7. Asymmetrical Warfare

This is an ongoing story, meant to be read in order. If you’re just arriving here for the first time, please start at the beginning by following the index.

The frenzy of development—aka urban renewal—began with the ascension of Richard J. Daley to mayor in 1955 and was focused almost exclusively on Lakefront and downtown, the Loop business district. Daley was well into the process of creating the beautiful City by the Lake when we came along. He would do so at the expense of the inner city just to the west, actually creating a beautiful facade along the lake, behind which poverty, disaffection, and displacement lived.

It would become clear as we grew up and became more aware of the political dynamics of Chicago—a time when we had become more fully embedded in the facade itself.

We may not have been aware of the political dynamics per se, but we were feeling their vibe, smelling their odors, noticing their varying shades of color. You always feel something before you know it. If you feel it strongly enough, you will get to know it.

What I could feel was that the people inhabiting the borders of our world were angry at us, but I couldn’t feel why. What I could see was that we were light-skinned with fresh haircuts and clean clothes. They were darker-skinned with greasy hair and mangy clothes. It wasn’t exactly the Sharks versus the Jets material. It was more like people asymmetrically confronting each other at cross purposes—with completely unrelated agendas.

They were angry about being pushed out of their neighborhoods. We were just curious about pushing north. We didn’t know what their anger was about. They did know, but they didn’t know that we didn’t know.

Next Chapter: 8. The Stiff-Necked Son