4 ms·

middle class white people displacing brown and black people is called gentrification. rich chinese people displacing middle class white people is called "this

middle class white people displacing brown and black people is called gentrification. rich chinese people displacing middle class white people is called "this is totally unfair, why isn't this illegal?". of course, guess who's making all the money selling these units? the rich white people (developers, bankers, politicians, contractors, lobbyists, lawyers) who decide what's legal and illegal. as per usual, they are the winners in this whole charade, while the middle and lower classes just blame the dirty foreigners. it's even better when they're chinese -- who doesn't hate the chinese??? so convenient. shhh, let's not mention the other 2/3rds of buyers. the aforementioned elites are playing and winning a game as old as time, as they do.

ameen 11y ago
As a comment posted above, all this hue and cry over 7 Chinese buyers. I've been disgusted by the incendiary media narratives. How to prop up weapon sales? Sensationalize a crime (revenge/burglary) and say crime is on the rise with a linked article that says weapon owners/NRA members likely to repel break-ins.
mistermann 11y ago
Bang on assessment.
mthoms 11y ago
I agree wholeheartedly with the rest of your comment but I don't think this qualifies as "gentrification": "the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents." (Merriam-Webster) There's no particular area in Vancouver that fits this description with regards to foreign buyers. They seem to have interest almost exclusively in established areas. Not so much "deteriorating" ones in need of "renewal and rebuilding".
- beachstartup 11y ago
  i used the implication for dramatic and rhetorical effect, but i didn't call it gentrification either. ;) i agree that it isn't, since for the most part the new owners don't even live there and the previous owners were (basically) rich to begin with. it's basically just monopoly money being swapped around by rich people on two sides of the same ocean.

ameen 11y ago

As a comment posted above, all this hue and cry over 7 Chinese buyers. I've been disgusted by the incendiary media narratives. How to prop up weapon sales? Sensationalize a crime (revenge/burglary) and say crime is on the rise with a linked article that says weapon owners/NRA members likely to repel break-ins.

mistermann 11y ago

Bang on assessment.

mthoms 11y ago

I agree wholeheartedly with the rest of your comment but I don't think this qualifies as "gentrification": "the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents." (Merriam-Webster) There's no particular area in Vancouver that fits this description with regards to foreign buyers. They seem to have interest almost exclusively in established areas. Not so much "deteriorating" ones in need of "renewal and rebuilding".

beachstartup 11y ago
i used the implication for dramatic and rhetorical effect, but i didn't call it gentrification either. ;) i agree that it isn't, since for the most part the new owners don't even live there and the previous owners were (basically) rich to begin with. it's basically just monopoly money being swapped around by rich people on two sides of the same ocean.