[Jessica G.]

I’m a white girl that grew up in the ghetto. I knew those kids that walked in the center of the road, daring traffic to run them over. It’s a show of force, letting you know that ‘I may be poor, but I am not afraid!’ Many of us had parents that worked two and three jobs and didn’t have time to teach us respect. We learned it the day one of us got hit by a car. As far as bringing the ghetto out with us, we want the same things you have, and we want to earn it. We want to take the people we love with us. So when I finally got a house outside the gate, I asked my best friend and her mom to join me. Besides, its easier to pay bills with three incomes than one. The broke down car in the yard? It’s because we can’t afford the brand new ones. Failing to maintain our property? We need milk and bread, and that is much more important that a lawn mower. I work hard to feed my children, as does everyone I know from the ghetto. Dress and act? I don’t dress nasty, neither does anyone I know. Please, don’t confuse us with drug pushers and hookers. We are people who are down on our luck, or made a few mistakes in life, trying to make it better. And those that are drug pushers and hookers, they just ran out of options. It doesn’t mean that I am just like them, or that they didn’t try. Unfortunately, once we are in the ghetto, few make it out, because the image that society gave us keeps us there. Like the gates in the ghetto I lived in. They weren’t to keep people out, but to keep us in.

User Detail :  

Name : Jessica G., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 24, City : Greenville, State : SC, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Kate26818]

First of all, I have to be up front and say that I too am white/middle class, so you’ll probably want to stop right here if that matters. I have however, worked for Habitat for Humanity and seen what you’re talking about. Consider this: If you moved up into an ultra rich lifestyle where everyone around you has a master’s degree or a doctorate, and a lifestyle much more complicated than yours-would you automatically know how to adjust to it? You probably would really want to, but without having to ask someone to teach you how and risk looking stupid. You live what you know from how you were raised. You can’t change that without training. You wouldn’t know any different. Someone who moves up will still have their same values and tastes and lifestyle. As far as walking in front of traffic and disregarding motorists-it’s defiance. They feel different and they know they don’t fit in. They wish they didn’t feel so stupid or so ignorant or different. So they’re defensive and defiant. They want to show that it ‘doesn’t matter’ to them that they don’t fit in. They want to seem tough and independent and cover their true feelings of fear amd inferiority. Much the same as a little kid would say, ‘That’s stupid’ to another kid rather than embracing the differences.

User Detail :  

Name : Kate26818, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Brainerd, State : MN, Country : United States, Occupation : sales, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Truthteller]

What a sad naivete’ this question reveals. They act that way because they can’t help themselves. Imagine for a moment that you dressed a chimpanzee in a tuxedo and sent him to a high school prom. Would he magically become a teenager and dance and have some punch? Of course not. He’d mess the tuxedo and hang from the basketball goals. So it is with our countrymen of African descent. You can move them to the most upscale neighborhoods in the most upscale towns, and their nature will make itself plain before too long. Sad, yes, but true.

User Detail :  

Name : Truthteller, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 30, City : New Orleans, State : LA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Juan]

Just goes in line with the old ‘you can take them out of the jungle, but can’t take the jungle out of them’ line. Now that is not refering to all african americans at all, but I know exactly the group you are refering to. We are seeing it here in my city. We give them new housing and move them into new neighborhoods and within a year they are exactly like the old places.

User Detail :  

Name : Juan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 34, City : New Orleans, State : LA, Country : United States, Occupation : Computer Engineer, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Upper class, 

[Kim26354]

Because thats who they are. They are comfortable with themselves, which in part is a good thing. They have what they want, as in money, so why should they assimilate to your standards? Im not defending these people, just showing a different perspective. And I also think this post has more to do with class than ethnicity.

User Detail :  

Name : Kim26354, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 19, City : bakersfield, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : varies, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jay]

You are probably dealing with a lot of factors:
1. Upbringing – If you take someone from the back woods, they are still probably going to listen to country music, watch NASCAR and drink beer. Don’t expect someone who just moved from the a very different environment to instantly transform themselves into the Cleaver family.

2. Guilt – Blacks who move out to better neighborhoods are often under a lot of scrutiny to ‘not sell out’. Unfortunately, ‘keeping it real’ often means clashes with the new environment. However, regarding dress, freedom of expression is a right granted by the First Amendment. I don’t think anyone has ever been hurt because one of their neighbors wore their jeans a little too baggy. If you don’t like it, you probably shouldn’t wear it.

3. Defensiveness – The blacks who move to that neighborhood are prepared to face racism, and probably already have their guard up. This might be a case where the best defense really is not a strong offense.

4. I assume you are over-generalizing when you say ‘they’ and ‘their’. I live in an upper-middle class neighborhood with a great deal of diversity. Until you see someone walk out of the house, you can’t tell whether it is owned by a black, white or Asian because we all keep our houses and yards nice. I don’t think my neighborhood is the exception.

User Detail :  

Name : Jay, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 33, City : St. Louis, State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : IT-Analyst, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Sharell]

We must remember that the term ‘ghetto’ is not just a location, but also a frame of mind. White folks can be ‘ghetto’ also, it simply depends on the people. People that have been elite members of the ghetto many times only have lived that livestyle, therefore cannot immediately change their behavior. Instead of being problem-based, we should be solution-based and educate ALL people on their behavior patterns. Thats what makes this site so wonderful!

