Do white people enjoy “untouchable” status in gentrifying blocks of Crown Heights?
guest8 writes on the Crown Heights Message Board (yes, you can still post as a guest on the Crown Heights board!):
“My daughters tell me that, as African females, they are more likely than Caucasians to be harassed in our community. I am so offended when I read ‘I am a white girl or puny white male, I am afraid of being attacked by those bad black folks.’ Please do your research, and you will find that the frequency of such attacks in the 77th precinct is minimal. Young Africans know full well that if they attack those [white] folks, the law will come down on them with such force… they also know that an attack on black male or female will most likely go under-investigated.”
So how true is that? What do the “experts” say? sje writes: “I had a cop tell me the same thing, that as a white woman, I stood a better chance of NOT being mugged than a black woman in CH.”
“Really! As ridiculous as that sounds...”
Fear of a Black Neighborhood: Read “Poor Vulnerable White Girl” on the Crown Heights Message Board
good grief. i’m white, and i walk in prospect heights without fear. i walk in nyc without fear. i take the subway without fear. the only thing i fear: a gun. I cannot defend against a gun. otherwise, learn some martial arts to defend yourself.
I (puny white girl) live southeast of the Park and there is no question that I feel safer than most everyone else there. I have never heard so much as a peep from anyone–male or female– in terms of hostility, unwanted attention or even looks. I’m very aware of the fact that the many (mainly white) cops on Flatbush register me as innocent–one of the good guys– as I pass.
In addition nearly every single person I’ve interacted with has been extremely friendly and polite. Again perhaps exaggerated to show the white girl she hasn’t moved to some uncivilized enclave.
Nonetheless everyone is lovely.
The only bad reports I’ve heard is one isolated incident with rather butch looking lesbian friend of mine who was chased on her bicycle by some teens. I think homosexuality is a big taboo in the neighborhood and overrides even the racial tensions.
There’s also maybe the unspoken belief that where the lesbians go, gentrification follows. So there’s maybe a class element there too.
Anyway just my two cents. I’ve always felt safer than the residents in predominantly black neighborhoods.