[Paul Chandler]

What's my point? Don't take it personally if people give you looks or call you names. They're not really seeing you (reading Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man would be a good idea now). They might be acting out because their friends just got robbed by black kids in Dorchester, or their dad was passed over because of 'reverse discrimination' in the fire department, or they're just mildly retarded, which you'll notice a lot of Southie kids seem to be (fetal alcohol syndrome, most of the time). Rely on your social instincts and spot a 'good one', try to strike up a conversation. You'll be lucky if you find five good ones. Actually, nah...Southie's mellowed out since I left (when I was 18, I'm 23 now). They don't take race too seriously anymore. The worst you'll get is name -calling.

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Name : Paul Chandler, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : Jamaica Plain, State : MA Country : United States, 

[Paul Chandler]

I grew up in Southie. What the others have said about economics is more or less true. My personal experience of Southie was unique. My mom was a lesbian; my brother was (and is) a gay ballet dancer who hung out mostly with black girls; I attended public school (the Tynan, as opposed to Gatie or St. Peter's), most of my friends were black, and I didn't play hockey or soccer. As you'd expect, I routinely got the shit kicked out of me. I was very 'southie' in other ways, however. For example, I was racist, deep down. It's a generational thing, passed down from one to the next. Every kid in Southie grows up racist. White kids in the projects hang Tupac posters in their bedrooms but hate 'n*ggers'. It's, as they say in Southie, 're-donk-ulous'. I grew up near Gate of Heaven. Pretty good people up that way. If you live near Andrew Square, you're don't really live in Southie, the Southie I know and respect. The poorer, the dumber, the more racist. A-F Streets are poorer than G-P. People near M St. are generally better off, generally more cultured, nicer. Visit a few stores and shops, especially on East Broadway. I seem to be a 'snob' when it comes to classifying people by their incomes and education, but it's more about lifestyles than income. There are poor and uneducated people who do not live poor lives, who have compassion and intelligence, and it just happens that most of them live up the 'Point', and few of them live in the uglier, westward parts of Southie.

User Detail :  

Name : Paul Chandler, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : Jamaica Plain, State : MA Country : United States, 

[Paul Chandler]

I don't see what harm would be done by reading a passage from the New Testament, e.g., a reading from Matthew, something devoid of any Christian doctrine but which contains peaceful, loving, universally-appreciated sentiments. I mean, for Christ's sake, he WAS a Jew - from the cradle to the grave. His words are the words of a Jew, aren't they? Would merely his presence upset your Jewish disposition? If so, I'd say that 'right wing' comment about your Christian in-laws applies equally to you.

User Detail :  

Name : Paul Chandler, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : Jamaica Plain, State : MA Country : United States, 

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