an enormous difference in engaging huge numbers of people who have been shut out of the political process. We might not see the change we want in 2009, but we must also take the long view.

That's not a coincidence.

And there is indeed a Benkard Avenue there .... I haven't lived there for almost 30 years, but my family does - but not in the inner city part that the OP is talking about.

People from Newburgh refer to "the City of Newburgh" as the inner city part and the "Town of Newburgh" as the outer-lying parts. There's only one public high school, though, so everyone gets thrown together at that point.

I am writing a story about my recent run for city council in the inner city.
I will pm ya when it is done. I am looking to publish in one of our local publications.

Looking forward to reading it.

Did you know that the GLAAD lawyer who won the case that legalized gay marriage in Massachusetts, Mary Bonauto, is originally from Newburgh? She was in my graduating class.

I hope you'll be another from my hometown who makes a difference! :)

We also have Jerri Ferraro (former veep candidate) as a former resident..

I forgot like the media the Obama bashers love to bring up everything Chicago since Obama became President.

The rest of the country is just wonderful seems that the only places that have crime are Detroit and Chicago. When I see these serial killers and people killing their whole families what states would they be in.

Usually the South, California, or Washington State.

Most of us who hang out here have no clue about the life you're living. You live in an America that doesn't show up much on TV or the net unless somebody gets killed, and probably not even then. Keep posting. Talk to us. Testify. We need to hear what you have to say.

Peace and low stress in the New Year..

and I feel the same way.

It is one of the reasons I cannot jump on the hate Obama campaigns here.

I realize his limitations and his failures and his own weaknesses...

but I cannot for the life of me feel comfortable saying he is a sellout or that he is not TRYING to do what he believes is best for Amrica and the world even when I vehemently disagree.

Thanks for this.

It is important

K&R

Peace and low stress and Happy New Year

I don't agree with many of Pres. Obamas policies...as a matter of fact they down right scare the hell out of me. With that said, I don't believe he would intentionally do anything to destroy this country. I think most politicians really do want to improve the lives of everyone, they just have different beliefs on how to do it. It just seems to me the more the government tries to help us, the worse off we usually are.

it doesn't give you respect, it just buys you a few minutes.

has certainly earned mine.

.!?

at least you picked up on the key phrase. Next time, complete the thought.

Rants about poverty, legalizing the leaf, bringing hope... Showing that a poor person with major health problems can run for office if they are hard working, passionate, and willing to help those in most need.

The Obama hat most likely kept me from being mugged de facto (as there is no reason for a white person walking / canvassing the areas I was in unless I was coping drugs or a narc).

I am pretty much the real deal and the I could feel the love from the ghetto..

or unless they are narcs trying to shut down a drug spot.

As a white guy that was not buying drugs, the dealers were very concerned about my presence.

I can pitch my politics pretty good. It was nice to have some Obama propaganda to kinda show that I was not some teabagging racist Obama hater. The perception is that white people fear a black man in the White House.

Of course I also have many Obama tees, as well as local inner-city group tee shirts (Zion Lion Basketball team, Community Voices Heard, People Helping People) that I would also wear to show that I worked with other groups looking to reduce poverty.

.... with the President of the United State embalzoned on their gear. And I'll never forget the time I heard the young, teenaged girls talking about "Denard's Obama car" and how they liked it (It's an '82 Coupe Deville painted red white and blue with "Obama" on the drive side and "Biden" on the passenger side. On the back Denard had stenciled "Yes We Can!")

In 2009 the leader of the free world became a hero and Kanye became anathama. I never thought I'd see the day .... and I'm not even all that old.

and a young black man (who fit the stereotypical thug image) came in the store wearing an Obama big tee with a diamond studded pistol ear ring in his ear.

So MDMC when you write, " When wearing an Obama hat or something even the tough test gang members and thugs would show props to Obama and would let me campaign on their turf." I get it, because I see it.

There is a segment of society that is coming up in the Obama Age. They maybe living a destructive lifestyle for now, but if you go in the hood, people (young/old)inspired and yes THRILLED by Obama.

Remember the place were Obama was when he was 17,18 yrs old and look at were he is now. In the hood they know this and having a 1st lady from the southside of Chicago is the icing on the cake. That's inspiration, for real.

They were all like, "What you want. Sucka don't belong here. Get the fuck out NOW!"
Then they saw the back of my Obama tee.
Then they were like, "Yo! You work for Obama?"
I would then tell them what I did for Obama (phone calls, travel down to Pike County PA, hold house parties) and all that I wanted to do for Newburgh. They would all be like, "Yo. White people don't care."
I was like, "Maybe I ain't white no more? Maybe I'm just American tryin to make this place better?"
I didn't get mugged and one of the thugs brought me up a three story walk up to have his grandmother sign my petition.

The grandmother had tears in her eyes when she saw her gang.thug grandson working with a politician to make her neighborhood better.

Many stories...

Thanks for your reply angee

Warning!
Educated
Black Man

tee shirts for sale.
Also they all sell Obama + MLKjr. Tee shirts.

But,Jesse peterson,Jesse Jackson,Al Sharpton and Tavis Smiley speak for the entire black community..or so they say.

others across the United States unfortunately this is the side that no one wants to recognize exists. Everyday hard working Americans who do not make any where near one hundred thousand dollars a year,keep the backbone of America strong. The misconception about people in the inner city is that they are lazy and on the welfare.People forget that job that most people would find disgusting is being done by someone for little of nothing. They forget who smiled at them in the fast food line. They forgot when they went to the restroom at the office it was clean. How about how nice their car looks after they had it cleaned on a twenty degree day.The school bus that picks the kids up on time.The teacher that took one quarter of her paycheck to buy paper and pencils so that her children can learn.The father with four kids working two jobs catching five buses so his children wont go hungry.Those stories are never told. But they are stories that are part of our economy.I am glad you shed some light. But don't let people get it twisted there are some hard working people in the inner city its just you don't think of them having jobs,and some people don't even think of them as people.Our President is not naive to that fact. Some things on the top will need to be fixed so the bottom can reap some of the benefits.This is not to endorse the trickle down theory. This is to say that some things he will be able to help expand on so that the playing field will be more open to every American.The doors of education,health care and climate change should lead to new and brighter jobs and stability in the economy.Thats a plus rich or poor.All we need to do is stay focused and help him whenever we can because we have a better chance of getting it done when we work together.

were living right next to me in Southwest Atlanta where I grew up. Like you said, single mothers working 2 and three jobs. Families where the kids barely saw the dad because he would work all day at one job, come home, eat dinner and then go to the second one. Of course, we also had a large number of upper middle class blacks in my community as well.

