This thread’s issue is generally only an issue for whites. Some of the discussion here reminds me of this hilarious satire book my son has:
Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions
http://www.amazon.com/Stuff-White-People-Like-Definitive/dp/0812979915
Already do, haha
sseamom: Clarification: In the stesrotype of my neighborhood many if not most think that this city is all white, Christian and some Jews. If there is a minority person they would be working for a family. Not so…at all
It seems that more diverse areas tend to be one of the extremes. Either substantially “better” than nearby more homogenous areas or substantially “worse.”
Well, for Michigan…
Detroit: HS Grad Rate 71%, Violent Crime Rate 2123/100K, 90% non-White
Saginaw: HS Grad Rate 70%, Violent Crime Rate 2362/100K, 57% non-White
Flint: HS Grad Rate 58%, Violent Crime Rate 2730/100K (the highest in the country), 63% non-White
Benton Harbor: HS Grad rate 70%, Violent Crime Rate 2241/100K, 94% non-White
The top 3 are the largest mostly non-White cities in Michigan. The last one is the most non-White city in Michigan.
Compared to Whiter communities…
I’m having trouble finding a good list with sortable data (or even knowing exactly what I should compare to), but I think St. Clair Shores is the largest 90%+ White city in Michigan. Brighton is the most White (99.8%) sizable (7500 population) city. And I’ll pick Grand Rapids because it’s the 2nd largest city in Michigan and is majority White.
Grand Rapids: 50% (questioning the source but that’s what I found), 771/100K, 65% White
St. Clair Shores: 93%, 252/100K, 93% White
Brighton: 93%, 85/100K, 99.8% White (if I rounded it’d say 100% then you’d think I was lying)
So based on that, I’m going to say that in Michigan, at least on Crime this is true…
When I walk the dog, the only ones I see are deer and chipmunks and the like, and they usually run away when we approach. It is true that we do not see our neighbors very frequently as we go by in cars.
However I have lived in places where I was the only white person around and it is the case that I was treated as that person of privilege. This has its pros and cons. If you feel like going out and blending in, then you are in trouble. If you are feeling social and friendly then things are great!
I hope, for my children, that they will grow up to respect all people, and that they will learn from those people who do not act respectful of differences. That does not mean they have to like everyone but they should like people based upon characteristics separate from race or physical characteristics.
I did live that way for the majority of my adult life. My DS went to a school where he was always in the minority. We loved our neighbors and friends. DS was not excluded from anything in the neighborhood. He played with all the children. Moving back to the very segregated Midwest was a shock to me and a painful adjustment for DS.
I’m with oldfort. i don’t really interact with my neighbors. My town is primarily white with a good number of East Asian and South Asian, simply reflecting the economic levels needed to live here. My next door neighbors are Chinese and my across-the-street neighbors are Indian. I’ve probably never said more than hello and good day to them- but same for my white neighbors. After working full time. I just don’t have the energy or interest to go chat with or get to know my neighbors. Honestly I’ve lived here for 20 years and still wouldn’t recognize the bulk of them. Peopke keep to themselves, which I’m fine with.
My son is the only Asian on our block. And I’m pretty sure he couldn’t care less.
OK, non PC post:
When we were first married, our apartment was across the street from a reception hall. It looked just lovely, but we were never invited to an affair there. We always watched the brides arrive on summer afternoons, and swore that one day we would dress up and crash the reception, just to get a good look at the inside of the place.
One summer afternoon we had our chance: we arrived home from a cocktail party just as all the guests were arriving. We walked down the block (only on street parking for the apartment), all dressed up, and decided that this was our night…
Until we realized that we would have been the only white people at the party!!! No way we could have crashed it-- we would have stood out like sore thumbs!!!
So we went home, and moved into our house a few years later, having never seen the inside of that reception hall.
Also non PC:
When my husband and I were a young, childless couple, we lived in an apartment building for about four years where most of the tenants were Indian or Pakistani.
I was hungry the whole time. Everyone’s cooking smelled so good.
But I never got to know anyone in the building. They just weren’t interested in me.
My neighborhood smells really good too. Lots of garlic so the smell is wonderful. I want to be invited over for lunch or dinner.
Another story: I’m a high school teacher. Every once in a while, a parent will drop off a forgotten lunch for one of the younger kids.
There are over 600 kids in each lunch period. I seldom know the name of the kid who’s lunch I’m supposed to deliver. And they HATE being singled out by being announced over the microphone.
So I go table to table, asking whether anyone knows Johnny. Inevitably I’ll find someone who knows him. If they can’t tell me where he sits, I’ll ask for a description.
I’ll get fat, skinny, tall, short, glasses/no glasses, hair color. you name it.
But not race.
They’re so very afraid of being labeled non PC that they won’t give me that basic physical description unless I pull it out of them.
( love auto correct) you really have to look!, not log k.
I am working on my ipad, & I dont know if something is a comma or a speck of sand.
In our area, knowiing the neighbors is a matter of safety and security.we are due for an earthquake, we keep being reminded, & having access to your neighbors house, and knowing where the shut off valves are for gas and such, in case they arent home when the big one hits, or are injured, could save lives, and property.
As I mentioned, we also have a fair amount of crime, and knowing your neighbors, makes it easier to share info and watch out for each other. Car & bike theft in particular, is so prevalent. I camt believe the cars that are stolen. A 20 yr old Toyota truck??? Some areas even organize or hire security for the neighborhood, which I imagine will be coming one day.
I don’t generally smell cooking though, unless people are out grilling.
But even though I dont eat much meat, steak on the grill, or even hamburger smells good.
My mom used to live close to Cantinetta, an Italian restaurant whose vent seemed to aimed directly at the condo’s outside pool. So distracting. 
Well… If the parent dropped it off… Do you really need to ask?
Also, figure the name should give it away if you didn’t actually see the parent. And if all else fails, the kid with no lunch perhaps.
Big room, lots of kids with no lunch.
I just look up the crime rate in the city I live in now: (oops…it does not print out in a nice way. But it seems the crime rate, especially for a more serious crime, is not particularly high.)
The link :
http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Portals/0/Sunnyvale/DPS/CrimesinSunnyvale.pdf
Even in 1 year increments comparisons are dubious. Within 1 month is absurd.
Appears Sunnyvale has a violent crime rate of 118/100K, which is quite safe. In fact, it looks like it’s the 12th safest city of any city in the US with above 100,000 population.
Mcat, they are all nerds, probably cyber crime, that’s maybe why.
@Vladenschlutte The parents drop it off at the front desk; it gets delivered to me by one of the secretaries.
Besides, my son is Asian; I’m blue eyed with blonde hair. There’s no way you would pick him out of a crowd if all you knew was his name… it would probably be much more difficult if you saw me.
And how does the name give it away? “Jones?” “Williams?” What race are those names?
A few years ago I taught a girl with the last name Kelly… she was black. This year I taught a girl with the name of another blonde actress… she was black too. French names are frequently Haitian, but sometimes they’re French.
Six hundred kids, about 2/3 of whom are on line buying lunch.
Yep, I have to ask.
But my point is that the kids are so afraid of being called racist that they’ll neglect a descriptive term that carries no connotations. All I’m asking is a physical description so a kid doesn’t have to borrow lunch money.
I already am the minority in a 60-80% Asian (Indian) neighbourhood. It’s even nicknamed “Brown Town.” I don’t mind.