• Translate My Blog

    My Blog is about many things, adult adoptee, autism, family, laughter, and love, feel free to follow me on my journey, and look through my archives. It takes more than one subject to define me or my family. We are a mixture of a bit of everything!


    Open Adoption Blogs Protected by Copyscape Online Plagiarism Software

    Tuesday, June 1, 2010

    Pics From The Hood Your Beach or Mine?

    I got this idea from my girl Daffy who does a weekly 
    Convos from the hood. 



    Bloggy Blog Designz


    I decided to do my own twist to it this week....

    *Rod Serling Voice* 

    There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. 
    It is the middle ground between light and shadow, 
    between science and superstition.

    Okay it was way cooler in my head... but i likey the voice.. and it's reality for a lot of us. It's the hood. Neighborhood, Ghetto, Projects, Across the Tracks, the otha side of town, Whateva you wanna call it.. it's not pretty. It's Reality. Believe this......The Hood is not a racist issue.. it's Classism. It's Have and Have not. It's not soley the Have's fault, nor is it soley the Have Not's. I swear it isn't, I've lived both sides. What I would like to see is the day when EVERYONE understands it's the Government providing these subliminal messages. Race is a silly way to deter from the facts. Don't buy into it. It's so much deeper. Segregation is not a Race war it is redefined in every era by T.V., Pop Culture, Celebrities, and the Media.. with the Government as the Puppet Master.... we know the government is the dealer... do you? Now, it's 2010. This is, mos def, a classism game. The oppressors want you to believe otherwise. The true soldiers know it has always been a game of Chess. Too bad we allow a select few to hold the real pieces while we continue to be Pawns, today it is a game to Pit the Have against the Have nots. So my post today is a tiny example of Segregation in 2010. It's the Beach, my morning walk. It is Segregated and it is sad. There are many convos about this. My favorite is.. it's your beach clean it up!! Really, so you mean to tell me everyday the otha side wakes up walks to the beach and picks up trash? No, the Beach Maintenence does it.. I've seen it... but only on one side of the Pier.....

    LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, May 2010

    Did you see my Sundays in my City Post? The Pier sure looks purdy!




    But there is a dirty little secret that only residents know....

    There are two sides.... my side is closer to downtown. If you walk from the beach up the stairs (y'all know beach stairs... they lead to the street), you will walk a few blocks and be in the hood. The other side of the pier hits Belmont Shore and heads towards Naples. A block up and your in heaven. 
    Now, lets look at the upkeep of the Beach.

    REMEMBER, IT'S THE SAME BEACH.


    Lower Class side of the Pier

    (notice no dogs allowed)


    Double Vision Bike Painting? WTF?


    Dirt Nasty Bathrooms




    Trash littered on the Sand and on Bike and Walk Paths:


    Oh and don't forget....



    But never fear... we are getting closer to the Pier!!



    Upper Class Side of the Pier:

    Oh look even Dogs are treated better....


    ... and is that an Island, a private Oasis, 
    or a Bathroom (oops I mean Bathroom's)?


    Oh Look a Restraunt on the Beach... 
    must be nice...


    Volleyball Courts and 
    Indoor Swimming Pool on the Sand


    Is that a one Bicycle Path or did I really have double vision?


    Look Clean Sand, no trash... hmmmmmm....


    Is there a difference in Feet on the Walkway? 
    (guess which prints are on what side of the pier)


    What is that Sesame Street Song???
    One of these things is not like the others,
    One of these things just doesn't belong,
    Can you tell which thing is not like the others
    By the time I finish my song?

    Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
    Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
    If you guessed this one is not like the others,
    Then you're absolutely...right!

    21 comments:

    Liz Mays said...

    You told me this was coming so I was braced for it, but still....so unjust!!! I hate how things are this way in life.

    BNM said...

    wow what a difference.. to bad we dont have a beach around here it would be the same way

    Liz Mays said...

    There's even a difference in how the sand looks!

    Ducky said...

    Makes me want to growl...I know...Ducks quack but this one wants to growl!