But the stories of the struggling and of the working poor are rarely told. When we hear about hard-working "average Americans" they are very seldom portrayed as minorities living in the inner cities. (But you know the complete opposite is true when it's a story about crime and/or welfare -- the media can't run to the inner cities fast enough for those types of stories.) It's a damn shame things are this way because some of the stories from minorities living in the inner city would shed true light on poverty and the working class in this country.

come off like i know everything but it bothers me when everyone acts as if there is some kind of difference between people who live in the city and those who live in rural or suburbia.There is no difference. We all want the same things.Some of us just want more of it. Most people just want to have the ability to work,educate their children,go to the doctor when necessary without going bankrupt,have a decent home to call their own,and maybe a family vacation once a year.Seems basic.Then you have some people who want CEO positions,mansions,cosmetic surgery at a whim,a fat bank account with a nine hundred credit score,and trips abroad. There is no difference we all have different ways we look at things. The working class nor the poor do not begrudge the rich,we just want those who are in that position remember it is us who gets them there.And it is us who can take them down.

The kids in the hood think of jail the way I thought of college. I didn't know where I would go, what I would study, how I would end up there, but I did know that college was in my future.

These kids in gangs see jail the same way I saw college. They don't know when they will go to jail, or why they will end up there, but they are all certain that it is just a matter of time before they do their stint.

In the inner city you cant let your kids outside. There are no jobs and dire crime and poverty. It is a very different world that I live in.

poverty others just call day to day living. Can't let your children outside,i did.I just taught them how to handle themselves in different situations.Thinking about jail as a way of life,wouldn't let my sons think along those lines.My husband and I let our sons know about what to do when they encounter law enforcement.Jobs even though they have chosen different paths,my four children,I taught them responsibility and to be an entrepreneur. The problem is that when you talk about the inner city you are singling out neighborhoods.All cities and towns have bad neighborhoods or places in it where the people are not so well to do.Look the problem with the conversation is that most people still look at the city in the same way.Things have changed yes,there is still poverty but poverty can be in a rural community.There are gangs but most of the time gangs are formed out of injustice.When they ban together less likely to get f--ked with.What i am trying to say is people in the so called inner city in a lot of instances don't see the forest for the trees.When i was growing up like a lot of people i did not know that we were without this or that,everyone shopped in the same stores or went to school in your neighborhood and we did not feel different.It was easy to embrace creativity and character and a fist fight did not end with a teenager bringing a gun to school,maybe a big brother or sister,but not a gun.When we talk to our children we want to go back like in the days of leave it to beaver.We have to talk to our youth about being smarter with finances,education,drugs,sex,and most of all people who claim they are your friends.I always to my children to get a friend you must be a friend first.Friends don't have their friends back for wrong doing,because a true friend would not ask you to do anything that would have bad repercussions later.

peace and low stress..

It's part of the "human condition", I believe, that we are never happy with what we have and rarely see how well off we are compared to others who are less fortunate. A psychologist or psychiatrist would probably have a name for that condition, but I don't know what it is. The result is that we seem to feel compelled to get MORE, whether it's money, land, or possessions or travel or food, even when we already have enough. Maybe it's only an attribute of large civilizations, but it does seem to be the norm for all of the ones I'm aware of, be they east or west, north or south on the globe.

I take issue with your comment that "The working class nor the poor do not begrudge the rich, we just want those who are in that position remember it is us who gets them there. And it is us who can take them down." Judging from many comments here on DU, there are a LOT of poor and working class folks who do begrudge the rich, which to me is totally understandable given the current economic crisis and how it has been brought down upon us. When those discussions crop us, it's always interesting to see what is "rich" and what is an acceptable level of personal wealth. (But that's a topic for another thread)

While it does take workers to get the rich their riches, the system as it is now structured--by design--makes it very unlikely that we could somehow take them down. It would take a massive, coordinated effort the likes of which has yet to be seen and which would be stymied by the security state that the elites have built for their protection. Another massive economic devastation like the Great Depression (unlike this Not-So-Great-Depression we are experiencing) could be a catalyst for social upheaval. But it's important to note how quickly the elites headed that off. And how did they do it? By giving themselves Trillions of dollars of loans from the working class folks who pay taxes. Certainly a major influence on the Obama campaign and the Obama administration was how to prevent a massive financial cataclysm that would destroy the riches of the elites and in turn, the stability and well-being of all of us--Americans and others around the world.

Your viewpoint is inspiring.

You will enjoy the read, I pray.

peace out..

It was part of my territory when I was visiting nursing. People proud that Obama is president. People were concerned about their medications-- being able to get them. Most accepted they would do without if they could not spare it.

I used to live across the river in Poughkeepsie years ago. We are now in Upstate NY -- West of Albany-- halfway to Buffalo. Every mid-sized city here has a neighborhood/s like yours.

Explain to people in your community Obama needs support troops and they need to show up in massive numbers when his name isn't on the ballot in 2010. I don't know where you live, but we have trouble with the inner city in off Presidential Federal Election years due to lack of interest.

Obama needs support when the Teabaggers and Bluedog/Repugs start playing games and talking shit next week.

