Howard Stern
Never in a million years did I think I'd write about this prurient panderer to pubescent boys, despite his principled move to satellite radio. Till tonight, when I saw his interview with Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes. I've never heard anyone before talk about Roosevelt and what happened there.
I was born in Queens. The American dream to people like my Brooklyn born parents was to move to the suburbs and they moved to the segregated town of Roosevelt. Eddie Murphy grew up there. I've never looked up anything of the history there, or remember much about it. But, here's what I do remember.
My early elementary years were wonderful. The lily white school emphasized drama, every class put on a full out play every year. I was a great reader & performer, singer, always got the leads, did wonders for my self-esteem. One night I remember a group of men coming to our door. Apparently they were going around the neighborhood getting everyone to agree not to sell their houses to blacks.
There was forced integration, busing, coming. In third grade I was bussed to a very run-down school. I remember being threatened. Nevertheless, I loved my third grade teacher and had a great year. By fourth grade white flight was in full force and the situation around me was getting scarier. I felt very threatened, even the teachers seemed to feel threatened.
This was elementary school. Howard talks about the High School and parents who were morally opposed to fleeing from blacks, who were, as Stern pointed out, very angry, and attacked Stern, the only white guy, with a vengeance. I was finally moved to lily white Massapequa during fifth grade. What's interesting is that until I was in my twenties and heard my mother make an extremely racist remark, I thought my parents stayed out of principal, as Stern's did.
No, my parents were just out of it. Disconnected, in their own little world, they simply didn't realize how out of hand the situation had gotten until the town was 98% black. I remember being friends with the black family down the block and enjoying their big family picnics. I'm sure this formative experience had an effect on me. And I remember liking the one black guy in our High School.
However, a near, if not actual, rape, by a black man in San Francisco during my hippie/travel years left me quite racist into my early twenties. Which is why I didn't make much of the overtures by an attractive, black friend at college who kept coming on to me. At first I laughed off this young, militant version of Malcolm X & Bobby Seale, until I fell for him harder than just about anyone, ever, and was never the same since... as almost any man who really knows me can tell you. So much for my own pitiful self awareness on this subject. Though god knows I've done my time paying white guilt.
Stern shows a lot of self awareness and says his experience in Roosevelt filled him with rage at the whites who moved out, and left him there to deal with the wrath of racist ravaged blacks. I hear ya baby. Maybe not enough to tune into your new channel and listen to the phone sex lady, but,hey, at least you no longer fill me with disgust. And, it does explain a lot.
I was born in Queens. The American dream to people like my Brooklyn born parents was to move to the suburbs and they moved to the segregated town of Roosevelt. Eddie Murphy grew up there. I've never looked up anything of the history there, or remember much about it. But, here's what I do remember.
My early elementary years were wonderful. The lily white school emphasized drama, every class put on a full out play every year. I was a great reader & performer, singer, always got the leads, did wonders for my self-esteem. One night I remember a group of men coming to our door. Apparently they were going around the neighborhood getting everyone to agree not to sell their houses to blacks.
There was forced integration, busing, coming. In third grade I was bussed to a very run-down school. I remember being threatened. Nevertheless, I loved my third grade teacher and had a great year. By fourth grade white flight was in full force and the situation around me was getting scarier. I felt very threatened, even the teachers seemed to feel threatened.
This was elementary school. Howard talks about the High School and parents who were morally opposed to fleeing from blacks, who were, as Stern pointed out, very angry, and attacked Stern, the only white guy, with a vengeance. I was finally moved to lily white Massapequa during fifth grade. What's interesting is that until I was in my twenties and heard my mother make an extremely racist remark, I thought my parents stayed out of principal, as Stern's did.
No, my parents were just out of it. Disconnected, in their own little world, they simply didn't realize how out of hand the situation had gotten until the town was 98% black. I remember being friends with the black family down the block and enjoying their big family picnics. I'm sure this formative experience had an effect on me. And I remember liking the one black guy in our High School.
However, a near, if not actual, rape, by a black man in San Francisco during my hippie/travel years left me quite racist into my early twenties. Which is why I didn't make much of the overtures by an attractive, black friend at college who kept coming on to me. At first I laughed off this young, militant version of Malcolm X & Bobby Seale, until I fell for him harder than just about anyone, ever, and was never the same since... as almost any man who really knows me can tell you. So much for my own pitiful self awareness on this subject. Though god knows I've done my time paying white guilt.
Stern shows a lot of self awareness and says his experience in Roosevelt filled him with rage at the whites who moved out, and left him there to deal with the wrath of racist ravaged blacks. I hear ya baby. Maybe not enough to tune into your new channel and listen to the phone sex lady, but,hey, at least you no longer fill me with disgust. And, it does explain a lot.
posted by Intervision at 7:47 PM
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