D'ster
08-26-06, 07:34 PM
I grew up in a area of LA called the San Fernando Valley, as a kid I thought it was the greatest place ever to live. Lots of friends and family, leave your doors unlocked on you cars and homes, no crime or gangs.
At 18 I got a job with the City of L.A as a lineman, my apprenticeship was all in the city of Compton, South Central. and East L.A. I was part of the city's "diversity" training program where I worked on the streets of these city's every day. These areas of L.A are ALL black and hispanic areas. At the time I thought this was a great thing, I had learned in school just like everyone else about racism, slavery and segregation and how bad whites have always treated blacks. I felt the guilt of all this and looked forward to showing blacks and hispanics that I was not that way.
Well, being in a area of All blacks and hispanics it does not take long for anyone of any intelligence to realize that all the problems that blacks and hispanics have, are created by themselfs. I would come home from work, back to my all white neighborhood and tell all my friends and family about my new "racist" views. They responded much like alot of you, that I was "hateful, racist".
I debated for years weather I was racist or hateful, but I had to be honest with both myself and others, everyday the evidence of the differences betwen the different races was more apparent. During these same years I noticed the changes going on in my own neighborhood at home. Hispanics (illegal alians) were moving in at a alarming rate, more apartments and low income housing were being built to accommodate these people. Of course my friends and family and my girlfriend at the time all thought this was a great thing because now they had more chances to prove that they were not racist either.
At about my 7 year of working for the city of L.A we had the L.A riots, at first what I thought was a terrible thing turned out to be a blessing. Because I am white I could not work in these areas anymore because they knew my safety was in danger because of the color of my skin. I was transfered to work in the Valley, working in a white neigborhood things were totaly different, having to worry about my safety as I did for years in the ALL black and hispanic neighborhoods was no longer a issue.
Sadly these white neighborhoods started to change to hispanic and black neighborhoods. Even though it was very early in the change I knew of the things to come.
I began to tell my now pregnate wife that I wanted to move, and move far. Her and her family and my family hated the idea of us moving, lots of fights, and I am amazed that we are still together. When our little girl was born, I knew I had to do what was best for her, I forced the issue and quit my job.
I moved us to a little town in Idaho http://sandpoint.com/ got a job with the local power company bought a nice little house in town and I was happy. My wife hated it and me, her family hated me my family hated me, but I had to do what I thought was right.
We still go to L.A at least twice a year and visit family and friends, and every time we would visit the changes in this once great area and neigborhood became more and more apparant.
Graffti everywhere, gangs, crime, rape, murder were now out of control in the Valley. The hispanic population in the Valley became one of the largest in the country in the fastest time. The friends I had in the area were now themselfs moving. The friends and family that stayed put alarms and bars on there cars and homes and had to change there way of life as they had known.
It has been almost 11 years now since that move and things have changed quite a bit. We now have four children, three girls and a boy. I invented a few things that did quite well and my wife will graduate in March to be a pharmacist. We now have 18 acres with a family home and two guest homes we also board horses.
O yea, her family and mine have since then moved here and they love it, not a day goes by that I don't get the feeling of thanks from them all for doing what I did 11 years ago.
I wish I could end this story here but there is one last note.
One of my high school friends that never moved from the old neighborhood called me about 3 months ago, sadly his 12 year old daughter was raped by a gang of hispanics, as he cried on the phone I insisted that they come stay with us, they were here with in two days. The mother and daughter have been here since, my friend has gone back to sell his house and quit his job. They want to move here and I am going to help them.
The other day I took the kids hiking, as we reached the top of the mountain my daughter pointed out a rainbow over the lake to all of us, it was the first time I had seen my friends daughter smile.
At 18 I got a job with the City of L.A as a lineman, my apprenticeship was all in the city of Compton, South Central. and East L.A. I was part of the city's "diversity" training program where I worked on the streets of these city's every day. These areas of L.A are ALL black and hispanic areas. At the time I thought this was a great thing, I had learned in school just like everyone else about racism, slavery and segregation and how bad whites have always treated blacks. I felt the guilt of all this and looked forward to showing blacks and hispanics that I was not that way.
Well, being in a area of All blacks and hispanics it does not take long for anyone of any intelligence to realize that all the problems that blacks and hispanics have, are created by themselfs. I would come home from work, back to my all white neighborhood and tell all my friends and family about my new "racist" views. They responded much like alot of you, that I was "hateful, racist".
I debated for years weather I was racist or hateful, but I had to be honest with both myself and others, everyday the evidence of the differences betwen the different races was more apparent. During these same years I noticed the changes going on in my own neighborhood at home. Hispanics (illegal alians) were moving in at a alarming rate, more apartments and low income housing were being built to accommodate these people. Of course my friends and family and my girlfriend at the time all thought this was a great thing because now they had more chances to prove that they were not racist either.
At about my 7 year of working for the city of L.A we had the L.A riots, at first what I thought was a terrible thing turned out to be a blessing. Because I am white I could not work in these areas anymore because they knew my safety was in danger because of the color of my skin. I was transfered to work in the Valley, working in a white neigborhood things were totaly different, having to worry about my safety as I did for years in the ALL black and hispanic neighborhoods was no longer a issue.
Sadly these white neighborhoods started to change to hispanic and black neighborhoods. Even though it was very early in the change I knew of the things to come.
I began to tell my now pregnate wife that I wanted to move, and move far. Her and her family and my family hated the idea of us moving, lots of fights, and I am amazed that we are still together. When our little girl was born, I knew I had to do what was best for her, I forced the issue and quit my job.
I moved us to a little town in Idaho http://sandpoint.com/ got a job with the local power company bought a nice little house in town and I was happy. My wife hated it and me, her family hated me my family hated me, but I had to do what I thought was right.
We still go to L.A at least twice a year and visit family and friends, and every time we would visit the changes in this once great area and neigborhood became more and more apparant.
Graffti everywhere, gangs, crime, rape, murder were now out of control in the Valley. The hispanic population in the Valley became one of the largest in the country in the fastest time. The friends I had in the area were now themselfs moving. The friends and family that stayed put alarms and bars on there cars and homes and had to change there way of life as they had known.
It has been almost 11 years now since that move and things have changed quite a bit. We now have four children, three girls and a boy. I invented a few things that did quite well and my wife will graduate in March to be a pharmacist. We now have 18 acres with a family home and two guest homes we also board horses.
O yea, her family and mine have since then moved here and they love it, not a day goes by that I don't get the feeling of thanks from them all for doing what I did 11 years ago.
I wish I could end this story here but there is one last note.
One of my high school friends that never moved from the old neighborhood called me about 3 months ago, sadly his 12 year old daughter was raped by a gang of hispanics, as he cried on the phone I insisted that they come stay with us, they were here with in two days. The mother and daughter have been here since, my friend has gone back to sell his house and quit his job. They want to move here and I am going to help them.
The other day I took the kids hiking, as we reached the top of the mountain my daughter pointed out a rainbow over the lake to all of us, it was the first time I had seen my friends daughter smile.