[Cadre-politics] So why is Lowell so "Ghetto"

[Zeb B. Heisey]

Hey folks,
	This is my first reply, as I was just recently added to this list.  
Anyway, I figured I would throw in my two cents on this one.  I just had 
to say that any business that advertises milk, bread and other essentials 
on its sign along with balloons is OK in my book.  I am speaking, of 
course, of Joanne's.  I have to say that I like the neighborhood I am 
living in (right across the street from Joanne's). Apart from the 
occasional vandalism to my  car, I find most of the people are pleasant.  
On a side note, if you  haven't visited Joanne's yet do yourself a favor 
and get the La'Fountain  special.  It's delicious, cheap, and comes with a 
coffee.  And on your way in you can chuckle at the fact that the sign 
outside actually advertises balloons.

	-Zeb Heisey

On Thu, 11 May 2006, Dan MacNeil wrote:

> At my day job, I work with a good natured, industrious, superficially 
> cynical [1], rich [2] boy [3] from parts well north of here. He has the 
> job because he has nearly perfect grades. While he knows little about 
> LINUX, he is learning more and is cheerful about putting paper in the 
> printer and creating accounts.
> 
> Yesterday, he innocently asked:
> 
> 	"So why is Lowell, so 'ghetto' ?"
> 
> Partly because I wanted to quickly move our latest donation (thank you 
> MELLOW NEON and LAVA CROSSES GLACIER) out of PaPal and into our bank, 
> partly because I wanted to resume procrastinating about the LowellDeeds 
> stuff and partly because I sensed:
> 
> 	"WELL, YOUNG SHIT-WIT, MAYBE NOT EVERYONE IN LOWILL IS RICH"
> 
> ...wasn't going to win a heart or mind. I asked for a bit more detail 
> and muttered:
> 
> 	"Well, downtown is probably a lot more to your taste."
> 
> On reflection, I think his question was not as shallow as I first thought.
> 
> Some more context:
> 
> The question came after his first (and last?) 200 yard walk up the hill 
> to Jo-ann's Deli  (aka the "Fontane family variety store"). This is a 
> journey that few students make. I might not have made it myself, if 
> Eduardo C had not been my guide.
> 
> If I understand correctly, symptoms of "ghetto" are:
> 
> 	Cheesy old store signs paid for by Coca-cola corporation.
> 
> 	Garbage strewn about the sidewalks.
> 
> Obviously, outside the bubble that encapsulates the North Capmus section 
> of Pawtucketville there are parts of Lowell that are not at all "Ghetto".
> 
> Downtown, 3-4 guys in khaki shirts [4] walk around, pick up litter and 
> empty trash cans. Downtown has quaint street lights and regulations 
> against cheesy cola signs. In the middle highlands many people own their 
> homes and pick up trash blown into their small yards.  The low income 
> housing run by CBA [5] is spotless on the outside.  I see servants 
> maintaining the estates in the upper highlands and in upper belividere.
> 
> But all this is tangential. There are times and places in Lowell where 
> garbage drifts like dirty snow against the sides of buildings.
> 
> The signs are probably easiest to explain. Swank new signs cost money. 
> In the pawtucketville mercantile exchange, lowering the retail price of 
> a "Jo-Ann's special steak sandwich" from $4.95 to $4.75 will enhance 
> revenues more surely than a swank sign. The choice is apparently obvious.
> 
> A little deeper, I'm not so sure. Downtown there is a coffee shop. A 
> machinist at my church refused to patronize it. He vastly prefers Dunk'n 
> Donuts, despite the fact that DD's management occasionally removes the 
> few tables to discourage heron addicts from swapping needles. (A 
> customer once found a needle taped below a table.)
> 
> My machinist friend's complaints are "too pricy" and "too fancy" I'll 
> admit that Andy's place [6] is is a tiny, tiny little bit precious but 
> the reality is that he charges 35 cents less for a cup of coffee than 
> Dunk'n Donuts.
> 
> My guess is that Jo-Ann's would hesitate to take a swank sign even if it 
> was free. I doubt her customers see themselves as "ghetto". They are 
> "regular neighborhood people"  Jo-Ann's kinfolk will cheerfully take the 
> rich boy's money, provide some almost home cooked food in a simple but 
> clean shop and (if they are in a good mood) extend a sincere and 
> cheerful greeting. However, I doubt their identity includes "classy", or 
> "up-scale" and I can't fault them for that.
> 
> As to the garbage, that is a tougher question. As, (you faithful and 
> attentive readers) know, most days, I walk through the infamous Acre to 
> get to work. There are parts (not maintained by CBA [5] ) where the 
> strewn garbage is disgusting.
> 
> Until today, my reaction was primarily:
> 
> 	"Those people have no pride, how can they live like that?".
> 
> The PC answer to this question might amount to "stick it to the man.", a 
> sort of dirty protest [7]
> 
> Examining my own conscience, the actual answer might be simpler. Unless, 
> I trip over it, I don't pick up the trash in the acre. I don't own 
> property there. I'm just passing through. My guess is that the people 
> who live there feel the same way.
> 
> ---
> [1] Superficially cynical: Jon Stewart fan.
> 
> [2] Rich: "not eligible for financial aid" or  "U.S citizen",
>      either applies.
> 
> [3] Men and woman pay their own bills or get married.
>      Boys and girls have their bills paid by parents.
> 
> [4] Khaki shirts are workers.  Khaki pants are yuppies
> 
> [5] http://cbacre.org
> 
> [6] http://brewdawakening.com/
> 
> [7]http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/troubles/hungerstrikes/blanket.shtml
> 
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