Perception of Charlotte Nationwide

[ah59396]

Keep your heads up folks!  Every great city has had a dark day.  We always lament the lack of history for Charlotte...well, there ya go.  History made last night.  The city will heal and this will slowly fall into the back of our minds.

 

we will be okay.

[KJHburg]

Ironically yesterday was the 27th anniversary of the worse natural disaster to ever hit Charlotte Hurricane Hugo. I lived here then and saw the massive damage around town. Now 27 years later we have the worse civil unrest in our history. Just like with Hugo it will take time to heal.

For many of you not around for Hugo we had over 20,000 trees down in Charlotte Mecklenburg, computers dangling out of broken windows at then named One First Union Center,  power outages for 1-2 weeks for almost the entire city it was terrible! 

[Windsurfer]

35 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

Ironically yesterday was the 27th anniversary of the worse natural disaster to ever hit Charlotte Hurricane Hugo. I lived here then and saw the massive damage around town. Now 27 years later we have the worse civil unrest in our history. Just like with Hugo it will take time to heal.

For many of you not around for Hugo we had over 20,000 trees down in Charlotte Mecklenburg, computers dangling out of broken windows at then named One First Union Center,  power outages for 1-2 weeks for almost the entire city it was terrible! 

I can't believe it's been 27 years!  Boy, time flies.

I still think the busing riots of the early-mid 70's were a lot worse. I can still remember car loads of white kids dismissed from South Mecklenburg rushing into Carmel Junior High looking for black kids to beat up. I can still remember getting beaten up myself on another day. Day after day of school closings due to riots. One of my buddies had a pencil jabbed in his eye. ( It went into the socket instead of the actual eye)

[CLTProductions]

This city (and many many others) have been through way worse than what happened last night. It was a black eye on our community but we will recover and come back stronger. The biggest issue is how Roberts and the CMPD handled everything. I know CMPD did the best they could but wow did Roberts bumble the leadership. 

The good thing is 90% of the media that I am hearing and seeing today is more sympathetic towards the city. I've heard very minimal reports of how unsafe it is here. The VAST majority of what I am hearing is along the lines of news putting CLT in the context of the country, stating it can happen anywhere and even a lot being confused why the riots even happened given how the shooting was here (armed man, black cop) compared to other cities with incidents like this. Luckily the media is turning it into a national thing and putting it on Trump and Hillary rather than just pointing blame, focus and negativity towards Charlotte. 

[CLT2014]

Biggest thing I see resulting from this: White flight from the University City area accelerating and a possible slowdown in re-locations. You'll also see less people head to Uptown for a while to dine at night or go to Epicentre. Will that change, yes, but Uptown's changing perception among suburbanites just got hit with a u-turn back to fear.

We get a lot of transplants from cities with big crime problems. Folks are looking for a safer place to live than where they came from. While the suburbs are going to continue to be safe, the incident in Uptown will make people think twice about Charlotte when they are looking at a list of cities to move to. Raleigh in the near term will benefit the most, maybe even Greenville, SC. Our brand to a lot of people was as a "vanilla" nice place to live and raise a family, with up and coming neighborhoods for young professionals.

Ironically I believe Dallas' shooting makes the community look like it came together and rallied behind the officers on the national stage. The shooter was also not from Dallas. People remember the protests being followed up by mourning the officers as a community. On the other hand our city is just kind of lost right now and is going to be grouped with the chaotic places like St. Louis, Baltimore, etc... where there was just lawlessness that eventually slowly calmed out. There is no bow to tie it up.

Edited September 22, 2016 by CLT2014

[Vitamin_N]

In case anybody's interested: Charlotte was front-page news in Nicaragua today.

[SentioVenia]

Sorry, this is the Perception of Charlotte Nationwide thread....you're looking for the Perception of Charlotte Worldwide thread.

 

[Vitamin_N]

We're a world-class city... "nationwide" is so limiting! 

