Liberals seem often to express sympathy for those adversely affected by gentrification. Over the years I've seen articles in the Post covering protests by black inner-city residents of DC over the progress of gentrification.
I've tended to have ambivalent reactions. On the one hand, having lived in DC during some of its worst days, namely the 1970s, I want to applaud any signs of "progress", a growing population rather than shrinking, people with good incomes. On the other hand, you can't help but sympathize with the people who've lived in an area for all their life, who are in middle age or older, and who don't have jobs and income which would give them choice and power over where they live.
On the third hand, I remember the patterns of life in rural NY when I grew up, and I know those patterns were changing then and have changed even more in the 60 years since I left. The fact I left aggravates my ambivalence.
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