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Comment of the day: The comfort of a community

Posted 5/20/2008 by Joseph Askins

… Of course, I don't think most gay people care who moves into our 'hoods as long as they don't make us take down the risque photos of half-naked men in our store windows. Unlike some of the people in this video, my motivation for wanting boystown to stay gay isn't really out of any dislike for straight people. It's mainly because if I'm surrounded by other gay folk, I'm less likely to get the crap beaten out of me for being the only guy walking home at night who looks gay. I doubt the Puerto Ricans are afraid the yuppies are going to beat and mug them if their numbers dwindle, but perhaps they would argue that they're being robbed in another sense as property taxes and rent go up.

In the end, I don't care what color the people are in my neighborhood as long as I feel that I can be myself and that I'm safe. Unfortunately, I haven't found poor minorities (or poor people in general) to be very gay friendly. So, I guess I'm stuck looking at places in Lakeview and fighting the good fight to keep out those Lincoln Park breeders with their Range Rovers and screaming kids. I'm all for fair housing laws, but where is the law to keep those brats from ruining my right to an evening of sushi and overpriced cosmopolitans without a crying baby at the next table?

Commenter Danny, drawing some parallels between his choice to live in Boystown and the desires of some Humboldt Park residents to prevent gentrification in their own neighborhood.

Comments

5/20/08

Dmac said:

I just went back to see the additional posts on the subject, and…Holy Cow. I can't believe that some people still think they can spout this kind of stuff in the guise of an ethnic group's "rights" and think they can get away with it.

Danny said:

Woo hoo! I'm the comment of the day! Is it sad that I don't have anything better to do than comment on my own comment?

djcchicago said:

Aren't you a bit late on this? It seems like the gay population has already largely moved north to Uptown, Edgewater and Rogers Park. The entertainment is still there, but I thought Lakeview had been baby buggy territory for about five years now.

5/21/08

Danny said:

My comment wasn't about what neighborhood has the highest concentration of gays. It was about the sculptures on Halsted in Boystown that identify it as Chicago's "official" gay 'hood and how that relates to the way Puerto Ricans in Humbolt Park feel about the Puerto Rican flag sculptures there that identify the neighborhood as a sort of "home base" for them.

Carter said:

I understand the rainbow statues, but can someone explain to me who decided the misspelled word "Northalsted" was a great idea? Every time I see it in print I want to sic an editor on the publisher.

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