Who here lives in the ghettos?

I came from a ghetto, not one of the bigger ones, down in Pensacola.
Crime was a problem, but it actually got better as time went on.
Most of the folks in my neighborhood were black, except me, and really, the only ones who worried me was Miss Betty with the police on speed dial and one homeless fellow who'd wander around on occasion.
Otherwise, it really wasn't so bad. Poor, yeah. There were thieves, but for the most part, you rarely had anyone in the area get broken into, attacked, ect.
Not that it didn't happen, but it mostly stopped around the mid 90's, the gang thing sort of stopped, the "blame the Whiteys" stuff pretty much got dumped for some reason, only the real old folks kept it, mostly me and my family got along with the other folks in the area. Helped out when we could, especially after hurricanes.

reply to post by crimvelvet


All of them do? So what you are saying is that we're some sort of different species... that we can never come to any agreements?

They think only what they are taught. Unfortunately, every level of society suffers from this exact same perpetual form of regurgitated mind control. "They" are only in a mindstate... but mind states are very regimented these days, by various means.

David Icke put it best "The sheep become the sheepdogs, herding themselves."

I'm not white. I'm a human. They're not poor, black, brown, whatever. They are human. You're not helping your own mindset by referring to the "poor ethnic classes" as they... and you're judging from a standpoint of bitterness because you have been wronged by similar people. Well... hey when the police state comes, let's just assome that a police officer who kills me for asking about my rights is the NWO. Or perhaps he was just doing what he was TRAINED to do. Unfortunate thing about society is that we ARE essentially wild animals, and someone has tamed us and trained us like dogs. We've been manipulated to see colors as separate, when they are really all part of the same spectrum. We've all been brainwashed and trained to think otherwise... and it's been a gradual thing, so I'm really while at the same time being kind of mind boggled by it all because I've been brought up trained as well, I'm not surprised we haven't caught on.

As much as people blast that guy David Icke, man he really makes a lot of sense sometimes.

I've lived in just about every walk of life imaginable.

I spent 7 years of my life in my twenties living out of a backpack while I traveled the country, and yes - I got to know many homeless people.

Recently, I shifted from a small town "ghetto" where there were gunshots every night, drug deals and SWAT teams every couple of months.

What struck me the most about that area was - it was MENTAL poverty that was destroying the community.

Even some of the homeless I had gotten to know over the years in other cities cared about their campsites, their presentation to society - in fact, in most cases, no one would even know that they slept in the woods at night for lack of a house.

But this last neighborhood - there were two types of people:

1.) Those who had little, but loved and cared for what they DID have. Family, possessions, their small yards and tiny homes.

and

2.) Those who had little, but were so overly seduced by the "lifestyle" of the gangster, that they would sacrifice everything to "look" and "act" the part of the rich homeboy.


Since moving out of that area several years ago, I've watched my nice apartment complex begin to deteriorate. Not because the people who are moving in are "poor" financially, but because they are "poor" in every other area of societal values.

They turn their music to high volumes, they talk loudly in the courtyard at 3am, their friends play their car stereos so loud that everything in your apartment buzzes and threatens to fall off the shelf. They deal drugs.

It's not because they "don't have money" - it's because they don't have values - and a distorted sense of self identity.

No one has helped them in their life, they regard anyone outside of their circle with suspicion and scorn. How dare I walk to get my mail while they're hanging out in the courtyard?

This is mental and spiritual poverty.

Now, don't get me wrong - there are several retirees here who are on an extremely limited income, as well as people who are just making ends meet and living month to month....but the difference is - when we look into each others eyes, we see another human being in a similar position.

We smile, make small talk, and are more than happy to help out with a cup of sugar or sharing the daily paper on occassion.

These "hoodrats" on the other hand, view everyone else as "competition" for resources and territory.

It's not about money. It's about the lack of human empathy, compassion and values these people show. They'll threaten you if you look at them the wrong way, and most likely give you a beating if you accidently bump into them.