User Detail :  

Name : Sharell, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 21, City : Summit Argo, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : entertainment jr. executive, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Andy23938]

Coming from a white guy, I think that it has to do with the fact that other black people think that a well-to-do black person who has made a good life for him/herself is a ‘sell-out’. Black people who adapt to a higher-class lifestyle are often viewed as ‘not black’ by their peers. This is something that needs to be addressed within their race so the black community can continue to improve their lifestyles without being degraded by their peers.

User Detail :  

Name : Andy23938, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Peter]

Have you heard the saying, ‘you can take one out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of them?’ This is a common saying among black folk, meaning that old habits die hard. Although this behavior of ‘bringing the ghetto’ with them is annoying to the neighbors, you got to understand that as with anything, one cannot instantly drop one’s way of life because some neighbors desire it. How would you like it If you moved to a Swedish community and they posted a question about why you brought our annoying American habits with you? Why can’t you just instantly conform with the Swedish culture entirely? Things take time, and old habits die hard.

User Detail :  

Name : Peter, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 20, City : Jacksonville, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[P-Brooks]

My Great Aunt lived in Harlem. She would complain about how people would not keep up their homes in Harlem. There are slobs everywhere, and when they get money it doesn’t make them neat. The advantage of having money is that you can live where there are ways to make the slobs take care of their property (for example, deed restrictions). I notice that you are from the North, and you will see urban ghettos that are predominantly black. Look in the South and you’ll see Caucasians who will not keep up their property.

User Detail :  

Name : P-Brooks, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Presbyterian, Age : 54, City : Lakeland, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : Accountant, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Whitney]

J, that’s not just Black folks. Many people of ALL races who ‘move on up’ bring their ‘ghetto ways’ with them. I wonder the same about White people who move into nicer neighborhoods and sit on the porch drinking beer and spitting tobacco at anything that passes. Also, to be honest, I’ve always thought it was White people who feel they own everything, ESPECIALLY walkways, etc. and will walk out in front of your car when you’re 2 feet away from them. It seems everywhere I go I have White people walking in front of my bumper…at the supermarket, at the mall, on campus, everywhere. You all also tend to walk in the middle of aisles, making it extremely difficult to get anywhere. Oh! And you don’t move because you ‘own’ EVERYTHING!!! I can tell you it gets very frustrating at times.

User Detail :  

Name : Whitney, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 25, City : Tunica, State : MS, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jeff31167]

Because Arrogance combined with Ignorance will last a lifetime.

User Detail :  

Name : Jeff31167, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 45, City : Victoria, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Graphic Designer - Art director, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ashley B.]

Just because someone wants to live in nicer neighborhood doesn’t mean they need to change who they are especially something as trivial as the way they dress. Also, a lot of black people’s (and maybe other minorities?) family structures are not as narrow as whites. Elderly grandparents and cousins are seen as immediate family and may live together with a ‘nuclear’ family for a variety of reasons. Money and child-rearing are two common reasons many extended families live together under one roof. For instance, my mom was a single working mother and I never spent one day in day care and can count the number of times a non-relative babysitted me because there was usually a grandparent or cousin living with us when I was a kid. Also any family that is in a sense, ‘moving up’ in terms of class may struggle a bit financially so what you may see as a wrecked car may be a car they are working hard to fix because they can’t afford to just let it go. In regards to the hostility you spoke of, you should really ask yourself if these minority youth are more hostile than white youth. As a young black woman I struggle all the time trying to appear non-threatening because white people seem to be more likely to percieve me as hostile. Also, these youth may feel that there neighbors are hostile to them and so they are responding to that.

User Detail :  

Name : Ashley B., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 22, City : Lansing, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

[C-Ford]

Whoa there, please define ‘they’. Is it ALL minorities or just some? Having said that, there is a culture of poverty that surfaces even when people do better financially. Culture is something you inherit from your surroundings/family. Cultural norms are instilled automatically from birth. What is ‘normal’ or second-nature from birth is not easily changed just because you change zip codes. You can take a boy out of the ghetto; but you can’t take the ghetto out of the boy. While this is an oversimplification, for many people it applies. Consider the opposite case. Imagine that you fell from grace and HAD to move to the ghetto. Would you then ‘act and dress’ the way they do in the ghetto, or would you behave in the way that you were raised?

User Detail :  

Name : C-Ford, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 42, City : Pasadena, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Education, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Mike]

The answer is that ‘the ghetto’ is a human trait, not a physical location. Whole countries that are impoverished far worse than those in, say, the typical American ghetto, live fully functional lives where community, family and individual civility are strong and normalized. The ghetto lives in the person. When they move, literally, the ghetto moves. So often, poverty is the result of behaviors and not the other way round. If you are not smart enough or respectful enough to keep a street clear to allow cars to use it, you are not smart or respectful enough to have a job. You will stay trapped in the ghetto.

User Detail :  

Name : Mike, Gender : M, City : Windsor, State : CA, Country : United States, 

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