"Representing" the North Side

Here is some further conversation that took place after I
told the sender of that email "you make great points. You
should submit a guest piece to my editor."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks John -- good idea, I think I'll do just that! I didn't
know where the article Alan Kwong posted came from when I
responded. I was defensive though, I know that ... it happens
all the time. There are a great many things worth saving in
our community and I can't stand idly by watching any of them
be destroyed. So I jump into Ninja Northsider mode.

I hope you can see how your summation of Northside activities
spurred my defense mechanisms. And telling us we've created our
own bad rep .... wow, that one really got me. It's the media and
the bad eggs that are doing that. The rest of us are fighting
to overcome that negative stereotype everyday by
telling our good stories, picking up trash, helping our neighbors
keep their homes up, working with landlords to screen for decent
tenants, etc.

As for the cop, I don't doubt the accuracy of your story. I don't
know why, but I expect the cops to be ambassadors as well as peace
keepers and maybe that's asking too much. But I get asked all the
time "Why do you say here?" [sic, must mean "stay."]

The answer is simple ... it's my home.

And as for buying a home here, the Northside Home Fund
and Greater Metro Housing Corp have money to help.
Call the Folwell Neighborhood at 612-521-2100 and
they can get you in touch.

Also, last fall when so many homes went on the auction block,
I had an idea. I posted to craig's list that I'd be willing to
help acclimate newcomers to the restaurants, parks, stores,
art sites, neighborhood groups, etc. so I'll
extend that offer to you, as well. As a life-long Northsider,
I feel it's my duty. I might even know something about the
neighborhood you're considering buying in ... I HIGHLY
recommend Old Highland, of course, but with all
areas, there are some pockets that are better than others.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd like to add something here. It must be very frustrating for
North Siders who do so much work to help their neighborhood,
and then something happens like a nice older woman being stabbed to
death and people say, oh, there's your North Side, there.

However, who "represents" the North Side? Is it only the people
who work tirelessly to do good? Unfortunately, it isn't. The
woman who beat the child to death, the dealers standing on
the corner as home buyers drive through to seek out
their first impressions of the North Side, all these folks
also "represent" the North Side.

When the tagger called "Kill Bill" puts his tag on a
vacant house, and adds the words "North Sides Finest"
(yes, he knowsnothing of possessive apostrophes)
is that tagger not REPRESENTING the North Side?

Ask the tagger. He would say he is "representing."

Having ice cream socials and art is nice, but if
the North Side wants those vacant houses filled up,
a very robust and stern new chapter needs to be written
THROWING THOSE DRUG DEALERS THE HELL OFF THEIR PUBLIC
CORNERS.

And I'll add something else: those dealers are not being
trucked in from Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center every
morning. They are from the North Side, they are locals, and
their families might be some of those "three generation"
families who get mentioned so often when the highlights
of the North Side are trotted out for discussion.

Being around for three generations doesn't mean you've
been doing good for three generations. Each individual
case should bear individual scrutiny. Being around for
three generations doesn't give anybody a free pass if it's
three generations of committing crime.

Who "represent" the North Side? Those who are doing things
good or bad to create the cumulative reputation of the
North Side. You can plant flowers all you want, have
ice cream socials, but when open air drug markets thrive
and children are beaten to death, it's not going to be
the flowers and the ice cream getting all the attention.

The media is not to blame. Everybody knows when there is
death and murder, the media will cover it. The people
who do the bloody, terrible things that rates the media
coverage are the ones to blame, not the media. At the
end of the day, the North Side creates its own rep,
and the "bad apples" are just as much part of the
bunch as the good apples. Hard to hear, yes.
Frustrating, yes.

But one should never tire of doing good.

(If you do an image search on Google using the terms
"north side" and "Minneapolis," the picture at the
top comes up among the images. It comes from a
City Pages Story about another day on the North
Side.) (Click for link)