I don't blame the upper classes one iota for turning a blind eye to these careless, slovenly, misguided people.

The sad thing is - there seem to be more and more of them these days.

Brain Washing?

Oh yes. On many levels.

Originally posted by Sonya610
I don't live in the ghetto, I live in a middle class area that has become primarily black.

No projects, no homeless, no public transportation for several miles. Everyone has a car (if you don't have a car you can't get anywhere, except maybe a gas station 2 miles down the road). People have jobs, decent houses etc...

Not a ghetto. But is there plenty of crime? Yup. Bullet proof glass? Yup. Shootings and robberies? Yup. Drive by shooting on my street? Yup.
It is NOT due to poverty. These are middle class people.

Can you explain to me why crime is a problem here? Can you explain to me why as soon as neighborhoods undergo an "ethnic" change the crime rate soars despite the standard of living?

Blaming it on "poverty" is a nice PC excuse. It is far deeper than poverty, it is cultural.

I sense racism and that angers me. I love where the op is going. the point is let's come together. you seem to be missing the point. I think more people should help out others who are born with less. Cuz you coulda been born with less and you to would become a product of your environment.

well i've lived in 3 "ghetto" areas and had 5 black step-cousins but i'll tell you, hardly any poor blacks live in poverty like you may believe, i saw souped up cars regularly, houses full of nice furnature and electronics and overall comparing poor whites to poor blacks, i'd say whites live worse off with wellfare, insurance and police response being harder to get plus crime, drugs and drinking are worse but more organised and hidden with corruption.

reply to post by GENERAL EYES


Yes you put what I've been trying to say quite well. I remember when I first got into all of this "conspiracy theory", there was this video outlaying the "PLANS OF THE NWO!!!" and in the background was this techno song, very catchy... and the main lyric was "We want your soul."

When you are in mental and spiritual poverty, you could be physically wealthy beyond anyone's wildest dreams... yet you could still do many very very evil things.

I think that this form of materialistic baiting for your soul has especially affected the "poor" class of society... and unfortunately, many of those people I was best friends with in Juvie and rehab afterwards may not be so friendly anymore. Why? Because if you sacrifice your soul for image and comfort and convenience. You are committing suicide while still being alive, and metaphorically speaking, you are the living dead.... a zombie walking around, eating other people's brains, a vampire sucking other people's blood, an "agent of the Matrix".....

People can regain their souls, just like they can lose their souls. The potential is there.... that's why hatred towards the "delinquent criminals" that infect the poor classes of the world should not be tolerated, because it is keeping these people who share the same Earth as everyone else in mental and spiritual slavery. It is exacerbating the problem, actually. The more disgusted we as the middle class become disgusted and seek to separate ourselves from the "blights" of society (the poor, the mentally ill, the handicapped, the abstract minded, the anarchists, all the "labels" we put on things that the media, science, religion, and politics has said we shouldn't agree with), the more "blighted" society will become. The dysfunction doesn't lie with any certain "them". It lies with all of us!

Martin Luter King Jr. said that "An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Justice does not mean "The Law", like your local friendly brainwashing institutions of authority would wish you to believe.

Justice means letting all beings just be equally.

If we have to dismantle completely this whole global society in order to rebuild it in an equal and just way, if it saves the world we live on, your damn well straight we better do it...and we better do it soon. No more of this "Go this team or that team" bull#. We're all on the same team, regardless of where in the world you are, and if you fear the poor in the slums and are bitter towards them, guess what? You fear the poor in the slums of your own consciousness. You fear yourself. Get over it. Help improve your experience by helping others improve theirs. Help me and people like me bring true equality to the world, and quit hiding behind fear. You or your loved ones might die in this mission, but we all gotta go sometime, and there's NOTHING to lose when in death you lose it all anyways. The great equalizer, they call it. This is what people need to understand. This is definitely a spiritual issue, and taking the spiritual aspect into account, there's no room for clinging onto your petty ego or your petty material things which your ego has clung to and built a mote around. These are everybody's things. If they get stolen, so be it. If they get ruined, who cares? The most important thing right now is dropping this whole pride and glory schtick we've had for so long because it is ignorant and it is childish, and it's feeding the poor's reason to commit these crimes you attribute to them and only them.

