It’s a favorite refrain these days of voters outside Memphis: If only Memphis would quit electing incompetent elected officials, the members of the white flight brigade would be willing to love the city that it depends on for jobs and entertainment.
Of course, it’s all rhetoric. There’s nothing that’s ever going to be good enough that these anti-Memphis voters won’t find some reason to trash the city. But that’s not the point of this post.
Instead, it’s about the threadbare narrative that goes unchecked by the news media that the leadership outside Memphis is highly qualified and the leadership inside Memphis is inept and ill-equipped for their jobs. If anybody should be making those comments about ineptitude, it should be Memphians talking about suburban elected officials.
When you look at these suburban politicians as a group, it leads you to wonder if there was some cosmic event that allowed Mark Norris to be elected state senator. While that’s faint praise and we don’t agree with him often, at least he can string together a syllogism when needed. He’s head master of a motley group that dependably play to the lowest common denominator, pandering to the fears of their constituents about “those people” in Memphis and pursuing such enlightened political positions as guns in parks and restaurants.
Undebatable
We heard it especially during the government consolidation debate as county elected officials belittled Memphis leaders in the debates. It was a remarkable assertion, especially considering that the Millington commissioner making the chart was at the time mangling the facts as easily as he mangled the rules of grammar.
Back then, he complained that the charter commission didn’t give the public enough time to consider the new charter (state law sets the timeline), he complained that single source funding will increase taxes (single source funding is state law), he said that there is no real annexation in our future (actually Memphis has 150 more square miles it can annex), and criticisms that Memphis should get its house in order (although it’s his county government that’s driving up taxes and costs of government here, not Memphis).
Lately, we’ve been reminded again that Memphians should refuse once and for all to listen to the underlying narrative of the suburbs – white Republicans good and African-American Democrats bad.
Mental Ammunition
What’s missing is any thoughtful discourse about the issues that really matter or any objective discussion of the facts. The suburban “leaders” regularly take their message to the basest bias of their voters: Memphis is bad, Memphians are the problem, we have to protect ourselves from Memphis, we need our guns to protect ourselves from those people.
It’s a sad commentary on suburban voters, but it’s a reminder that our low educational attainment level is not merely reflected in the people living in poverty inside Memphis, but the people living in their own selfish superiority outside Memphis.
There’s always been a vein of anti-intellectualism in Southern politics (it seems to have spread to a national level these days) and the victors at the polls for suburban elected offices remind us of the power of fear over facts every day.
Why Are These White People So Mad?
Outside Memphis, all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average. Out in God’s country, people are smarter, richer, and happier.
So, what in the heck happens to all these superior people when they enter the voting booth? What are they so angry about? Where does all this hostility to Memphis come from? You’re not in Memphis so why do you care?
It’s hard for us to say. Although it’s tempting to chalk up all of this to the neverending yin and yang of race in our community, perhaps they’re just mad, period. And they fail to see the contradictions in so much of what they say as when, in the same debate, Memphis (translate: black Memphis) was blamed this amorphous Memphis for the decline of Frayser, Whitehaven and Hickory Hill. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s also blame the victim.
Those areas weren’t doomed when they were annexed by Memphis. It’s worth remembering that Frayser was annexed 50 years ago and Whitehaven 40 years ago, and despite what some people are saying, they receive all services of City of Memphis.
Blaming the Victim
More to the point, a fundamental part of the problem isn’t about Memphis at all. It is the way that Shelby County Government turned the roles of government inside out.
County government wasn’t supposed to provide urban services, but once the office of county mayor was created, mayors wanted to lock in the non-Memphis vote and they did it by providing services that are normally and logically provided by cities.
As a result, county government eroded the dividing line between county and city services and weakened the legal logic that said urban services come with city taxes. It’s also what drove up the costs of county government and created the mentality that made sprawl acceptable. It also fed the “we versus they” attitude that is so pervasive here, but especially in the ‘burbs, and it wasn’t about a grand philosophy of government at all, it was about political advantage.
