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Old 10-20-2009, 06:09 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,763 times
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Hello everyone!

I am working on a research project to understand discrimination patterns across the U.S. by city. I want to identify about 100 cities with the most and least discrimination. I want to look at all types of discrimination - based on race, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc.

Please post your thoughts - do you think you are in a city with above-average/below average discrimination? Why do you think that is and how do you feel about it?

Think about discrimination in the workplace, in home or car buying settings, or in the service industry.

Thanks in advance for your responses!

- A
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Old 10-20-2009, 07:02 PM
 
Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
8,900 posts, read 15,875,485 times
Reputation: 1819
I teach in the south Bronx and I'm white--Most teachers in my school are hispanic and mostly speak spanish to one another. I'm always very nice to everyone and go out of my way for them. I noticed if you don't speak spanish, they're not that nice to you. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, I don't feel very welcome.

While riding on the subway through the south Bronx I've had blacks and hispanics saying pretty mean things to me for no real reason (like just for sitting next to them).
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Old 10-20-2009, 07:18 PM
 
Location: MI
1,069 posts, read 3,191,638 times
Reputation: 582
I've worked in Grand Rapids, MI and have noticed very few blacks in factories as opposed to plants in FL similiar in size that produce the same product. My observation is that West Michigan has a very large Dutch population....there's even a saying around these parts, "You ain't much if you ain't Dutch".

My most recent job was producing labels that end up on the shelves in Wal-Mart bakeries and out of the approximate 38 employees not one was black or hispanic. In contrast the plant I worked at in Tampa, FL that produced Wal-Mart packaging had at least 5 blacks and 3 hispanics for about the same 35 or so employees, per WM orders if they wanted to continue being a supplier.
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Old 10-20-2009, 08:12 PM
 
Location: West Michigan
12,082 posts, read 38,764,937 times
Reputation: 17006
Quote:
Originally Posted by xlabel View Post
I've worked in Grand Rapids, MI and have noticed very few blacks in factories as opposed to plants in FL similiar in size that produce the same product. My observation is that West Michigan has a very large Dutch population....there's even a saying around these parts, "You ain't much if you ain't Dutch".

My most recent job was producing labels that end up on the shelves in Wal-Mart bakeries and out of the approximate 38 employees not one was black or hispanic. In contrast the plant I worked at in Tampa, FL that produced Wal-Mart packaging had at least 5 blacks and 3 hispanics for about the same 35 or so employees, per WM orders if they wanted to continue being a supplier.
Look at the different demographics between the two areas you are comparing. There is a much higher Black and Hispanic population in FL, than in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids barely has 20% Black for population and 13% Hispanic, you shouldn't expect to find a high percentage of workers in every job filled with minorities in that situation. And a "large Dutch population" are you for real? Grand Rapids is only 15% Dutch origin, and that saying was old and worn out when I was a kid 40 years ago. I haven't heard that in at least that long.
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Old 10-20-2009, 08:24 PM
 
7,845 posts, read 20,758,973 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bydand View Post
Look at the different demographics between the two areas you are comparing. There is a much higher Black and Hispanic population in FL, than in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids barely has 20% Black for population and 13% Hispanic, you shouldn't expect to find a high percentage of workers in every job filled with minorities in that situation. And a "large Dutch population" are you for real? Grand Rapids is only 15% Dutch origin, and that saying was old and worn out when I was a kid 40 years ago. I haven't heard that in at least that long.
Sorry, but the Tampa Bay metro area is 11% black and 12.5% hispanic...so Grand Rapids is a higher percentage in both areas. So for his example, your logic just doesn't compute.

Even in the entire state of Florida, the black population is only 16%...still less than Grand Rapids.
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Old 10-20-2009, 08:31 PM
 
Location: New York
11,326 posts, read 20,277,370 times
Reputation: 6231
I've been discriminated against in more than one place but I'll just do one time in NYC.

I remember I went to this Catholic School in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, it was a mostly white school (over 90%). I remember one day this girl called me and 2 other students "Blackers" and another student a "Spick", I was stuck on trying to figure out who she was talking to because I knew she wasn't talking to me. She ran out of the school yard and ran down the street thinking someone was about to beat her up. One of the other students told before I could do anything, I don't remember what happened to her. I was in the 3rd grade at the time.

Had I been a girl it would've been a rap for her.
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Old 10-20-2009, 08:48 PM
 
7,845 posts, read 20,758,973 times
Reputation: 2851
I was teaching 3rd grade in a suburban Atlanta school...early in the school year I found out that two of my students were boyfriend and girlfriend - one was black and one was white. I never heard a negative word spoken about the relationship by any of the students or either of their parents. I just thought back to when I was in school and how this would have NEVER happened back then. It was so nice to really be able to see how things are continuing to change in our world. Elementary aged kids don't even seem to notice who is what color.
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Old 10-20-2009, 08:49 PM
 
Location: West Michigan
12,082 posts, read 38,764,937 times
Reputation: 17006
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeaconJ View Post
Sorry, but the Tampa Bay metro area is 11% black and 12.5% hispanic...so Grand Rapids is a higher percentage in both areas. So for his example, your logic just doesn't compute.

Even in the entire state of Florida, the black population is only 16%...still less than Grand Rapids.
That's fine, but he didn't say what city he was in in Florida so cherry picking Tampa Bay doesn't really work either. If you want to go statewide Michigan is 14% Black and 4% Hispanic. I see you conveniently left off Florida's Hispanic population averaging 21% though. The City of Tampa by the way is 26.1% Black and 19.3% Hispanic if you want to compare city to city. The Grand Rapids Metro area is 7.1% Black and 7.7% Hispanic if you want to compare Metro to Metro.

I will stand by my statement that FL has a higher percentage of minorities than the Grand Rapids, MI area and that is why there are a lower number of minorities in the workforce. And my logic DOES compute when you compare either city to city, or metro to metro.
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Old 10-20-2009, 08:55 PM
 
Location: West Michigan
12,082 posts, read 38,764,937 times
Reputation: 17006
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeaconJ View Post
I was teaching 3rd grade in a suburban Atlanta school...early in the school year I found out that two of my students were boyfriend and girlfriend - one was black and one was white. I never heard a negative word spoken about the relationship by any of the students or either of their parents. I just thought back to when I was in school and how this would have NEVER happened back then. It was so nice to really be able to see how things are continuing to change in our world. Elementary aged kids don't even seem to notice who is what color.
This I agree on 100%

My oldest son was trying to point out one of his friends at the football game the other night and he and another friend went through everything they could think of to describe him to me. The Friend in question was on the sidelines with a group of kids and after narrowing it down to a couple that fit the description, and exhausting everything he and his other friend could think of to pinpoint the guy in question, I asked, "you mean the black guy with the rad hat?" They both looked at me for a second and said, "well yeah, we never thought of that." I loved it.
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Old 10-20-2009, 09:00 PM
 
Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
36,641 posts, read 67,283,984 times
Reputation: 21179
My nephew got in so much trouble over this. He transferred from Hawaii to a middle school in Oakland and he had a crush on this girl who happened to be black(we are Polyesian) and so he called her a "Chocolate Girl"..it was a text message that her mom got a hold of and so she called me(my nephew lives with my parents and I am like his guardian) and cussed me out, calling us racist and what not.

So I took my nephew and we bought a fruit torte cake and took it over their house. After I explained that he actually likes her and he meant no offense, the situation was diffused and we had cake. LOL
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