Apartheid

It's funny how life in the US has changed. Why should citizens be immune to the evolution that has taken place in Europe, Africa, and the far East? We are a young country. Give it some time and all the ills that have effected the rest of the world inevitably will make their way to our little corner of the world. I speak about Fayettenam. Similarities have risen with Africa. A ruling class of elite whites. Gang-oriented poor blacks, some who like to slaughter each other. The military, or the peace keeping force. Familiar? Well, guess what the U.S. is turning into? Okay, maybe not, but Fayetteville, North Carolina looks like that. With the largest military base on the east coast, life in "nam is far different than other cities. Circling C-130's hum continuously. Howitzers shake the earth. Disgruntled GI's drive on boulevards looking for diversion. Where are the prostitutes? Seems they are in Africa keeping the UN force content. Where should they be? Here. I don't mean crack ho's either. If ever there was a need for a "bunny ranch." Life here is, quaint? I don't know. There is such a chasmic divide between the social classes. There are extreme red necks. There are street or homeless people. There are drug dealers. There are soldiers and their wives. There are "the rich." There doesn't seem to be much middle class. How do these groups work together? They don't. That is why "nam doesn't feel like a typical city. There is no "mainstream." Everybody is own their own. Looking for a fit? I find the gang warfare more intriguing, because at least it seems real. People fighting for their existence. No storybook houses. No green lawns and manicured gardens. No Mercedes, Lexus, and BMW's. It is more interesting than content, boring, country-clubbing types. "Hey Jim, want to go to Highland Country Club and play some golf?" No. The school board was thinking about closing two high schools here, because they were performing so poorly. Tell that to all the BRACS and SAKS that are being shipped in. Tell them there are four railroads that intersect downtown, a stones throw from that flight museum intended to be a bandaid on the mockery of cultural enlightenment that is supposed to be downtown.
You can build, and decorate, and disguise, but you can't change a turd. The Norfolk/Southern, CSX-T, and the Aberdeen and Rockfish, along with the Cape Fear Railway are pumping in the dollars daily for your human dissatisfaction, all downtown. It's a rail yard. That is downtown. Put whatever you like there, but it won't change the dynamic of hauling freight. Just look at all the dollars, millions they say, being pumped into housing in 'nam. Condo's, apartments, houses crammed into every conceivable spot in a city all ready over run with soldiers. The first base realignment under Reagan destroyed what once was a quiet, southern town. Now we are a military industrial complex. "I just can't teach what I used to," says on high school teacher. Ain't much happening in "nam for ordinary people. It's a war zone, and we have Dubya to thank for that.