In this Strawberry Letter, a young black man writes in to complain about his "ghetto" neighbors. After purchasing his condo in a quiet suburban area, he couldn't help but notice a young married couple that moved in who are "ghetto as hell" and fit every stereotype known to man about black people. In sheer embarrassment of his predominantly white community, this 32-year-old, college professor is feeling conflicted because he doesn't want to come off as "uppity," but he wants his neighbors to the 'shut the hell up' before he is forced to rent out his condo.
Take a look:
"Subject: My Neighbors Are Ghetto Fabulous
Dear Steve and Shirley, I’m a 32-year-old, single, black man. I am a college professor and I just bought my first condo in a nice new development in a quiet suburb. I come from a family of educators and I was taught to be well behaved and to mind my manners at all times. For this reason, I’m having a big problem with my new neighbors. They’re a young married couple and they are, pardon the expression, ghetto as hell. So far, we are the only blacks in the community and they are just too much. Even though we have central air conditioning in the building, their windows are always up, so you can hear everything that’s going on at their house. The TV is up loud and they talk loudly 24/7. I can hear the guy yell to his wife from across the house, “Shamika, Shamika, girl you hear me!” When they are going down the stairs outside, it sounds like they are about to tear them down. Whenever they pull up to park, their music is blasting. I don’t know what’s wrong with them. Two other neighbors have complained about the noise, but they are afraid to talk to the guy, so they asked me to do it. I tried to talk to him and told him there had been a few complaints, but he was not trying to hear it and said he will do as he darn well pleases, in his own home. I called the cops a couple of times to report a noise disturbance, but nothing’s changed. I don’t want to come across as being uppity, but I am embarrassed by them. They are living up to every stereotype about our race. I may have to rent out my condo and move somewhere else. How would you handle this?"
Now it would be unfortunate for him to move out of his own home, but what else should he do?
Take a listen to what Shirley and Steve have to say: