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In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

theguardian.com

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Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#11

Post by tonyedgecombe »

helipad wrote: post #5

In many communities in the UK, it's the pub. On the positive side, it brings a genuine sense of community where you hang out alone, forge new bonds or maintain old ones. People come and go asking if so-and-so has been in today. Before mobiles, families would call the pub and leave messages for each other. Class lines were much less defined. You leave things behind the bar for other people to pick up later. On the neg…

Most of the pubs near me are restaurants first, pubs second.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#13

Post by ZeroFries »

smokey_the_bear wrote: post #6

McDonalds is the only restaurant I enjoy eating at with my 2 and 3 year olds. Every other restaurant is a slog to get through the meal. Honestly I'd eat there more often if it weren't for the social stigma of it. (I live in Berkeley). I am pretty sure the cheeseburger, apple slices, and chocolate milk are not much worse, and probably better, than the typical fare on a slapped together kids meal. When I was a kid, my…

Take your kids to McDonalds if it makes sense to you. If you base your decisions on how to raise kids based on social norms/stigmas, you're going to make sub-par decisions.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#15

Post by darpa_escapee »

RodericDay wrote: post #2

Reminds me of this 2014 article about a "standoff" between McDonald's Employees and elderly Chinese people using it as a community space http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/McDonalds-Elderly-Senio... Also, chess players being evicted from a Vancouver mall after 50 years of congregation http://www.timescolonist.com/chess-players-offered-new-play-... I have an ideological axe to grind here, but I can't help but think…

There's something incredibly American about a multibillion dollar fast-food corporation that's unwittingly found itself as the gathering place for those abandoned by a society that has gutted and underfunded social services.

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#16

Post by DamnYuppie »

smokey_the_bear wrote: post #6

McDonalds is the only restaurant I enjoy eating at with my 2 and 3 year olds. Every other restaurant is a slog to get through the meal. Honestly I'd eat there more often if it weren't for the social stigma of it. (I live in Berkeley). I am pretty sure the cheeseburger, apple slices, and chocolate milk are not much worse, and probably better, than the typical fare on a slapped together kids meal. When I was a kid, my…

If they have them available in your area Chic-fil-a's are also great for kids. Their service is top notch and their stores are almost always spotless. Also they seem to have really great kids areas, every time I see one I am so jealous of the crap kids areas I had available as a child..

Re: In poor neighborhoods, McDonald’s have become de-facto community centers

#18

Post by mmanfrin »

em500 wrote: post #3

And in rich neighborhoods, Starbucks?

By design, yes -- when I was younger I worked at a Starbucks for a few years, and in training they talked about how they wanted to make it the 'Third Place' after Home and Work. Makes sense that would be the community center of a neighborhood.
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