Elections are different. A Senator Sestak or Specter is preferable to all parties involved than a Senator Toomey. I suspend my "issues" around August before an election.

Do they plan to keep that a dark secret until 2012, so that minorities can come out in 2010?

Also, how do you think the primary Obama would play in the black community?

and any primary challenger would have to go to that community and explain why their challenge is to that communities benefit. Just like any challenger has to go the Hispanic community, Organized Labor, Environmental Groups, LGBT community, Women's rights activist etc.

If a community/interest group feels that the party is no longer interested in advancing their agenda, than the community is free to leave.

I have experience on dealing with this from 2008.

We need each other. That being said, a lot of these groups overlap. There are African American environmentalist, LGBT community members, organized laborers, and over 50% of the community last time I checked were women.

Threatning to walk over a personality, not policy, is as foolish as what some Hillary supporters did back than and I hope cooler heads would prevail in the leadership of those communities should the situation arise.

talk about delusional. I can only imagine how that would play out. Of course the challenger will use someone black to do this. Black folks are not stupid and that shit won't fly.

Just because you are disappointed in Obama doesn't mean everyone else is. Black folks know how the system works and they knew that the brotha would be held to a higher standard than anyone else. They also knew that he would have to be 2x better to get the respect.

in 2012 I will carry nominating petitions for both Obama and (lets say the radical challenger is Al Sharpton). I will give the democratic party members the choice of supporting Obama or supporting radical change for the ghetto (end drug war, socialized medicine, end foreign wars).
This way the voters can decide to stand behind Obama from the start, or they can try to push Obama a little to the left before giving him all of their support.

ps- Of course Sharpton has a bad rep in Newburgh from his Tawana Brawley scandal.

Not.

live in suburbia. Just so you know the vote is down in any mid term election no matter who is on the ballot. As for keeping my community aware that has not been a problem.Making sure they commit to the actual vote is another thing.Now that most of the people see the trolls and blue dogs for what they are it may not be as hard as you think.Just make sure you hit your community we wouldn't want the suburbs to sit out in 2010.

There is never a shortage of volunteers in the suburban office, as long as we don't put it in the city best solution is two offices. I have credibility problems when I'm down there.

I am well aware of the class issues and other issues associated with campaigns.

We were able to run some wild ass radicals, along with DLC dems (there were no republicans running as this is a 50%dem / 30% blank / 20% GOP voter enrollment city.

A local group - Community Voices Heard have set up a poverty advocacy group that ROCKS!

ACORN and other community groups are ALL IN now (perhaps due to Obama's win) and we are ready for 2010.

Ghouliani ain't running, but we have to get Paterson or Cuomo in as Gov, and get dems in all the state wide positions (shouldn't be hard).

NYS will hold our own. I need to stay in NY for the 2010 campaign (I am running again in 2011), so I won't be looking out of state for political causes.

ps- thanks for the reply..

My inner city neighborhood is very much like you describe.

Granted, it is only a city of about 100,000, so we don't have the concentration that you have. I find your post rather telling though. If Obama were white, would all those "supporters" still give you a pass for wearing an Obama hat? I think they are hoping that some of that Obama magic will touch them, and I doubt that they pay much attention to what is really going on in DC. What a shame that one of their own is selling them down the river, and they have no idea that it's happening.

Obama has lived up to everything I thought he would be, and then some. But, then I carefully looked at his past and knew what kind of man he was. I couldn't vote for him. I voted instead for Cynthia McKinney. And while some here thinks she's crazy, at least I could agree more with the issues that she was bringing up than what Obama was not saying. When it came to issues, she was much closer to the Democratic party that I used to know and love, then Obama will ever be on a good day.

zalinda

and you thought Obama was an uppity ______________ well, you know what I mean.
You hoped that he would lose.
And in fact, did nothing for that not to happen.
So why should we care what you have to say now?
You didn't lift a finger, which only tells us,
that you don't really care who runs this country....
as long as you can make your points,
most which were wrong anyways,
and therefore, I believe that you continue to be wrong.

zalinda (1000+ posts) Thu Mar-13-08 08:48 AM
Response to Original message
26. You are right
...
I think the dems will be surprised in November when they don't get their historic President. Nothing about this 2008 primary has anything to be proud about. And, the stupid thing is, if the dem party and the media had played it straight, we would have won everything big time. And, now, even with Bush polling at about 19%, you will find that many people will still vote repub, because McCain isn't Bush. The country will look at McCain with fresh eyes, and he doesn't look that bad at first glance. Whether or not anyone here will admit it, most dems are fair weather dems in this country. And, if Obama supporters and Clinton supporters have beaten each other to a pulp, especially in the public eye, they will look to the repub party, who has run a very cool, calm and collected primary.

zalinda

-------------------------
zalinda (1000+ posts) Mon Feb-11-08 05:23 PM
Response to Original message
21. It's more of a question of appearances
It is VERY politically incorrect to not vote for a black guy who is running, unless he is someone like Allen Keyes. So when asked, people will say they voted for the black guy, because they feel pressured to do so. After all, look how suppressed black people have been in this country, it is about time for a black President.

The plain truth is this, it is much easier to say that you are voting for the black guy than for the woman, because it is still okay for women to be "kept barefoot and pregnant". It is not okay to discriminate against a black man. So, you lie and say you voted for him, and you aren't looked at with disgust.

It's the same phenomenon why people are asked if they exercise or eat right or what they find attractive in a potential mate. Just about everyone lies about these things. When was the last time you heard at a party, of he's so funny, that's so sexy? And yet, one of the things that are high on the dating lists is sense of humor. Or, there is an overweight woman and one guy will say how disgusting she is and the other man will agree, even though he finds that overweight women are attractive.

Everyone lies, it just what they lie about that may be different. I don't like Obama, and some may say that's because he's black. And, I can say with absolute truth, I don't like him because he speaks like a TV preacher. I don't like him because I can't understand anything he says, none of it makes any sense at all to me. I don't like him because he seems to be arrogant and aloof. Since both dem candidates are basically the same, I tend to go with the one that I dislike the least, and that's Hillary.

zalinda

you putting them on blast. lol

and has the nerves to keep posting the same ass shit.

