tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103244.post1283875503301137488..comments2023-10-03T11:50:07.744-04:00Comments on Mental Oasis: Rap Beef Nigga!Breezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01487826139719603042noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103244.post-3754759351294168172008-01-18T16:01:00.000-05:002008-01-18T16:01:00.000-05:00Maitri,I know plenty of people who have aimed for ...Maitri,<BR/><BR/>I know plenty of people who have aimed for and achieved a life beyond the projects. My own mother grew up in one and she is now comfortably middle class. As a matter of fact, all of her siblings are also middle class now, too.<BR/><BR/>Have you ever been in the projects when school lets out in the afternoon? Have you seen how many of those kids returning to the projects are coming from magnet schools and private schools from around the city? These parents are making sure that their children will have more economic opportunities than they had.<BR/><BR/>The reality is that there is no place in the world where kids can grow up without running the risk of abusing drugs. Hell, if it weren't for all the white middle to upper class people who use drugs, those street dealers would hardly make any money at all.<BR/><BR/>Furthermore, Katrina has shown that the projects were the safest housing in the city when the shit hit the fan. Look at those buildings and then compare them to the buildings in other parts of the city. The poor people who lived in the projects were certainly better off than a lot of those folks who died in their houses. Those project buildings are the sturdiest housing in the city. Hell, they could flood up to the second floor and they'd still be left standing when the waters receded. Can the same be said for wherever else these people are living now (including the massive homeless population living under the bridges of the city now)?<BR/><BR/>And let's not forget, these are <B>communities</B> we're talking about. These are people who look out for one another and destroying the projects means destroying the only support system that these people have.bint alshamsahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00658169355503798587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103244.post-28723888907423776932008-01-01T00:44:00.000-05:002008-01-01T00:44:00.000-05:00@ jali - thanks much sis!@ act - sometimes, that p...@ jali - thanks much sis!<BR/><BR/>@ act - sometimes, that paycheck doesn't have to even be missed. just a smidge short. watch the shit hit the fan then. this loosely ties into your post from seven years...oops, i mean a couple of weeks ago. pardon me *guffaw*. the need that we have to separate ourselves from "those kind" of black folks. there are so many issues i have with that, i don't know where to begin. <BR/><BR/>@ maitri - first let me welcome you and thank you for visiting my spot. you present such good points. i am one of those people who left, and i feel, made a better life for myself elsewhere. just the other day i was joking with a girlfriend about the laundry list of degenerate activities and services i would have to exhaust before i returned to new orleans to live. but sometimes, i want a REAL daiquiri and a roast beef po'boy and there's just no substitute for that. it's such a hard situation.Breezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01487826139719603042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103244.post-53004045613030346272007-12-31T15:21:00.000-05:002007-12-31T15:21:00.000-05:00Your post on this topic is the best one I've read ...Your post on this topic is the best one I've read so far. I'm of two minds about this whole thing - I want for hardworking people to have a place to live, especially when they have children, but feel like the bricks and similar government-corraling of a racial or economic class of people is horrendous. How can folks who live in the projects know or aim for anything other than what is around them? At the same time, our government (state and New Orleans) has a history of fucking things up royally for everyone, so I don't trust them to come through on their promises of mixed-income housing.<BR/><BR/>So, despite the pull of home and the right to return, I want the projects to be torn down so that the people who used to live in them can say, "Fuck you, New Orleans. You who have let me down for so long, used my services for dimes on the dollar and couldn't keep up your end of the bargain in return cannot have me any longer." Wherever they are, I wish them happier lives where their kids can go to decent schools and don't run the risk of abusing drugs or, worse, being killed before attaining adulthood. If it's a matter of sheer survival and then growth, the projects and the promises of misxed-income housing are not worth the hassle.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comments over at Cliff's. I like girls who stick to their guns.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103244.post-9748415318557843602007-12-31T13:59:00.000-05:002007-12-31T13:59:00.000-05:00Peace Sis,You're really breathing fire here. I'm ...Peace Sis,<BR/><BR/>You're really breathing fire here. I'm not surprised that you're ruffling some feathers. For what it's worth, I completely agree with you. I'm not sure why the belief in a blame-worthy majority poor seems to comfort so many people - even people who should know better. I guess in order to make your own tenable situation seem stable you have to distance yourself from the impoverished. Even if the only real difference between you and them is one or two missed paychecks.<BR/><BR/>BTW, in answer to your question: "Who is willing to pay pharmacy technicians $15 an hour?"<BR/><BR/>Costco.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103244.post-82893012743590416032007-12-29T19:18:00.000-05:002007-12-29T19:18:00.000-05:00That was a very moving post and I agree with you 1...That was a very moving post and I agree with you 100%.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com