Comments on: Atlanta’s World Class

By: cubalibre

cubalibre — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 19:26:12 +0000

Oh Peter, Peter, Peter! Sweetie, bless your heart, you really do insist upon a generalization of Atlanta that certainly applies to lots, and I do mean lots, of metropolitan areas not only in the Northern US, but in other countries, too. Racism isn’t limited to just one geographical area in the US, and for damned sure, isn’t limited to the South (and yes, for the record, I’ve visited & lived many other places). As a mixed-race Southerner, I can tell you that some of the most rampant, nasty, blatant bigotry I’ve ever witnessed wasn’t here, but in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Whatever this area’s faults are, I’d still rather be down here than up there.

By: "Naaman" Gibbets

"Naaman" Gibbets — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:03:41 +0000

It’s funny that in your post, Peter, you could exchange every mention of Georgia with Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina…–damn, the whole south and a good bit of the north could be on that list. Why? Because you are confusing location with a time period; a time period in which this whole country was completely intolerant.

By: Decatur Metro

Decatur Metro — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 14:41:42 +0000

Thanks for the history lesson. I’m aware of the South’s issues. And yes, I grew up in the North, so I guess I would be included in your “we”.

But dude, you said Atlanta and then cited a bunch of things that happened outside of Atlanta (aside from the country club thing – and that sort of garbage is still happening all over the country. Where I live now is much more “tolerant” of any sort of “different” than the area of CT where I grew up.)

Georgia’s got it’s problems, but does it deserve the blanket stereotyping that you’re applying to it? I thought that “we” believed that stereotyping was bad.

By: Deanne

Deanne — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:11:14 +0000

Unfortunately, Peter speaks the truth. This is a major part of Georgia’s identity. It’s Atlanta’s history too. We can’t just brag about all the shiny, pretty things. We have to acknowledge what’s happened, where things stand today, and actively act to change the wrongs before we’ll ever be able to put it behind us.

By: Peter Smith

Peter Smith — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:01:14 +0000

Who sees Atlanta as a backwater filled with good old boys?

David Byrne, everyone who’s never been to ATL, everyone who reads the news, etc.

Have you ever lived outside of Atlanta? I have — you know what we know of Atlanta?

We know that Georgia has an exclusive golf club that allows only men to play, and has had trouble with non-white members. Georgia is the state that puts black kids in jail for 10 years based on racially-motivated prosecutions. Georgia is the state that puts black men on death row and keep them there, long after the rest of the world, including Amnesty International, calls for their release. Monroe, Georgia — 45 miles outside of Atlanta — site of what was probably the last mass lynching in America — four African Americans — two men, two women, one of the females was seven months pregnant, broad daylight, nobody ever prosecuted. Georgia’s and Atlanta’s reputations precede them — they can’t handle the modern day racism the way other cities can — you guys have to show you’ve actually recognized that the civil rights movement happened. Only Texas could be considered worse.