“…because even though I’m not supposed to, I profile people, especially old white guys…”. I’m right there with you, bro.
And I too get junk mail and spam emails from cremation services and cemeteries. And who knew you could buy from Costco online your very own coffin? I’m waiting for a floor model in the warehouse. Just need to crawl in and try it out for size. Maybe take a nap.
And I do remember Sen. Frank Church (D-ID). The scary thing is COINTELPRO was practiced all the way down to the local level by state and local governments.
Thanks, Michael. Speaking of Costco caskets, I wondered so much about how a time traveler from the future would feel about seeing such a thing that I wrote a little piece about it...
“This was a big place. Like a city. People were bound to die here.” And those are just the ones stuck in their car behind an oversized SUV, on a hot day, stopped blocking the parking lot aisle nearest the Costco entry, waiting for an even bigger pickup truck to back out of the parking space, but only after the pickup driver talks on the phone, checks their FB feed, and sends a few text messages. By this time, the person in the car behind the SUV has either fallen asleep or died of heatstroke. See what you’re missing not owning your own car in Atlanta?
near as I can tell, the reference to Mockingbird is a revival of a conspiracy theory that the CIA is into everything and the media is keeping it under wraps. I saw a reference to Tulsi Gabbard promoting it, but didn't follow up because anything Tulsi does or says is a waste of time.
How long have you lived in Atlanta??? Because as much as I liked your post your assessment of its success and culture is off. I moved to the ATL in 1980; lived there until (due to a family matter I had to move out of state a few years ago.It was a magnet for Black culture and young Black professionals (even) in the early 80s. Mayor Maynard Jackson had much to do with this, including the building of the world’s busiest airport. cultural renaissance has been going on for decades. But honestly, many outside of the South have egregious misconceptions about it, particularly those on the coastal hot points like NYC, San Francisco and LA. Most neighborhoods I lived in were way more diverse than any northern city. My oldest attended a high school with the flags of 32 counties (representing students countries) in the cafeteria. Additionally, why didn’t you utilize Marta to get to Buckhead? No one would fault you for owning a car in Atlanta; though it’s infamous snarled traffic is reason enough for an Uber.., Atlanta is a great metropolitan area which it seems you’re beginning to discover. My family also owned a small business in the area, so I know something about relations between different communities and the local businesses. I miss that beautiful city, its vibrant cultural diversity (this is NOT a 21st century thing btw.) If you haven’t already been I suggest a day trip to the DeKalb Farmer’s Market. This is Atlanta to me. Look up its story (another interesting tale of locals embracing an “outsider “) and make sure you’ve got someone to help you carry your stuff. You’ll want some of everything.
From my perspective it came off sounding like this was a recent thing , something I found most who hadn’t lived there had. I’d felt from the time I moved there that Georgia had the opportunity to go blue or at least purple given common sense Democratic leadership. I always go back to Randy Newman’s song Rednecks. S great callout of liberal smugness (and yes i loathe racism my own family is multi ethnic),
Thanks, I'll have to look for the songs. I should know the Randy Newman song, but it doesn't ring a bell.
Well, I am fairly new here, only about 5 years, but I always had the strong sense that the place, Atlanta, at least, has an entrenched cultural diversity.
I'm always happiest in places like that. I'm not a big fan of Stepford towns.
I'm not sure I understand how my assessment is much different than yours. I said Atlanta is experiencing a Black renaissance. That seems to be true from my perspective, and seems to align with your comment. It's been going on for some time, best I can tell. Diversity is obviously a key part of that. I didn't go into any of that, but that wasn't what the post was about.
If the post comes off as "Atlanta is a divided city," that's on me. It's not. But there **are** raging racists here, quite a few of them, just like there are in another favorite city of mine, the one I was born in, Chicago, just like there are everywhere.
Most white folks in Atlanta are happily progressive. But I have no tolerance for racism, even a little of it. Rooting it out is a constant goal. Racism is a mental sickness. I want a future surgeon general to declare it as such.
I don't even know that Uber Driver Number One was racist. He didn't come off that way. But, curiously, I heard the two old guys on the Beltline around the same time frame. It was gross.
MARTA would have taken me a good 4 hours round trip -- no direct route.
I've been wanting to visit the DeKalb Farmers Market forever. I have a good friend who wants to take me there -- he knows it well. We just haven't done it yet.
EDIT: One more quick thing. I get profiled by white folks quite a bit. They often assume I'll nod my head in agreement when they say what I'll generously call "ignorant things." Sometimes, these ignorant comments come from surprising sources.
“…because even though I’m not supposed to, I profile people, especially old white guys…”. I’m right there with you, bro.