[The Force Sleeps]

It seems that as of this morning, many news and media outlets are reporting on a much more peaceful night. I don't know about you guys, but I felt a lot of pride in our city last night and this morning looking at images of protestors and the national guardsmen shaking hands and hugging (among many other similar images). 

I think this week really provides Charlotte a unique opportunity to grow as a community in ways other cities might not have. I hate how it happened, but I'm really optimistic.

Does anyone know of ways to keep this dialogue going? Public forums? Workshops? Any info would be great.

(And maybe this topic warrants it's own thread...)  

[SgtCampsalot]

35 minutes ago, The Force Sleeps said:

Does anyone know of ways to keep this dialogue going? Public forums? Workshops? Any info would be great.

(And maybe this topic warrants it's own thread...)  

Those things are constantly happening, so for sure that will just involve vigilant googling and finding time to attend.

But beyond that, these last few days have shown me that it really truly involves communicating more on-on-one between communities. As a product of White culture, I know we have the tendency to be cold (or come off as cold) to other groups because of our tendency to care about our own selves, which closes us off and gives us anxiety and insecurity about venturing deeper with our non-white bros and sisters. (I only mean this generally from my own experience. I grew up in South Charlotte).

Black Americans WANT to talk about these things and comiserate in empathy over these issues, but as White Americans we are often afraid to. For those above reasons. But we are also awkward and fumbling about it. Just feel people out and start those small interactions, whether it's at the grocery store or the coffee shop. Gradually everyone will grow and build stronger bridges.

There is also policy and business-culture changes that will need to occur inside the system. But, one can go crazy focusing too much on that big picture as only one person.

/morning stream of consciousness

Edited September 23, 2016 by SgtCampsalot

[The Force Sleeps]

13 minutes ago, SgtCampsalot said:

Black Americans WANT to talk about these things and comiserate in empathy over these issues, but as White Americans we are often afraid to. For those above reasons. But we are also awkward and fumbling about it. Just feel people out and start those small interactions, whether it's at the grocery store or the coffee shop. Gradually everyone will grow and build stronger bridges.

I can definitely relate to this. I don't want to come across as the "righteous white guy" trying to fix the problem and as a result I trip over my words. I just want to talk about it openly and honestly.

And I really just want more black friends  

[Southernyank]

54 minutes ago, Vitamin_N said:

We're a world-class city... "nationwide" is so limiting! 

My Parisian sister in law called me first thing Wednesday morning to see if the family was ok. The news traveled fast.

 

Also, please don't think i'm a complete dolt (maybe it's the UP in me), but I've caught myself smiling reading articles over the past 24 hours about all of the violence and mayhem; only because many outlets dropped the "NC" after Charlotte.

[Durhamite]

I'll probably get banned for this but I am about to be politically incorrect.  I thought for sure they'd block off all the rioting and looting uptown aside from the hideous Hampton Inn and allow it to be torched.  Understandably, not a joking matter but that building irks me to no end.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Durhamite

[NYCLT]

11 minutes ago, Durhamite said:

I'll probably get banned for this but I am about to be politically incorrect.  I thought for sure they'd block off all the rioting and looting uptown aside from the hideous Hampton Inn and allow it to be torched.  Understandably, not a joking matter but that building irks me to no end.

I'll go with another one - I was thinking maybe the reason it was so peaceful last night was because all of the agitators left after they found out on Wednesday that there was no retail worth looting in Uptown. 

[SgtCampsalot]

We've finally achieved the "CHARLOTTE" sans "NC" that everyone has always wanted! Now time to step up our game beyond just the "open-for-business" reputation.

[ah59396]

If any positive comes out of this, Touissant Romain will reap the reward of it. That dude killed it on tv and made the whole city look great.  Would love to see him on a ballot in the near future.

[cltbwimob]

3 hours ago, guttersnipe said:

Also, please don't think i'm a complete dolt (maybe it's the UP in me), but I've caught myself smiling reading articles over the past 24 hours about all of the violence and mayhem; only because many outlets dropped the "NC" after Charlotte.