While we're on the subject of violent crime... what about the billionaires that orchestrate wars that kill millions of people throughout history? Are these noble men? Is the black guy who rapes and murders a woman because he's been brainwashed by violence begating violence and unethical treatment of women begating unethical treatment of women any worse than the white guy who is rich and powerful and well educated and afforded every opportunity to know better who orchestrates a war that kills hundreds of thousands in Iraq and rapes women men and children of their innocence and their past present and futures? I think that last guy sounds a lot more tyrannical than the first guy who can be described somewhat as a victim of circumstance.

The people who are doubting what I say having any basis in reality should look up at their leaders and ask them why a single man committing a crime against a human or two in a moment of passion should be the focus of public outrage and not be forgivable, yet a whole organization of educated rich elites who should know better orchestrating the murders and genocides of millions and millions of people throughout decades and centuries past for more power and wealth excesses than they could possibly ever even be of use for can get off scott free without even a single peep from the public at large.... and can even be commended for doing so!!!!???

Ask yourself enough questions about the logic being used to degrade the poor by the middle class who are unkowingly just as #ed as those which they degrade... and you're bound to be shaken by the answers. We can't have you SHAKEN or DISTURBED out of your myopia, now can we? How would that feed the big old machine we worship called the economy??? We might be forced to break loose and become a bit "dysfunctional" ourselves... and then what would people think?

reply to post by namehere


I was using african americans as one example... and obviously you didn't live in any real ghettos of cities... because unfortunately, the majority of true ghettos are inhabited by mostly ethnic minorities, and I can tell you that most are living off welfare... and if any do have souped up cars, it is because they are drug dealers... but what do you expect a portion of society raised on basically pennies in a nation of inflation to turn to? Religion?

EDIT:

Or did my friends who actually lived in the worst parts of Chicago lie to me because I was a white boy?

I believe they referred to the real bad parts as the "stickies"

[edit on 11-9-2008 by dunwichwitch]

reply to post by dunwichwitch


do you often insult people for not conforming to your view by calling them liars? it may not have been a ghetto in detroit or chicago but i think growing up in poor hiigh crimes areas with blacks, latinos and whites too is considered ghetto. you ever lived in seeing distance of crack houses, been shot at or had to resort to eating once a week in a house without air? well i can say yea religion is more productive and greed, not poverty is the biggest reason for crime.

reply to post by dunwichwitch


Lots of good posts but I don't have time right now to reply to anything other than the OP. The only other thing I will say is that Sonya and GENERAL EYES, I agree with you.

OP, you said it yourself that 'poor' people either

have just had bad luck and not accumulated much or not had as much motivation

Bad luck can befall anyone, if you believe in that sort of thing, but I will address the lack of motivation you mentioned. In your opinion, middle class people "actually blame these people for taking what little they can get, calling them selfish." Now how is it selfish to be angry that people who, suffer only from a lack of motivation and see it as their right in life to take all they can get from people who do not suffer from a "lack of motivation", steal from those who work hard no matter the state of their motivation?

This is the biggest pile of crap I have ever read. Talk about blaming the victims...You're blaming the people who are forced by the threat of federal prison to provide for the lowest rungs of society that their wards don't bother to do anything with themselves because they're not motivated.

Employers are more racist and judgmental of past offenses than they would lead the "average" person to believe

Again, you are blaming the provider. Employers have every right to not want criminals working in their establishment and continuing their pattern by stealing from them at the first chance. They are running a business, not a charity. They are trying to make a living so they can provide for their own family and not take the money out of their countrymen's pockets to do it. If people want to be employable...here's a thought, don't become a criminal. There is nothing racist about a businessman protecting his investment in his and his family's livelihood.

inner city schools don't really provide kids with the adequate education and opportunities to move ahead that suburban schools do

If these schools don't teach much, it should be that much easier to get A's and get into tech school or college. If a kid really wanted to stay off the streets, the library is open until at least 8pm so it shouldn't be too hard to supplement one's education for free and avoid the gangs at the same time. No, it's not as easy as ditching school and picking up a welfare check, but it will make life better in the long run.