It’s also laughable to hear a county commission from Millington – stagnant in jobs growth, population growth flat, poverty rising, and neighborhoods deteriorating – criticize Memphis neighborhoods for their lack of progress and success. But here’s the main thing: It wasn’t city government that caused Frayser, Whitehaven and Hickory Hill to have problems. It was white flight, the abandonment of the city for reasons personal and racial. That’s why it’s so galling to hear some suburbanites blaming Memphis officials. It was whites who set the deterioration in motion, and now, they blame the people who stayed behind and are trying to fix it.
Exhausted Rhetoric
Their resolve to paint Memphis with a broad brush is testament to a characteristic that defines politics way too much these days. It’s all about them. It’s all about winning and losing, no matter what degree of pandering it takes.
So in addition to guns in parks and restaurants, suburban politicians offer up legislation that would prevent Memphis from passing living wage ordinances, that would close public records of people with permits to carry guns, that would dumb down ethics rules and weaken public meetings laws, that would use schools as vehicles for their version of Christianity, that would have rejected stimulus funding, that would deny full rights to all people, well, you get the picture.
It’s a cynical strategy in which there is no saturation point for partisanship and the self-motivation of their own political success, damn the best interests of the community or any responsibility to contribute to meaningful public discussion or to healing our divisions.
Thank you!!! Excellent article. I watched the a little bit of the consolidation debate on News Channel 3 and was shocked at the narrative that was being played out by the suburban side. That’s why I laughed when I saw Todd’s picture in the paper showing him stone cold drunk. Don’t forget ole’ Terry Roland either. The good thing though IMO, is I think we’re starting to get away from that. I think the old way of Memphis politics is starting to die down.
If suburban residents, much less their so called leaders, did in fact deem Memphis fit to “love” they would be relinquishing the primary (perhaps only) factor that justifies residing beyond the city limits. For that reason alone, many in the ‘burbs will always find some cause to support their perception.
If you live in the Memphis metro area, you’re a Memphian, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. That said, all major cities have suburbs and nearby communities, and prosperous metro areas have healthy suburbs and a decently healthy city core as well. The issue in Memphis is patently false idea that Memphis can fall into a black hole while Germantown and Olive Branch will prosper at the same time. In the long run, the problems of Memphis proper, if not adequately addressed, will drag down the suburbs as well. If IP, Autozone, and Fedex decide to relocate their HQ’s to other cities, exactly how great is life (and the tax base)in Collierville going to be? Not so grand I’d bet.
Let me just for a minute play devil’s advocate. White fleeing suburbanites did not elect Herenton to multiple terms in office despite clear evidence he had no business having that position. Herenton did more to damage this city and its reputation than any fleeing suburbanities or any expressway to collierville. In fact he was outwardly hostile to anyone who lived outside the city, and begged people to leave if they didn’t like how he did things; that probably did not endear him to county residents. It would not have been irrational or racist to move here 6 years ago, as I did, to watch the mayor’s “don’t bring me no mess” speech on new years, as I did, to compare tax rates and housing prices, decide that the city was as screwed up as a wooden watch, and buy a house in the burbs. Particularly after learning that the racist county residents had the wisdom to elect Mayor Wharton. Thank god the city voters finally got wise and elected him. He is doing great things which will benefit both the county and the city.
and before anyone jumps me for suggesting that the county has no problems, which I didn’t say and don’t believe, I would certainly prefer not being led by a government in which Chris Thomas and Terry Roland have a say on any issue. But I would say the same for Janice Fullilove, Carol Chumney, and on and on.
I pretty much agree with you anon, although Herenton’s first two terms were actually pretty good ones. In the end, though, he was a terrible mayor. There are a lot of “what ifs” in Memphis over the years, but ‘what if’ white Memphians hadn’t freaked out in the 70’s and abandoned Whitehaven like rats from a sinking ship? What if Crye Leike, et al, hadn’t exacerbated the situation by the use of racist and (now) illegal blockbusting techniques (for which they admitted in court much later)? You can’t blame that on Herenton, or any black person.
Let’s hope that with the current city mayor, at least he doesn’t give people a reason to leave.
