Cheers & Jeers, RBCA Style
JEERS...to Dick Feagler. I'd been a fan of Dick for way too long, and he finally proved to me that it's time to retire.
CHEERS...to Marybeth McDermott, who, despite the savage beating of her husband while out for a walk in their Shaker Heights neighborhood, is quoted in the PD as saying, "I'm not putting up a For Sale sign anytime soon."
CHEERS...to Philip Morris, for publicly calling out old Dick on his own public backwardness.
CHEERS...to Marybeth McDermott, who, despite the savage beating of her husband while out for a walk in their Shaker Heights neighborhood, is quoted in the PD as saying, "I'm not putting up a For Sale sign anytime soon."
CHEERS...to Philip Morris, for publicly calling out old Dick on his own public backwardness.
posted by Christine Borne at 11:21 AM
10 Comments:
Dick Feagler is the personification of the word "curmudgeon"; I called him out on his unfounded criticisms of the Euclid Corridor project (he was about as insulting there as he was in this column), and heard nothing in response. He exists only to hear himself speak, because I doubt anyone else really listens anymore. His slow fade into irrelevance should be done shortly.
I do have to take some exception to Phillip Morris' lauding comparisons to Ed Bradley and Jimmy Breslin. Mr. Morris, I grew up listening to Bradley and reading Breslin, and to paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, "he, sir, is no Bradley or Breslin". Talented journalist? Give me a break, he's an ambulance chaser with a pen...
I clung to Dick Feagler as long as I did because I'm kind of curmudgeonly, and I expect to be even more curmudgeonly when I get old like him. But unlike him, I hope my opinions on things will continue to evolve with the times.
I thought his column was shocking. I wouldn't want anyone from outside Cleveland to see that and think that was what Clevelanders were like. It reminded me of the time, when I was 19, that my friend had just finished praising my virtuousness to her teetotaler boyfriend, only for both of them to arrive at my house and find me drunk on cheap sherry. (In other words, seriously embarrassing.)
It's good to hear the perspective of someone who didn't grow up with Dick Feagler. I'm thinking about writing to Susan Goldberg about this, but I've got to cool down a bit first -- I'm still in "so mad I could spit" mode.
I agree with a lot of what Feagler said. White flight has been a reality in America for quite some time. There doesn't even have to be crime associated with flight either. Some people just choose to only live among their own race. I imagine it would be inconvenient to move out every time another race moves in but if folks want to do that, they certainly can.
As for me, I'm a black man with a wife and two children living in Westlake. We choose to live in Westlake because we are safe and because our kids get a great education without us having to pay for private school. Have I seen white people move out as soon as we moved in? You betcha. It could be coincidence or it could be racism. It doesn't matter that I'm a college educated Gulf War vet. Doesn't matter that my wife is a PhD. Some people see black and decide they don't want to stick around.
Are there problems living in Westlake? Sure. I can always count on the white women who adjust their purses when they see me as if I'm going to snatch it. Doesn't matter how I'm dressed. And there is a certain amount of favoritism given to the very rich or the very famous and their families. But that's nothing compared to being afraid to walk to the store at night, worrying about my child's education, or if my house will be broken into. As long as no one is burning crosses on my front lawn, I'm good.
Oh God, Mr. Carpenter, I want to believe that you're not serious.... Are there really women who adjust their purses when they see you? Please at least tell me these women are 80+ years old and are carrying around baggage of the past. It doesn't do much to get me out of "so mad I could spit" mode. The patrons at the library I worked at in south Jersey were like that. Daily, I'd want to take people by the lapels and say, "what happened to you to make you so ignorant?"
White flight has been a reality for a long time, but Feagler could have found a way to say it that didn't sound like he was justifying it. He also didn't have to make it sound like the presence of black people = crime. Or maybe he couldn't, because intellectually, he's already gone to that great WVIZ studio in the sky.
Not kidding at all. If only I had a hidden camera as I walked the aisles of my local grocery store. All ages, not just little old ladies. It could be worse.
Although this topic deals with race, I think it also has a lot to do with class. When you're living in poverty without an education, you're more likely to commit a crime for material gain. Of course black doesn't equal crime but poor equals crime a lot more than rich. You not only have to address class but then you have to look at our material-driven culture that tells us we're nothing if we don't possess certain cars, houses, etc.
At its heart, I believe it has everything to do with class and scared white people who don't know any better just make it about race instead because the poor people they see are often black. If Cleveland was exactly the same except all black people were magically transformed into poor Appalachian white people, then it would be easier to see class distinctions because out would come that phrase, "white trash."
PS- I think you should carry a hidden camera.
and I even know where he can get one :-):
http://www.scdlink.com/
Christine, trust me, you are anything but a curmudgeon. And don't bother waiting to cool off -- some of the best writing comes from the heart, driven by passion. Go for it!
Mr. Carpenter, it is truly unfortunate that you're forced to experience behavior like that in this day and age, but it is all too common. You are correct, this is a class issue, and Christine's point about ignorant observers being quick to equate class with race is right on track. It makes me sorry to acknowledge my membership in the human race at times...
I really appreciate Dick Feagler. He is a role model for what I don't want to become when I get too old.
Zing!
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