Is Boston racist?!?!?!? (Somerville, Orleans, Rochester: housing, stadium, estimates)

[holden125]

Originally Posted by willdufauve

Disagree. A black person walking around southie might experience more than a little coolness.

Just to note that (as the locals on here know) the North End is primarily Italian, but I think the OP meant Southie (South Boston) and not the South End in the other reference. The South End is one of the more diverse parts of Boston.

I think even a black person walking around Southie today would face less coolness than 10 years ago, and much less than 30 years ago. I have an African friend who works in Southie and has never had any problems.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by ogre

One note on cost of living: Eevee covered it well, but I would like to add that taxes in MA right now aren't as bad as people sometimes think. It's not a low-tax state, but it ranks kind of in the middle for taxes, rather than near the top. It is true that people keep saying the new governor, who has been in office about a year and a half, wants to raise taxes, but it hasn't happened yet. It's also true that you'll pay a lot in fees of one sort or another, such as parking meters (or garages), tolls when driving across bridges and through tunnels, and on the Turnpike, etc., but taxes themselves are lower than they are in many states.

I know it is very different out there in "the rest of America," a place to which I frankly don't relate at all, but in New York City the state tax rate is considerably higher than in Mass. and, when combined with the additional New York City resident income tax, the total is almost twice what people pay in Mass. It's also like $8-10 to cross bridges and tunnels, and the parking garages get like $25 for an hour or two. A parking TICKET will run over $100. Gas is also about 40 cents more a gallon. Relatively speaking Mass. is a bargain.

[TheWereRabbit]

Originally Posted by willdufauve

Disagree. A black person walking around southie might experience more than a little coolness.

hahha really?? been to southie recently?

[vivabigpapi]

Despite it's history, one Boston organization that isn't racist, is the Boston Red Sox (current ownership). I hear they've established little league centers in the black neighborhoods in Boston. The African American population in Boston doesn't seem to be pissed about the Red Sox history, when I went to Boston in 2005, just about every African American person I saw was in Red Sox stuff, and I saw a lot of African Americans in Boston, MA. Probably due to 25% of the population being African American (as of the 2000 census).

[tiny63275]

Yes Boston is still racist. I grew up there, and it was prevalent even in the wealthy suburbs where I lived, not just Southie. It is not removed from the wealthy suburbs. As recently as 2003, I was walking my dog in my quiet, middle class, Merrimack Valley suburban neighborhood only to be taunted by slurs of “F—ing Ni—er” shouted from a window in that quintessential Irish-Boston accent.

And yes, the Irish are the worst offenders. They are racist, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Sorry but the truth hurts. They are in-your-face racist in a way that I have not seen anywhere else. I now live in DC, and have yet to see the same kind of angry hate-spewing ethnic cults or be called a “ni—er” from a window by a cowardly taunter.

Those who like to delude themselves that Boston doesn’t still have a serious problem with racism are lying to themselves in an effort to keep up the regional pride.

[tiny63275]

Ok I know I posted this comment elsewhere (in response to the same question) but I do get sick of the denial of racism in Boston by whites and blacks alike. I'd love to meet some of these black people who grew up in Boston and "don't remember experiencing racism." Come talk to me and my black friends, we'd be happy to share our experiences. There's a reason none of us live there anymore. Boston has a serious problem with racist territorialism that will never go away as long as people want to pretend it doesn't exist to outsiders.

[Cart24]

Originally Posted by tiny63275

Ok I know I posted this comment elsewhere (in response to the same question) but I do get sick of the denial of racism in Boston by whites and blacks alike. I'd love to meet some of these black people who grew up in Boston and "don't remember experiencing racism." Come talk to me and my black friends, we'd be happy to share our experiences. There's a reason none of us live there anymore. Boston has a serious problem with racist territorialism that will never go away as long as people want to pretend it doesn't exist to outsiders.

Last time I checked the entire world has an issue with Racism, Classism, etc...Boston is far from being unique. May I ask where you live currently? I guarantee that it would not be hard to dig up countless stories of racism, no matter what part of the country you live in.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by tiny63275

Ok I know I posted this comment elsewhere (in response to the same question) but I do get sick of the denial of racism in Boston by whites and blacks alike. I'd love to meet some of these black people who grew up in Boston and "don't remember experiencing racism." Come talk to me and my black friends, we'd be happy to share our experiences. There's a reason none of us live there anymore. Boston has a serious problem with racist territorialism that will never go away as long as people want to pretend it doesn't exist to outsiders.

well, our experiences in Boston have obviously differed. like I said in my previous posts, I've very rarely experienced any sort of racism. yeah, I got a few slurs thrown out to me but mostly by drunkards. I do know however that some blacks are just more of a target than others. don't take this the wrong way (I mean no offense, I don't even know you!), but some blacks make themselves targets by the way they act and portray themselves. they hype up negative stereotypes by acting "ghetto" (ie, speaking slang, constant swearing, saying the N word every 10 seconds, etc) and this makes them targets for racists. AFAIK, I've never acted "ghetto" (indeed, I've been called an "Oreo" more than a few times in my lifetime because I spoke proper English, liked to read, preferred some rock bands over rappers, and went to a good school) so maybe I've made myself less of a target.

I'm not saying racism doesn't exist in Boston (again, I said in my previous post that racism is a problem anywhere in the world multiple races reside), but it's no where near has bad as in some parts of the country. a black man in Boston is FAR more likely to get killed by another black man in a gang related crime than by a white man in a racially motivated crime (that doesn't mean, racially motivated crimes don't happen; the Pring-Wilson case did bring this issue to light a few years ago). I think that due to the whole busing riots issue, Boston picked up this reputation as being extremely racist. do a search on this forum and see how often this question pops up here. I'd like to think Boston has shed this reputation, but when questions like this keep popping up, I wonder if it ever will

[vivabigpapi]

Originally Posted by tiny63275

Yes Boston is still racist. I grew up there, and it was prevalent even in the wealthy suburbs where I lived, not just Southie. It is not removed from the wealthy suburbs. As recently as 2003, I was walking my dog in my quiet, middle class, Merrimack Valley suburban neighborhood only to be taunted by slurs of “F—ing Ni—er” shouted from a window in that quintessential Irish-Boston accent.

And yes, the Irish are the worst offenders. They are racist, no ifs, ands or buts about it. Sorry but the truth hurts. They are in-your-face racist in a way that I have not seen anywhere else. I now live in DC, and have yet to see the same kind of angry hate-spewing ethnic cults or be called a “ni—er” from a window by a cowardly taunter.

Those who like to delude themselves that Boston doesn’t still have a serious problem with racism are lying to themselves in an effort to keep up the regional pride.

Bostonian 08's reply sounds the most logical (plus, he's a Boston native, which makes him even more credible), I think he's right on everything except for the 80% of the population being stupid, I'd say more like 50% are stupid.

Racism is in every city, look at what happened to Rodney King in LA, and my New Orleans example of that cab driver calling blacks ni-ers and what not. Seriously though, the southern cities are much more racist than Boston.

[ctrres]

Originally Posted by vivabigpapi

Seriously though, the southern cities are much more racist than Boston.

I disagree.

I grew up in the south and came up to Boston in 1986, landing in Somerville, looked around that afternoon and the following day, and then said to a friend, "Boston has no black people. Where are the blacks?" One of the most segregated places I've ever seen.

I later learned from an AA coworker that they didn't attend ball games as fans because of the overt hostility.