Wu wins, becomes first woman of color to get elected mayor of Boston

Whoever you are, you don't actually have to visit this website.

Now do one that makes any sense

The legacy of the ‘70s is alive and well. I talk with middle-aged and older white Bostonians (contractors, nurses at hospitals, etc.) about how long they’ve lived here, where they or their kids went to school, and they give me a knowing, caucasian-to-caucasian look and say “well, until busing…” Which is shorthand for “separate and unequal was better.”

So is it all about race? Sure, it is. Because for a long, long time, from redlining to unions to city hiring to schools (and even in 2021 with exam schools), white people in Boston have kept their fingers on the scales to maintain their advantages. Of course they don’t want to talk about it — “why’s it always about race?” — because who wants to admit that they’re benefiting from a rigged system. Why would any of those people want to “learn from their mistakes” or “grow above it” when that would mean giving up their race- and class-based privilege?

…Boston, the home of Louise Day Hicks, Dapper O’Neil, grown-ass adults hurling rocks and racial slurs at Black children trying to attend school, 100-year run of picking almost exclusively white Irish-Catholic* mayors, an all-white city council until 1967, and an all-white school committee until 1979 is now “all of a sudden” picking sides because of race.

It seems like a certain demographic doesn’t have a problem with picking sides because of race as long as voters choose the white right side.

(*exceptions being a noted white Italian Catholic and, for diversity’s sake, a white Swedenborgian)

kinda sad the comment titled "Sour Winners & Losers = Bad Politics" got upvotes... there's a whole world out here on the interwebs and you can choose any news site you want.

Also, Adam is a human and has opinions. He doesn't delete comments with opposing views. Running since at least 2005, this is the best local site for Boston neighborhood (and state) news you can visit. You should be happy smaller sites like this still exist where the universe of news choice is getting smaller by the day.

One true thing you said "how sad local politics have become"... just not for the reasons you stated though

Oooh, he said CNN.

Sad state of where we are in 2021. I truly see the city digressing back to the hate race days of the 1970's just in reverse....

My dude, you are truly ridiculous. You don't even seem to understand just how silly this statement makes you look.

I thought we grew above that, or would have learned from the mistakes of the past.

And what does "we grew above that" even mean? That now we have a MLK holiday when white parents tell their children that MLK was all about peace and everybody getting along? That white people can now say "Why do you make it all about race?" any time a Black person points at problems, and just dismiss it and go about their comfortable lives?

To me, the essence of white privilege has always been the power to ignore problems that affect people who aren't white. White people can engage with these problems and work to see that things actually get better...but they're never forced to. And should anyone have the temerity to bring these problems up, white people have an endless source of platitudes, including but not limited to "I thought we grew above that", uttered with no sense of irony in the face of clear evidence that "we" have obviously not even come close to addressing the issues encompassed in this dismissive "that".

As someone who has been a volunteer collecting vote counts in the past, I need to correct your assumption of how things work. You say that there are at least five polling locations within a 10-minute walk. From that, I am assuming that you are implying that just one person from a media outlet could get results from those 5 polling locations(some of which contain multiple precincts).

However, in order to gain entrance to a polling location to get those counts you must be in line at that location by 8:00 PM poll closing. You will be let inside where you will wait for the results to be posted (15-30 minute wait typically) and then you and all the others doing the same thing will be able to go up to a posted strip of paper and take a cell phone photo of it. And if there are multiple precincts at that location, you will need to get photos of the strips for each precinct.

Since you can only be in line at one location at closing time and it will take a while to get the results, you will need 5 people to cover 5 polling locations. No media outlet, the Globe included, has enough bodies to devote to the task of getting results from all of the city's polling locations at the same time.

That's why a volunteer crew has the advantage.