Real life is not "To Sir, With Love". Underneath the tough exterior is not a heart of gold. If kids found their own education inadequate they would take such measures as I mentioned to supplement it. If parents found their childrens' educations inadequate they would take the same measures. No, we are talking about people who just don't care.

You may say you've worked hard for what you earn, and that only the strong survive, and that you're not gunna help these people who aren't helping themselves... but that's not very humanly or social or communal of you.

And? sc2099 is not a charity or a piggy bank to be plundered. sc2099 is NOT part of a commune. sc2099 is a person who sees fit to donate to charities that she chooses and help people she believes are deserving of it. Opening oneself up to the plunder of the "have nots" is not what makes a person "social" or "humanly", whatever that means; on the contrary, it is only the preference of being a victim in life rather than a victor that forces people to donate their wellbeing to others, or in other words self-loathing. Being a productive member of the community. Working hard. Raising a family. Contributing. These are the things that make the fabric of society, not selling drugs, popping out kids unable to be cared for, taking, taking, taking, and taking, or allowing oneself to be taken advantage of by such people.

Too many people are hording their earnings in this modern society,

...Which is theirs to do with what they see fit. Their net worth is theirs, not yours, not mine, not the government's to redistribute.

and I don't see anything very social about that.

Yes, creating jobs which feed families, increase quality of life, and help others achieve their dreams is not helpful at all. Keeping the engine of the world turning is absolutely useless, and downright selfish.

I don't see much motivation in money, and pretty soon, I may be out on the streets

Well at least you are man enough to admit that it is your own doing and not blame it on "the rich". Although I wonder if your attitude will change when you actually don't have food in your belly and ATS to complain to.

That includes having compassion for the poor and the weak. They want the same things we all do, and itis up to US, not the government, to give EVERYONE a fair opportunity to make their life what they want it to be.

Wait...I thought you just said that these people WEREN'T motivated by the need for security and comfort that motivates the rest of us, which is why they just can't force themselves to work. So now you're saying that they are motivated by these things, but that it forces them to steal instead of work...

And here we get to the heart of the problem. People like this have the same wants and desires as everyone else...but they are too effing lazy to go out and get it without stealing, either directly from peoples' homes and wallets, or indirectly from their taxes.

So they do want the same things as us after all. Glad you got that sorted out. But you are incorrect, it is not "society's" or the government or anyone's responsibility to ensure a person's happiness but that person himself. Life today is fairer than it ever has been in history, and if we can keep people from taking advantage of us, it will be even fairer in the future. Each person is his own keeper and his own responsibility.

And to preclude anyone from jumping in with some "you're mindcontrolled by the NWO" BS, just know that I used to be like you. I used to not mind that people were bent over by the government to "help others". Then I got a job. Then I moved out of my parents' house. Then I paid for my own time at University. I only had to get this far before I realized that it's not my or anyone else's place to decide how others should spend their money.

Edit to add: I am now middle-class but growing up my family was working-poor.

Also, when I refer to the poor people brought up by the OP as 'they', I do not mean all poor people, or all welfare recipients. There are plenty of poor people who do not accept welfare, and there are plenty of people on welfare temporarily or who really do need it. None of my points refer to either of these two groups.

[edit on 9/11/2008 by sc2099]

I listen to what people here are saying and I hear you all.

I lived in Chicago as a kid, on the south side, Hyde Park near U of Chicago. I know exactly what you're talking about. I experienced it all first hand.

I hear people here talking about the ghetto, thug culture, claiming that it's part of THEIR culture.

You have to look at the History of Black Americans and what makes them unique from every other group of Americans that immigrated here from abroad and that simply is that they were brought here against their will.

