Uncool News (Birmingham, Greenville: price, lawsuits, trendy)

[bfmx1]

Originally Posted by BamaDave

I wouldn't want to live around people who get upset over "Black Lives Matter" being painted on a street. I also would love to see more and more Black and Brown people moving downtown. One of the things I like about Railroad Park is the diverse mix of people, and I imagine many younger (I'm not) folks aren't interested in maintaining the racist neighborhood segregation of the past.

From my standpoint, and I certainly understand this view changes depending on your vantage point, is that BLM did nothing but divide us even more. The organization itself has not accomplished anything and has caused far more harm than good. So for the city of Birmingham to still proudly display it in the streets says something. So I wouldn't want to live around a city that throws such a corrupt and divisive group in my face.

My sentiments on this are strongly echoed over the mountain too whether you think that or not.

[Zachadoo92]

I would also question whether young people don't want "racist segregation". I'm sure that when asked young Millenials and gen Z will say Obviously they value "diversity" and equal housing opportunities, but in practice, I wonder what they are actually doing with their money.

It's real easy to say something, but when real money is involved I do wonder what my generation is doing with it(money).

[wardamnbham]

Originally Posted by bfmx1

From my standpoint, and I certainly understand this view changes depending on your vantage point, is that BLM did nothing but divide us even more. The organization itself has not accomplished anything and has caused far more harm than good. So for the city of Birmingham to still proudly display it in the streets says something. So I wouldn't want to live around a city that throws such a corrupt and divisive group in my face.

My sentiments on this are strongly echoed over the mountain too whether you think that or not.

BLM as a movement and BLM as an org are two different things.

[bfmx1]

Originally Posted by wardamnbham

BLM as a movement and BLM as an org are two different things.

They support one another. The BLM organization started the movement and the movement gives the BLM organization its power and funding.

The point is, it's another adoption of a fad that, in my opinion, main stream media exploited to further divide us so we had to choose sides. Choosing political/social sides makes MSM tons of money. There's no money for MSM in middle ground, non-controversial stories, and loving your neighbor. That's boring.

Think about that point for a while though and watch how MSM has exploited the divide and has relished in more and more division.

[wardamnbham]

Originally Posted by bfmx1

They support one another. The BLM organization started the movement and the movement gives the BLM organization its power and funding.

The point is, it's another adoption of a fad that, in my opinion, main stream media exploited to further divide us so we had to choose sides. Choosing political/social sides makes MSM tons of money. There's no money for MSM in middle ground, non-controversial stories, and loving your neighbor. That's boring.

Think about that point for a while though and watch how MSM has exploited the divide and has relished in more and more division.

You are not forced to choose a side no more than I would be "choosing a side" by amplifying calls to "Stop Asian Hate." If anything, the sides are racism/bigotry vs. tolerance and inclusion... a rather easy choice. I don't always agree with what BLM the org (i.e. Global Network) promotes and the causes they support. Additionally, there is a distinct different between the movement and the network as mentioned above. To call either a "fad" is reductive and ignores nuance for the sake of easily digestible soundbites. For a city like Birmingham, with our history and legacy, that stance goes against what folks fought so hard to attain. Just my two cents.

[bfmx1]

Originally Posted by wardamnbham

You are not forced to choose a side no more than I would be "choosing a side" by amplifying calls to "Stop Asian Hate." If anything, the sides are racism/bigotry vs. tolerance and inclusion... a rather easy choice. I don't always agree with what BLM the org (i.e. Global Network) promotes and the causes they support. Additionally, there is a distinct different between the movement and the network as mentioned above. To call either a "fad" is reductive and ignores nuance for the sake of easily digestible soundbites. For a city like Birmingham, with our history and legacy, that stance goes against what folks fought so hard to attain. Just my two cents.

I don't totally disagree but I do at the same time. Looking at it from my POV which is a little different than yours.. No better or worse mind you. But I do think we're forced (almost forced I guess) to take a side. Remember when everyone posted the black boxes on instagram in solidarity? If you didn't, you were vilified. Notice how companies are practically forced to change their logos to rainbow colors in support of gay pride? If they don't they're vilified and have to defend themselves. Hell, I can't even assume if someone's a man or woman now days. You know who that makes people hate more? THEM, anyone who forces a group into a corner to bow to their ideals and worldview.

I still love what Morgan Freeman said about how to end racism... Stop talking about it. I couldn't agree more..

It's like when I'm in the office and we DON'T talk about politics, we're all friends and laughing together. But as soon as someone brings up politics or one of these issues, the office is immediately divided. But that's not newsworthy is it? We love to call our political opponents racists because you can't come back from that one! The MSM is 100% guilty of perpetuating this ideology and we've fallen for it.

