And then there were two... (Boston: pros and cons, move, suburban)

[BostonBornMassMade]

Another relevant comment I saw in the Globe


NativeBos
9/21/21 - 6:32PM
How could White progressives bail on Janey when they were never in her camp to begin with? Campbell likely had more White progressive backing than Janey did.
But both had the burden of being Boston born and bred. Whereas White progressives are a very transient bunch. They live here, but are not of here. Even Campbell's impeccable ivy league credentials couldn't win their support. Too Boston for them.
Wu is (almost) like them. Ticks all the boxes. A female, ivy league minority who is a transplant like them.
Perhaps White progressives are not a reliable path for Black political power.

[Urban Peasant]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Another relevant comment I saw in the Globe


NativeBos
9/21/21 - 6:32PM
How could White progressives bail on Janey when they were never in her camp to begin with? Campbell likely had more White progressive backing than Janey did.
But both had the burden of being Boston born and bred. Whereas White progressives are a very transient bunch. They live here, but are not of here. Even Campbell's impeccable ivy league credentials couldn't win their support. Too Boston for them.
Wu is (almost) like them. Ticks all the boxes. A female, ivy league minority who is a transplant like them.
Perhaps White progressives are not a reliable path for Black political power.

Of course not. The neighborhoods who have seen the least positive change for longtime locals happen to be the working class neighborhoods such as Dorchester and Roxbury. Many of the changes benefited newcomers more than longtime residents. Those progressive newcomers of course are not going to support individuals whom they think will return the neighborhood back to yesteryear even if it is untrue. A few are tacitly racist too, they just don't show it openly. Still, race politics aside, I think it is an example of the broader paradigm that progressive newcomers don't want to support longtime Bostonians. Former Mayor Kevin White's daughter (I forgot her name) ran a few elections ago and came nowhere close to winning. Even at her relatively young age, she was far too old school Bostonian to garner much interest. Case in point, I've attended town meetings in places like Chelmsford and Pepperell, MA where residents give shouting matches with statements like "I was born and raised here" or "I was a resident of this town for 20 years!" as if to show that residential longevity is the ticket to political power. Not so anymore in Boston. You could be the newest kid on the block and still win an election if you could convince voters to vote for you.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

NativeBos
9/21/21 - 6:32PM
How could White progressives bail on Janey when they were never in her camp to begin with? Campbell likely had more White progressive backing than Janey did.
But both had the burden of being Boston born and bred. Whereas White progressives are a very transient bunch. They live here, but are not of here.

Hate to break it to you and that commenter, but there have been white progressives in Boston for literally hundreds of years.

[bostongymjunkie]

But not in anywhere near the numbers as today, nor were they of the same social classes as are today. Different animal so to speak and much different attitudes and values. The Marxist strand remains though, but it's been interspersed into a weird corporate mix demographic.

[Urban Peasant]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

Hate to break it to you and that commenter, but there have been white progressives in Boston for literally hundreds of years.

The type and level of progressiveness has changed over the years. Just like how others corrected me here in CDF about modern day Bostonian Puritanism, the scope and depth of the progressives of the 19th and 20th century cannot be compared to now. For good or bad, we are in a new phase of progressiveness right now.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Urban Peasant

Of course not. The neighborhoods who have seen the least positive change for longtime locals happen to be the working class neighborhoods such as Dorchester and Roxbury. Many of the changes benefited newcomers more than longtime residents. Those progressive newcomers of course are not going to support individuals whom they think will return the neighborhood back to yesteryear even if it is untrue. A few are tacitly racist too, they just don't show it openly. Still, race politics aside, I think it is an example of the broader paradigm that progressive newcomers don't want to support longtime Bostonians. Former Mayor Kevin White's daughter (I forgot her name) ran a few elections ago and came nowhere close to winning. Even at her relatively young age, she was far too old school Bostonian to garner much interest. Case in point, I've attended town meetings in places like Chelmsford and Pepperell, MA where residents give shouting matches with statements like "I was born and raised here" or "I was a resident of this town for 20 years!" as if to show that residential longevity is the ticket to political power. Not so anymore in Boston. You could be the newest kid on the block and still win an election if you could convince voters to vote for you.

The thing about these white progressive transplants is they are often singles/DINKS or they wouldn't dream of sending their kids to the BPS. They usually aren't affected by crime so much. They are far more passionate about new bike lands and plastic bag bans, than fixing the schools or putting more cops on the street.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by Urban Peasant

Of course not. The neighborhoods who have seen the least positive change for longtime locals happen to be the working class neighborhoods such as Dorchester and Roxbury. Many of the changes benefited newcomers more than longtime residents. Those progressive newcomers of course are not going to support individuals whom they think will return the neighborhood back to yesteryear even if it is untrue. A few are tacitly racist too, they just don't show it openly. Still, race politics aside, I think it is an example of the broader paradigm that progressive newcomers don't want to support longtime Bostonians. Former Mayor Kevin White's daughter (I forgot her name) ran a few elections ago and came nowhere close to winning. Even at her relatively young age, she was far too old school Bostonian to garner much interest. Case in point, I've attended town meetings in places like Chelmsford and Pepperell, MA where residents give shouting matches with statements like "I was born and raised here" or "I was a resident of this town for 20 years!" as if to show that residential longevity is the ticket to political power. Not so anymore in Boston. You could be the newest kid on the block and still win an election if you could convince voters to vote for you.

"happen to be"??

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

Hate to break it to you and that commenter, but there have been white progressives in Boston for literally hundreds of years.

Cool story, your point is? Seriously...what is your point? That's a random and unrelated response to what he said.

And for hundred of years they've never elected a black mayor. Hate to break that to you.

1983, 1993, 2013, 2017, 2021. Never works.

You cannot get the majority of the white voter to vote for mayor of Boston if you are black. Then add in a black political class so hungry for power that they split the black vote. Most black voters realize this and are apathetic. This is the reason Janey cited for not running for mayor intially, she said she didnt think it was possible.




White Bostonians have never once voted 50% or more for a black candidate (or any collection of black candidates).

^Objectively, this is a fact until proven otherwise.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by massnative71

The thing about these white progressive transplants is they are often singles/DINKS or they wouldn't dream of sending their kids to the BPS. They usually aren't affected by crime so much. They are far more passionate about new bike lands and plastic bag bans, than fixing the schools or putting more cops on the street.

This. They also really don't know the history of Boston or the Black native population well enough to care about either. This goes for suburban white people who move into Boston as well.

[Space_League]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Perhaps White progressives are not a reliable path for Black political power.

people who hate themselves make for terrible allies. On the other end of the spectrum you have folks who think they are better than everyone else and love to show you just why that is the case. Boston politics includes an unfortunate amount of both.