Voted for McKinney? I dont know about that.
Maybe voted for McCain and his childlike Woman Veep, Palin.

That's what I think.

"I don't like him because he speaks like a TV preacher"

"I don't like him because he seems to be arrogant and aloof"


:puke:


Really good reasons!

Talking in a way that is hard to understand...
cause you know how dem preachers be talking. :eyes:

The world would be a better place with a President McKinney.

Hopefully it will be if we get Dean/Kucinich in 2012. Anything to replace the turncoat Obama administration.

They just don't.

Dumbass Liberals?....well perhaps.

the next election, and put even WORSE people in office - full blown Republicans. Obama is doing his damnedest to be a one-term President by alienating the people who elected him with his total abandonment of what he campaigned on.

you are incorrect in your assessment.

What has the magic negro that's said

YES WE CAN

not done for you lately? :eyes:

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

calling the kettle...You are the damn racist.A damn PUMA racist at that.

I remember hearing all that republican lite crap back in the 2000 campaign back when I was in college. Because we all know that if Al Gore had won he still would have caused the death of over a million Iraqi civilians and destroyed the country with his pressing need save the earth! Fucking elitist.

Dean? I'd love it but I think he's had enough of our crap. And he knows what they'd do to stop him.

party, sex, race or religion instead of looking at what someone has actually stood for, fought for and done.

BINGO!!!! We have a WINNER!!!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x18816#21195
knightinwhitesatin (266 posts) Fri Nov-27-09 09:30 PM
Response to Reply #89
91. The last president was a malignant narcissitic bully

Believe what you want, the decision is made and while you sit on your couch in your nicely heated home, people like me (perhaps me indeed) will be in Afghanistan fighting people that did nothing to do us. Your bravery with other peoples lives is an inspiration to us all. Thank you and goodbye

FrenchieCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Fri Nov-27-09 09:37 PM
Response to Reply #91
92. You volunteered in response to 9/11.

The fact that I sit on a couch has little to do with anything....
as I didn't necessarily want revenge on Afghanistan as my panacea,
but obviously you thought it was a good idea, and wanted to participate,
in fact.

So you obviously made your bed long ago.....
because the history of Afghanistan and Vietnam
were present long before 9/11....
as was the fact that Bush was a fucked up little man
who would cheat rather than to do things well or fairly.

Now, you are telling me that I should pay penance in guilt for the fact
that you were a bit slower than I was on this...as was a large majority,
and that this President should just tie his hands behind his back,
and let you call the shots, when you have been proven wrong already
(that revenges in blood never really works anyways).

Why is it us paying for your lesson?
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FrenchieCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sun Dec-20-09 11:45 AM
Response to Original message
4. 3:44 a.m. here in California!
My husband is working on his computer on his New Year sermon not far from me....
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FrenchieCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Sep-15-09 02:18 AM
Response to Original message
2. Sore Fucking losers unrec'd this post......

cause they know it is the truth.
and I'm on my computer reading here at DU!
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FrenchieCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Tue Dec-15-09 01:25 AM
Response to Reply #9
12. So fucking do nothing but scream on the Internet.
and then throw your hands up in the air.
Wouldn't want to be you......so damn miserable all of the damn time and shit.

Personally I would have never chosen this way to respond if I hadn't seen you starting to use it against others. The way I see it, if you can use it without problems or repercussions then it is no doubt acceptable.

But....

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."

--Winston Churchill

Happy New Year, Frenchie.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

as a lot of them have.

I'll be damned.

He is NOT acting like a true Democrat, he is acting like a neo liberal. How is kowtowing to the business community and different than what McCain would have done? How is sending more troops to Afghanistan any different than what McCain would have done? Why is it that he bailed out the banks just like McCain would have done? How is it any different to make a "mortgage bail" for people that ONLY 17% could have ACTUALLY taken advantage of, but in reality only 4% of the people in that 17% actually could, it's was a PR stunt that the repubs would have actually done. And as for his stem cell edict.........that was a gift to the Big Pharma, it had absolutely nothing to do with helping people.

And, as for my various other posts about Obama, I have not changed my mind. But, it is absolutely funny that now he is President that his preacher cadence has faded away. But what hasn't changed is the way he speaks and says absolutely nothing. Just ask anyone what he's said about "the public option" and you will get various opinions depending whether or not they are a cheerleader or someone who is really concerned about the welfare of real people.

And, I still ask, would those in the inner city, which I can only assume are people of color, still support Obama if he was white? It is a legitimate question. Do they support him because of the color of his skin, or that he is a champion of the poor? It is quite telling that the Black Caucus criticizes Obama, but that seems not important to you. It is only important to use the race card when you want to shut someone up, isn't it. I guess it's okay to vote for a black man, when you're black, and cheer-lead for him because he's black, but shut up about him if he isn't doing his job when you are white.

Oh, and by the way, you were the one that called Obama uppity, I called him arrogant and aloof, which is not at all the same, unless you are trying to find a way to call someone out without getting a hit from the mods. I found Kerry to be aloof too, but then you wouldn't have told me I was calling him uppity. I found Bush to be arrogant, but yet I didn't see anyone call him uppity.

Oh, and since you took ALL that trouble to look up my posts and paste them in your reply, you forgot to post that I live in New York state, which is a totally safe dem state, and I didn't have to vote for the lesser of two evils, because the lesser of the two evils was a shoo in.

zalinda

the river on Cynthia. Doubt you know much about what his 'supporters' believe or what they pay attention to. You're so lost in your own world of stereotypes that you can't see straight.

