Spike Lee's racist, vulgar rant...

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

I lived it. In the 70s and early 80s. Guess what, where I lived the city was almost entirely run by black folks. Black mayor, and almost entirely black city council and city management. When the neighborhoods went to $hit then, was it because the black mayor and black city management were racist?

It's all a racist conspiracy Marvin. You're starting to remind me of these gun nuts and conspiracists that think the govt. is out to get them.

It was because the mayor was #######. Has nothing to do with the color of his skin. I've lived it as well, my neighborhood used to be nice when we had white people in it. Now, you have bars on window, and my parents had cameras installed in the back yard.

There was a story here, about a year ago, how black residents(middle age and elderly) had to clean their own streets of snow because the snow plows skipped their streets to clean the white neighborhood's streets 2 blocks over. It happens.

I know the government is out to get me, but I tricked them see? I joined the military, so now they can't get to me, oh wait. Damn.

So is Pulp Fiction.

You can't compare a 4 dollar milk shake to Bugging Out! That's racist.

[Karee 4,191]

It was because the mayor was #######. Has nothing to do with the color of his skin. I've lived it as well, my neighborhood used to be nice when we had white people in it. Now, you have bars on window, and my parents had cameras installed in the back yard.

There was a story here, about a year ago, how black residents(middle age and elderly) had to clean their own streets of snow because the snow plows skipped their streets to clean the white neighborhood's streets 2 blocks over. It happens.

I know the government is out to get me, but I tricked them see? I joined the military, so now they can't get to me, oh wait. Damn.

You can't compare a 4 dollar milk shake to Bugging Out! That's racist.

IDK I just hate it when people use things like racism as an excuse for their own failures in life. I see it all the time with my family. They're white and it's always someone else's fault when things don't go their way. Never their own. I could only imagine the excuses if they were black. My sister had about 20 reasons why her house got repo'd. None of which were "I didn't pay my mortgage, and spent my money on other frivolous things" Somehow I think if she was black, that would be at the top of her list.

Wait a minute, if my sister was black, that would mean I'd be black. {shudder}

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

IDK I just hate it when people use things like racism as an excuse for their own failures in life. I see it all the time with my family. They're white and it's always someone else's fault when things don't go their way. Never their own. I could only imagine the excuses if they were black. My sister had about 20 reasons why her house got repo'd. None of which were "I didn't pay my mortgage, and spent my money on other frivolous things" Somehow I think if she was black, that would be at the top of her list.

Wait a minute, if my sister was black, that would mean I'd be black. {shudder}

TBF, there are some lazy folks out there who use racism as an excuse. They make me more mad because it detracts from the folks who've actually been discriminated against and have a legit claim. My grandfather has the be the hardest working man I've ever met, that dude was done it all. To hear what he had went through, he had jobs that would forge false statements just to get him fired or denied promotion, you know it's real. This man is 94 and still dots his I's and crosses his T's. He said, you don't get to where I've been by being lazy and shiftless. His words crumble under the wisdom that's weighed on top of it.

What you're thinking about is what you've seen in terms of some black people, but it's in all races. You got some lazy sons of batches out there.

Calm yourself, you're white. The sun will rise again. But if you were black, I'd send you the Oppression Member's card. Remember, we have jackets.

[Karee 4,191]

TBF, there are some lazy folks out there who use racism as an excuse. They make me more mad because it detracts from the folks who've actually been discriminated against and have a legit claim. My grandfather has the be the hardest working man I've ever met, that dude was done it all. To hear what he had went through, he had jobs that would forge false statements just to get him fired or denied promotion, you know it's real. This man is 94 and still dots his I's and crosses his T's. He said, you don't get to where I've been by being lazy and shiftless. His words crumble under the wisdom that's weighed on top of it.

What you're thinking about is what you've seen in terms of some black people, but it's in all races. You got some lazy sons of batches out there.

Calm yourself, you're white. The sun will rise again. But if you were black, I'd send you the Oppression Member's card. Remember, we have jackets.

See I don't get anything for being white. If you're black, you get a special card and a jacket. I'm telling you the world is unfair.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I've heard that you get privilege for being white. Way better than a jacket.

[deleted-05292014 331]

He does like to swear a bit, old Spike Lee. I still can't take him seriously after he threw his toys out of the pram because Quentin Tarantino made a better 'black' movie than he did.

Jackie Brown is better than pretty much anything Spike Lee has ever done.

Depends on your personal taste.

Malcolm X one of my favorite movies of all time, and a tremendous performance by Denzel.

[deleted-05292014 331]

I knew this would make it here sooner or later. I also knew you and those that think like you would call this racist. I'll try to explain but somehow I think it will fall on deaf ears:

1. His first point is when you have middle/upper class white people move into this type of neighborhood, the property value goes up. The folks that have been living there(read: poor minorities) now have to move because they can no longer afford to live in a place they're inhabited for the last 40 years. He uses the Christopher Columbus reference meaning they've already been living there, you can't discover something that's already been found. There's no way a few black people could move to an all white neighborhood and turn the name from Sunny Side Groves to Hood Rich.

