Moving to Denver ....?'s on Racism (employment, buying, schools)

[denverian]

Originally Posted by wanttomoveeast

Boys might be different than girls. Both sexes have pressures, but different ones. I can tell you, I've been dealing with my race for my entire life, and I fully expect the rest of my life. It's something you become aware of at a very young age and it never just "goes away". It has become a part of me and something I accept and try to use to my advantage in a positive way instead of allowing it to alter who I am in a negative way.

I do feel anger towards whites who pronounce that racism is gone. I wonder, how the heck would they know???

Spending 13 years w/my partner, who's black, I'm quite aware racism exists. I've been in the car (a high-end car) with him when he was pulled over for "driving while black", been followed in a store with him by an employee, and understood his concerns with work when he felt passed over for a job due to his race. But yeah, really I can't know. I guess being gay, I know what it's like to have people against me, but if I just walk into a store, I'm not immediately targeted. Similar, but different.

[wanttomoveeast]

Ahhh being gay, a whole 'nother ball of wax. Just as bad discrimination wise, but again, a different breed. And if your partner is black, you def. have a more inside view, as my husband is white. Being gay, it's not like people see it immediately. Same argument goes for people like me from other black folks, many believe that since I'm light skinned, I get a better deal because my race isn't so pronounced. Well good for you on trying to raise a child with more awareness of culture and ethnicities, I wish it was done more. Maybe with this new administration...

Although while we have that going on, we have Calif. with their Prop. 8

[sportsfangal]

I am a BW, and I date interracially, I realize racism exists in all areas of life, there's no way to avoid it.
but I can say from personal experience, that being from Denver, I haven't really experienced any negativity. I find denverites to be friendly and outgoing and welcoming of "newbies".
I have had the chance to travel all over the US and I can say that Denver is progressive and educated and laid back.
You shouldn't have any difficulties. Of course, these are my opinions!! Welcome to Denver, hope you love it!!
p.s.- there are going to be "questionable" areas wherever you go. just take time to look around, get a feel for a neighborhood and school you will enjoy!

Originally Posted by jcx

We are thinking about moving to denver from phx but was wondering if there is racism there? We have young children and dont want to move directly into an area that may be an issue

[zionvier]

From a white/cracker perspective I'll add this. Racism isn't gone, hopefully one day it'll be extremely rare, but unfortunately that will probably take another generation or two. We do have Obama though that's a huge step in the right direction. I'm not sure if anyone can deny that racism as a whole has declined over the last 40 years, but it does exist. It took nearly 100 years for the 15th Amendment to be enforced and give everyone the right to vote. 40 years later bigotry has decreased enough for whites to have even voted heavily for a black man to run our country. If we weren't getting better as a country I don't think a milestone like this could have been reached in only 40 years when it took a century just to be allowed to check a box on a piece of paper.
It's not gone, but we're getting better! Discrimination unfortunately comes in too many forms... I was discriminated against when I lived in North Carolina because I was a Yankee from Jersey. Mostly by the same ignorant white people that discrimated because of race too.

WTME:

often had a hard time socializing with other blacks.

Unfortunately white people are in a similar situation don't even realize it. I think it's Chris Rock that jokes about how all his black friends have tons of white friends, and all his white friends have one black friend. I may can stoned for calling out the whities, but take a look at people's friends lists on myspace and facebook... if they are white, most of their friends on there are white too. But that's not to say that black people have a huge mix of friends either though (but they do tend to be much better), it's just that we still have an issue with cultural exclusion and it's evident even online.

Personally I have a hard enough time meeting new friends to begin with, white, black, hispanic, asian, ... If I go to a primarily black club, bar, etc, I am looked at as 'whitey' and you can see in people's eyes that they are thinking "Does he know where he is?" Until we all drop this subconscience desire to retain our 'safe havens' where we can go and have everyone be similar, I don't know if we'll truely get past racism. In the end there will always be a few people who won't get over it... just like we still have people today who think the world is flat (no joke... google the flat earth society)

[wanttomoveeast]

I thought you were born and raised in Colo. Springs and haven't lived in Denver for years? Am I wrong?

Originally Posted by sportsfangal

I am a BW, and I date interracially, I realize racism exists in all areas of life, there's no way to avoid it.
but I can say from personal experience, that being from Denver, I haven't really experienced any negativity. I find denverites to be friendly and outgoing and welcoming of "newbies".
I have had the chance to travel all over the US and I can say that Denver is progressive and educated and laid back.
You shouldn't have any difficulties. Of course, these are my opinions!! Welcome to Denver, hope you love it!!
p.s.- there are going to be "questionable" areas wherever you go. just take time to look around, get a feel for a neighborhood and school you will enjoy!

[wanttomoveeast]

Great post Zion, and I totally believe you on the flat earth society. Even worse and more dangerous IMO, is the Holocaust deniers. This group that believes the Holocaust was pre-engineered by the Jews. Total whackos.

BTW: I don't think the OP is here anymore as they first posted in April.