Putting on ignore for ignorance.

know what the f--k inner city people pay attention to. Most of the people in the inner city are living through the bullshit that has plagued our country. It usually hits big cities the hardest because it has the most concentration of people. I don't give a damn if you claim democratic party as your choice but you are writing like a troll. Now you can get with ne if you want but your post reveal an emptiness on the side of the democratic party. And just what is it you expect from this President an invitation to the White House.You will be doing like the Salahis before you get that:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: you are strange,thanks ms FrenchieCat for the post.Got your back!!!!!!!!!!!

No, the inner city know that no matter who gets elected, the rich will get what they want, and the poor will get scraps.

While the inner city sees the Dems as our party, the also see the system as absolutely corrupt and that at any day a great man can be brought down for acting like a fat cat scumbag.

Cynthia McKinney came up to support the local dem mayor candidate, Lillie Howard, in 2007.

black inner city people are racist, superstitious, stupid, and don't know what's good for them.

Why can't they see that you're right and they're wrong!

:sarcasm:

so many people. The way I look at it, it's time for trickle up economics. We've been living under Reagan's trickle down long enough.

I spent a number of years in Chicago growing up in a poor Puerto Rican neighborhood. I know the small and not so small things
Obama can do to change lives for the better. The top income earners and teabagger types are terrified of empowering people like
those from your neighborhood. That's why they make total asses of themselves.

I'm not struggling like I was back then, but I remember and have Obama's back as well. I'll criticize when it's called for, but most of
us are in for the long haul.

hearsay. He's pushed through what's doable in a fragmented system than any other scenario put forward. He understod day one he was up against corporate intrests, he leaves it up to us to get him a better congress or potentially we might not that is why bipartisanship however painful, is the backup plan. He knows how they roll, if we allow him to lose a majority impeachement is on the table and we can kiss ANY progress goodbye for nigh on forever.

So exactly what is it that Obama has done for any of you so far?
So far I have just seen more of Bush's policies being implemented, secret renditions being approved, mandated insurance with fines, the rich being bailed out and wars being expanded.
So I am open to hearing some good things.

Did Barack Obama appoint those folks that sweared they would vote against
anything other than what they wanted?

DIDN'T FUCKING THINK SO.


We gave them those....
in fact, they were already there!


The mantra was

YES, WE CAN

That WE is us.

That "WE" ain't just him by his lonesome on a white horse,
rescuing your complaining ass.

with as many Democrats as we could that there were already traitors in Congress or that some we put in sold us out..nor is it his.
And yes WE have to try to help..and as Obama himself said...
WE are SUPPOSED TO HOLD HIM TO IT AND MAKE HIM DO IT...
But when some of us try to speak up and insist that he follow through..that he speaks up for we the people instead of the insurance companies and the banks.....we get bitched at.
Are you telling me it is fine that Obama and his legal staff pushed for the Supreme court to say its ok to secretly rendition people still? I thought we voted to change all that and Obama was going to close Gitmo.
Just moving the prisoners to a new prison and denying them trials is NOT change I can believe in.
The Supreme court..ruling on Obamas request says that ANYONE..including Americans can be secretly renditioned and denied their day in court...sorry but that is not change I can believe in....even if thats ok with you for people to be treated that way.
If trying to stand up for the civil rights of everyone is whining and complaining..then I am indeed guilty.
I want him to succeed. I voted for him.
Dang right I have gotten angry at times and even said things in anger in my disappointment BUT I have kept coming back and am still trying to hope it will change.
I want a change in this madness and endless wars and I will continue to be vocal about it and hold his feet to the fire..same as I would ANY president..regardless of their race, religion, party etc.
"My party..right or wrong" was wrong when the repubs did it..it is wrong for us as well. America as a WHOLE has to come first.
Things that were wrong for Bush..are just as wrong for Obama.
I think he can be better than that...he could be the president we all need if he will just stand up for us...and I just want to see it.

All this displaced anger is dizzying.:thumbsup:

sadly, we are just a little better then the other corporate party..

predetermined, what do you think you could accomplish that Obama can't?

Maybe, the most important thing that could come out of the Obama presidency is a commitment of his supporters who put him in the White House to continue to vote in every election. It's a chicken and egg thing. People don't vote because they don't expect to get their piece of the pie, and those elected don't give a piece of the pie to those who don't vote. Increased voter participation could lead to politicians who are more responsive to people's needs, but if voter apathy returns, it won't matter how good the candidates are. The honest and caring ones won't stand a chance.

Obama was not - "Yes I Can!" he was - "Yes WE can. Obama encouraged us to be the change that we wanted to see in the world.

I wanted to see a radical democrat elected to the Newburgh City Council.

Obama couldn't be elected aa a radical democrat to the Newburgh City Council, he already is CIC.

I ran to show-
that white people can care about poverty and minority issues.
that poverty is a weapon of mass destruction and that we need a bully pulpit to sing this from the mountian.
Newburgh is very good at devisive politics and has several "unsolvable" issues. As a counselor working with people with severe and persistant mental illness I have a great deal of experience in resolved or mitigating unsolvable problems and improving people's lives.
I wanted to work with the rich gay artists, the landlords, the opera crowd, renters, and students. We have many different neighborhoods that historically have played each other's needs against each other. I have very good communication and dispute resolutions skills.

Lastly I have excellent customer service skills and desire to help people. I felt that I had an unique skill set to help move Newburgh in to the future.

I am also pretty good at GETTING OUT THE VOTE..

Giving in to what may well be the reality seems too dangerously close to laying down to die and not just in the body but in the soul.
I'm not stupid enough to in any remote way pretend all this mess is his fault or that he can snap his fingers and make it go away but I am fool enough to believe he owes it to himself, his family, the country, and the future to actually try to start turning the direction.

If Obama can step up and do the things he promised or at least be seen trying...it will bring a lot of people back to his base.
I think most Americans still want to see him succeed in turning things around.
I think the dispare is due to not seeing it happening yet.

I have not seen much loss of faith in the ghetto.
Honestly, most just hope Obama dont get killed.