No-that's the Charlotte in you...I believe it was 1959 when someone made the comment that if the Soviets decided to launch a nuclear strike that Charlotte would be disappointed if it wasn't one of the first cities to get hit.  Good or bad, the city has always had a penchant for that feeling of importance.

Edited September 23, 2016 by cltbwimob

[Southernyank]

22 hours ago, cltbwimob said:

No-that's the Charlotte in you...I believe it was 1959 when someone made the comment that if the Soviets decided to launch a nuclear strike that Charlotte would be disappointed if it wasn't one of the first cities to get hit.  Good or bad, the city has always had a penchant for that feeling of importance.

sorry, I can't help myself, but I just absolutely loved the first paragraph of this article. That is all from me on this topic.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/black-community-sees-charlotte-glimmering-fake-oz-134646273.html

[rancenc]

3 hours ago, guttersnipe said:

sorry, I can't help myself, but I just absolutely loved the first paragraph of this article. That is all from me on this topic.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/black-community-sees-charlotte-glimmering-fake-oz-134646273.html

Typical of the state of American journalism...devoid of substance, facts, and big on generalities.  I'm sure that most of the "in depth" interviewing was by gleaning Facebook posts and possibly a paragraph statement from some of the names mentioned.  Jibril Hough is a active leader in Charlotte's Muslim community.  He is actually a convert of European descent!

Edited September 24, 2016 by rancenc

[elrodvt]

Which generality was incorrect?

55 minutes ago, rancenc said:

Typical of the state of American journalism...devoid of substance, facts, and big on generalities.  I'm sure that most of the "in depth" interviewing was by gleaning Facebook posts and possibly a paragraph statement from some of the names mentioned.  Jibril Hough is a active leader in Charlotte's Muslim community.  He is actually a convert of European descent!

 

[SgtCampsalot]

Regarding Charlotte's perception, and how that may affect its success, etc:

I don't mean this to sound like a "if you don't like it then 'eff' off" kind of thing, because I really don't.

But, if some businesses or individuals do not wish to be involved with Charlotte because of things like this, then we do not need them; literally we do not need them. Charlotte has its momentum to keep growing, that's not what we need to worry about. What we need to worry about is HOW we grow. Will that involve people that only move here for a job and have no interest in seeing the school system, justice system, or equitable economic system improved (including at the state level)? Or will it involve people who move here because they care about those things?

In my almost 3 decades here I am exhausted at the ambivalence of people I meet who come from other cities and don't think about the city as a whole, only of their own neighborhood. We have a chance to change that. It's a new day.

[CLT2014]

Unfortunately people don't usually move from a place to Charlotte (or any city) to get involved in social activism. They are usually fleeing Cleveland, Chicago, Buffalo, New Jersey, New York, Baltimore, etc... for a perceived better quality of life and to get away from the perception of crime (and blacks are leaving those places too). All the boom towns, Austin, Raleigh, Portland, Seattle, San Fran, etc... are getting transplants looking for a safe place to sip coffee with "restored oak" counters.

Edited September 24, 2016 by CLT2014

[SgtCampsalot]

Totally, I more mean people "avoiding" a town because of it.

In my line of work I've spoken with a few people this week who either just moved here, or are considering it, and said they either regret it, or are having serious second thoughts, because of the protests, etc.

[KJHburg]

Here is a Fox News article about Charlotte and race relation and its history. Charlotte was and may still be on best place for black families to live with Washington DC and Atlanta being 1 or 2. City is described as fake Oz.  http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/09/24/black-community-sees-charlotte-as-glimmering-fake-oz.html

[The ATX]

I've been following the discussions in the Charlotte threads related to the infamous bathroom law and the recent police shooting and riots.  I have to say for such emotional issues, the discussions for the most part have been very interesting and about as respectful as possible considering the current political environment.  

This has already been posted, but that damn "NC" might finally be dropped after "Charlotte."  I just hope it doesn't take similar circumstances to get that f'ing "TX" dropped after articles about Austin.