Yep, I’ve said this about Crye Leike for numerous years, in person and on the web, and got shouted down…yepper, they were GUILTY as hell to together wither help of :
1) Union Planters National Bank
2) National Bank of Commerce (I even saw their actual “redlining” guidlines !…yep, true it is)
3) First Tennessee – very very sneaky though..lol
4) The old Home Federal Savings and Loan
5) The good ole Byrd Bros at Bartlett Bank (to a much lesser degree)
6) Bank of Germantown
7) a ton of local appraisers on the take..lol
8) McGhee (sp) Mortgage (yep, tha rappa’s father)…and several others….lol
9) BOATMEN’S BANK….lol….up to their necks is bs
10) and a HUGE mortgage company whose offices were over on KNIGHT ARNOLD road in their own building…..I think the name was NATIONAL MORTGAGE COMPANY if I’m not mistaken….they later closed down
Yepper, the white flight was ”administered’ by good ole bankers, real estate whores, and appraisers…
Hell, I remember the move was even talked up in CHURCHES in ‘white Memphis’….near or from the pulpit itself !
Memphis is bogus not only in the suburbs, but it’s bogus as well right in the City Limits
Everybody capitalized on the fear…everybody made money off of racism
How else do you think Crye Leike expanded so fast…and got that new HQ over on Quali Hollow/Brenner ???
Memphis will always have a black eye in this matter, but let’s not just ‘demonize’ the white folks in the burbs !!! black folks played right into the ‘deal’ for years and years and years !!!
It’s still going on NOW, in Cordova ! good ole white folks are skeered again, and being sold a bill of goods AGAIN in Cordova now, by Crye Leike and a few others that smell blood in the water !
Memphis is not likely to change in the next 30 years… if you’ve got THAT kind of time, then God Bless You…lol….hell, I don’t and would not give the place anymore time…hell, you’re crazy to stick around if you have other real options for yourself, your career, your family, your childrens’ education, your outlook, your mental health, your physical well-being, or your future…
If you’re ‘stuck’ ? ..hell, I understand, but I would tell most ANY professional or young professional, not to waste too much time with Memphis, TN, IF, I say IF you can exercise other intelligent options ! and believe me, there really really are better places to ‘live’, ‘enjoy’ and ‘die’….lol
Here’s the thing SHekel; almost all cities with a historically very large black population played out similarly. And those “progressive” cities you’re so fond of? Few black people relatively speaking. They never had to address these issues. It’s not just Memphis, it’s AMERICA, you dolt.
If you don’t like living around black people, why don’t you just say so?
clearly it’s people, i.e. white people in Memphis that don’t like “living around black people”….if THEY did, THEY themselves would not have “run” from them and are doing so today….
btw, I’ve NEVER been from Memphis, nor is it the only place that I choose to live, so be careful in your assumptions…I am NOT a Memphis native, and I am glad of that fact…I’m glad that I have lived (and live) across this great nation..
the point is that Memphis is not the mackdaddy of anything ‘progressive’,,,it doesn’t matter to me the racial makeup….
Look, Atlanta has a huge black population, and it’s not a primitive city
lots of cities have large non-white populations that aren’t as stupid and primitive as Memphis….we can’t hide behind that…..it’s racist itself to hide behind that….don’t tell any black Atlantan that, they will laugh at you, as they do about Memphis blacks anywway if you didn’t know…lol….go ask a few for yourself..
I live around people who share the same values…or at least I try to…and sadly there are lots of people in Memphis, both black white and brown who don’t measure up…….face it, it’s going to take Memphis quite a long long time to get where it thinks it is now…but it “ain’t”……lol
won’t be my burden, are you nuts ?? lol…I just LEAVE.
“I live around people who share the same values…or at least I try to”
So they’re homophobic and anti-gay bigots where you live? Sounds real progressive…nutjob.
“lots of cities have large non-white populations that aren’t as stupid and primitive as Memphis…”
“clearly it’s people, i.e. white people in Memphis that don’t like “living around black people”….if THEY did, THEY themselves would not have “run” from them and are doing so today….”
As usual, your breathtaking inconsistency and lack of logic in your posts continues. You choose not to live in Memphis b/c you dislike the black people here yet you criticize others who attempt to distance themselves from Memphis blacks for the same reasons YOU look down on them for. You’re clearly deficient in your education and craaazy, to boot, LOL. DUH.