on 2 November 2003 : 01:55, Jon sez:
Dude! where do you live where a little 5 year old boy is flashing a gang sign?? (or at least shooting you the finger)
on 2 November 2003 : 03:23, Sean sez:
on 2 November 2003 : 06:58, Taylor sez:
on 2 November 2003 : 08:33, Liz sez:
on 2 November 2003 : 14:54, Fleischman sez:
on 2 November 2003 : 16:46, Hoodies sez:
on 2 November 2003 : 21:45, Fleischman sez:
No Hoodies, I think they are just a reflection of what we read and viewed in the picture. No big deal. But if you see it that way, then maybe you have you're own issues to deal with. Don't make something bigger than it is.
P.S.- Have no fear, none of us are wearing white hoods.
on 3 November 2003 : 05:23, Hoodies sez:
I thought the kids looked cute in the picture. I didn't see any fake black eyes. The hand signs don't worry me. It's interesting that different people see different things in the same image. The whole "Justin lives in a scary neighborhood" may be true, but not because of some little kids show up late for candy. I don't want to do any flame war stuff on the comments. Rock on Justin!
on 4 November 2003 : 07:33, steve sez:
I think people are missing the point here. Justin obviously has chosen to live and work in one of the most horrible, poor neighborhoods in the world.
He's also demonstrated bravery which few of us could ever hope to match.
If I ever had the balls to live in Oakland, I'd never, ever challenge a trick or treater. But this guy is at least learning something about cultures most of us know nothing about. AND he is a college-graduate rich kid.
Not sure where he is going with this latest experiment, but I'm sure it will be very interesting.
on 4 November 2003 : 07:47, steve sez:
Not to belabor the point, but, well, I am not claiming to compare Justin to Mother Theresa, but Justin came from a VERY VERY rich family. He has funds at his disposal which most of us could never dream of. Yet he chooses to live and work amongst the most disadvanted of society.
If a ghetto princes came to MY door, id give her a few hundred bucks.
Justin is probably writing a book about living with the poor, I'm guessing.
on 4 November 2003 : 13:27, alison sez:
steve, you a little pissed that you didnt grow up rich? i have always been under the impression that while justin did indeed grow up not wanting for much, he is not handed over bundles of cash in his adulthood. i am sure that in a crisis situation justin would have resources that many do not, but i dont think of his living in a rough neighborhood as experimental. and VERY VERY rich is relative. is he a ghetty? you dont have to live in the ghetto to have a ghetto princess at your door. i live in santa barbara, arguably one of the wealthiest locations around, and i see "ghetto" kids all the time, of all races. that shit is cool these days man.
on 4 November 2003 : 15:21, alison sez:
on 4 November 2003 : 20:40, jane sez:
having lived in that neighborhood, i can say it's certainly not dangerous, or poor. in fact i'd say it's pretty steady working/middle class.
steve, to call these hard-working people "the poor" for polemical purposes is insulting to them.
when you meant to be insulting to justin.
what the fuck do you know about justin's family anyway? where do you get off?
jesus.
on 5 November 2003 : 11:30, steve sez:
Alison, I did not mean to start a flame war.
I found that picture shocking, as did many others. I have never had a "ghetto princess" show up at my door, and I live in a semi-working class neighborhood.
Obviously Justin lives in Oakland for a reason, and frankly, I've been to Oakland. There are some nice parts, but it's a pretty fucking scare place for the most part.
Justin does not need to live there. He chooses to, and I said I ADMIRE him for doing so. There are a LOT of great things about Oak, but I could not handle it. He can.
He could easily live in his whitebread Minnesota, but he does not. I find it admirable. We are all friends here, right?
on 5 November 2003 : 14:28, alison sez:
steve,
you think its admirable to live in oakland rather than minnesota? im so fucking confused. no offense to minnesotans, but if i had to live there id be a very sad girl. i would imagine, and this is all speculation, that justin lives in oakland because it offers many things that a cultured, educated, interested person could take advantage of. i seriously doubt he's trying to prove some point by living there. im sure the food, music, art, etc. in minnesota has nothing on oakland. sounds like you need to get out a little bit more my friend.
on 5 November 2003 : 15:14, ktm sez:
hey, let's not cap on MN. let's get a few things straight:
the food, music, art and people in Minneapolis trump OAKLAND any day. damn. there are two things OAKLAND has on MN: those crazy drive ups where you can get hamburgers, chicken wings, pizza, donuts, and chinese food all from the same place, and the bridge that goes across the bay to SAN FRANCISCO.
as for steve, what are you talking about, anyway? are you a troll?
first off, Justin isn't from Minnesota.
Second off, there are two parts of Oakland that are scary, the rest of it is pretty fucking nice.
third, do you live on a boat in the middle of the ocean? Or in switzerland? Or something? How is a photo of three black kids dressed up for halloween, scary? What the fuck is wrong with you?
Summary: oakland sucks, san francisco is nice, MN has better thai food than anywhere in the bay area, and you all are retarded. but i say that in a friendly cocky friend voice, not in a mean fat grumpy internet guy voice.
on 5 November 2003 : 15:18, alison sez:
on 6 November 2003 : 15:14, jlw sez:
Wow. I think what is really scarey here is that so many of us know all about Justin's faimly and where he's from and where he lives, but most of us don't really know him. There was nothing that was said here about Justin that I didn't already know from years of reading his site, but it has certainly made me rethink my site and the information I reveal about myself.
I couldn't possibly guess Justin's motivation for living where he does, but if I had to, knowing what I know about Justin, I'd guess that he sees some charm there. And I don't think how much money his parents make is any of our business, or that it greatly impacts who Justin is today.
My husband and I are both bloggers and about two years ago, before we were married, we broke up briefly. I couldn't believe some of the things that people said about him. Even the people that had been reading us for years, still had no understanding of our relationship or of who we were. We all have to understand that we don't know Justin and we certainly don't know his family, and therefore, we shouldn't comment on them. They are real people. Private citizens. This is not interactive television.
on 6 November 2003 : 15:45, alison sez:
i thought the whole point of this blogging thing was to comment on justin and his posts. i never claimed to know him, or to know more than the facts, but he reveals enough about himself to allow for some speculation and conversation, and i honestly believe he sits back and laughs while we make asses of ourselves here. i think if he wanted to keep his personal life personal, links.net would not be what it is. he is absolutely entitled to his privacy, and i think he allows us to see as much or as little of him as he deems appropriate. i am going to continute to make educated guesses on the boy we know as justin, knowing that he reserves the right to tell me that i am full of shit and to stick it up my ass. that's fair, right justin?