> it seems that you are the only one who is making this extrapolation
Doesn't seem that way to me. Lots of activity in the up/downvotes. Not everyone with an opinion is here expressing it.
> why would people do this? to what end?
When people do bad or otherwise undignified things, they routinely construct a narrative that conveniently leaves those bad things out, or otherwise reframes the events to cast them in a better light when they later recount the story. I don't think many would find this a controversial idea. This idea has been formalized in psychology since at least Jung in the concept of the shadow.
Frequently, this includes additional language to further reinforce the narrative, such as dehumanizing or reductive language like I explained above.
The pattern I've noticed in my interactions with sheltered techie-types who are uncomfortable in big city neighborhoods reflects the language used in OP, i.e., their understanding of minority communities is largely informed by stereotypes developed by local news and one-dimensional TV depictions before moving to neighborhoods and getting a chance to see what it's really like. Instead they stay sheltered in their castle and don't talk to their neighbors, and are subsequently (correctly) labeled gentrifiers. The feeling of not fitting in exacerbates the impulse to apply these stereotypes and colors any subsequent interaction before it begins.
If OP does not fit this description, they've certainly inherited their language (thus, worldview) from those who do.
Just fyi, I'm about as far from a sheltered techie type as they come... since 18, I've lived in shared room situations with strangers on Craigslist for most of my life, often in the cheapest and most unsafe neighborhoods.
I actually have plenty of experience in the big city, it's not like I'm someone who comes from the rich burbs and then acts disgusted by the people around.
If anything, I've only become more bitter and hardened over time by living in the city. I was much more empathetic before it happened for 10 years+ and before I was put in so many unsafe situations.
Again, I'm not even referring to minority neighborhoods, actually most of these people are white (though certainly not all).
Doesn't seem that way to me. Lots of activity in the up/downvotes. Not everyone with an opinion is here expressing it.
> why would people do this? to what end?
When people do bad or otherwise undignified things, they routinely construct a narrative that conveniently leaves those bad things out, or otherwise reframes the events to cast them in a better light when they later recount the story. I don't think many would find this a controversial idea. This idea has been formalized in psychology since at least Jung in the concept of the shadow.
Frequently, this includes additional language to further reinforce the narrative, such as dehumanizing or reductive language like I explained above.
The pattern I've noticed in my interactions with sheltered techie-types who are uncomfortable in big city neighborhoods reflects the language used in OP, i.e., their understanding of minority communities is largely informed by stereotypes developed by local news and one-dimensional TV depictions before moving to neighborhoods and getting a chance to see what it's really like. Instead they stay sheltered in their castle and don't talk to their neighbors, and are subsequently (correctly) labeled gentrifiers. The feeling of not fitting in exacerbates the impulse to apply these stereotypes and colors any subsequent interaction before it begins.
If OP does not fit this description, they've certainly inherited their language (thus, worldview) from those who do.