Shithole Cities

[willie]

Jackson, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana deserve recognition for this status.

[JMag]

Jackson, Mississippi and Baton Rouge, Louisiana deserve recognition for this status.

Don’t forget Memphis. On second thought, do…it’s lost.

[willie]

Don’t forget Memphis. On second thought, do…it’s lost.

You are correct.

[NWshooter]

With all due respect, this thread is pointless without talking about why those cities are shithole. What is the point of talking about it without analyzing policies that led to it? Those cities did not become so bad by accident. Just move this thread behind the site members paywall now.

One can talk about why without mentioning politics.

It is the decay of the nuclear family, lack of personal responsibility and erosion of decency.

Political discussion just throws a ton of gas on an already burning fire

[Clusterfrack]

One can talk about why without mentioning politics.

It is the decay of the nuclear family, lack of personal responsibility and erosion of decency.

Political discussion just throws a ton of gas on an already burning fire

And requires a PF membership…

[NWshooter]

And requires a PF membership…

That too

Good point

[Lester Polfus]

I’m 50 years old, of well above average intelligence, and can be relentlessly motivated when I need to do something important.

I would be absolutely fucked if I had to move to a foreign culture where I didn’t speak the language.

In high school I breezed through calculus with a B. I could have had an A with a modicum of effort. I had to work my ass off to barely pass Spanish. Same story in college. Same story in the military where I had a contract instructor tell me it would be easier to teach everyone in Guatemala to speak English than to teach me Spanish. Same story with Law Enforcement Spanish.

This is the point in the story where people tell me 1) I didn’t have the right book/instructor/immersion experience or 2) I didn’t try hard enough. Fuck off. It just doesn’t stick in my brain.

I think when people talk about “assimilation” it would be great for them to give up everything they have, maybe pack a suitcase if they are lucky, then go somewhere where you can’t understand anything anybody says, and every cultural norm and value is incomprehensibly different.

I really wouldn’t want to do that, but if it was the only way I could give my kid a good life, I would do it in a heartbeat.

[Lester Polfus]

My girlfriend and I were walking around appalachia, and you would've thought she took an open shit in the middle of the room with the way everyone literally stopped what they were doing and stared at her when she walked into a restaurant. It ain't easy for foreign cultures, and I wouldn't for a second say it's because they aren't trying.

I’m from Appalachia and I’m quite certain some of those same people will be the first to bitch and moan about how the only job they can get is at the Kwikee Mart. Behavior like that is one of the many reasons why my sister’s teaching hospital is chronically short of doctors. If you are a Lebanese thoracic surgeon and feel like you need to cut your visit short because people treat you like they expect you to blow yourself up, you just change your flights and go to work in Boston instead.

Businesses scout Appalachia for new industrial developments all the time and wind up taking a pass, not because the locals talk funny or love Jesus, but because they fail basic politeness. I know of one state governor who has all but torn his hair out over this because you can’t just come tell the people who vote for you to stop acting like dicks to people who want to bring money in from out of state.

You want to talk about shithole cities? I’ve watched numerous places in Appalachia go from decent places to live to post-apocalyptic hell scapes in my lifetime.

[Joe in PNG]

I’m 50 years old, of well above average intelligence, and can be relentlessly motivated when I need to do something important.

I would be absolutely fucked if I had to move to a foreign culture where I didn’t speak the language.

In high school I breezed through calculus with a B. I could have had an A with a modicum of effort. I had to work my ass off to barely pass Spanish. Same story in college. Same story in the military where I had a contract instructor tell me it would be easier to teach everyone in Guatemala to speak English than to teach me Spanish. Same story with Law Enforcement Spanish.

This is the point in the story where people tell me 1) I didn’t have the right book/instructor/immersion experience or 2) I didn’t try hard enough. Fuck off. It just doesn’t stick in my brain.

I think when people talk about “assimilation” it would be great for them to give up everything they have, maybe pack a suitcase if they are lucky, then go somewhere where you can’t understand anything anybody says, and every cultural norm and value is incomprehensibly different.

I really wouldn’t want to do that, but if it was the only way I could give my kid a good life, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Imagine that, and the fact that your previous education and job experiences will probably mean pretty much bupkiss- so all that is left is working extraordinarily long hours at physically demanding low paying jobs. Roofing, picking crops, washing dishes, landscaping or similar for 14 hrs a day, 6 or 7 days a week.

[cheby]

One can talk about why without mentioning politics.

It is the decay of the nuclear family, lack of personal responsibility and erosion of decency.

Political discussion just throws a ton of gas on an already burning fire

Well... It is impossible to "talk about why" without debating ideas. Social policies are results of ideas adopted by majority. Just an example - you mentioned "the decay of the nuclear family." This is a result of certain ideology. According to Marxism - the nuclear family emerges not because of the needs of industrialization, but because of the needs of the capitalist system. Friedrich Engels argued that family had a clear economic function for capitalism, by ensuring that wealth remained in the hands of the bourgeoisie.... So abolition of the nuclear family is a very important part of the ideological platform. It is not an accident. It is as political as it gets, my friends...

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