At the Loft Tour two years ago, I regretted that decision, but I don’t today.

Well, I have to disagree. When you accuse white people of being upset that black people “hang out”, then it does downplay legitimate concerns. You yourself admit to being offput by that atmosphere. It is out of control.

And, like it or not, there are parallels to be drawn between this one and the former Buckhead situation: the cruising (traffic), the noise, the litter, and yes, increases in crime. Perhaps there is a racial correlation, but to imply that that is the main motivation is mistaken.

I think that this article provides more context on the buckhead metaphor:
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/07/21/story7.html?b=1216612800%5E1670404

Also, before anyone says something to the effect of “Well, don’t buy a condo there if you can’t handle living next a bar”, remember that the bars and nightlife are a recent addition. Three years ago, the only bar was a pizza restaurant.

and it reminds me of one of my favorites:

Coke = all carbonated soft drinks

If you’re the same Charles I think you are, then we’ve talked on the phone twice about many of the issues you address — both in Castleberry Hill and in other neighborhoods.

I’ve spent a lot of time in C. Hill and seen how it’s gone from a virtually abandoned industrial district, to trendy loft-n-gallery district, to black college-y nightspot.

I preferred it in loft-n-gallery mode.

On Saturday night, in fact, I turned down dinner in Castleberry Hill precisely because the party atmosphere is off-putting to me.

With this post, I was commenting on the fact that “the new Buckhead” is now semi-official shorthand for a conflict that has happened several times before in Atlanta and that, whether you like it or not, does have racial and class overtones.

It’s not “playing the race card” to acknowledge that people see this issue through the prism of race.

Nor is it playing the race card point out how indirect people are when they talk about racially-charged issues.

Why is everyone so sensitive and ready to play the race card? Go down there on a Friday night and see for yourself, isn’t that what reporters do? Or better yet, go down there on a Saturday morning and help the residents pick up trash, flyers, and broken beer bottles (left by the party go-ers). You won’t see the bar owners helping. Ask the residents of the neighborhood why they are so upset when they cannot get into their parking garage because a party go-er rudely blocked the gate, or why they are upset because the drunks are urinating on their home. Ask the residents why they have to hire extra police at these times because the bars can’t police themselves. It is definitely out of control.