Wow, wow, wow! As my little sister used to say when we were children, "Oooooh, now you're gonna get it!" Especially for the race parts. But they are so right on. I grew up in Philly in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and yes, all the threats and assaults were from black people. But if you were smart... Street smarts... You could move about relatively safely.
Anyway, I could write a book. Oh, that's right, I have, about 13 of them. Fat lot of good they do me. That brings me to my favorite rant.... Publishing in the Modern World. I include in my latest book encounters I had in my young 20s with criminals and thugs. And I will not censor myself. And that is why, maybe, after submitting my book to about 20 publishing 'houses,' I have had zero interest in it. Anyway, enough of that.
Great post. And in my family we have had some mental health issues, some of the tragic. I read a wonderful memoir (damn this tired old brain, wish I could remember the title). It was written by a Southern woman who describes her family as poor white trash, or rednecks, but also good, God-fearing people. The father owned a junk yard. The point.... She/they were Scotch-Irish, good, but tough as leather, people. And, there were some family members who were known to be 'prone-to-anger.' To the point of beating people to a pulp for insults that were, perhaps, not meant, but also not taken back or apologized for fast enough. She attributes it to mental illness and believes, or did, that it was hereditary, and not unusual in the homelands. I concur with her. Of course, it's not limited to any one race/ethnicity, but it does seem to plague some of us of Celtic origins.
Damn, so much good stuff in your post.
If I ever get to the East Coast (which is where I'm originally from, Philly, I'll have to invite you out for a cup of coffee.
I love Philly. I visited it a couple o' weekends ago.
We didn't beat each other to a pulp. We just drove each other crazy.
Black folks have a legitimate gripe against this country, which I will write about one day. They're the only ethnic group that required three amendments to normalize their status in this society. But that wasn't relevant to the post. I don't believe in having to protect myself from controversy by saying that beforehand.
I hear ya. Yes, I know about the prejudice and 2nd class citizenship. But living in lower class neighborhoods, I sometimes paid the price, being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
That being said, did you see my pm about my postings now showing up in the graphics at the top?
Wow, wow, wow! As my little sister used to say when we were children, "Oooooh, now you're gonna get it!" Especially for the race parts. But they are so right on. I grew up in Philly in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and yes, all the threats and assaults were from black people. But if you were smart... Street smarts... You could move about relatively safely.
Anyway, I could write a book. Oh, that's right, I have, about 13 of them. Fat lot of good they do me. That brings me to my favorite rant.... Publishing in the Modern World. I include in my latest book encounters I had in my young 20s with criminals and thugs. And I will not censor myself. And that is why, maybe, after submitting my book to about 20 publishing 'houses,' I have had zero interest in it. Anyway, enough of that.
Great post. And in my family we have had some mental health issues, some of the tragic. I read a wonderful memoir (damn this tired old brain, wish I could remember the title). It was written by a Southern woman who describes her family as poor white trash, or rednecks, but also good, God-fearing people. The father owned a junk yard. The point.... She/they were Scotch-Irish, good, but tough as leather, people. And, there were some family members who were known to be 'prone-to-anger.' To the point of beating people to a pulp for insults that were, perhaps, not meant, but also not taken back or apologized for fast enough. She attributes it to mental illness and believes, or did, that it was hereditary, and not unusual in the homelands. I concur with her. Of course, it's not limited to any one race/ethnicity, but it does seem to plague some of us of Celtic origins.
Damn, so much good stuff in your post.
If I ever get to the East Coast (which is where I'm originally from, Philly, I'll have to invite you out for a cup of coffee.
Good one!
I love Philly. I visited it a couple o' weekends ago.
We didn't beat each other to a pulp. We just drove each other crazy.
Black folks have a legitimate gripe against this country, which I will write about one day. They're the only ethnic group that required three amendments to normalize their status in this society. But that wasn't relevant to the post. I don't believe in having to protect myself from controversy by saying that beforehand.
I hear ya. Yes, I know about the prejudice and 2nd class citizenship. But living in lower class neighborhoods, I sometimes paid the price, being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
That being said, did you see my pm about my postings now showing up in the graphics at the top?
Oh, no! How long until they label you the most racist of the racists???? How do you even dare to put that on paper, you know we can't!