Posted on 08/01/2006 6:27:54 AM PDT by celejrm313
So I am learning, and isn't this sad? I would have thought that ALL Americans could at least greet one another....
"And it isn't a class thing, because it happens all the way up the economic scale." "Loyalty to tribe trumps loyalty to nation."
No, it's a cultural thing. I live in a town that is about 70% black, 28% white. I have much more in common with my immigrant Hindu neighbors as far as values and culture go than I do most blacks who have lived here for generations.
"Both groups feel it's safer to isolate than integrate."
I don't agree with that either. How could it be safer for blacks to isolate themselves. They do it at their own economic and social peril. They have their own seperate underground cash economy that rivals some nations GDPs. When whites "isolate" themselves, it is in the form of leaving the cities and other minority occcupied crime havens for their own safety and welfare of their children.
"What do you do if you meet a Black American in the aisle, turn and walk the other way? I have an idea, how about smiling and saying 'HI'..."
As I said, I live in an area that is 70% black. I do that many times a day. Probably less than 50% of the time is it even acknowledged.
All I can do is live my life right and be good to other people. I like my culture. It keeps me in a good job, sober, married and out of trouble with the law and above all else, happy. I'm not "integrating" away from that.
Alexandria is an independent city and not part of Fairfax County.
I've lived in PG County for the past seven years.
Dangerous? Don't live in Suitland, Adelphi, Temple Hills, Oxon Hill, Capitol Heights, Forestville, Forest Heights, Langley Park, Bladensburg, Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, etc. (i.e., the south part of the County or pretty much anywhere inside the beltway -- except College Park and environs), and you're just fine. No better and no worse than anyplace else in the DC metro.
I frankly far prefer the attitudes of people in PG county to those I've seen in Montgomery County. They're actually far more conservative.
The only downside is that, imho, private schools are a must for any parent, as the PG public schools are absolutely, terminally broken.
You neglected to mention Laurel especially near town and busy roads( even in areas near good neighborhoods) and including parts of Bowie and practically any strip mall. Its not only the public schools, but crime, which can hit anywhere quite ferociously (we had a car jacking in my company parking lot in Greenbelt in broad daylight).
Theres a reason houses are 40 % cheaper than adjacent Monrgomery County or Anne Arundel Co.. Its called..quality of life.
I live very close to Laurel. I'd rather live in Laurel than in Silver Spring, Wheaton, and parts of Rockville (Mont. Co.). I'd also FAR rather live in Laurel than in Glen Burnie or Odenton (A-A Co.) or even Jessup (Howard Co). The only REALLY bad part of Laurel is, IMO, (the soon to be torn down) Laurel Mall (an oxymoron if there ever was one).
Frankly, if my house was located 500 feet west of where it is (Mont. Co.), 2000 feet north of where it is (Howard Co.), or 3 miles east of where it is (A-A Co.), it would be able to sell for approximately 30% more than it does. There is no difference in crime in that close a proximity. There is a difference in school district.
A person can have a new home on Annapolis Road in Bowie. The SAME home on Defense Highway in Crofton -- just the other side of Route 3 -- and there'd be a similar price difference. Crime difference? Nope. School difference? Yup.
Got some news for you: carjackings happen. Sorry 'bout that but they do. They even happen in Montgomery County {watch the censors delete that comment before it can get read ;)}.
The biggest two problems with PG County are #1) the schools and #2) The fact that the DC Ward 9 parts of PG County create statistics that really skew the overall stats for the county.
(BTW, I am looking forward to my property value going up even more than it has (91% increase in 3 yrs) as a result of the BRAC. Moving DISA up to Ft Meade)
Listen, there are a thousand people in my company and only a handful live in PG County (where we are located). If it was just the schools, I would think there'd be a bunch more (but never a majority).
Its always unfair to generalize too broadly, and earning an honest living is always better than not, and who am I to judge anyway? ..So, my apologies for too broad a polemic..
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