This meant that the family structure was gone. And once they were considered property the family structure was temporary at best until the master decided to place his strongest male slaves on the auction block to be sold to the highest bidder. The single parent household began back then.

But fast forward Looking at today's problem it really stems from the introduction of drugs into the black neighborhoods. Heroin was introduced in Harlem as early as the 1930's. If enough people are addicted then they're no longer a threat to the ruling class because these addicts no longer aspire to have jobs, careers or families but are only interested in obtaining more drugs and more profits for those that import them.
Yesterday it was Heroin and today we have crack coc aine which is cheap and very addictive and provides all of the makings of controlling a group of people.

This is the identical plan that the Chinese were subjected to by the British Crown (the worlds first drug cartel BTW)resulting in the Opium wars when the Chinese tried to prevent the drugs from entering their country. The powerful fire power of the British Armada blew the Chinese Navy to smithereens forcing them to accept the poison. This is partly why China later chose communism to gain control and to prevent external influences and financial control from the west.

History repeats itself. There is nothing new under the sun.
So here we are today in the ghetto with a group of people with a society of gangsters, purveyors of these drugs who are emulating those gangsters of old themselves that were criminals due to drug laws (prohibition) at the time. Only creating more crime, broken families and dreams.

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia called the golden triangle was the major source of heroin in the 60's and guess who provides the majority of heroin today ?
Afghanistan.
The amount of cheap Heroin on the streets especially in Europe has drastically increased since the war on terror brought the US and the British into Afghanistan.

In summary, Yes, it is part of THEIR culture but indeed not by choice. These drugs have historically been dumped in the black neighborhoods and what we're seeing today is the long term effects of an illegal drug based economy and the destruction of communities. It's simply part of a larger plan to maintain control of the poor.

i only read about half of the OP because its almost 1 am here, and i drank some nyquil, because im sick, and cant sleep, but...

i live in the ghetto, i live in southwest detroit. I've been to brazil, and before we got off the plane they brough a cop onto the plane to tell us about the culture, and warn us, we said we were from detroit, and he let us walk out.

but anyways, things around here are extremely dead, everyday there are bums shooting up heroin, and people getting stabbed. my 2 brothers just got out of prison about 3 months ago (one after about 6months, and the other after 5 years). and BTW, i am white, and there still seems to be no opportunities, i havent had a job in about a year, and stay at my parents house with my oldest brother. The schools are absolutely horrible, teachers dont care (i know of a few teachers that repeatedly had sex with students) I've been witness to coaches hitting team members ,and teachers hitting kids heads on school in highschool. we used to have a huge gang problem, but that kind of fizzled out, once all the leaders went to prison, or got shot. Some of the gang members i see as close friends, they are good people, people who would help me out without hesitation, if i had a problem. I've been called a "rat" a "slumkid", every white racist name you can imagine. Around here the kids that are more privaledged seem to think that they can do anything they want to us. I still have never been in a bar in the more "affluent" cities. and to be honest, even when i go into stores that are selling high end things, in those cities, i feel weird, like everyone is looking at me. I know what its like to go out with my buddies, and not have the money to eat, and am starving, and some "valley" kid laughing at me, because i have no money.

i know it doesnt make sense but i have a certain hate for kids that grow up and have everything, i try to be happy that they have nice lives, and can go on vacation, and they can have cool things that i never did. but in the end i get extremely jealous, even though im 22, and i feel like im lesser than them, and it does spark hatred, when i see them driving around in cars that are perfect, and brand new, and i've had cars stolen, because they were nice looking, so im forced to buy a peice of junk, sometimes its just not fair.

I think in the end all i want is for people to appreciate what they have, even though i may have little, i appreciate it, it could be worse, i've never done drugs, im smart, and im a good person. I have had the image of a kid yelling at his father for buying him a BMW instead of a Jaguar burned in my head way too many times to ever forget it, im sorry, i know middle class people are good people too, so are the rich, but ive taken so much from people seen as better than me, im going to have a hard time getting over it.

im sorry everyone.

