Minorities in Bridgemill/River Green Communities(Canton)?

[slimmpopo]

Sorry,gt6974a ,Didn't mean to touch a naive, but your reply tells me my post ticked you off. Am sorry but, what my family and I have gone through and occasionally still go through, with some white folks is sad to say the least. Am sure you a good christian man(I am a born-again christain too) but some of your folks can really be mean and cold even to children of color.
My wife and I are originally from Africa, having been in the USA for some 11yrs. She came to college(University of Wisconsin) and I joined her later. So this whole bigotry thing was totally foreign to us till we started being treated differently from other white folks around us. At first we thought it was something we were saying or doing differently, after all we were not form here and perhaps didn't "act like Roman's in Rome" or we thought perhaps that was how american,s were. Until we realise it wasn't us, but it that it was part of the culture here that blacks were sometimes treated a little differently from the rest of the general population.
How would you feel, if your African parent's pays($7,000 a semester for international student fee) your way to college in a foreign land only to alienated by most of your classmates and left to sit alone by yourself bcos no one wants you in their group during class group projects or that folks suddenly remember their cars are unlocked and remotely buzz their locks on when you show up in the parking lot or that your white patrons would rather want to speak to your white subordinates instead bcos they have a hard time believing you are their boss, or that as an attending physician your white patient refuse to be examined by a colored doctor prefering one of their own or that the white kids in your child's daycare ask your 4yr old daughter "why black people kill other people and if she was going to grow up to be like that" and then get your daughter thinking and begging to have straight long hair like the other "regular kids" or your daughter is not invited to a neighborhood birthday party for kids even though they ride the bus together, swim together,play in the backyard together. These same neighbors gives us the habitual fake "good morning" wave and pretencious wide "we like you" grin from their decks. I can go on and on about countless maltreatment my family and espercially my little kids have been subjected to. What kind of people would teach their 4yr old to hate other kids of color at that tender age or why would a confederate wielding pickup driving guy tell me recently to go back to Africa bcos I accidently cut him off.
These kinds of backward behaviours makes one weary of who one associates with hence the reason people like us would want to be part of clubs like Ebony in my neighborhood. After all, half the time,one doesn't know if those big "Hello" and the fake grin are actually meant for good or bad. Please be reminder that in this whole piece I didn't generalize and buddle all white folks as bigots but trust me some of your folks are shamefully hateful, even to little kids of color.

[mxd.Brit]

Whilst I completely sympathize with your experiences, I say this to you. Try to not live begrudging every white person because of your experiences or alienating yourself. You cannot put everyone under the same umbrella - ok flip the coin - this is an example and in no way what I think, but Africans could be sterotyped (especially from the media), as poor, starved, and diseased.... and without meeting you I can safely assume that is not the case. I have visited 3 African countries and know that most people live very comfortably.
Without making excuses for them those people who don't know any better will take what the media says as gospel as that is all they see. Just like the sterotype Blacks are criminals. The best way to dispel all these and other sterotypes is to be proud of who you are dont hide your kids from other white kids to avoid discussing why they are different. Explain to them the reality of society , that not everyone is going to accept them and they should never be ashamed of who they are - whether it's hair texture, bone structure etc.
Keeping them away from white people or any other cultures is not going to benefit them at all.
Dont forget there is black on black prejudices/ignorance too - light skin vs dark skin, some may judge you for being African and "inferior", accents, 'ghetto' people etc.
At the end of the day be YOU and if you come across negativity be secure in the fact that you are the better person for not being a racist.

[kelabu]

Originally Posted by slimmpopo

...some white folks is sad to say the least. Am sure you a good christian man(I am a born-again christain too) but some of your folks can really be mean and cold even to children of color.

These kinds of backward behaviours makes one weary of who one associates with hence the reason people like us would want to be part of clubs like Ebony in my neighborhood. Please be reminder that in this whole piece I didn't generalize and buddle all white folks as bigots but trust me some of your folks are shamefully hateful, even to little kids of color.

He did say some several times in the post right? Why then do we need to go to bringing up stereotypes and a lecture about generalizing when the post plainly states he is talking about his OWN experiences that he is not generalizing to all. That doesn't sound like sympathy at all.
IMO, trying to protect a small child's self esteem is not hiding, it's a parent's responsibility. I don't need to shoot my son to explain to him that guns are dangerous....that's an extreme example but I do feel early exposure to that kind of hatred and ignorance is equally as damaging emotionally.
Come on, having to explain 'the realities of society' at 4 is a bit harsh isn't it? Why should children of color be burdened with that heavy load so early? That is not fair. White children are not the only ones that should be allowed to have a childhood.
Even with all that negativity he did say he LOVES living there!!!! Personally I wouldn't be willing to ride it out until things change, but to each his own and I would not begrudge someone else for making an informed choice on what works for his or her own family.