And I too get junk mail and spam emails from cremation services and cemeteries. And who knew you could buy from Costco online your very own coffin? I’m waiting for a floor model in the warehouse. Just need to crawl in and try it out for size. Maybe take a nap.
And I do remember Sen. Frank Church (D-ID). The scary thing is COINTELPRO was practiced all the way down to the local level by state and local governments.
Thanks, Michael. Speaking of Costco caskets, I wondered so much about how a time traveler from the future would feel about seeing such a thing that I wrote a little piece about it...
https://www.ruminato.com/p/princess-time-slut-visits-costco
“This was a big place. Like a city. People were bound to die here.” And those are just the ones stuck in their car behind an oversized SUV, on a hot day, stopped blocking the parking lot aisle nearest the Costco entry, waiting for an even bigger pickup truck to back out of the parking space, but only after the pickup driver talks on the phone, checks their FB feed, and sends a few text messages. By this time, the person in the car behind the SUV has either fallen asleep or died of heatstroke. See what you’re missing not owning your own car in Atlanta?
Lol. I'll have to rethink it all.
near as I can tell, the reference to Mockingbird is a revival of a conspiracy theory that the CIA is into everything and the media is keeping it under wraps. I saw a reference to Tulsi Gabbard promoting it, but didn't follow up because anything Tulsi does or says is a waste of time.
Yeah that sounds familiar, thanks. Some of that stuff gets very complex. I wonder who is responsible for canon maintenance. :-)
How long have you lived in Atlanta??? Because as much as I liked your post your assessment of its success and culture is off. I moved to the ATL in 1980; lived there until (due to a family matter I had to move out of state a few years ago.It was a magnet for Black culture and young Black professionals (even) in the early 80s. Mayor Maynard Jackson had much to do with this, including the building of the world’s busiest airport. cultural renaissance has been going on for decades. But honestly, many outside of the South have egregious misconceptions about it, particularly those on the coastal hot points like NYC, San Francisco and LA. Most neighborhoods I lived in were way more diverse than any northern city. My oldest attended a high school with the flags of 32 counties (representing students countries) in the cafeteria. Additionally, why didn’t you utilize Marta to get to Buckhead? No one would fault you for owning a car in Atlanta; though it’s infamous snarled traffic is reason enough for an Uber.., Atlanta is a great metropolitan area which it seems you’re beginning to discover. My family also owned a small business in the area, so I know something about relations between different communities and the local businesses. I miss that beautiful city, its vibrant cultural diversity (this is NOT a 21st century thing btw.) If you haven’t already been I suggest a day trip to the DeKalb Farmer’s Market. This is Atlanta to me. Look up its story (another interesting tale of locals embracing an “outsider “) and make sure you’ve got someone to help you carry your stuff. You’ll want some of everything.
I also love Phil Ochs “Love me I’m a Liberal”. Because I’m liberal and I want us to win elections.
From my perspective it came off sounding like this was a recent thing , something I found most who hadn’t lived there had. I’d felt from the time I moved there that Georgia had the opportunity to go blue or at least purple given common sense Democratic leadership. I always go back to Randy Newman’s song Rednecks. S great callout of liberal smugness (and yes i loathe racism my own family is multi ethnic),
Thanks, I'll have to look for the songs. I should know the Randy Newman song, but it doesn't ring a bell.
Well, I am fairly new here, only about 5 years, but I always had the strong sense that the place, Atlanta, at least, has an entrenched cultural diversity.
I'm always happiest in places like that. I'm not a big fan of Stepford towns.
I'm not sure I understand how my assessment is much different than yours. I said Atlanta is experiencing a Black renaissance. That seems to be true from my perspective, and seems to align with your comment. It's been going on for some time, best I can tell. Diversity is obviously a key part of that. I didn't go into any of that, but that wasn't what the post was about.
If the post comes off as "Atlanta is a divided city," that's on me. It's not. But there **are** raging racists here, quite a few of them, just like there are in another favorite city of mine, the one I was born in, Chicago, just like there are everywhere.
Most white folks in Atlanta are happily progressive. But I have no tolerance for racism, even a little of it. Rooting it out is a constant goal. Racism is a mental sickness. I want a future surgeon general to declare it as such.
I don't even know that Uber Driver Number One was racist. He didn't come off that way. But, curiously, I heard the two old guys on the Beltline around the same time frame. It was gross.
MARTA would have taken me a good 4 hours round trip -- no direct route.
I've been wanting to visit the DeKalb Farmers Market forever. I have a good friend who wants to take me there -- he knows it well. We just haven't done it yet.
EDIT: One more quick thing. I get profiled by white folks quite a bit. They often assume I'll nod my head in agreement when they say what I'll generously call "ignorant things." Sometimes, these ignorant comments come from surprising sources.