Racism/Georgia (Atlanta, Savannah, Marietta: public schools, to live, military)

[gagirlchristii]

Okay some people on this post needs to take a chill pill & just calm their nerves down.

Racism in Atlanta or any other areas is common. It's mostly older people that's doing it & the younger generation is about to suck it up (sad).

[tech30528]

Originally Posted by larryb

Racism is "dealing with race" so guess what? Everybody is racist. How can you not be in a world with different races.Moderator cut: Removed
Prejudice is having an opinion without any facts. Fact: 80% of black males in Ga between the ages of 18 and 24 are either on probation, in jail, or under some form of disciplinary action by the state. If I am a little skiddish at 11:00 at night about some black guy walking down my street, it is not prejudice it is common sense!!!! Do the freakin math!!!! People in general don't want to "keep it real". I treat people the way I want to be treated. I have no problem with being the last one picked to play b-ball when I am the only white guy out there you know why? BECAUSE MOST WHITE GUYS CAN"T PLAY B-BALL, SO WHAT?!!! THIS ISN'T PREJUDICE!! IT MAKES SENSE!! You earn your reputation by the things you do everyday. Deal with it, try to change the image of your people. Coach your black friends to get off the streets and do right. I do!!! Stop lying to ourselves and say we shouldn't profile people. THAT MAKES NO GOOD SENSE. People have done this since the beginning of time. It's good police work. Most serial killers are white males.... I am a white male, I accept that. Too bad if I don't like it when they profile white males on Law and Order. We are all profiled some how. Accept it or whine about it all your life and be good for nothing.

In LarryB's defense, I have to tell you he's not a racist. He's a corperate regional resturaunt manager, and has great instincts. He may come off cold, but the fact is he is an outstanding judge of character, it's his job. He has to size up a person he has never met and make a judgement as to weither or not they would be a good fill for a position in the time it takes for an interview. He is what you might call a "profiler". A bad word these days, but it's what he does. And he has built a career on it. As a new business owner, he has taught me a lot about people. He has the ability to read people like you wouldn't believe, and I can tell you that some of his best friends are black.

[mscandy]

Racism definately exists between all ethnic groups. People carry their preconceptions and biases. However, there are more than enough intelligent, open-minded people in Atlanta and more than enough opportunities to mingle with diverse populations such that it wont affect your life badly at all. I grew up in a diverse area in North East atlanta within the perimeter. I made Asian, white, African, Indian and Latino friends in high school and college that I am still close to them to this very day. That experience of getting to know people as "humans" and not as "races" is the best gift my parents could have ever given me.

As for Larry.....
Larry, poor Larry. He sounds like an angry, fearful, tortured man who believes in false statistics. I am very familiar with crime statistics so I'd like to see proof for his "80 percent" stats. He goes as far to use those false stats to justify why he gets nervous when he sees young black males in his neighborhood. The fact is, the majority (meaning more than 70%) of African American men in the USA have not been to prison and or not on probation. T Are you shocked? You should be, because the "what bleeds, leads" news media paints a very different picture so that most people, regardless of "race" have some very twisted ideas of race and crime stats. That's not to deny that a problem does exist in this country as a residue of this country's past and present sickness, but perpetuating myths and justifying the sickness of racism only makes matters worse. I know too many young black males who, like most young black males, are educated, law abiding citizens who lose opportunities and are treated unfairly by people with Larry's mentality - and that is very ANTI-American. America's growth will continue to be stunted as long as we continue to be segregated.

[larryb]

Not angry, look at certain neighborhoods. Proof is in the pudding.

[stormddancer]

I wanted to move to Georgia when I went to visit some land that has been in my husbands family for well over 100 years untill I found out that it has the highest percentage of Illegals and they keep moving there. I have seen to much of what the Illegals do and how they take jobs and think that we need to do as they say and not follow the law of the United States to want to go to a place that welcomes them. You will not just see it black/white but now you have to but Latino in there also.

