Foreigners observations/opinion on AA’s in Atlanta (Decatur: crime rates, movies)

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by onemanarmy

Only a racist, bigot, or incredibly ignorant person would expect a dissadvantage person to work harder in order to reach equality. If inequality exist it first and foremost requires the oppressor to acknowledge their oppression. Equality means equality, too work harder to reach equality means you are NOT equal.

Exactly.

Well said.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by confusedatl

Sorry I keep making multiple posts, but something else came to mind.

I was taking MARTA to the airport. I forget what station, but it was definitely south of Five Points (which is a different story). This AA got on the train, and on speaker phone, was loudly talking to some girl about wnating to have sex with her. He continued to use vulgar language in sweet talking his girl. Who does this??? Although you try to not let this sway your viewpoint of a certain race, it unfortunately does. And I know the vast majority of AA's would not do this. But people like this individual give other AA's a bad name.

OK...you just lost a lot of people who were probably trying to hear you out.

Why? Because now it is obvious that you are just using incidents/happenings to justify/prove your racist viewpoint.

Good Luck.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by StPaulEastSider

LOL! I enjoy watching stuff like this play out when I'm out and about... it's all a part of the culture and it's usually all done in fun. This is the sort of thing I love about living in the city!

I suspect this was all done with a big dose of humor, and the boldness of a guy who is sweet on girl and, no doubt, wants to gets some action!

If the guy was hatin' on his woman, that's another thing altogether.... not having witness the give and take, I'll just assume it was done in good humor with the boldness, and perhaps irony, of black culture.

But most white guys just don't "get" this... I'll give you an example...

Last summer I went to a club with some co-worker, First Avenue in Minneapolis [the club where Prince made a name for himself.]

The guys in my group went to the "Techno Music" room, I had about 5 minutes of dancing as singleton robotic statutes and said to myself, "get me outta here!"

I escaped to the main floor, where they were playing hip hop music, and in no time I had a dance partner, a black guy, and we were havin' fun. Nothing bad, we were just dancin'

One of the white guys from work saw me dancing, and later asked me how he could get a woman to dance with him. I said, "You white guys need to take a clue from the brothers - just ask!"

The nerdy white guy said, "But she might so 'no'."

"So what? Just move onto the next woman. That's what the brothers do, they play the numbers game. You are afraid to ask even one woman to dance - no wonder you get no where."

"But my friends might see me get turned down, and that would be embarrassing."

"Good grief! With that attitude, you'll never get a dance, much less a date!"

It's a part of the black culture to be bold. Black men who have assimilated into the white/middle-class, professional culture have learned to not do such things as pick up a MARTA speaker to announce his love and lust for a woman... but I suspect he's bold in proclaiming his love, and lust, to his woman in private!

My point is... don't expect everyone to act in the same manner as the culture you were born into.... learn to enjoy the diverse fabric of city living. Learn to appreciate, not judge, other cultures.
...

This boldness from men is also common in Mediterranean Culture (Southern European), French Culture, and Latin Culture (including Brazilian...go figure).

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by confusedatl

You're right, they shouldn't complain about the Japanese in the US. At the same time, Koreans in Korea don't sit and complain either. They work hard. That was the point of the argument. Please don't get upset because my opinions somehow offended you. Like I have said over and over, bring points of argument to defend your side so I can understand your viewpoint. Don't just sit there and get offended, then try to bash me. You will only further feed the stereotype that I am trying not to have.

1. The Japanese are not in Korea.

2. Stop manipulating and quickly playing the victim when someone disagrees.

3. No one is here trying to help you not have a stereotype. Think/believe what you want. Who do you think you are?

4. I think you should "worry" about how people on here are now finding out about the true dynamic of racial problems/issues in Brazil...and how many white brazilians actually think (if you really are brazilian). Americans in general don't have too much experience/knowledge about race in Brazil. This thread has probably been very enlightening for many.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Jpierpont

How do you know what Koreans in Japan do? Sounds like another case on you speaking on what you know.
I guess I have to explain this to you though I was hoping I didn't. When an opinion is based upon logical fallacies one can bring points to counter because the original point was baseless.
I'm not worried about dissuading you of your opinions or furthering them. You matter in no way. Unfortunately you have left me with a disdain for the brazilian education system.

Good points and good post.

Please don't think the OP is a general characteristic of all Brazilians, though.

However, his viewpoint is typical of many White Brazilians.

[Drover]

This thread is an interesting case in point of what happens when someone tries to have an open and honest dialog about race. And why it's almost impossible.

[confusedatl]

Originally Posted by Jpierpont

How do you know what Koreans in Japan do? Sounds like another case on you speaking on what you know.
I guess I have to explain this to you though I was hoping I didn't. When an opinion is based upon logical fallacies one can bring points to counter because the original point was baseless.
I'm not worried about dissuading you of your opinions or furthering them. You matter in no way. Unfortunately you have left me with a disdain for the brazilian education system.

I'm sorry I left you with a disdain for the Brazilian education system. Unfortunately, you show me that I was correct in not asking racial questions in person. When someone gets this offended by me merely stating an opinion and backing it with personal experiences, it shows your lack of tolerance to discuss racial issues. Perhaps if you are going to get this offended without offering any input, you should stay away from this thread all together and keep hoping that everyone just gets along. Maybe if everyone stays quiet about racial issues, this world will be a better place (yes I was using sarcasm).

[confusedatl]

Originally Posted by aries4118

OK...you just lost a lot of people who were probably trying to hear you out.

Why? Because now it is obvious that you are just using incidents/happenings to justify/prove your racist viewpoint.

Good Luck.

Yes I talk about personal experiences that have shaped some of my stereotypes. I believe that personal experiences weigh the most when dealing with human development. That's why I posted this discussion to hear what other peoples thoughts were based on personal experiences/scholarly research/etc. StPaul posted a discussion early on based on scholarly work and I thanked her for it. But no matter what a textbook, article, or journal says, I still believe personal experiences weight more on most people. Do you think its otherwise?

Second, I am not trying to prove a racist viewpoint. I merely stated that I had developed stereotypes in my head. I have never acted out on any of these thoughts. I merely felt guilty for developing these stereotypes based on certain AA's I see on a daily basis. Are you trying to say that you are so pure that you have never had a stereotype about a certain racial group? I'm sure most people don't act on it, but I'm willing to bet the majority of people have stereotypes in their minds. I was trying to see if people could maybe show me a different side so I could get rid of these stereotypes.

However, all these personal attacks on me, or the Brazilian education system only further push my stereotype of AA's, which is unfortunate. Some posters have left wonderful thoughts and messages, while others do nothing but call me a "troll". Again, its unfortunate but its usually the negative remarks that stick to a persons head.

[DoveDiva]

confusedatl--I'm really trying not to get offended...I really am....

but...just visit other parts of Atlanta. South Fulton area around Camp Creek Pkwy, Cascade, and Sandtown come to mind. Go spend a day down there...and then come back and comment.

[confusedatl]

Originally Posted by Drover

This thread is an interesting case in point of what happens when someone tries to have an open and honest dialog about race. And why it's almost impossible.

Yes this is very true. That's why even with AA friends, I cannot discuss this in person without jeopardizing my friendship with them. It is an item that I want to further explore without coming off as a "racist". But any personal experience I share, I am labeled as "closed-minded" or "uneducated". What do you want me to do??? They are personal experiences.

Yes I understand that you cannot make vast generalizations, but when it is all you encounter day in and day out, it is difficult not to.