Quote:
Originally Posted by over the mountain
I read a pretty insightful article on Baltimore's collapse post industrial period. Seems pretty spot on. Around the 30-40's the industrial plants employing a ton of people closed up, so the workers and white people kinda moved out and black people moved in and bought row homes in what they thought were good solid real estate moves.
But the jobs werent there anymore, the remaining affluent white people in their white gloves and hats that once walked Lexington Market did not do so anymore bc they did not want to mix with the new black population so that further pushed the remaining white people out of those areas. im sorry if i speak so openly about racial divide here. im repeating what the article said.
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(Bold mine) The article just discredited itself here. Why would people with money keep coming back to shop to the same places they had moved out of? Especially when those places start getting run down because the people with the best jobs, the biggest customers, also moved elsewhere? So shops start closing/changing. But no, let's blame problems with that community by accusing the people who
aren't there anymore of racism! There is a city government that's supposed to use tax dollars to support areas, provide good services, infrastructure, a clean safe environment, and support local businesses in a variety of ways. And the community should support each other in this. Other cities, and lots of rural communities, do this.
Why doesn't the article mention that, instead of basically saying the place can't survive without rich white people? (With white gloves and hats and they hate black people. They must be supervillains.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by over the mountain
fast forward 6 decades later with no job growth, crumbling infrastructure and property values that sharply declined = half of baltimore as we see it today. huge blocks of boarded up crumbling row homes with something like 46% unemployment in the bad parts. even where i live in upper fells/washington hill we have random blocks of abandoned properties.
there are a lot of great hard working people in these depreciated areas. a lot of baltimore's soul and identity are rooted in these areas.
so sad. ive stuck up for baltimore for so long but i now realize i was insulated. i lived in locust point or fells point proper. the cities issues were foreign to me. with having made the mistake of moving to a bad block this past year and the riots, im just eyes-wide-open sad.
seeing a lazy car accident atty voted States Atty is sad.
becoming aware of just how bad our local council is and the nepotism and rewarded incompetence is just so sad.
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(Bold mine) No argument with the rest. And people are generally hardworking and awesome anywhere if they have a chance. Maybe city, county, and state officials should be held accountable for good jobs in the area. Or people can keep crying racism and let the place go to pot. Looks like Baltimore chose the second option with what they did and who they elected. They need to start taking the first option more seriously, whether they elect a dem, reupub, indie, whatever.