    Unknown said...

    ohhh that infuriates me.. Having grown up in Va Beach as a child I have seen this in action myself.. and it disgusts me to no end..

    Anonymous said...

    Wow...simply wow...I lived in Brooklyn...and I spent my days in the projects as a missionary...

    I could never get over how on one street you have the projects and the lifestyle they represent, and two streets over you have the 'other' side of town...

    It's not right...really. not. right.

    Lothiriel said...

    wow....
    ...just wow...


    I'm speechless....

    I didn't know it was like that...

    Lara said...

    Following from Follow ME Back Tuesday!! Stop by some time!
    http://blogginmommadrama.blogspot.com

    Lisa said...

    wow! A big difference...sad world we live in.

    Traci said...

    That really is a stunning difference in care and concern. It is eye-opening and beyond distressing. While hard to look at, I applaud you for shining a bright light on it. We cannot fix those things that we do not acknowledge.

    Jim said...

    Great looking pier. I have a pier on my blog today too.
    Sydney - City and Suburbs

    riversnake said...

    Some what unrelated but for some reason this makes me think of the common argument against universal health care. "If everyone has health insurance the quality of health care will go down." WTF? Seriously? You are comfortable with the fact that you get top notch health care because someone else has been completely denied health coverage and thus can't afford the health care you take for granted? Sorry, that don't sit right with me. But the rich wouldn't be that rich if it weren't for the strapped backs of the lower classes. Just MHO, of course :)

    ~Jill

    Kmama said...

    Oh wow. That is just so wrong.

    Cheeseboy said...

    Wow, so maddening.

    Aunt Juicebox said...

    I'd just go on up and hang out on the other side. And for real go to those bathrooms too.

    Anonymous said...

    It's bathrooms, not bathroom's if you're referring to more than one bathroom.
    You get what you pay for; if you don't pay you don't get the goodies. And please, don't try to tell me that if the low-income side of the beach were spruced up it would stay that way. It's human nature that if people are not invested in something, either through paying for it or by doing the work themselves, they have no incentive to maintain it.

    riversnake said...

    Dissenting commentors are always such cowards posting anonymously!

    You brought up some good points Anonymous, why the need to hide?

    Grow some next time :)

    ~Anonymous Jill

    Adoption of Jane said...

    Anonymous:

    Simply not true. However I would like to thank you for reiterating my point about blatant segregation in 2010 with your ignorant comment. As for the correction in my spelling... As you can see by my blog I am not an uneducated person. But, if it makes you feel any better to try and prove that with your lil' spelling suggestion, be my guest. As Shakespeare once said...
    "I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person"

    Adoption of Jane said...

    Riversnake:

    Nicely said. I do agree with one thing Anon said.. you get what you pay for.... assuming its a private beach. This is not a private beach. It is a public beach. I go there every morning and walk, I've seen the beach maintenance maintain one side and not the other. If I've walked before they've cleaned the other side... there is just as much trash littered, graffiti drawn, its just cleaned up and maintained promptly.

    Adoption of Jane said...

    Thanks Brooke for your quick reply...

    Jane,
    My name is Brooke Davis and I am the Adopt-A-Beach Coordinator for the City of Long Beach. We do have a program in place that encourages groups to clean up our local beaches through out the year. If you register to become a group with our Adopt A Beach Program, we ask that you participate in 4 beach cleanups a year. You can choose any specified section of beach in Long Beach and we will provide you with bags and gloves for your cleanups. The program allows for a lot of flexibility because you can choose your own dates and times.

    I have attached an application and map of the beach sites in Long Beach. If the program sounds like something you are interested in we can take the next step in the process. You can fill out the application and either fax or mail it back to me. We can then arrange a time, before your cleanup date, for you to stop by and pick up all of the supplies you will need. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks so much for your interest in keeping Long beach litter free. .


    Brooke Davis
    El Dorado Nature Center

    Adoption of Jane said...

    It's a start... hopefully then I can get in and get to know some of the Maintence people and try and get them to acknowledge "our side of the pier". It will take way more than 4x a year, it will take the care our side deserves.

     

    .