Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Soon There Won't Be a Barrio Logan
It's about time. No offense, but it's a craphole and we all know it. When it was, thank god only this by the way, my temporary abode I would run into gangsters who always boasted of "Pride." As soon as I became a single parent I realized pride really meant moving up or improving your area--so I moved out to North Park and soon to Point Loma. Few people there really have pride in their area--if they did they would take the time to economically develop it, but no one bothers to do so, therefore it must come as no surprise that when they redevelop it those people must go--because they will simply just reverted to the cesspool it was. I'm glad my daughter has less of a chance of becoming an unwed teenage mother--by the way I was married, so hopefully no grandchildren out of wedlock either. I'm glad I can walkout at night, it might cost me more to live elsewhere but peace of mind isn't cheap. If you don't work hard so your children can live in a better area and have more opportunities, then you're setting them up for failure so don't cry about it. Good riddance to Logan Heights and barrio logan and shelltown, it was about time.— July 17, 2010 2:18 p.m.
I never thought I'd become a welfare queen
SDaniels, I like your style of writing, hope to read more from your blogg when I get the chance. If you know of any bloggs that deal with literature please post. I check this post everynow and then. Perhaps because this post is the first time I saw my wife as inflamed as I was.— January 14, 2010 3:09 p.m.
I never thought I'd become a welfare queen
PistolPete: You are a bigoted racist. This country is not yours, unless you happen to be native american or of any such derivative ancestry. The U.S. is not a real country, it is a "legitimized" settler-nation state. If you want to talk about dues, pay up to the Native Americans, and reparations to those who are descended from former slaves, and to all those who were oppressed at one point by your ancestors. Your opinion is of no consequence, be proud as you are...YOUR COUNTRY IS NOW CHINA'S GIRLFRIEND AND YOU KNOW IT, WHY ELSE WOULD THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE GO TO CHINA TO ASSURE THEM THAT THERE HOLDINGS ARE SAFE.— January 14, 2010 3:07 p.m.
I never thought I'd become a welfare queen
Mindy114 kudos to you, hope Elizabeth Salaam a reader staff employee according to google get's the benefits she deserves.— January 13, 2010 11:25 a.m.
I never thought I'd become a welfare queen
To Fred_Williams: You misunderstood, what I wrote. If you read my prior postings, then analyze that in conjunction to what is written in Mrs. Salaams article you ought to see the sarcasm I was implying: In the article, the author acts as if she is too good for any type of social assistance--it's ok to feel that way if you have standards, however, she would couple it with contempt for those less fortunate and it seems that now that she is in their shoes she still lacks empathy. If you live in the ghetto, there is no shame in that--the shame is in not working hard to get out of that socioeconomic sphere; but the greater shame is when you do get out of it and you look down on those below you as if you had not been in such circumstances your self. The author claimed to hate waiting in line because of some welfare queen using her WIC vouchers when buying groceries--don't you find that a bit condescending yourself. I mean there are people who take public assistance for what it's for: a temporary aid until one fixes or ameliorates his or her situation. I'll tell a few things about me, and yes I do think before I write (in 4 languages mind you): I was a single parents for 2 yrs, but in order to get custody of my 2 yo I had to give up barbacking and work in a kitchen on the weekends so they would thin I was responsible, even though I made more money working in a bar; my 80 yo father helped me being my roommate and watching my daughter while I worked weekend nights, then I had to ask for WIC just to be able to save a few dollars. I also got Medical for my daughter--although Health-care should be your right like in any other developed country(if you have ever been outside of the U.S. you would know)--and I never felt embarrassed about it. Then I met a wonderful person and now we live in North Park, not the greatest but a hell of a lot better than Logan Heights. I still use WIC, we need to save so my wife can finish graduate school and so I can finish my last year at UCSD. So next time YOU write, analyze, not just think. Read my prior comments or those by anyone else criticizing this article or any other one before you post your opinion, it's not a bloody dissertation you know. In plain words, I was stressing that someone who come from an underprivileged background ought never look down on anyone else because he or she has been there in some way or manner as well,in fact when such said person improves his or her situation they ought to try an empathize and aid those less fortunate and perhaps try and enlighten those in their new higher socioeconomic spectrum--read the Alleghory of the Cave by Plato. Perhaps the reason someone on wall street can't empathize is because they have no opportunity to interact with those they perceive beneath them; but no one should look down on anyone. Does that help you Fred_Williams?— January 13, 2010 11:23 a.m.
