A reader writes:
That post regarding Bridgeport is incredibly misleading and the data are skewed. For example, Darien is nowhere near Bridgeport. Darien would be considered to be in the area of Stamford, but Stamford doesn't work if you're trying to gin up a Zimbabwe metaphor.
Another writes:
I'm neither a fan nor a defender of Fairfield County, but you could carve out a geographical area around any center of affluence and make the same case.
I'm sure you'll get this from other readers, but calling Bridgeport America's most unequal city will be met with bewilderment by anyone familiar with the place. Bridgeport is uniformly depressed and poor, I would guess one of the most equal, in a totally negative way, places in the country. I grew up in Fairfield County and in 20 years never went to Bridgeport, so all of my neighbors and I would be very surprised that we were considered Bridgeport residents. As a guess I'd say that Bridgeport constitutes about 10-15% of the county's population, and the county isn't even named after the place. Calling Fairfield County the most unequal county in America would make a hell of a lot more sense.
Another:
I was born and raised in Fairfield County (Greenwich) and Connecticut has been heading this way for as long as I can remember. When I was growing up, we were warned to be careful when we crossed the town line into Stamford. My husband and I lived in Trumbull (the town directly north of Bridgeport) for a few years with our children and people would caution you about going to Bridgeport. Now we live in Guilford (just up the shoreline in New Haven County) and people are shocked that we send our teenage sons to a magnet high school in New Haven.
When the residents of one town fear the residents of another because of race and income disparity, we all suffer. Unfortunately the ones that are most in need suffer the most.
Update from a reader:
I've got to respond to this: "That post regarding Bridgeport is incredibly misleading and the data are skewed. For example, Darien is nowhere near Bridgeport. Darien would be considered to be in the area of Stamford, but Stamford doesn't work if you're trying to gin up a Zimbabwe metaphor."
1) It's Connecticut. Everything is near everything. Duh. There are plenty of people in Darien who commute to Bridgeport for work. Or, better yet, commute PAST Bridgeport to Stamford or even the city.
2) The author isn't "ginning up" a Zimbabwe metaphor. This is just how the Bridgeport MSA is defined: all of Fairfield County. He isn't cherry-picking cities, he's taking an objective definition provided by an outside authority. If there's a problem with the composition of the MSA, take it up with the Census Bureau who defines these things.
The Dish 