[sportsfangal]

I find it difficult to believe that whites can relate to what black people go through in life. I realize I can't change my outer appearance, but I can change how I react to things. I can keep my dignity and know who I am as a person. I can also choose to live in and put myself around people I feel care about me and don't judge me, It's not to say that denver doesn't have racism, its just that I would rather live in CO than say, Mississippi or GA, places known for their overt racism and palpable racism.

[subsound]

Originally Posted by wanttomoveeast

I just read your profile to see what you are about, and after glancing at your status updates, it seems race is very much in your thinking.

Do you realize that your status updates are available for the entire public to view??

Very aware, it's happened recently where I have had people come up to me after deciding I'm racist/sexist/whatever-ist and tell me about it....because I happen to be standing around being a white male. Even worse when the people who do it, and know nothing about me as they are complete strangers, call it equality.

When it gets shoved in my face, yeah I get more mindful of it. It happened in more liberal places then Denver, which really surprised me.

Originally Posted by wanttomoveeast

Great post Zion, and I totally believe you on the flat earth society. Even worse and more dangerous IMO, is the Holocaust deniers. This group that believes the Holocaust was pre-engineered by the Jews. Total whackos.

There are some really crazy conspiracy theorists, some are really outright hilarious. One was posted in Slashdot that the moon was a giant light so liberals could spy on people using guns in their backyard, because they said they could find no literary reference to the moon before 1950.

[wanttomoveeast]

Slashdot, huh? I'll check it out. Sorry to hear you were berated. You are not alone. Thanks for clarifying subsound.

[subsound]

Originally Posted by wanttomoveeast

Slashdot, huh? I'll check it out. Sorry to hear you were berated. You are not alone. Thanks for clarifying subsound.

It was a few months ago, I need to find that again for a good laugh It happens, I think it's because I'm near the university...you get some weird people there. I swear I saw some one singing to his foot one day.

This was posted there too, not quite a conspiracy theory but a great laugh:



Smithsonian Institution
207 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20078
Dear Mr. Williams:

Thank you for your latest submission to the Institute, labeled "93211-D, layer seven, next to the clothesline post . . .Hominid skull". We have given this specimen a careful and detailed examination, and regret to inform you that we disagree with your theory that it represents conclusive proof of the presence of Early Man in Charleston County two million years ago.

Rather, it appears that what you have found is the head of a Barbie Doll, of the variety that one of our staff, who has small children, believes to be "Malibu Barbie". It is evident that you have given a great deal of thought to the analysis of this specimen, and you may be quite certain that those of us who are familiar with your prior work in the field were loathe to come to contradiction with your findings. However, we do feel there are a number of physical attributes of the specimen which might have tipped you off to its modern origin:

1. The material is molded plastic. Ancient hominid remains are typically fossilized bone.

2. The cranial capacity of the specimen is approximately 9 cubic centimeters, well below the threshold of even the earliest identified proto-homonids.

3. The dentition pattern evident on the skull is more consistent with the common domesticated dog than it is with the ravenous man-eating Pliocene clams you speculate roamed the wetlands during that time.

This latter finding is certainly one of the most intriguing hypotheses you have submitted in your history with this institution, but the evidence seems to weigh rather heavily against it. Without going into too much detail, let us say that:

A. The specimen looks like the head of a Barbie doll that a dog has chewed on.

B. Clams don't have teeth.

It is with feelings tinged with melancholy that we must deny your request to have the specimen carbon-dated. This is partially due to the heavy load our lab must bear in its normal operation, and partly due to carbon-dating's notorious inaccuracy in fossils of recent geologic record. To the best of our knowledge, no Barbie dolls were produced prior to 1956 AD, and carbon-dating is likely to produce wildly inaccurate results. Sadly, we must also deny your request that we approach the National Science Foundation Phylogeny Department with the concept of assigning your specimen the scientific name Australopithecus spiff-arino. Speaking personally, I, for one, fought tenaciously for the acceptance of your proposed taxonomy, but was ultimately voted down because the species name you selected was hyphenated, and didn't really sound like it might be Latin.

However, we gladly accept your generous donation of this fascinating specimen to the museum. While it is undoubtedly not a Hominid fossil, it is, nonetheless, yet another riveting example of the great body of work you seem to accumulate here so effortlessly. You should know that our Director has reserved a special shelf in his own office for the display of the specimens you have previously submitted to the Institution, and the entire staff speculates daily on what you will happen upon next in your digs at the site you have discovered in your Newport back yard. We eagerly anticipate your trip to our nation's capital that you proposed in your last letter, and several of us are pressing the Director to pay for it.

We are particularly interested in hearing you expand on your theories surrounding the trans-positating fillifitation of ferrous ions in a structural matrix that makes the excellent juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex femur you recently discovered take on the deceptive appearance of a rusty 9-mm Sears Craftsman automotive crescent wrench.

Yours in Science,
Harvey Rowe
Chief Curator-Antiquitie