“Ghetto” is not an adjective
By the way Cuddlefish, it would be a beautiful neighborhood with a vibrant history if the people that lived in it started concerning themselves with developing it. Home ownership, local-business ownership, and reinvestment. Why do we buy from the chaldeans, we should buy from the mexican owned stores, we should boycott those chaldean stores that don't have at least one mexican/black manager or at least on mexican/black male cashier. Until the local populace takes charge of their development they deserve to disappear--when you mention little Italy, remember that's what they did.— January 12, 2010 9 p.m.
“Ghetto” is not an adjective
All I can say is...I'm glad to not be there anymore, I'm sorry but I don't think I'm too good for the ghetto...but I do think my child deserves better. Once I argued with my neighbor regarding the "kind" of kids that would hang around his daughter when he wasn't home--chiefly because I had to deal with their noise--his wife then mentioned "what do you expect...look at where we are." Three months later his 14 yo daughter ended up pregnant and he had to move since he could no longer afford the rent. Now we live in a nicer area, but I still feel I have to do better for my family--sadly, I aw few young parents who would make similar sacrifices for their children. What really destroys our neighborhoods is the glorification of the "Cholo" or gangster, if those idiots only knew that the word Cholo is a pejorative for half-breed or someone of mixed ancestry in colonial mexico--then again when they go back to mexico they are reminded of why their parents came here, unfortunately it doesn't seem to ring a bell in term of awareness or self-empowerment. The Cholo in mexico is seen as a reject, the dreggs of society.— January 12, 2010 8:56 p.m.
I never thought I'd become a welfare queen
As previously mentioned, Elizabeth Salaam acts rather high and mighty for a resident of City Freights--I'm not putting the area down, but let's be honest it is an underdeveloped urban center, or in layman's terms...a GHETTO. The worst part is that being a member of an underprivileged constituency, she of all people should never have snubbed on those less fortunate than her. I hope she reads this and remembers where she came from after her situation ameliorates itself, but until she learns humility and integrity, she deserves the hole she finds herself in.— January 12, 2010 8:40 p.m.
I never thought I'd become a welfare queen
It's sad to see how brainwashed this mother in dire circumstances finds herself, HEALTHCARE is YOUR RIGHT IF YOU PAID TAXES--don't ever feel ashamed about medi-cal. WIC is your entitlement if you always paid taxes. What really get's to me though is the fact that Social services employees, like medical employees or government workers, get private health insurance benefits yet it is our tax dollars that pay their salaries--if they made them wait in line like the rest of the medical recipients than they might change their attitude and we might save on government expenditures. But that's not so much the problem as the recognition that you are now aware of "those others" because you are like them. You wrote with a very condescending attitude towards the working poor and those less fortunate--you acted like a snobby La Jollean, even though you live in City Freights, you acted rather high and mighty for someone whose husband is a trucker, nothing wrong with that, it's a dignified well paying profession, but it's not management and it doesn't require a master's degree--in fact since you have the master's degree you should be making more money so that your husband can take time off and improve his education obtain a better job that isn't subject to such brusque supply and demand changes--let's face it it was not once a secure job, just like construction and plumbing, good money but rarely stable income. Hopefully when your circumstances improve you won't hold the same condescending view you once had towards your less fortunate constituents. As someone who is a minority you of all people should never look down on anyone else. I opted to omit discussing the amount and time length of your unemployment benefits, most people on minimum wage barely make that--you are very disconnected from reality, but you are even more disconnected to pay 1350 in CITY FREIGHTS, a really bad area. When I use my WICs I make sure I separate eligible items per check to make it easy on the clerk, believe me they appreciate it more than you think and people don't stare at you for holding the lines. My wife and child are on medical, I'm not embarrassed because I pay taxes. We can't work much because my wife is finishing her master's degree on a full scholarship at a local renowned school by the college area. Maybe I don't feel embarrassed because I used to live in CANADA where health care is a right, and now I have citizenship in SPAIN where health-care is also a right.— January 9, 2010 10:34 a.m.
“Ghetto” is not an adjective
I apologize for the typo, but my point was that education, or the posibility of upward mobility through education as well as scholastic achievement is not appreciated. What's really lacking though is reinvestment and community ownership. One thing that bothered me was that the local supermarkets, which are all Chaldean christian owned, would only hire females for cashier positions--and they would only hire Chaldeans as managers. Is this not some new form of economic subjugation and ethnic exploitation. The liquor stores and majority of busineses are owned by people who do not reside in logan heights, this means that any income generated here invariably flows out. This is a serious problem that needs to be tackled.— December 21, 2009 12:57 p.m.