Barbara,
I don't think your perceptions are off. As far as the generalizations, it
is hard to dismiss the relative affects of inter-community socio-cultural
stereotypes. But, if I cast a metaphor your way to illustrate a point.
If you have a neighbor you don't know or associate with very well but one
with which you'd like to improve relations with, you have to devise
situations or events that might help in getting to know each other better.
In plain language, the inner-city communities have events at different times
of the year. These events could be the focal points for special invitations
/ consideration for individuals in a specific suburban community at a given
time. For those citizens, they could be enticed to come as special guests
if inner-city citizens, vendors, and/or merchants would give them special
consideration (iex. special deals, special notice, individualized
consideration) during the festivals or other events. The inner-city
citizens could do other things to make these suburbanites feel like "special
guests" on these types of occasions.
Inner-cities are stereotypically known for being "needy" - which is not, for
the most part, unjustified. But giving back to the greater community as a
whole whenever possible would go a long way in building community relations.
Ron Makaruk
Ward 06
