Ah, a well-defended and internally reinforced racism in which meritocratic "economics" is considered a sanctifying euphemism for "race."
Thank you so much for saying that a diverse education is a better, fuller, education, and that moating children from wealthier families in the name of a false "excellence" cripples them. US White people so generally assume without thinking that we are the donors or potential donors, the gracious (or ungracious) possessors of The Superior, amid a rabble of needy peasants. And it's such rubbish, with such terrible effects all round.
I agree with Bob Duff. I live in one of the most diverse towns in the state. That diversity is one of it’s best features. Darien may be wealthier but it sounds pretty boring.
Hamden is listed as 60.9% white. Danbury, where I lived so many years, is listed as 60.8% white.
Even more important to me, now that I'm a renter again, is whether a town has affordable rental housing. Many towns have no multi-family housing at all, and if it weren't for our wealth of colleges and universities, I suspect there would be a lot less.
As a resident of Trumbull (whose Main Street yard yielded more than a few streetcar track spikes), employee of Fairfield (who both gave and got Mutual Aid to and from Bridgeport on a regular basis) and volunteer in the Stratford Schools (building sets and tech directing for my wife’s Shakespeare plays) there was a particular Bridgeport/Connecticut Post Reporter who opined weekly on the moat those towns guarded against encroachments from him and his fellow townspeople, and I usually bristled when I read him, running through the litany of the entitled white male as I sputtered my mental “Hamana Hamana hamana”, but hindsight being 20/20 he was, of course, exactly right. We chose Guilford over Madison for precisely that reason: we loved the UN that populated the town pool in Trumbull and didn’t want the mayonnaise and white bread complexion of the neighboring community, no disrespect intended; our son has been the beneficiary and his life is a reflection of the less heterogeneous environment in which he was raised.
My mind jumps to thinking about what could (should) towns do to increase diversity. Educational advantage is so solidly in place when looking at towns. Open Choice is a must, but it isn't enough.
When we were looking at towns where we would like to purchase a home (with future kids just a glimmer in our eyes), we focused on school district reputation, cost of real estate, and proximity to where we both worked...in that order of importance. We didn't have much of a down payment, but had good solid jobs. We owned cars and didn't have to rely on public transportation. We couldn't afford a lot of houses, but could pretty much live in almost any town we wanted to in the area. We chose a town with good schools and excellent services. However, the neighborhood required one to have a car, like most neighborhoods here.
So, I think, what stops others from moving here: Lack of car transportation to work/higher ed, limited public transportation availability, high real estate prices (lacking affordable housing), low access to HUSKY healthcare/dental care providers, high property tax rates, higher child care costs...
Having money gives access to opportunity. Having less money restricts opportunity. UNLESS...opportunity is granted, despite economic status. So, I wish the state & towns would give more thought to how to grant access to high opportunity towns to more lower income people. I bet they wouldn't stay low income for long, given the right support. I wish affordable housing included more single family homes, for families. 1-2 bedroom apartments are not helpful to most families. I wish there was more affordable housing and town zoning was required to insist new housing developments not all be large homes. I wish there were programs to help low income families get cars. Cars open up the world to include more potential employees, ways to get to higher ed classes, more child care options, potentially lower cost grocery stores, better scheduling of healthcare appointments. I wish more healthcare providers were required to accept HUSKY. It goes on.
I think there should be a blueprint developed at the state level that accomplishes the goal of increasing opportunity to those who currently have low opportunity. And then the state/towns should implement it accordingly. Maybe it's been done. I haven't been paying close enough attention.
Ah, a well-defended and internally reinforced racism in which meritocratic "economics" is considered a sanctifying euphemism for "race."
Thank you so much for saying that a diverse education is a better, fuller, education, and that moating children from wealthier families in the name of a false "excellence" cripples them. US White people so generally assume without thinking that we are the donors or potential donors, the gracious (or ungracious) possessors of The Superior, amid a rabble of needy peasants. And it's such rubbish, with such terrible effects all round.