Obama has the potential to be the best thing that ever happened to America...
I just want to see him go for it.

I think Obama is ready for that..

People are very proud of Obama in the inner city. imho..

get off at Beacon - Newburgh is across the ferry on the other side of the river..

But this post touched me and moved me in a way that only rarely happens on DU. :yourock:

the original OP. However he/she lost me with #7.

that died selling pot in Newburgh.

I was attempting to show how the unregulated drug market is failing the inner city.

I did not mean to justify the gangs actions or glorify the scene in any way.


Peace and low stress and thanks for replying to the OP..

peace and low stress..

The real poor of America tend to be realists.

The OP starts out with a good democratic oriented post and moved on to a later post approving of vigilante justice/chopping off someone's feet and hands. Vigilante justice or in this case, torture ending in death is typically a republican belief and should be in direct opposition to democratic values, not to mention judicial beliefs and concepts.

The other gangs use execution hits or drive bys (where a rivals gang's territory is spayed with bullets.
The worse "unregulated market dispute resolution" was when (my former student) Robyn was tortured and killed (by being left in the woods with his feet and hands cut off).
This is in no way supportive of vigilante justice. But that is the only type of justice available to the unregulated market.

There are no other solutions to these violent conflicts. Gang members can't go to the cops to complain that another gang is disrespecting their turf.

The gun is the solution when resolving disputes in unregulated markets. That is why the drug was is a racist failure.

polical leaders, sorry to say you damn sure won't get anything.

This OP is all about the inner city and the love that the inner city has for Obama.

There is so much wrong with this thread, that I don't even know where to begin. So I'm not going to even try.

Why is it hard to beleive that there is much love for Obama in the inner city?

and what you seem to be saying is people in the inner city don't care about any issue outside of the president being black. They know nothing will change, but they support him because he is black. It's an absolutely absurd assertion. I also find your description of the inner city is based on your own biases/experiances, it doesn't mean that everyone sees things the way you do or you assume they do.

All I know is that no one really thinks that Obama will end the drug war, foreign wars, or get us socialized medicine.

Most people never vote in Newburgh. We have about 10,000 registered voters (66k residents) and the last election was won with 1000 votes.

Half of Americans dont vote.
The people in the inner city that I talked with all seemed to be very happy that Obama won. They don't think that Obama is superman that will get them 40 acres and a mule. They expect everything to stay the same (they will be poor, the rich will be rich, wars will go one, rich white people will buy pot, poor black people will go to jail for selling pot) but at least the man that they supported made history.

I am currently writing a story about someone who is very ill, poor, but passionate about helping reduce poverty in the inner city. I ran to show that you can be involved even if you are not rich, in perfect health, or overly educated. This will be the story about my campaign in 2009.

Frankly, anyone who is willing to get out and work to reduce poverty or try to get elected to help reduce poverty is a spokesperson for those without a voice.

I know what it is to spend months begging for the support of poor, unhealthy, uneducated people. Some were hard working, some where broken, but they all had no voice. I do hope that my story will give them a voice to the outside world.

Thanks for the reply - it helped my understand what you were getting at. Peace, out.

For instance I do not know any black grandmother in the inner city of Newburgh that doesn't think that the drug/iraq/afghanistan wars are all a big waste of time and money. They also don't think that Obama has any shot of stopping these wars.

These women have been through LBJ, Carter, and Clinton. The idea that Washington DC's focus would be improving conditions of third world areas in America is not taken seriously in the inner city, imho.

OP as you, and came away with a COMPLETELY different opinion of it.

I didn't see a single word in that OP that said "black people in the inner city only support Obama because he's black." What I saw was someone trying to say that many inhabitants of the inner city (black and otherwise) are still madly supportive of this President but have no faith in politics whatsoever. They still believe that the people in charge will only take care of themselves, they don't support the wars but know that Obama did not start them, and they are willing to give him time to fix the myriad of things that are wrong in this country before condemning him.

The fact that you read all of that and came away with "black people in the inner city are only supporting Obama because he's black" may be saying alot more about your own biases than what is presented in this OP.

"They still believe that the people in charge will only take care of themselves, they don't support the wars but know that Obama did not start them, and they are willing to give him time to fix the myriad of things that are wrong in this country before condemning him."

The OP directly says that Obama will not fix any of these things including not being able to stop the war, ever. Meaning Obama is exactly the same politics wise as anyone before him. So why would people in the inner city support him if he is absolutely the same in every way except in one area? That one area of course being race. Remember, the OP goes as far as to imply that Obama could eat a baby on national television tomorrow and the inner city would still support him.

I'm sure the OP has good intentions, but pretty much what he or she is saying is that inner city people don't really see past race when it comes to politics. And worse he or she is using "we" as if to speak on behalf of the entire community. And I might be misunderstanding the OP, but it certainly comes off that way.

thread from the OP have made me do a serious :wtf:.

So why would people in the inner city support him if he is absolutely the same in every way except in one area? That one area of course being race. Remember, the OP goes as far as to imply that Obama could eat a baby on national television tomorrow and the inner city would still support him.

Again, I think your personal biases are coming into play. I didn't read that or even see that IMPLIED anywhere. The OP also never said that people in the inner city believe that Obama "will not fix anything and will not be able to stop the war." There's a fundamental difference between "supporting war" and "recognizing that the man in place now did not start the wars but can't drop them at the drop of a pin." To me, the OP is saying that many in the inner city are saying the latter, and coming from the inner city and having vast numbers of friends and relatives from there, I agree.

but pretty much what he or she is saying is that inner city people don't really see past race when it comes to politics.

Again, didn't see that at all and am literally floored that you or anyone else did. There is no empirical or even anecdotal data that would come close to backing up this assumption even if that was what the OP was saying considering that blacks have voted Democratic consistently, even at the expense of black candidates. All he's saying is that people in the inner city identify with Obama because of his upbringing and his position as the nation's first black president certainly plays a role in that. People from the inner city are willing to give him as much leeway as many whites are automatically given whether they deserve it or not.

you are skipping over everything the OP said it you think this has to do with giving Obama time. The entire point of the OP is that he or she doesn't believe any of these things will ever be fixed by Obama.

