Quote:
Originally Posted by wall st kid
I've never seen it with my own eyes in a live and real life situation. In my line of work and during my travels in my life, i've met, seen, socialized with and been around people of all races, religions and sexual orientations and never have actually seen someone be a victim of racism.
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Well it isn't like the good'ole days well at least not until 2008, when it went underground, couched in new phraseology and for legitimate fear of judicial enforcement.
Other's have recounted what it was like back in the day, so I don't see any reason to add my experiences growing up in the South in the 50's, 60's and early 70's. So I will just relate some more recent experiences.
Every few years or so I am privileged to be called a ****** from some passing group of white youths. I have to admit that it now gives me a chuckle because unlike the old days they lack the balls to stand in my face and make such statements preferring to call me out from a passing car.
In the 90's when my wife and I bought a home in a up and coming gentrified neighborhood our realtor was accosted by a neighbor who demanded that he not continue to show us the house. After closed the deal, he placed the home that he had designed and built himself up for sale. After a year or so another "neighbor" stopped to tell me how nice my lawn and garden looked followed by stating how surprised that he was since he had such misgivings when we moved in (by the way his yard looked like ****te).
I've had fellow employees state in a meeting, that I was an "angry black man" because despite my Ivy League education I would use words like Yo, or some other "black dialogue or idiom." It that makes any sense to you, could you let me in on the secret.
Granted these recent events really don't rise to what racism used to be like, but the cumulative effect can be so deleterious as to give a lot of black folk a case of acute paranoia and post traumatic stress syndrome which manifest itself in seeing racism in many negative interactions with white folks... nothing worse than giving white folks the benefit of the doubt only to later find out that the motivating factor behind the incident actually was racial. And as unfortunate as they may be, it would have been exceptionally naive for any person of color to believe that in the course of a generation of two that the virulent racism had suddenly disappeared instead of just going underground. Of the election of 2008 reaffirmed the old saying that just because you are paranoid doesn't mean that someone isn't out to get you.
Peace
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