http://gu.com/p/4fdv3/sbl
I hope the link works - not too good at this computer stuff...
I read this article and got royally pissed off. Here is a woman who started life in a "poor" family but somehow managed to get a "full ride" at a private college, basically wasted it on a near-worthless degree, has made poor decisions ever since college, and blames her current housing plight on RACISM!
Jesus Fucking Christ.
While I recognize that I cannot "empathize" with a Black woman, whose world I can never hope to inhabit, this woman needs to have a couple conversations with normal working class White people, most of whom do not get bags full of money from their parents when attending college or buying their first house. Believe it or not, some people actually move to places where jobs are more plentiful and low-cost housing is available. Lord knows an articulate degreed Black woman is a "commodity" that many, many private companies and government agencies would love to have. Manhattan is not The World.
Is my reaction out of line? Many of the commenters agreed with my take on this, and I see that they shut down comments fairly quickly after the piece was published.
"Racism Prevents me from Buying a Home"
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Econoline
- Posts: 9607
- Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2010 6:25 pm
- Location: DeKalb, Illinois...out amidst the corn, soybeans, and Republicans
Re: "Racism Prevents me from Buying a Home"
She could have eliminated the "racism" half of her argument, not mentioned her own race, and had many working-class white people nodding in agreement.
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
— God @The Tweet of God
— God @The Tweet of God
Re: "Racism Prevents me from Buying a Home"
Econoline wrote:She could have eliminated the "racism" half of her argument, not mentioned her own race, and had many working-class white people nodding in agreement.
That wouldn't be any fun for dgs though. Not any at all.
yrs,
rubato
Re: "Racism Prevents me from Buying a Home"
It wasn't him that posted the original article though?
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: "Racism Prevents me from Buying a Home"
It's the Grauniad Dave, next week there will be an article on how Lesbians cannot buy a house wherever they want to, at a price they can afford, due to homophobia.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: "Racism Prevents me from Buying a Home"
Gob wrote:It wasn't him that posted the original article though?
It was.
yrs,
rubato
Re: "Racism Prevents me from Buying a Home"
Oh Christ, I didn't realise that Dave was a black woman writing for the Grauniad, my bad.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
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oldr_n_wsr
- Posts: 10838
- Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2010 1:59 am
Re: "Racism Prevents me from Buying a Home"
Two threads!?!?!?
Anyway, I posted this in the other but it seems this is the active one.
Two words:
boo hooo
Maybe she should have gotten in on the ground floor when the slums of Brooklyn were starting to turn over. My cousin did and for the first bunch of years her neighborhood was "not good", but she stuck it out and now she owns one of those refurbished brownstones that commands millions.
Maybe she should move out of the city to the 'burbs. Although houses out here are expensive, it's really the property taxes that will get you.
My daughter paid off her loans on her own ($26k worth) and saved enough for a 20% down payment on a house. The only help she got from us was the "rent" she paid us while she was living here the last four years after she graduated from college. She paid a paltry $100 a month rent andto us and we put it in an account that we gave back to her when she purchased her house.
My son realised LI was/is too expensive and moved to Las Vegas. There he has a good job and is saving up for a house. We have his "rent account" waiting for him when he buys a house.
I taught my kids as I was taught. Scrimp, save, for-go instant gratification. Look for bargains, do without, make do all in the name of saving money.
Anyway, I posted this in the other but it seems this is the active one.
Two words:
boo hooo
Maybe she should have gotten in on the ground floor when the slums of Brooklyn were starting to turn over. My cousin did and for the first bunch of years her neighborhood was "not good", but she stuck it out and now she owns one of those refurbished brownstones that commands millions.
Maybe she should move out of the city to the 'burbs. Although houses out here are expensive, it's really the property taxes that will get you.
My daughter paid off her loans on her own ($26k worth) and saved enough for a 20% down payment on a house. The only help she got from us was the "rent" she paid us while she was living here the last four years after she graduated from college. She paid a paltry $100 a month rent andto us and we put it in an account that we gave back to her when she purchased her house.
My son realised LI was/is too expensive and moved to Las Vegas. There he has a good job and is saving up for a house. We have his "rent account" waiting for him when he buys a house.
I taught my kids as I was taught. Scrimp, save, for-go instant gratification. Look for bargains, do without, make do all in the name of saving money.
Re: "Racism Prevents me from Buying a Home"
My point is that this woman, residing in Manhattan, is totally unaware of how normal working class white people live their lives. She seems to think that we all have parents who bestow large financial gifts on us whenever the need or whim arises.
One suspects that when she found her first job in New York the starting salary was more than she could get anywhere else, but she failed to see that the cost of living in New York more than eliminated any advantage that the higher salary could provide.
None of my high school friends got significant help from their parents for either college or their first house. Certainly, college tuition was more manageable at that time, but the writer of this essay got a full ride and had to fund only living expenses and books.
One especially bothersome aspect is that this woman is now over 40 years old, and still has the perspective of a disappointed teenager, whining that Daddy won't pay for some desired bauble. If a college-educated professional Black woman is so unaware, one can only speculate about the viewpoint of a ghetto-dwelling dropout.
One suspects that when she found her first job in New York the starting salary was more than she could get anywhere else, but she failed to see that the cost of living in New York more than eliminated any advantage that the higher salary could provide.
None of my high school friends got significant help from their parents for either college or their first house. Certainly, college tuition was more manageable at that time, but the writer of this essay got a full ride and had to fund only living expenses and books.
One especially bothersome aspect is that this woman is now over 40 years old, and still has the perspective of a disappointed teenager, whining that Daddy won't pay for some desired bauble. If a college-educated professional Black woman is so unaware, one can only speculate about the viewpoint of a ghetto-dwelling dropout.