Whoever said it wasn't about poverty, they're right- it's psychological.

It's the mentality "Us vs. Them". When you have no true power (which we minorities do not have in this country), you tend to feel oppressed. When one is oppressed, one tends to get violent, depressed, or jealous (or a dangerous combination). We'll use Black people for example - In our mind, the one's with the power are stepping on our neck and will not let us up. So when a black person who is in a poverty stricken area, sees another person who has become successful, they get jealous and their hearts fill with contempt for that person, because they have to struggle just to get by. Then, over time, that hate for the single person develops into hate for all those who have something they can't seem to get. This hate festers and festers until the thought "You know what? I'm just gonna get what they got By Any Means Necessary." Those means become selling drugs, robbing people, and whatever else deemed necessary. And they can't see reality at that point because hate has coulded their vision.

However, the true hate they have is for themselves. They consciously or subconsciously feel that they are different in a nasty, terrible way because those in power have treated them as such. People who join gangs usually do so to feel accepted because they have been rejected by society, parents, etc.

The bad actions of those in the minority are more often than not due to reasons of the mind rather than reasons of "genetics".

grew up in Detroit, moved out here to central Phoenix...it absolutely amazed me at first how different they are from each other. I live in what is considered the "ghetto" out here, but on the whole the people are so much nicer and happier from what I have seen. Granted, there are still robberies and shootings etc., but nothing as starkly depressing as back home in the D. I attribute it to there being more opportunities out here, as well as the weather being much warmer and sunnier all of the time. Also, the city is layed out in a much more pleasing manner, and the urban decay that you find in Detroit just cannot be found here in Phoenix. Trashed houses and yards etc., perhaps, but Detroit looks like a bomb hit it. Sometimes i'm amazed that I ever made it out of there at all....love certain things about the place, but it's pretty much a craphole.

Thanks for this post really, because I feel the same way. I grew up in Detroit and moved to Warren when I was 12 (Not even 1 mile outside of Detroit.)

Ive probably filled out at least 50 applications in the past few months and never got a call back. And yet im always looked down upon for not having a job. When in reality, it just isnt possible because nobody is hiring anyone anymore. Ive been counting on a girl at my sisters work to get fired so I can take her place (ha). Its that bad.

Though some may just be lazy, most are having a really hard time finding any work. And as time passes it gets discouraging.

Thanks for your post!

Originally posted by Jess_Undefined
Thanks for this post really, because I feel the same way. I grew up in Detroit and moved to Warren when I was 12 (Not even 1 mile outside of Detroit.)

Ive probably filled out at least 50 applications in the past few months and never got a call back. And yet im always looked down upon for not having a job. When in reality, it just isnt possible because nobody is hiring anyone anymore. Ive been counting on a girl at my sisters work to get fired so I can take her place (ha). Its that bad.

Though some may just be lazy, most are having a really hard time finding any work. And as time passes it gets discouraging.

Thanks for your post!

my pleasure! and hey, i know you probably have family there and all of that good stuff, but if you can get out, DO IT!

Actually nope, not family lives there anymore! =]

They either live in Roseville or in Warren. Warren isnt so bad, but the job economy really sucks. Funny how the girls you met said "You cant escape it" because when I was talking to a friend I asked "So has anymore moved out of warren lately?" and he said "Yeah right. You can escape this city." I never really understood it either, I think if you really want to, you can. But its definetly not easy.

Good post. My neighborhood is considered ghetto. I've worked with people who say they won't drive passed it. I alway thought that was funny.

I stayed away from gangs, mostly because of religion and great parents(a rarity in the world today). But still knowing most of the gang members. My friends in school were drug dealers and car jackers, I knew them since kindergarden. My closest friend ended up becoming an addict. But i've always felt pity for them. And I don't think most of the people replying to this thread understand how things are for others in less fortunate situations. But you should still be able to feel for people.

People will always be judgemental and condemn others, even though they may never know how they would react in that situation.