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In reply to the discussion: I'll never forget the look in their eyes, they were terrified of me... [View all]Warpy
(114,750 posts)It was an area that was roughly 1/3 black, 1/3 Irish and 1/3 Puerto Rican with a hundred other nationalities of origin thrown in for variety. It was also no secret that it had the lowest crime rates in the city.
Once in a while, there would be a wreck on the Jamaicaway, the main route to some of the western burbs, and drivers would go down Centre Street to avoid it. There they were, in the safest part of the city, and we'd see them furiously rolling windows up and locking doors as they drove. It was hilarious and insulting all at the same time.
So yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. They were terrified of any human interaction outside their workplaces and safely in their lily white suburbs.
Now JP might have changed in the 2 decades since I left it, but I imagine the behavior of the commuting suburbanites has not.