[RetiredTeacher]

Atlanta is a very diverse city but once you get outside of the city and you are hispanic or black or Asian be wary. Cobb County in particular is a haven for right-wing white right-wingers who think they are Christians and are snobby to anyone who does not look and think just like they do. In the small towns of Georgia segregation is still prevalent. And if you have a gay family member anywhere outside Atlanta, be afraid. Be very afraid. Georgians, like most other Americans, think that every problem in the their lives would be magically solved if all illegal aliens vanished tomorrow. While I do not wish to see 12 million people rounded up and deported, it would be amusing to see the looks on most people's faces if it happened and suddenly.......nothing changed. The root of racism and homophobia is that most people want some group that they can feel superior to. And sadly, it is passed down from one generation to the next. Being a white male who was raised in a small town in North Georgia who was in the 6th grade when black children finally came to the same school I did, I have not seen much improvement over the years. It is less blatant and in your face than it used to be but it is still very much there. I love being around people different from myself but you will find that to be very rare. White flight created several all-white suburbs around Atlanta where all the houses and cars look just alike. Yech. Boring.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by RetiredTeacher

Atlanta is a very diverse city but once you get outside of the city and you are hispanic or black or Asian be wary. Cobb County in particular is a haven for right-wing white right-wingers who think they are Christians and are snobby to anyone who does not look and think just like they do. In the small towns of Georgia segregation is still prevalent. And if you have a gay family member anywhere outside Atlanta, be afraid. Be very afraid. Georgians, like most other Americans, think that every problem in the their lives would be magically solved if all illegal aliens vanished tomorrow. While I do not wish to see 12 million people rounded up and deported, it would be amusing to see the looks on most people's faces if it happened and suddenly.......nothing changed. The root of racism and homophobia is that most people want some group that they can feel superior to. And sadly, it is passed down from one generation to the next. Being a white male who was raised in a small town in North Georgia who was in the 6th grade when black children finally came to the same school I did, I have not seen much improvement over the years. It is less blatant and in your face than it used to be but it is still very much there. I love being around people different from myself but you will find that to be very rare. White flight created several all-white suburbs around Atlanta where all the houses and cars look just alike. Yech. Boring.

~~~~
It is really not accurate to paint the entire state of Georgia with such a broad brush. There has been change---there will be more change.

There is a good article about the international flags displayed outside of Gainesville High school at ajc.com today>>>>
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2007/01/29/0130metflags.html (broken link)

Gainesville --Hall/Forsyth counties would have many 'Old Southerners'/just as the Cobb residents that you described. Georgia is becoming progressive.

[RetiredTeacher]

Originally Posted by bhs119

~~~~
It is really not accurate to paint the entire state of Georgia with such a broad brush. There has been change---there will be more change.

There is a good article about the international flags displayed outside of Gainesville High school at ajc.com today>>>>
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2007/01/29/0130metflags.html (broken link)

Gainesville --Hall/Forsyth counties would have many 'Old Southerners'/just as the Cobb residents that you described. Georgia is becoming progressive.

Georgia is becoming progressive? I do not see it. The Gainesville High School flags display was an excellent way to show how diverse their student body is and hopefully foster a little inclusiveness. Unfortunately, they are going to move it indoors out of fear that rabid anti-illegal alien people will use it as a flashpoint for protests. Evidently, the principal there has already heard rumblings to that effect. And predictably, some veterans groups want all the flags except the American Flag removed. I hope Georgia someday does show some progressive tendencies but I do not see them now.

[sprtsluvr8]

hey we even got 'lectricity now and talkin' pitcher boxes in color...

This isn't the dark ages...man, Deliverance is STILL causing people to think Georgia is full of hillbillies. You might find racism here and there and you might not, just like anywhere else on Earth. I don't associate with anyone who's racist, and I could care less about the opinion of strangers. But you'll find attitudes in the Atlanta melting pot to be about as widely diverse as anywhere else.

[Nausikaa]

The schools in New York and Boston are the most segregated school systems in the country. The schools in the south are the most integrated. So stereotyping is ridiculous. It's individual people that are racist, not collections of people.