North and south

I live on the wrong side of the tracks.

I've only been here for a month and a half, but I've already seen it so many times: The look of pity, disdain or disgust when I tell people I reside on the north side of town. Most cities label certain sections as the "bad" part of town and the "good" part of town. It's common practice. I've heard from several lifetime Sidney residents that negative perceptions about the north side go back as far as memory serves.

Even though people might acknowledge that they know many nice, successful people who live on the north side or who used to live there, the section of Sidney on the other side of the tracks undoubtedly carries a definite stigma.

I've heard active members of the community say they'd like to do something nice for "them," referring to north side residents. We northsiders are not a disenfranchised lot in need of charity. There ARE broken down, old, scummy houses on the north side. There are houses in the same state of disrepair on the south side. There are lovely dwellings kept up by respectable members of the community on both sides as well. There is no magic crime-inducing, shadiness bubble right where the underpass crosses beneath the tracks. The line is marked by the railroad tracks, a Sidney staple for more than one hundred years, but the divide these tracks make between the residents of Sidney is all in the minds of its residents.

One Sidney official told me that other parents couldn't believe he allowed his kids to attend North Elementary, because it's dangerous over there.

Most of those I've spoken with think these misconceptions come from the location of low income housing on the north side. Sure, sometimes poor areas breed crime. That's absolutely true. I walk around the north side by myself all the time. Sometimes during the day, sometimes at night. I've never had any problems. I've never felt threatened and I've never been scared to take my trash out into the alley in the middle of the night. I'm not concerned that the outer doors to my apartment don't lock. The stereotype attached to those living on the "bad" side of town is just that, a stereotype.

Another contributing factor to this city-wide location-born discrimination is the position of businesses in our community and lack of access to the north side. We all know the only logical way to get to the north side is under the admittedly creepy underpass. People who live on the south side have no reason to ever stray to the north side. All the businesses are on the south side.

What sane person wants to traverse the dungeon-like underpass on foot? No one, I tell you, no one.

Those on the south side refer to Legion Park as "the park." I bet some of you didn't even know that there's a park on the north side. It's not nearly as large or as nice as Legion Park, (what should us north-siders really expect, we are a bunch of criminals) but it's a nice little park and a lovely place to have a swing.

Poor people aren't scary. Most poor people aren't going to steal from you or get in fights with your children.

Negative perceptions about a certain part of any community can stem from a plethora of thought processes and circumstances. We might not be able to break them, but beginning to acknowledge them for what they are is the first step to realizing that north and south siders aren't any different. It takes me about two minutes to walk underneath that absolutely terrifying underpass to the other side.

I live on the North side and my apartment is charming and clean, I don't steal things and I've never beaten anyone up. Come on over and visit sometime, it's only a few feet away.