Response to Sifur
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1/10/2008
Chicago, a city I lived in for around one decade, is far more segregated than this would-be Jim Crow bastion of hatred 300 mi to its south, the much-maligned STL. I live in an upper middle class 'burb, and my block is as racially diverse as they come, and I've been everywhere (Mr Cash, RIP: I apologize). I'm out of touch with the city, perhaps? No: My block is about one mile north of the city limits, and I frequent the city often. The phenomenon I describe is common down there too, and is present in working class neighbourhoods. In fact, it is present in most STL n'hoods. Compare that to Chicago, where entire blocks are limited to ethnic/racial groups, and we have a refreshing phenomenon: STL, a mere 300 odd miles N of the Deep South (the MS line) is more integrated than its Northern "enlightened" big brother. Yes, it's true: In Chicago, there are virtually exclusively Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Palestinian, Black, South American, Central American, Pakistani, Orthodox Jewish, more Liberal Jewish, Indian, Polish, and on and on wherever you go, and this includes the suburbs. Just ask any honest Chicagoan. As for "Hillbillies" in STL: The so-called socio-economic group mocked as "Hillbillies" is the last one out there that people (some) wrongly delude themselves into thinking that it's still PC to mock. And if it's still PC, who cares? The term "PC" is artificial and annoying anyhow. So let us ask ourselves: Why is that? Why is it okay to make fun of poor Southern whites? Do you know what that awful prejudice has done to the poverty-stricken residents of Central and Southern Appalachia? I can tell you all about it: I studied the phenomenon for years. Anyhow, you are wrong. Folks from the Appalachians moved north seeking jobs in industry during one of the bust periods of the "boom and bust" terribly dangerous deafness, blindness, black-lung, crush-wound, cancer, amputation and death -inducing coal industry in WV, SE KY, SW VA, etc. There are pockets of Appalachian folk in every city north of the Mason-Dixon, especially in the Midwest, which is within relative reach (due north, sort of) of the mountains and their foothills. Chicago has just as many "Hillbillies." How about you check your prejudice at the door? I am sure that the vast majority of the readers here would approve of that genteel move.
Dr. Nick | University City, MO