[trebb]

Born in '52 and saw them first hand in Rochester, NY. Grew up in an increasing Black neighborhood and we considered each other to be friends and neighbors. A number of them changed and went "to the dark side" when it all began and started harassing us. Four incidents stand out:
- A 12 year old girls who played street ball with us kicked me in the butt and called me names.
- A new kid in town started a bit with me while playing on the street - I finally got tired of being elbowed and decked him. The other Black kids told Alvin to stop messing with Bobby. (some stayed sane)
- Driving with my great uncle and a crowd ahead had a car stopped and they were rocking it. They saw us coming and let it go and blocked our path. My uncle said some cuss words and told me to close my eyes if I didn't want to see blood as he stepped on the gas. They all managed to get clear and we were unmolested...
- My Dad was driving to the shooting range on a Sunday (we sometimes went there instead of church). We stopped at a light and a young Black man came to the window with a pen knife in his hand and told Dad to give him his wallet. Dad said OK, leaned to the right to allow access to the holster hanging between his hip and the door, pulled the .45 and told the guy that he really needed to change careers. I can still see the wide-open eyes and the hands up as he backed away and finally sat down as a heel hit the curb.

Rochester wasn't one of the worse places but it did serve as a sign of where we (they) were heading as they started striking out at the good citizens because of what the Dim politicians were doing. I believe that was the catalyst that put us where we are today - seemingly hopeless in removing racism because they were being heavily indoctrinated then. Once the race-baiters discovered how easy it was to get them rioting in the streets, it was game over.

[imardmd1]

Apparently MNDude has forgotten about Rochester in 1964.

In 1963, I rented on Magnolia St., near Plymouth Ave. The block I lived on had not yet been "busted", but a little further down the street toward the city the neighborhood had changed. That was a hot summer, and a lot of extremely offensive "music" was being played, and there was a lot of activity in the streets where it was becoming ghettoized. What I am saying is that 1963 was a prelude for the 1964 riots.

By 1964, my house in the Gates suburb was built, and living there I had joined the Gates-Chili (Volunteer) Fire Company. During the riots, the volunteer companies from the suburbs filled in at city fire companies that were out engaged in crowd control with 2 1/2 inch lines, water cannon, and the like.

When we were about to go in, the city company told us to make sure we brought every hydrant wrench we had, because we would need them to defend ourselves and our water lines from knifing. We already knew from listening to our scanners that a lot of things were happening that never got reported on the radio or papers. A lot of the seriousness got suppressed, I supposed so as not to exacerbate what was already going on.

If you recall, the community agitators were trying to put the blame for the rioting on two particular "causes" -- (1) claimed police brutality and (2) unfair hiring and promotion practices of Kodak and other large, highly technical manufacturers.

The increasing size of the ghetto areas in Rochester and other upstate cities was (IMHO) because Southern localities were unloading their welfare rolls by giving their indigents bus fare to northern cities so these neer-do-wells could get a better welfare income in the more liberal-minded states.

Rochester just could not handle the influx, and didn't know enough to send them back. 1964 was a hot, hot summer.

Now, I live in Delaware, just outside Wilmington, whose 1968 riots caused the city to be placed under martial law for several months. Nice place to retire to in these times, eh?