Almost Paradise . . . Not really

A recent article featured at The Call makes me wonder if they've taken to writing fiction:

Bannister: Forgotten Paradise?

It's an optimistic look at one of the most recent and tangible examples of white flight in action.

However, I don't think I would ever describe Bannister Mall, even in its glory days, as a Paradise. More accurately, it was a place where massive groups of Black guys congregating drove away clientèle from every store in the mall not to mention fights, parking lot robberies and the occasional shooting that caused people of all races to abandon the place . . . In the end, it wasn't knowledge but fear (some of it quite credible) that kept people away . . . And while I can't really ascribe a moral to this story, I can note the irony that a bunch of Black dudes hanging around and yelling will invariably ruin any shopping center but somehow draw a crowd if they're named the Wu-tang Clan.



Finally and for the record, while I'm a great fan of cRap music of all kinds I could never get into the Wu-Tang clan because of the lessons I learned as a teenager hanging out at Bannister Mall . . . Namely, the second a group of Black guys start yelling in unison, the best thing to do is run away.