I hate that Baltimoreans of other races lump all... (California: fit in, rent)

[ddiva]

Originally Posted by Woodlands

The poster may have being referring to Metro Baltimore than just the City.. Even if you just focus on the City being the demographic that you mentioned...that doesnt mean that people still arent followed around in a business, made to feel uncomfortable in certain locations, or given subpar service because of their race... and I mean that across the board since anyone can discriminate against someone because of their race. Police may follow an african american around in Roland Park because that area has been predominately white and someone may have called and said there was a "suspicious" person in the neighborhod OR a police officer may pull over a car full of white kids riding through west baltimore thinking they are trying to score drugs .. the list goes on and on as we profile use sterotypes and other prejudices to categorize one another.

I am referring to Baltimore City since I don't have any issues with people of other races when I go to places in Baltimore County. I can't speak for other surrounding counties since I rarely go to other counties.

[ddiva]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

To me, Maryland is simply a mid-Atlantic State. Then again, I am from the West Coast so what do I know, eh? Before coming to Maryland, I spent near 5 years living in New England. In my opinion, Maryland has more in common with New England than it does with the South.

As for the NAACP, I had know idea they were headquartered in Baltimore. Knowing that now, my eyebrows are raised. I would think that a group who aims to "advance" its own people would put more effort in the city it is headquartered. What kind of model/example does Baltimore set for the NAACP? At least Chicago had room for a black middle class back in the day. And Chicago was a heavily segregated city, too.

No matter how you slice it, the politics and policies of Baltimore do not add up. You can cite corruption or segregation all you want. The fact remains that it is 2012 and Baltimore, a major U.S. city, has half of itself on the verge of being 3rd World. That is a shame because Baltimore truly could be America's City for everyone.

Yes, Baltimore is between 60-70% black, depending on which statistics you look at. The majority population usually contributes the highest percentage towards crime statistics. Look at the cities that are predominately white and you will see that whites do most of the crime. Look at cities that are predominantly Hispanic, and you will see that they contribute the most to crime statistics.



This happens most places, and with all ethnicities. I really do not appreciate blacks, or Natives, assuming I am racists simply because I am white. I am from California, a state where blacks are "notorious" for their dislike of Koreans.

Who is prejudging you? Non-blacks, whites, or other?

I'm mostly prejudged by the following races in this exact order: (sad but true)

Africans
Caucasians
South Asians (primarily Indians)

[Tiger Beer]

BALTIMORE always seems to have a theme of 'racial tensions' from the forum. Is it really worse than other cities?

I don't notice the theme being discussed much on DC...and I don't think so much in NY/NJ either...although it probably exist to some degree to some extent?

Or is Baltimore just a place that just has more of it, than other places, for some unknown reasons?

[KodeBlue]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

BALTIMORE always seems to have a theme of 'racial tensions' from the forum. Is it really worse than other cities?

I don't notice the theme being discussed much on DC...and I don't think so much in NY/NJ either...although it probably exist to some degree to some extent?

Or is Baltimore just a place that just has more of it, than other places, for some unknown reasons?

Baltimore is just an unhappy place.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

BALTIMORE always seems to have a theme of 'racial tensions' from the forum. Is it really worse than other cities?

I don't notice the theme being discussed much on DC...and I don't think so much in NY/NJ either...although it probably exist to some degree to some extent?

Or is Baltimore just a place that just has more of it, than other places, for some unknown reasons?

The far higher average annual income of DC allows a better quality of life for all citizens ... thus smoothing over some tensions. However, they do exist. Of course DC has been unapologetically gentrifying for 20 years and is no longer majority black, so that's another distinct difference.

Interestingly, racial tension in NY (where I have lived) was far more out in the open ... in Baltimore it's more behind the scenes. I've seen people of different races be the best of friends at work and then off-duty use offensive language to disparage the other's race (but not the person). However, the segregation of Baltimore and its suburbs is remarkable. It's got to be one of the most segregated places outside of the deep south. So even if people of different races are cordial to one another, it's clear they don't want to be neighbors, on the whole.

But I really don't feel much actual racial tension in Baltimore, despite being in the minority in this city and especially where I live. Baltimore-related message boards are ridiculous. They'd have you believethat all whites are hunted down and murdered in the streets and all blacks are murderous thugs. Which would be truly laughable only if people didn't really believe it were true. Voices of reason are shouted down, so they don't participate in the discussion.

Additionally, someone who is prejudiced against another race and then has a negative experience with a "rude cashier" or "rude waitress" of that race is going to say, universally, that their race was why they received poor service ... even though they don't actually know. This type of stuff I hear on a weekly basis.

Anyway, America as a whole has a lot of growing up to do, and so do most message board posters.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by KodeBlue

Baltimore is just an unhappy place.

I'd characterize it more as fatalist.

[bowian]

Originally Posted by Richard Martin

Blacks are 34.9% of the prison population
Hispanics are 16.3% of the prison population
Whites are 48% of the prison population
The other less than 1% is asians, American Indians etc.

Blacks are incarcerated at a rate of 3161 per 100,000
Whites are incarcerated at a rate of 487 per 100,000

There is a difference between numbers, rates and percentages/proportions. You are refuting the statements about more whites committing crimes (numbers-wise) with percentages and proportions of incarcertaion.

Also, if you look at your percentages as provided above, whites are a higher percent of the prison population, higher than black. One could attribute that to more whites committing crime overall or not.

The figures above (now we are switching from percentages to rates) would show that blacks are incarcerated at a higher rate than whites. But it does not prove that blacks commit more crime. It doesn't even necessarily prove that blacks commit crime at a higher rate. It only shows that they are being incarcerated at a higher rate.

I just wish that when folks try to make the "blacks are more criminal" argument, that they compare apples to apples and stop relying so much on percentages and proportions. In fact, why make the argument at all? Crime is bad period, regardless of the perpetrator. And we appear to be becoming a increasingly crime-oriented society. But we go on and on about the color of "who done it."

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by bowian

I just wish that when folks try to make the "blacks are more criminal" argument, that they compare apples to apples and stop relying so much on percentages and proportions. In fact, why make the argument at all? Crime is bad period, regardless of the perpetrator. And we appear to be becoming a increasingly crime-oriented society. But we go on and on about the color of "who done it."

I wasn't trying to say that blacks are more criminal. I was refuting the statement that whatever the ratio of race is in a community, the jails will represent the same ratio. And I believe someone even said that whites comprise something like 70 or 80 percent of the US prison population and that is simply not true.

[KodeBlue]

More blacks are criminals.... I'm gonna say it.

[rfp]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

... is Baltimore just a place that just has more of [racism] than other places, for some unknown reasons?

Compared with other cities in the world, Baltimore appears tame when it comes to racism and bigotry. Note the skin color of the hooligans.


BBC Panorama - Euro 2012 - Stadiums Of Hate (Full Episode) - YouTube