[wardamnbham]

Thank you for sharing your views. Respectfully, some of your opinions seem to be shaped by and from a position of your privilege. We all do it. I'm a man. I have blindspots when it comes to understanding what women experience and how they must navigate the world. I'm not a member of the LGBTQ community... but I've had colleagues (some who still have not come out because of their work and potential backlash) express appreciation when my business started hosting events that provided them with a safe space.

Yes, I chose a side. I sided with humanity. Did my business change our logo for Pride month? No. Did we receive backlash? No. Moreover, I don't recall other businesses, large or small, getting vilified for not posting a black square on Instagram. Was there societal pressure? Probably. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. What's bad is when we frame these issues in an adversarial binary... us vs. them. That's the pernicious legacy of racism. Supporting social justice for Black folks doesn't come at the expense of white people, Latinos, or anyone else for that matter.

Yes, it's framed that way by some fringe elements. But hopefully we can all apply critical thinking skills and take a step back from the noise to see the matter more accurately. As for Morgan Freeman (whom I admire) on this topic, this quote -- viewed without the surrounding context, is unfortunately oversimplified. Racism won't go away if people stopped talking about it. A nice thought... but pollyannaish. As for political talk in office environments, I generally avoid it. But I've been in work settings where it was embraced. How? Because we all respected one another and recognized each other's humanity.

Perhaps if we all committed to doing that instead of othering those "on the other side," we'd be a much more inclusive and prosperous society.

[bfmx1]

Originally Posted by wardamnbham

Did my business change our logo for Pride month? No. Did we receive backlash? No. Moreover, I don't recall other businesses, large or small, getting vilified for not posting a black square on Instagram.

I don't disagree but I would be careful just 'siding with humanity' as humanity isn't always good, pure, right, or fruitful. If we're honest, and if I can put words in your mouth, I bet you really meant you stand on the side of loving people first. If that's what you meant, we're in total agreement although it may look different at times.

Anyway, case-in-point about being vilified for not complying to societal pressures. Just today, 5 Tampa Ray players are being dragged through the mud for refusing to wear a Pride patch on their uniforms. This is all over the news.

A friend of mine who works at former BBVA had enormous pressure from her team to post her black box on social media, change her logo on her email for pride, or risk being vilified by coworkers. They even mentioned and called her out on a conference call. She quit shortly after.

[wardamnbham]

Fair enough. Love all people. I am very comfortable with that phrasing.

Regarding the Rays, it highlights two interesting questions. Should companies/teams be promoting orgs and movements (e.g. through events such as police appreciation nights or, in this case, wearing Pride patches) at all? And second, should employees/players be required to do so? To the former, I don't know. To the latter, I would actually say "no."

I would understand and appreciate the symbolism/solidarity if a team wore, say, black arm bands during Black History Month. I would also understand the message that would be sent, whether someone intended to or not, if a white player opted-out because "all history matters" or because of CRT or (insert recent boogeyman). These issues require intentional thought and nuanced discussion, something our clickbait society and social media communities just doesn't allow for.

As for the BBVA issue, I'll just say that sounds like a black eye on HR.

All that said, these contentious moments will continue to happen. And they should. It's necessary. The talks are necessary. The pressures are necessary. It will be messy at certain points. Our nation, while great, does suffer from horrible sickness from time to time. This is needed medicine... part of our pill cocktail, if you will. Society has come a long way for traditionally marginalized communities. None of those advances (civil rights, voting rights, gay marriage, etc.) manifested without tension.

In my view, we should embrace that fact while also committing to love and recognize one another. They're not mutually exclusive actions. Just my two cents. Thanks again for engaging and sharing.

[bfmx1]

Back to the topic, this is very bad news for Birmingham though. Its consistent decline in population is concerning. If the metro increase was substantial, I wouldn't care so much but it's not. Metro population increase still trails national average meaning people are consistently NOT choosing Birmingham or its metro to move to. It's sliding backwards in its national position. This leaves little motivation for a company to consider moving here. Furthermore, it leaves very little motivation for a young professional to leave their big city and move to Birmingham.

People in Bham seem to have blinders and only listen to BhamNow as a barameter of how the city's doing. They rank the city's success by a magazine-mention or inclusion in some arbitrary list. Most of these lists and magazine mentions are fake news - which many of you don't believe exists I know. Is Highlands even back open yet? I could put any city on a "best of" list depending on how I spin the stats.

Are there good things going on? Yes, and we should celebrate those. But don't travel! If you go to other cities you might realize what you're missing and get the itch to leave.