Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 19 replies, 19 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 3 months ago by
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- How do hundreds of young black males afford $60,000, tricked-out Escalades but live in the hood? Why would anyone want to live in a shack if you can afford to have expensive clothing/jewelry/car? I don't understand the logic. It seems like it is a sort of peacock syndrome. I would like to find one of these jobs that could afford me these luxuries. But it seems I see these guys cruisin' around while I am at work, so it must be nightshift work of some kind. I don't get it. Everything is for show, it seems, like walking around in a suit made of $100 bills, - and if someone actually made a suit like that, you would see blacks wearing it. Please explain!
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Name : Bill23271, Gender : M, City : Detroit, State : MI Country : United States,You might be making a common, irrational assumption. Often when people notice a few instances of something (in your case, young black guys with fancy cars, jewelry, etc.), we think it is the norm. In fact, you're not noticing the many young black guys with mundane, economical cars and modest clothing. But let's say you are correct, that poor young black men indeed prefer to live in inadequate housing while driving expensive cars. It does seem impractical. It's quite common for poor people to have weak money-handling skills, and many are unable to delay gratification (i.e. save money to improve their lives). Such people (whatever their ethnicity) may have a hard time feeling good about themselves. Fancy clothes and cars might make them feel better for a while. But why do you care what other people choose to spend their money on?User Detail :
Name : Rick29928, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : Springfield, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I've noticed the same thing among young, mostly urban, black guys, but if you go into some rural, primarily white areas, you will see the same thing with the young guys there. My guess is that young guys like fancy cars, whether poor or rich. But if you don't have much and want to create the illusion that you do, you divert all your finances to highly visible luxury items, like clothes and 'tricked out' cars. Saving money (like for a house) would keep you from hiding your poverty, and this is unpleasant for many. It seems stupid, but well-to-do people don't have to face this dilemma.User Detail :
Name : TR24209, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : Newark, State : NJ Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,Nowadays it is easier for anybody, including young black males, to qualify credit-wise for a car, especially with many lenders using sub-lenders to finance the buyers. If you could sell a $60,000-car to someone at 15-20 percent interest over a short period of time, with them trading it in for a newer (more expensive) model every couple of years, wouldn't you? It is much more difficult to get approved for a mortgage, especially if you are young and broke, have bad credit, a so-so paying job, etc. Chances are, at that age, they're still living with Mom, anyway, and a $500 car payment won't break the bank.Today's society is all about image and keeping up with the Joneses, and if THEY'RE out riding in that new car, then you'd better be, too. And it isn't just the black folks. When you hear about $30-40-50,000-plus credit card debt, you better believe Jack and Melissa down the street have been keeping up, too.
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Name : Senetra28034, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 27, City : Anderson, State : IN Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College,I doubt seriously that 100 Escalades are owned in the entire city of Detroit, let alone hundreds among blacks in the 'hood,' as you say, all presumably cruising by where you work. And where would you have them live? I also doubt that Detroit's pristine vanilla suburbs would welcome them, or that you would welcome them next door to you, wherever that may be. They are no less deserving to dabble with those feel-good things of life than the suburbanite, and they are in all likelihood no less honest in securing their Escalades than the white surubanites are in securing their BMWs. That aside, your priorities and value systems are yours and cannot realistically be expected to be embraced by everyone else just because they are your values and priorities. They are not necessarily universally preferable. Different strokes for different folks. If driving an Escalade makes you feel good, then drive on, for such moments are not often enough in our brief lives. And a person living in the hood is no less deserving of these moments than the greedy, slick cats in the suburbs with their mansions and Rolls, Mercedes, Jaguars or Bently's and yachts on the lake. The guy in the hood has the right to live his life as he sees fit, as long as what he does brings harm to no one else. Cruising by in an Escalade is as harmless as doing so in a Mercedes, Dodge Ram or Ford Taurus. No difference, Bill, unless you want to make it so. The guy in the hood has as much a right to go cruising as the guy in the suburb. Let's not envy him when he exercises that right. So lighten up, get a life, then live and let live.User Detail :
Name : Floyd L., Gender : M, Age : 59, City : Memphis, State : TN Country : United States,There is truth to what Bill said above. I spent two years working in retail for a major wireless carrier in the Washington, D.C. area. We had an expectedly large urban black customer base, and yes, they tended toward the more expensive phone equipment. Even if they had a high security deposit due to credit issues, they had no problem paying up to $800 for this deposit, plus $300-$500, all in cash, for a phone like a Motorola StarTac. From conversations with some of these customers, they were definitely trying to impress friends and others by not only having a cell phone, but an expensive one. And yes, I, too have been puzzled by fancier cars (Cadillacs, BMWs, Lexus, etc) parked in front of rundown houses in both Washington and New York. This is not as much of a race issue as a class one, as it seems like the nice car is a source of pride for them. They may not own the house, as many of these properties are leased. But who am I to say how they should spend their money? They just have different priorities than I do.User Detail :
Name : Pete30379, Gender : M, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College,It comes off a racist, but 90 percent of it is true. There ARE 100 Escalades in the city, easy. Most with high-dollar upgrades. The suburban set get the cars from their parents, or drive their parents' cars. But I still want to know what type of jobs pay well enough for an inner city youth to afford such an expensive car. You can draw comparisons to whites in the sub's all day. I want to know where the cash flow comes from. I am in a very bad area of the city, which Detroit housing areas mostly are, and I see the cars all the time in my neighborhood. I can drive down my street and see shacks with Caddy's all over. Cars that are worth twice the amount of the homes. Please explain, without class comparisons, from a black's point of view of black life alone.User Detail :
