Back On

Disclaimer: I do not click on the sites of hate groups if I can help it. I have no interest in being counted in their statistics even if it is for research purposes. No page views from this old broad, thank you.

The Crunk Aryan Faux Facebook

This post from SPLC's Hatewatch talks about a racist Facebook knock-off called Aryansbook.com and the site's founder Chris "Big Poppa" Hogan. What is so ill about this guy, who is a hater of all "non-white trash", is that he is a rap music promoter, with a MySpace page that lists Bun B and Mike Jones as friends. His company Crunkland Records even has signed a filth spewing rapper. Oh did I mention that he has also dabbled in securities fraud and is a minister? I guess this is how some racists in Arkansas keep it crunk.

Frosty the Klansman

This man in Hayden, Idaho built a snowman in his yard resembling a Ku Klux Klansman, with a noose draped over it's little stick arm. They send a sister to go and interview the guy who of course sees nothing wrong with the snowman and believes that the people who called the police and the TV station are the actual trouble makers. What is really telling to me is that the neighbors talk about how horrible it is, and how it "gives a black eye" to them all but not once do you hear anyone say OUT LOUD that this snowman and his previous displays of white supremacists flags are racist. It's almost as if they are more worried about how it makes the neighborhood look, than the real problem the racist next door and maybe the racist within them. Take a look at the video and tell me what you think.

It's Going Down

I had no idea that almost all of Cabrini-Green has been demolished. The last

residents in the last remaining high-rise left yesterday. This story gave me pause for so many reasons. First, I am a former resident of the Chicagoland area. I had a boyfriend who coached a baseball team of children from Cabrini-Green. Good kids, with good parents who were supportive and wanted something for their kids to do. This gave me pause because I have seen it over and over and over again. In Chicago, here in Atlanta (most recently in Marietta) and in other urban areas across the nation. You know what's going down, gentrification. Cabrini sat on some prime real estate and then when I read that a sparkling new Apple Store had opened nearby I new that that pendulum had swung squarely in the direction of the upwardly mobile. We know the crime-ridden horror stories of housing developments like Cabrini. We know that no one should have to be in a position where they are dodging bullets on a daily. Everyone has a right to live in a safe, clean and healthy environment. The question is once residents leave (are displaced) how well do they fare in the new environment? From the studies referenced in this post, some don't fare so well. In the end, moving to a newer, safer environment isn't he holy grail of happiness and health. There is a need for transition services and even on-going support for persons who have by force had to leave the only home they've known behind.

Do you have any ideas for transition or support services for those who've been displaced as a result of gentrification? Do you have any ideas on how areas can be revitalized so that long time residents can stay put? I'd like to hear from you in the comments. Also take a look at this blog about Cabrini that has some great links, photos and timelines.