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Because the article isn't about white poverty. It comes at a time of the Baltimore riots and I think it's understandable it doesn't attempt to address all forms

by cyphunk 11y ago

Because the article isn't about white poverty. It comes at a time of the Baltimore riots and I think it's understandable it doesn't attempt to address all forms of poverty.

jqm 11y ago
Well then... it has a misleading title.
tptacek 11y ago
It comes at a time of riots in Baltimore, but focuses on Ferguson and Park Slope; these are three cities that have virtually nothing in common: * Ferguson is a city not just influenced by racism but literally produced by it: it's an artifact of redlining and white flight, with a majority black population and a municipal government and police force dominated by whites. * Baltimore is a city whose government is dominated by blacks, with a black mayor, black police commissioner, and a 50/50 black/white police force; the city of Baltimore was a manufacturing and shipping hub devastated by globalization, unlike St. Louis, which has a diverse economy with strong finance and health care sectors. * Park Slope is an economically elite section of New York City where white corporate lawyers happen to have Jamaican nannies, which apparently says something about race relations in the US, though I'm not clear what that's meant to be. It's a dumb article. It's not that it doesn't address all forms of poverty; it's that it doesn't have anything coherent to say about any of them that any US high school sophomore couldn't conjure up the night before the due date for a social studies term paper.
- cyphunk 11y ago
  I tried to re-read the article from your perspective but guessing my personal biases are still getting in my way of seeing your point. Is the article dumb? It starts out in the position as a first person editorial, and one from the gaze of author in foreign land. Perhaps what seems dumb is because it's not attempting to be a reportage and as much investigative as it is just "a" perspective. Does the article say nothing coherent? I think it does but that's my opinion. Mostly however it references thoughts I seem to have already come across elsewhere. So yeah you could argue it's not too original. But this doesn't make it useless. I think this article offends you either because it's written by a foreigner or (and I believe the following more) it touches a topic you consider important and find this articles simplification of disturbing. I respect that debate, but not the boycott (calling for flagging).
  - tptacek 11y ago
    Or it could just be a bad article, contributing more noise than signal, doing little on HN other than begging for us to make unwarranted assumptions about each other.
    - Mithaldu 11y ago
      Not everything that fails to teach you something new deserves to be slapped with the "shitpost" accusation. Beyond that you're putting a LOT of effort in to put it down, more than any shitpost that isn't factually wrong deserves.

by cyphunk 11y ago

Because the article isn't about white poverty. It comes at a time of the Baltimore riots and I think it's understandable it doesn't attempt to address all forms of poverty.

jqm 11y ago

Well then... it has a misleading title.

tptacek 11y ago

It comes at a time of riots in Baltimore, but focuses on Ferguson and Park Slope; these are three cities that have virtually nothing in common: * Ferguson is a city not just influenced by racism but literally produced by it: it's an artifact of redlining and white flight, with a majority black population and a municipal government and police force dominated by whites. * Baltimore is a city whose government is dominated by blacks, with a black mayor, black police commissioner, and a 50/50 black/white police force; the city of Baltimore was a manufacturing and shipping hub devastated by globalization, unlike St. Louis, which has a diverse economy with strong finance and health care sectors. * Park Slope is an economically elite section of New York City where white corporate lawyers happen to have Jamaican nannies, which apparently says something about race relations in the US, though I'm not clear what that's meant to be. It's a dumb article. It's not that it doesn't address all forms of poverty; it's that it doesn't have anything coherent to say about any of them that any US high school sophomore couldn't conjure up the night before the due date for a social studies term paper.

cyphunk 11y ago
I tried to re-read the article from your perspective but guessing my personal biases are still getting in my way of seeing your point. Is the article dumb? It starts out in the position as a first person editorial, and one from the gaze of author in foreign land. Perhaps what seems dumb is because it's not attempting to be a reportage and as much investigative as it is just "a" perspective. Does the article say nothing coherent? I think it does but that's my opinion. Mostly however it references thoughts I seem to have already come across elsewhere. So yeah you could argue it's not too original. But this doesn't make it useless. I think this article offends you either because it's written by a foreigner or (and I believe the following more) it touches a topic you consider important and find this articles simplification of disturbing. I respect that debate, but not the boycott (calling for flagging).
- tptacek 11y ago
  Or it could just be a bad article, contributing more noise than signal, doing little on HN other than begging for us to make unwarranted assumptions about each other.
  - Mithaldu 11y ago
    Not everything that fails to teach you something new deserves to be slapped with the "shitpost" accusation. Beyond that you're putting a LOT of effort in to put it down, more than any shitpost that isn't factually wrong deserves.