Name : George21669, Gender : M, City : Detroit, State : MI Country : United States,I am an African American who works for every dime I get and has bills that exceed my paychecks. If you want to know how they get their cars, clothes, shoes, etc., go up and ask them yourself. Different strokes for different folks. If you want that life, get it; if not, don't worry about it, just mind your business!User Detail :
Name : Explanation, City : Baltimore, State : MD Country : United States,Perhaps some of them afford it by being well educated and having good jobs. My boyfriend is 23 and has a job that pays ~$75,000 (senior software test engineer). He's single and has no dependents, so he can well afford the Navigator he drives. But if you saw him driving past your work place, you would probably say he lives in the hood and has a minimum wage job. Oh well, he can't hear you over his Bose car speakers.User Detail :
Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Many cultures in the world prefer to spend their money on flashy clothing, jewellery or cars rather than a 'nice' home.It doesn't mean that they have a 'peacock syndrome'. Here in Australia for example, our Aboriginal people would far prefer to spend their money on something that can be enjoyed today rather than 'saving for a rainy day'When they get money they like to spend it on looking good and having a good time with their family. They see too many whitefellas out there just working their guts out with no time to enjoy their family & friends or to just be in the world. It seems to me that how you see it depends on the cultural values you have been taught by your family. Those from anglo-European background are taught to be very cautious and solid 'jimminy crickets' but also end up being rather grey and colourless creatures compared to all the exotic and exuberant butterflies from the here and now cultures of the world. They can really teach us how to enjoy life and have fun with each other!. Let's celebrate our diversity~User Detail :
Name : sonja, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 45, City : darwin, State : AR Country : Australia, Occupation : teacher, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The reason these black guys are driving expensive cars while living in a dump is simple: They all sell drugs. I don't care what anyone says or how politically incorrect it may sound. The truth is that they sell drugs and/or are involved in prostitution. It's the same wherever you go. The person posting this question is from Detroit , and where I live (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) we see the same thing. And it p***es everyone off because they are also collecting welfare. There. I said it.User Detail :
Name : MurrayC, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 33, City : Halifax, Nova Scotia, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : Draftsman, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Upper middle class,As bad as it sounds, Murray is at least partially right. I've lived around and gone to school in that kind of neighborhood and frankly, that's what goes down. The only way to get that kind of money that quickly is something illegal, and if you ask any of the said men in question, they'll tell you the truth. (I know, because I have.) When people have next to nothing, and come into insane amounts of money all at once, they go out and buy all the expensive things they always wanted but could never afford. It is a sort of peacock syndrome. However, the same can be said for white people who live in fabulously expensive homes and drive the most expensive cars but live on credit. They spend money they don't have just to be able to show it off. It happens to almost everyone in that situation.User Detail :
Name : Dani B., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, City : Charlotte, State : NC Country : United States, Social class : Middle class,You show up from time to time on this site, just to see how many people you can tick off with your hostility toward blacks. I suppose I should be grateful you are not as obsessed and hateful toward Latinos and native people. But we'll see if that changes after you read my response. Let me give you some news that will shock you: Some people living in black, Latino or American Indian neighborhoods actually ARE educated or actually run their OWN businesses. Most of my extended family actually chooses to remain in the barrio, even though most of the younger generation is college-educated and successful. Why not? It's where most of us grew up and where most of our families still are. Yes, some people driving fancy cars are drug dealers, but guess what? That includes some of the white college kids from well-off backgrounds I encountered, who were dealing on the side while in college to support their own drug habits. Many of those people you see in fancy cars in poor neighborhoods actually earned the money through honest work. What a concept. I know it must blow your mind.User Detail :
Name : ACC25123, Gender : M, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : San Antonio, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Grad student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,If you really live in Detroit, then you know that there are tens of thousands of young black men in Detroit who work for one of the Big 3 (Ford, GM or Daimler). Many of these men live in 'the hood' because that's where they are from, and they have no desire to move. Take it from a black suburbanite, Detroit is one of the most racially polarized cities in the United States. If a young man makes $60-80,000 working for Ford, and his living expenses are low, he can afford the cars and clothes, 20-inch gold rims, diamond-encrusted platinum watches, etc.The obvious reason they engage in that behavior is that it works. Young women respond to it. If you doubt me, take a drive down Jefferson to Belle Isle on any weekend during the summer. It's exactly like a peacock. Women are the prime movers of society, and everything that men do is in the direct or indirect pursuit of women. Whatever women respond to is what many men are going to give them. And in Detroit, that is big trucks on gold rims with loud booming stereos full of young men dressed in the latest, most expensive 'gear.' If the young women didn't run over to their trucks and hand out phone numbers like tic-tacs, the young brothas wouldn't continue to behave in that manner.
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Name : Paul S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Atheist, Age : 32, City : Oak Park, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : software engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,You are grossly mistaken about Escalades in Detroit. This is maybe the one city in the United States where a guy can barely graduate from high school, get a job in the auto plants and (with overtime) make $70,000 in two years. Detroit is lousy with young men and women with $60,000 trucks.User Detail :
Name : Paul S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Atheist, Age : 32, City : Oak Park, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : software engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,
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