We all know that the Afghan / Iraq wars are failures and should be stopped - we know that no one has that kind of power - the military industrial complex owns us and always had/will. We don't blame Obama for failing to end war.

Translation: The military industrial complex is what it is and nobody has power to stop the Afghan / Iraq wars, not even Obama. Then he or she goes on to say that Obama will never fix our healthcare because the corporations own everything.

So why would you support this guy if he can not improve any of this? (And I'm not saying I agree with the OP, I think Obama can and I hope will fix some of this.)

We all know that the Afghan / Iraq wars are failures and should be stopped - we know that no one has that kind of power - the military industrial complex owns us and always had/will. We don't blame Obama for failing to end war.

You read that to say that "no one will EVER be able to stop the war so why should we support Obama?" I read that to say "we are smart enough to know that the companies hold all of the power and that one man cannot stop war BY HIMSELF." To me, that says that "we don't blame Obama for not stopping the wars or improving healthcare. He can't do it BY HIMSELF." He needs the community, EVERYBODY, to help stop these corporations who are running the show right now.

There are lots of people who do take your interpretation and that's why so many minorities don't vote at all for any office. They don't see the point. But even though I know this to be the case, that's not what I take from this OP. What I took from this OP is that minorities recognize better than anyone how the system works and though immensely discouraged and disillusioned, still have some hope that things will improve with this President who because he grew up as a nowhere-near-wealthy black man in America, has seen his share of injustice and has a life story much closer to their own. In other words, many minorities believe that Obama "has seen how isht really is." And THAT is why they are supporting him in the record numbers that they currently are.

The entire point of the OP is that he or she doesn't believe any of these things will ever be fixed by Obama.

I just don't see how you've reached this conclusion and some of the others that you've reached. It's really interesting to see how people can see/read the exact same thing and walk away with completely different interpretations.

perhaps you can't understand trypical life in a gang infested inner city.
Or perhaps I cannot communicate very well.
"What is so wrong" with this thread? Please try to help me to understand.

depressing enough to make one apathetic and disgusting enough to make one sick. Yet your hope and optimism, and your drive to make things better and willingness to do the dirty work to improve things could not be more apparent. You are to be commended, and I look forward to reading more from you.

As for the negative comments on this thread, I think it depends on which posts one reads. The first time I looked at it, and read a post here and a post there, the blunt reality of America's failed potential and total acceptance of conditions that no human should have to accept as "it is what it is", left me unsure how to react. I knew you were one of the good guys, but your stoicism is unsettling. People who read it all will, I think, conclude differently. Having just read the whole thing, myself, it is one of the best I have seen on DU. Anyone with a soul, who reads the good with the bad, but all of it, should find this moving beyond belief.

I have been very disappointed by Obama this year, on almost every appointment and every important issue. However, I have still held out some small amount of hope for his presidency and the emergence of the Obama I saw when I voted for him as my senator in 2004. I still think the problem isn't Obama, but the fact that there aren't more Obamas in Washington. Nevertheless, at various points in this thread, I have wanted to grab Obama by the lapel and shake him. But, ultimately, in a way that nothing else anyone has said or written about Obama's shortcomings has, it 's convinced me to give him more time, within reason, and to hang on to a little more hope for a potentially great presidency. I would love nothing more than to see the change that we voted for become reality.

I will still continue to post strong criticisms of Obama, despite the inane name-calling. But, for now, I am still committed to trying to make the marriage work.

Peace and best wishes for much success in everything you do.

Why can't you believe this is serious?

but at least he's popular with the gangsters and the banksters.

Nice one. I grew up in a white, sheltered, ultra rich town in CT and even I know that statement was either lame or had to be sarcastic.

We have many sub populations in Newburgh. I never suggested that all inner city residents are gang members. I am an inner city resident and I am not in a street gang.

The post I responded to seemed so ignorant to me.

yup yup;

makes you feel good knock yourself out

is daddy a bankster?

You see, we were middle class people in a small farming town that became more and more rich over time when the farmers sold off their land. I never went back to Cheshire after I graduated in 1994. Couldn't afford the house prices ($350,000 for a raised ranch...please).

Thanks for putting it out there. K&R! :kick:

The petulance often shown on this website is privileged. I've said it a few times, I should probably say it more often.

Thanks for the post!

Everyone that has struggled and been up against it in life have not given up on hope or that we can do better.

I rec'd the OP because I thought it was a perspective that people should try to understand not because that attitude is humble and realistic but because it shows how desperate the need for real action and some kind of green shoots for a more just society.

is that how it works in the inner city, they pick someone to "represent" on the Internet?

In 2009 I ran for one of the open city council seats. I was working toward representing the city by being elected to the city council.

I am sorry that was not clear. Peace and low stress..

Very similar to some of the communities I worked with in Las Cruces....

in New Windsor by Epiphany College and the New Windsor Cantonment (Washington's Headquarters). They bussed us across town to Gidney Ave school which is still there north of downtown. I remember even then the minority kids did't have the nice clothes and shoes that we white kids from the suburbs did, and it made me feel funny.

I was up by Snake Hill too! Loved sleigh riding down Epiphany (great views), riding around the Cantonment (Wash. HQ was actually the Hasbrouk House on the corner of Liberty and Washington in Newburgh), and climbing Snake Hill...

Snake Hill to the west of Epiphany College, and then one block west is Ona Lane, that's the street I lived on from 1965 to 1968.

Philo Street resident here (the neighborhood across the street from Temple Hill School). Perhaps you might remember Nina Street? that was the entrance to my neighborhood.

in an ancient, decrepit old two-story house on that side of the road as you headed west down the hill......

It is an art studio now..
when you lived there I think the.. Cox family owned it?

