'Them Foreigners' May Be Saviors

[Gannon]

I was sent a link to the NY Times mapping of data updates from the census bureau...this not unlike the ones that artist made, which showed all so clearly the racial/ethnic divides of our town.

But the NY Times map allows certain 'other maps' filters to be applied, and when I clicked on the one that showed the percentage of foreign-born individuals in the count, I was immediately struck by the seeming correlation with some of the most vibrant areas in town.

It seems our greatest hindrance against progress may indeed BE being born HERE. My guess is those whose families have been here a generation or two have suffered what city activist Vince Keenan described as unrequited love for the city, that "they bred out of me any expectation of return for my love". But love don't pay no bills!

After a few generations of hard-knocks learning, it is tough to impossible to get any "familiar funding" for dream projects. I mean specifically getting family, friends, and neighbors interested in providing base startup funding, which banks require before even considering loaning an enterprise anything.

http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2...=-122.422&l=14