Amen. What YOU said.
This is a soul sickness in our neighbors of Darien.
Soul sickness. What a great way to describe it. And it's not just Darien. They're only the latest, most obvious example of the sickness.
So true.
I love the goofballs that believe they are the majority in this country while crying they are the minority in this country
I agree with Bob Duff. I live in one of the most diverse towns in the state. That diversity is one of it’s best features. Darien may be wealthier but it sounds pretty boring.
"Mississippi of the North." That hurts!
Hamden is listed as 60.9% white. Danbury, where I lived so many years, is listed as 60.8% white.
Even more important to me, now that I'm a renter again, is whether a town has affordable rental housing. Many towns have no multi-family housing at all, and if it weren't for our wealth of colleges and universities, I suspect there would be a lot less.
What is "Hartford 0146s"?
I wish someone could tell me. I looked it up but found nothing.
Write on, Susan.
I have the same concerns for my grandkids.
They are not doing their children any favors keeping them isolated
They really, really aren’t.
I’ll post this separately so you can delete if as needed, Susan, but Randy’s song is never far from the front of my mind: https://youtu.be/hTLHxpUQ_B8
As a resident of Trumbull (whose Main Street yard yielded more than a few streetcar track spikes), employee of Fairfield (who both gave and got Mutual Aid to and from Bridgeport on a regular basis) and volunteer in the Stratford Schools (building sets and tech directing for my wife’s Shakespeare plays) there was a particular Bridgeport/Connecticut Post Reporter who opined weekly on the moat those towns guarded against encroachments from him and his fellow townspeople, and I usually bristled when I read him, running through the litany of the entitled white male as I sputtered my mental “Hamana Hamana hamana”, but hindsight being 20/20 he was, of course, exactly right. We chose Guilford over Madison for precisely that reason: we loved the UN that populated the town pool in Trumbull and didn’t want the mayonnaise and white bread complexion of the neighboring community, no disrespect intended; our son has been the beneficiary and his life is a reflection of the less heterogeneous environment in which he was raised.
My mind jumps to thinking about what could (should) towns do to increase diversity. Educational advantage is so solidly in place when looking at towns. Open Choice is a must, but it isn't enough.
When we were looking at towns where we would like to purchase a home (with future kids just a glimmer in our eyes), we focused on school district reputation, cost of real estate, and proximity to where we both worked...in that order of importance. We didn't have much of a down payment, but had good solid jobs. We owned cars and didn't have to rely on public transportation. We couldn't afford a lot of houses, but could pretty much live in almost any town we wanted to in the area. We chose a town with good schools and excellent services. However, the neighborhood required one to have a car, like most neighborhoods here.
So, I think, what stops others from moving here: Lack of car transportation to work/higher ed, limited public transportation availability, high real estate prices (lacking affordable housing), low access to HUSKY healthcare/dental care providers, high property tax rates, higher child care costs...
Having money gives access to opportunity. Having less money restricts opportunity. UNLESS...opportunity is granted, despite economic status. So, I wish the state & towns would give more thought to how to grant access to high opportunity towns to more lower income people. I bet they wouldn't stay low income for long, given the right support. I wish affordable housing included more single family homes, for families. 1-2 bedroom apartments are not helpful to most families. I wish there was more affordable housing and town zoning was required to insist new housing developments not all be large homes. I wish there were programs to help low income families get cars. Cars open up the world to include more potential employees, ways to get to higher ed classes, more child care options, potentially lower cost grocery stores, better scheduling of healthcare appointments. I wish more healthcare providers were required to accept HUSKY. It goes on.
I think there should be a blueprint developed at the state level that accomplishes the goal of increasing opportunity to those who currently have low opportunity. And then the state/towns should implement it accordingly. Maybe it's been done. I haven't been paying close enough attention.
Ok, THAT was long. I'm thinking out loud again!
I highly recommend getting to Desegregate CT. This is precisely their bag.
Nice white parents. I read that McGhee book. It's great.
Very eye-opening (at least, it was to me).