j.r. leonard

Have you ever lived in public housing?

No but many folks here do. I don’t subscribe to the idea that I need literal first hand experience to have knowledge about a thing.

You can have knowledge. But as someone who has lived in public housing, I discount your opinion

Ok thanks

I haven’t lived in public housing, but I am skeptical of how well it works. Are you skeptical of my opinion? Also, public housing quality may vary wildly across a large and diverse country .. so how can anyone’s experience be a stand in?

1/2 I’m skeptical of everyone’s opinion. But yeah, I tend to listen to people who have direct experience with or have done serious study on institutions differently than people who’ve kind of read some things about those institutions Is that odd?

2/2 There is a history of well-meaning (often white) progressives supporting plans that destroyed existing minority communities and replaced them with poorly-designed public housing I grew up in a neighborhood like that, so yeah I want to know people’s personal experiences

Anecdata is not that much better than speculation most of the time. Have to look at actual studies. For instance, you learn a lot more about education by studying the issue than by going to college. Attending school is almost irrelevant.