Are No Go Zones A Myth?
by
R.E. Prindle
Can anyone
believe there are no go zones? What’s so
impossible to believe? No go areas have
existed for decades in the US and probably thousands of years throughout the world.
When I grew
up in Saginaw, Michigan the First Ward, a Negro enclave, was definitely a no go
area. If you did go you were looking for
trouble and trouble was not far behind.
Watts in LA
was always a no go zone as I learned in the Navy. When I lived in Oakland the Negro enclave of
West Oakland was serious business. I skirted
it one time and was lucky to get by alive.
Harlem, the South Side of Chicago, there’s places even Negroes don’t go
and they definitely don’t come out of their apartments at night. And then there were rough areas in every town
that you had no business being unless of course you’re one too.
I made the
mistake of getting off the bus in East St. Louis once. A big guy grabbed me outside the station and
told me he didn’t want to see my White ass in town after dark, then he pushed
me into the gutter. Less than friendly I
thought.
I crossed
the street to stick my thumb out attracting the attention of three young lads
who took their knives out in preparation for carving me up. I was saved by an observant White driver who,
very luckily for me, was passing through town on his way to Louisville. One chance in a million. Do I believe there are no go zones? Just ask me.
Anyone who’s
been following the news over the last few years knows there are banlieux around
Paris where firemen can’t work without police protection; a lone policeman is
not safe. Park your car there and watch
it go up in flames.
I like a
good time. I’ll give you a hundred dollars
to walk through West Oakland- after you come out- with pictures.
Anyone who
thinks there aren’t no go areas should leave their lily white enclaves once in
a while and see how the other half lives.
For all I know they might be the perverted kind that enjoys getting beat
up.
I’m not bigoted
either but I’m not stupid.
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