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Sounds equally absurd as say many; our nation's debt deriving from 1 form of Welfare (impoverished Urbanites) oppose to various forms; write offs & corporations receiving great welfare handouts.
this position, without telling us what any of the "corporate welfare" is, stems from a belief that all the money is the Federal Government's, to apportion out as it sees fit.
It would be classism now, to look at who resides in that area, currently.
Back when the conditions were created (toxic waste dump) that caused there to be no cicadas now, the city was segregated and the neighborhood south of 38th street was segregated black.
So. Racism is why there are no cicadas south of 38th street. From the past.
There has been environmental contamination all over the county in the past, wow even in Caucasian dominated communities, and it has been and is being cleaned up over the decades. It may be the continuation of conditions allowed 60-70 years ago that keeps the cicadas from utilizing this past habit.
Seventeen years ago the cicadas in certain spots in my area were deafening. This year nada.
I realize this article is about how todays blacks are victims of racism because black communities were developed on potentially environmentally contaminated property decades ago but just like the cicadas change happens.
There are continued programs to redevelop brownfields, there is no longer segregation and people and cicadas are free to relocate.
Want to understand the story you linked in your original post? Read past the headline.
And for anyone else too lazy to read the whole story:
It's common knowledge that periodic cicadas don't flourish in great numbers where the ground has recently been disturbed, paved over, etc. While the author makes the connection between traditionally black neighborhoods, density, a paucity of trees and unpaved earth, post-industrial land use, and the lack of periodic cicadas, he ignores that cicadas also are scarce in dense downtown areas and redeveloped areas.
In summary: He's partly right.
the issue becomes - "what are the facts?"
were thoroughfares built, industrial sites developed, etc because they wanted to harm Blacks? Or because that's where the less expensive, in need of redevelopment land, etc were?
Maybe reading the article you posted would be helpful to your understanding this - it's a very short article - and I wouldn't have to repeat what's in it to people who are disagreeing with the premise without bothering to read it.
The damage done to the property, a brownfield, still remains. And the cicada lifecycle is an extremely long one, so brownfield conditions that were in existence 34 years ago (and still remain, to an extent) still are affecting the presence of cicadas south of 38th street.
So. The children in his science class had a question about why cicadas were the topic of conversation throughout the city, and were plentiful, except in their neighborhood.
And the correct answer the teacher knew, was because of historical racism.
when the "correct answer" to almost everything is "historical racism", then it becomes the correct answer to none.
I do take heart when all these stories of "systemic racism" in the 20th century emanate from states outside the South though.
pray, tell us what is the precise "brownfield" in question.
Like a teacher named Joanne Barber. she says she uses the violent Black Lives Matter protests, ignited by the death of George Floyd last year, “to teach more about raceâ€in her second-grade class. "I am willing to be that teacher that has those hard conversations.†She boasted that she injects"race and equity into every subject†and “every day" in her class "is filled with race education.â€
were thoroughfares built, industrial sites developed, etc because they wanted to harm Blacks? Or because that's where the less expensive, in need of redevelopment land, etc were?
One is racist. One is not.
The people living there, operating their businesses there, didn't think the land was in need of redevelopment. They were summarily booted from their property and forced to move. The homes and businesses were bulldozed and the land sold to developers. Lower income neighborhoods, and especially low income black neighborhoods, have historically been targets for this kind of theft because the city planners know darn well the residents don't have the resources to fight city hall.
The people living there, operating their businesses there, didn't think the land was in need of redevelopment. They were summarily booted from their property and forced to move. The homes and businesses were bulldozed and the land sold to developers. Lower income neighborhoods, and especially low income black neighborhoods, have historically been targets for this kind of theft because the city planners know darn well the residents don't have the resources to fight city hall.
when the "correct answer" to almost everything is "historical racism", then it becomes the correct answer to none.
I do take heart when all these stories of "systemic racism" in the 20th century emanate from states outside the South though.
pray, tell us what is the precise "brownfield" in question.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClaraC
It was in the article - I don't know the specific location, as in bounded by what streets, specifically.
actually, it wasn't in the article.
That teacher spent all that time telling us it was systemic racism using the playbook generalities without naming a single specific case.
I would agree that if the City of Indianapolis went right next to the Black neighborhoods of the day and said "Hey, we'll just dump this toxic **** here, cause who cares what it does to Black people." - why they've got a strong case and vast majority public sentiment!
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