“It was so clear to me that we live in the most privileged neighborhood within a city that has historically been, and continues to be, harshly unequal.”
You live in a privileged neighborhood by choice. If you’re so worried about the under-privileged, move into a black ghetto to make yourself feel better.
Your post is so incredibly spot-on. We have neighborhoods like that in the city of Minneapolis.
They are enclaves of white upper middle class liberals who talk a good game about understanding/peace/love - but would never in a million years move into one of the less desirable neighborhoods.
Roger that. Some sheep simply beg to be fleeced.
If I may make an assumption, I'd guess that the author's contact with the "less privledged" doesn't extend much beyond the couple of brown-skinned guys who take care of the hedges in front of his condo, and a short handful of minorities who might handle some light housekeeping for his housemate and him, or might occasionally prepare his food in a restaurant.
Let's drop him off in Bed-Stuy, or East St. Louis, or East LA, for an overnight. See what his opinion is then, assuming that he's still around to talk about it.