ain’t the way it’s supposed to be – in philly

This issue on the complexities of our increasing diversity has really taken hold of me these past few days.
Can you tell from my surge of posts?

Spending most of my time in Philly’s Chinatown I get to see and hear a lot go down. There are things that I see and hear that keep me on the defensive, ready to pounce at any given moment. My fists stay clenched. Our faith community is only beginning to heal from the senseless shooting of one of our members that I posted about a month ago [ain’t the way it’s supposed to be in Philly one and two]

Recently there was a shooting in Lawncrest (Northeast Philadelphia) that killed a Chinese man, Jiaxing Lu(49), in his family grocery store. Again two young White teens. What disturbed me today was a article that highlighted some of the complexities of race that were mentioned in previous posts.
Sadly, the Lu family has given up on the city of Philadelphia – they’re moving to New York. Is it going to be any better? It doesn’t seem like they enjoyed being in their neighborhood I imagine. They are hurt and upset understandably. I don’t blame them. Would you?
But reading this article can you sense the tensions?

Like some other residents, she expressed some discomfort with Lu Jiaxing, saying she thought he viewed black people with suspicion. Other residents, though, said Lu made a point of knowing his customers so well that he knew what each typically bought at the store.

“About two months ago, when it got dark at about 6 or 7 p.m., he started closing down and selling food through a slot,” Brown said. “I did have a problem with that. But he did seem to be a decent man. Once, I lost my … card in his ATM and he went out of his way to get it back for me the next day.”

Another neighborhood resident, Edward Molizone, 74, touched on the suspicion that often exists between black residents and Asian merchants.

“A lot of blacks don’t go to the Chinese store because they feel the Chinese think they steal from them,” he said. “I don’t have a complex about that.”

But Molizone said that he was disturbed when he heard that Lu’s wife dismantled a makeshift memorial to her husband created by neighborhood residents.

“I was hurt this morning when she took all the teddy bears and put them in the trash,” he said.

Please don’t give up on Philly.

Read the full philly.com article here
Read also
The Multiracial Divide Without Easy Answers
Interracial Relationships: UK “Asians” more likely intolerant and racist
The Asian Invasion and other minorities fast becoming the majority

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