Miss MJ
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Sending you internet hugs, @LadyE! I’m so sorry.
“we believe she hold racist views because she implies that the neighborhood is bad because it’s poor and black!”
To be fair, she also said that it was a “bad neighborhood” because there were frequent shootings, a lot of crime and 6 murders in the neighborhood in a week. Regardless of race, that’s a bad neighborhood in my book. She’s NOT just saying, “Oh, my BF lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, what can I do to make him more concerned about his safety?” which would imply that it’s a bad neighborhood solely because of the racial make up. Worrying about someone’s safety in a 6-homicides-a-week neighborhood isn’t inherently racist, regardless of who lives in the neighborhood.
She did, however, bring up the racial make up of the neighborhood because she perceives the recent gentrification to be a source of racial tension, which she believes may up the risk of crime to her BF. I have no idea where she lives, so I have no idea whether she is correct or not. Based on my own experience, which means nothing since it isn’t her situation, it is highly unlikely that his race is much of a factor in whether he will personally be the victim of a crime in this neighborhood. Anti-gentrification crimes tend to be property crimes, not personal ones, at least in my are of the woods, but again, that’s my area, not hers. From what she describes, the biggest crime risk to her BF is likely being mugged or robbed walking home drunk late at night and those are crimes of opportunity, not race, so if he’s the easiest target in the area, then he will draw the short straw, no matter what his race.
I mean, there’s nothing you can do here, really. I live in a city where there are a lot of students and a lot of tourists, meaning there are generally a lot of people drinking and not paying attention, and, therefore, a lot of corresponding opportunistic armed robberies. I moved here as a student and during orientation, everyone preached and preached about not walking far at night and crime and being aware of your surroundings, etc. I didn’t take it at all seriously until one night myself and 6 others got held up at gun point walking home at 1:00 a.m. That was a decade ago and now? I pay attention to my surroundings and plan ahead about how to be smart getting home. I have friends who have lived here longer than I have and have heard the same warnings and still to this day don’t take it seriously. It’s just one of those things that unless it becomes a reality for him, he’s not going to consider himself a target, even if he potentially is. But definitely lock the door when you’re there at night. That’s just good sense, no matter where you live.