Busing in the 60s started when I was at Union Grove School (torn down to create that monstrosity - Fleet Bank Building) and I remember the kids from Lake St. Apts coming to our little school. There were only 2 classes of each grade and we had the same group of kids in our class every year, so when the kids from the City arrived, it was a huge change for everyone, but it didn't take long for everyone to adjust.

EDIT: I think it took the parents longer to adjust than the kids...

Did you go to Temple Hill School after Gidney Ave. School?

Epiphany College is now a junior high school (Heritage Jr. High).

That Chase building is now Finklestein's law office..

on that hill overlooking Gidney. North Jr HS?

I wonder why your sister got to go there and didn't have to go to South High? Generally Broadway was the dividing line of who went where (North of Broadway = NjrHS, South = SjrHS)..

Now Heritage jr HS is next door to your old neighborhood and the great sledding hill is developed with condos..

to the E of Park Hill Dr. We used to walk through the woods to go ice skating in the winter. The young men from Epiphany would keep it cleared of snow.

although i have not been to the pond in over 8 years...

And you are spot on! Great post.

:applause:

Peace and low stress to you too.

I was raised in the 60s in Stockdale, Tx., a poor Texas town where Hispanics, like me and Blacks were seen as less than dust. But, my Dad was the only plumber in town and we did OK. Our school janitor, Willie, was Black, and he had a nice, but tiny home with about six kids and his wife didn't work, except to take in a little sewing on the side. Once Willie gave my mother a ride to the TB hospital in San Antonio and stopped in the East Side of town, in what I recognize now as the worse side of town, to drop off some second hand clothes to some poor relations (really poor) and they all lived practically in shanties. But, they were kind to my mother realizing that she was very ill and the men gave me bread which to me was a wild treat since all we ate were tortillas. Flash forward to 1986, when I was fresh out of the Regular Army and living in that side of town in public housing during the Reagan recession, with Reagan having gotten rid of community gyms, and midnight basketball which gave much of the community after school recreation, and having set the mentally ill out of the hospitals and into the streets. There were no large grocery stores nearby such as Kroger, HEB, or KMart that would hire people and give them reasonable prices in shopping for essentials. All they had were convenience stores that had sky rocketing costs and were real rip offs. All the good jobs were in the white flight parts of town. The housing areas during Reagan's reign were ripped of their funding, welfare was slashed due to the myth of the Cadillac driving Welfare Queen and food stamps were cut and ketchup was mused as a possibility as a vegetable. The resentment and crime in those areas skyrocketed as it did among the next generation of my family that had moved to the Hispanic West Side of town in San Antonio that suffered the same fate. I worked as a dishwasher in the Hyatt Regency where I had to submit to sexual harassment and acts of the worst kind from the manager and don't even talk about suing. At that time, it wasn't an option and I had two small children to support. I joined the Army Reserves to supplement my income and also caught the eye of one of the well-to-do guests at the Hyatt, and we were married. But, many of my nephews and nieces still live in some of those hellholes. Two of my nephews have clawed their way out by joining the Coast Guard, but two others are members of the Cholo gang. I was shocked to find out that one of them actually voted. This downward slide all started during Reagan's and the Republicans' rule. The difference is that now, the new Republicans are trying to make the middle class and everyone else, live the same way. It's about bleeding us all dry, one class at a time until only one class has everything--theirs.

I was in town when UTSA-Downtown opened up (where the "pink elephant" used to be) on the hopes that it would have helped with providing education to more kids on the West side.

And you're right - Reagan started this hell.

I only have two issues that I aggressively argue
1. Cheney deserves a fail trial (flame away, lol).
2. Raygun was the worst president of my life (although he was the second best mentally ill President that we have ever had), and I lived through Nixon and W.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS POST!

sounds like China where "support" for the leader is based on apathy and fear.

The inner city knows that the rich will get it all, and the poor will get the scraps.

Yet, there is no end to Obama love in the hood.

I would love to read your story when you finish it.

do I know you?

but some neighborhoods can look the same no matter what state you live in.

people will say to me, "We shouldn't walk through here. It is a bad neighborhood." I always have a hard time recognizing when I am in a bad neighborhood unless it looks like a war zone. Then, yes, bad neighborhood..

I was just wondering why you, and others like yourself, still support Pres. Obama after admitting yourself that he hasn't achieved anything that he campaigned for. You also go on to say you fight every day for security, food, housing, heat, and clothing and that you don't have much time to worry about political considerations...so are you implying that all inner city residents voted for Mr. Obama without even knowing his political stances on any issues just because he has the same colored skin as the majority of the inner city population. Also, if people of the inner city, like yourself, don't have time to worry about political issues then where are you finding all this time to run for office and campaign yourself? I'm not criticizing you or any other person, I just don't believe people should blindly follow elected officials just because of their charisma, charm, or color of skin. I think people should vote for the candidate that shares their same beliefs whether they are democrats or republicans. I heard too many people saying they were going to vote for Pres. Obama without even knowing where he stood on many major issues. The same can be said about republicans too. I know there are those out there that only voted for Sen. McCain just to keep a black man from being elected president which is equally wrong. I believe in listening to both sides and then deciding for yourself what to believe. Stop being sheep. These people work for you. Would you let an employee boss you around at work. No! You would stand up for yourself and let them know that if they didn't want to do what you asked them to then their services were no longer needed. Simple as that.


America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Abraham Lincoln

I like Obama much better then McCain or Palin. I always will. With the choice between a good cop and a bad cop I will always go with the good cop.
Now most people really don't care about politics. Most don't vote.
Seems like Obama got lots of people to get out for him. He will be able to do so again in 2012.
I myself am very interested in politics and helping people. I made the time to run for office, although I was not successful.
Those few, very few people that do vote, do so for many different reasons. Thats how it works.



America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Abraham Lincoln

spose that's something he can call the shots on.

just keep it real..

a year. Have they completely lost their marbles?