2. His MAIN reason for the rant was the abundance of government services that followed the white people into his neighborhood when they showed up, which is why people were applauding. His family and others that had lived there for decades didn't get the trash picked up every day, nor did the cops come and police the area. He accurately asked why does it take white people coming into the neighborhood to change the system. The minorities who lived there first paid taxes like everyone else, yet the city didn't clean the streets. They paid their dues, yet the cops wouldn't respond to their calls. Now that there are some white people living there, they give a damn. When it was all black and hispanic, they didn't.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/26/us/new-york-spike-lee-gentrification/

Here's a link that explains what Lee was talking about:

There's good. But what cost? If we lose half of the African-American population, in my neighborhood, Fort Greene, and the schools become better, what happened to half the people that left?"

And he was angry that city services improved when the neighborhood profile changed.

"I just find it interesting you have to have an influx of white New Yorkers to move into these neighborhoods for the services to go up, for the schools to be better," he told CNN. "They get better sanitation, get more police protection. Why didn't that happened before gentrification? We're still paying taxes. We're still New Yorkers."

Preach brother!

[luckytxn 2,265]

He's allowed to be racist as he is black.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

He's allowed to be racist as he is black.

No one has a pass to be racist. His rant isn't at white people, it's at the system that took care of his neighborhood when white people moved in.

[unsmiley 111]

So, you're reasoning that the cops that don't patrol the neighborhood is because they didn't cut the grass? It's been documented that when whites move out of a city and it's filled with minorities, the services go away. It's like that now in my city.

Why is this so hard for you to believe? My aunt lives in a diverse part of the city. When I took her home after Christmas dinner at my mom's house, my wife asked why the streets were clean on one block, yet ice and snow heavy on the others? I replied, because on the block that's clean, that's where white people live. My aunt said, is it that obvious? I said the houses look the same, but you can tell where black folks live by looking at the street.

Wrong, Marvin. Where I live in Manhattan, as was amply documented in the papers/media, our idiot mayor did not clear the snow, while Brooklyn (where the mayor lives and Spike Lee, to put it charitably, was "complaining" about) was spanking clean. Everyone knows this was political payback. Among other things, ours was the only district in which the mayor did not get 50% in the election. Lack of services happens in "good" or "white" neighborhoods too, especially when there is a vindictive career politician running the show.

Edited March 1, 2014 by unsmiley

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

This, from the little racist that has been living for years in the lily white Upper East Side of Manhattan in a multimillion dollar mansion, complaining about gentrification in Brooklyn and Harlem...

Then comes the motherf--in' Christopher Columbus Syndrome. You can't discover this! We been here. You just can't come and bogart. There were brothers playing motherf--in' African drums in Mount Morris Park for 40 years and now they can't do it anymore because the new inhabitants said the drums are loud. My father's a great jazz musician. He bought a house in nineteen-motherf--in'-sixty-eight, and the motherf--kin' people moved in last year and called the cops on my father. He's not — he doesn't even play electric bass! It's acoustic! We bought the motherf--kin' house in nineteen-sixty-motherf--in'-eight and now you call the cops? In 2013? Get the fu-k outta here!

These real estate motherf--ers are changing names! Stuyvestant Heights? 110th to 125th, there's another name for Harlem. What is it? What? What is it? No, no, not Morningside Heights. There's a new one. [Audience: SpaHa] What the fu-k is that? How you changin' names?

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2014/02/26/spike_lee_delivers_epic_antigentrification_rant.php

Courtesy of Curbed.com - (FYI I had to edit the MF and F words with dashes, but I am sure you get the idea.)

and do you know what would be the lead story on CNN every 15 mins if a white celeb had complained about blacks moving in ?

The racism double standard marches on

[Peikko 1,575]

and do you know what would be the lead story on CNN every 15 mins if a white celeb had complained about blacks moving in ?

The racism double standard marches on

Proving that without a shadow of a doubt you have absolutely no clue about racism. Brilliant!

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Wrong, Marvin. Where I live in Manhattan, as was amply documented in the papers/media, our idiot mayor did not clear the snow, while Brooklyn (where the mayor lives and Spike Lee, to put it charitably, was "complaining" about) was spanking clean. Everyone knows this was political payback. Among other things, ours was the only district in which the mayor did not get 50% in the election. Lack of services happens in "good" or "white" neighborhoods too, especially when there is a vindictive career politician running the show.

I'm not saying it doesn't. Spike Lee was talking about his old neighborhood where he grew up. He wasn't ranting about white people, he was ranting about the lack of services.

[luckytxn 2,265]

White person said something similar he would be a racist.

I'm not saying it doesn't. Spike Lee was talking about his old neighborhood where he grew up. He wasn't ranting about white people, he was ranting about the lack of services.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

White person said something similar he would be a racist.

No he wouldn't. And I'm pretty sure I've never heard of a white neighborhood being cleaned up because some black people moved there.