Someone emailed me this Reddit post that had me shaking my head:
Just moved to a new neighborhood, told by neighbors I am not allowed here. Why can't an Asian family move into a new neighborhood without getting harassed? Here's the short version:
Moved two blocks over to new neighborhood. Have cars with parking permits. Got cursed out by one household saying, "You don't belong here. This is not your neighborhood. This is your first and last notice to never park here again."
Also: I live on the border between old Italian families and the projects. I went to grade school here with the kids from the projects and we all get along. The other side, well, this is the result. I moved only TWO BLOCKS away from my old house.
So what? A parking dispute? Not quite. The "you don't belong here" should be the tipoff. Read the long version:
Along with moving to a new neighborhood my family (of 7) also brought along a few (3) cars. I live in the city with residential street parking which requires permits. We have obtained those permits. So we park on the street where we are allowed.
Our neighbors (one household in particular) don't seem to like that very much. Initially we got rude stares. Then they would purposely block the entrance to our local library when we would go. Then my mom got cursed out for parking near their house (which is near our house). Then I found trash on top of my car. But today I was approached by a man well in his 50's or 60's and was told that I don't belong here. I am being warned not to park anywhere near here because I JUST moved in, while they worked so hard to live there all of their lives. I was told that that would be my first and last notice that THEY live there and that I just moved in so I don't deserve a spot in their neighborhood. Was I just threatened?
None of this makes sense to me. I live in this neighborhood. I have the parking permits to park in this neighborhood. What am I doing wrong? The only thing I can think of is that my family is the only Asian family in a one or two block radius.
What can I do if the harassment continues? Do I park far away from my home and respect their wishes? Or do I park near my home as I have been because my family has also worked hard to move into this neighborhood and deserves it as much as anyone else?
Granted, it's one guy anonymously posting about his situation on Reddit -- take it for what it is. But I imagine this situation might sound familiar to some of you. This may be about parking, but this is not about parking. This is
racist intimidation happening right where this guy and his family live. No one should have to deal with this. By the way, this is apparently in south Philadelphia.
