The Truths of Greenville, SC From Someone Born and Raised Here (Jackson: live, racist)

[rochelle]

And none of you are black. And I'd give a gander that you're not natives. Yes, it matters because there is a weird dynamic between native whites and blacks in Greenville. I didn't see it until I moved away for several years (I'm a native) and moved back (because until I left I had no basis for comparison). I can't say what it is, exactly, but it's weird and janky. I'll keep testing the waters for 'jankiness' every few years, because I would love to move back. But, until the jankiness factor improves some more (and it has improved already, just not enough for me), I can't do more than visit.

Just because you don't share his experiences doesn't mean they aren't true.

Originally Posted by gsupstate

What is that sound I hear? The grinding of an axe maybe?

I'm not sure this much negativity is worth a response, but I will say as for diversity, I'm gay and white, my partner is Jew, our neighbors across are Thai and Catholic with an adopted Chinese daughter. On my street we have German, French, Colombian, and a wonderful Canadian lesbian couple. I've lived in much larger cities prior to Greenville and find Greenville as diverse if not more. Greenville is diverse in the true since of the word.

[Skyliner]

I find it difficult to understand anything you are saying because you obviously don't completely understand what you intend to say. You without hesitation say, "none of you are black," yet how in the world could you make that statement when you have never once seen anyone of us? Again, you are making blanket comments that are not true of this city from my perspective.

[rochelle]

I wouldn't let it stop me from moving to SC, but I wouldn't move to Abbeville County (that's where that store is actually, I think... unless there is another one in Laurens Co. somewhere), that's for sure.

Originally Posted by p2y2r7o

Very true, terrible people are everywhere. If you really like the area, that store should NOT keep you from moving here. I've actually never seen or heard of the store, so it hasn't had any affect on me. You were searching for info and found that...I guess that goes for any place. If you look hard enough you will find plenty of problems.

[g-man430]

My best friend is black rochelle, so i'm not sure where you're getting it that they're treated here unfairly or something. Look at the Kroc Center. That is going to be built in West Greenville and be a place for minorities and low income families to go to get school help and sporting activities to keep them away from crime and drugs.

[g-man430]

51% of all ICAR construction is being done by minority owned companies. Where was Jesse Jackson born again?

[rochelle]

Don't tell me what I think or understand. Don't make this personal. Things will get ugly. Quickly. Don't do it. If you want to know what I mean by something, ask me for clarification and I will oblige. But, whatever you do, don't get personal. I won't do it to you and I won't let you do it to me. There have to be rules of engagement or things will get out of hand, agreed?

Now, I wrote what I wrote based on what the poster I was responding to stated. I took an educated guess that the Jewish person wasn't black, and that the the person I was responding to wasn't either. Every black person, from out-of-state, I have met in Greenville (who was living there and not just visiting relatives) had some questionable experiences. Every single one (I haven't met all the black transplants to Greenville, but my previous post did make it clear that I was speaking from my experience and not for all black transplants). So, the chances of that poster being black were slim to none, in my book. And s/he specifically stated the ethnicities of the other people used as examples. So, that's how I could make the statement. I could be wrong. It's happened before and it'll happen again, and that's okay.

You are entitled to your opinion. To restate what I wrote earlier, just because the O.P.'s or my experience in Greenville is not yours doesn't mean his, or mine, is wrong. Or that yours is wrong. It just means that they are different. I'll go further and say that if a person is not the target of questionable treatment, then unless their attention is called to it and they undeniably witness it happening to someone else, they won't notice it. That's just the way it is, usually. As they say, it is what it is.

Lastly, unless I used the term "all" or another all-encompassing term - which I didn't - then I didn't make a blanket statement.

Originally Posted by Skyliner

I find it difficult to understand anything you are saying because you obviously don't completely understand what you intend to say. You without hesitation say, "none of you are black," yet how in the world could you make that statement when you have never once seen anyone of us? Again, you are making blanket comments that are not true of this city from my perspective.

[rochelle]

Please read my post more carefully. I was specifically speaking about blacks who were seeking professional level, white collar positions. Not the general black population of Greenville. Thank you.

Originally Posted by g-man430

My best friend is black rochelle, so i'm not sure where you're getting it that they're treated here unfairly or something. Look at the Kroc Center. That is going to be built in West Greenville and be a place for minorities and low income families to go to get school help and sporting activities to keep them away from crime and drugs.

[rochelle]

A construction worker is not a white collar professional. So, while the below fact is good (I guess), it's not relevant to the point I was making. Neither does it negate my personal experience or those of the people I have talked to, who shared theirs with me.

So, your point is what?

Originally Posted by g-man430

51% of all ICAR construction is being done by minority owned companies. Where was Jesse Jackson born again?

[rochelle]

Please read my post(s) more carefully. That was part of the point I made. Most of them probably moved to Greenville due to job transfers - which is also a point I made in a previous post. And, as job transfers, they are not job seekers. And, if they were not transfers but seekers who secured employment before relocating, they still aren't who I was talking about, because they are not native Greenvillians. I wrote in my post that there was a weird dynamic between native black and white Greenvillians, especially the older ones. As I said, I can't say it's racism. But, something's janky.

Originally Posted by g-man430

Rochelle, 25% of the new-comers to Greenville last year were minorities. There was a Greenville News article about it. Skyliner chose that username because he likes skyscrapers.

[rochelle]

Skyliner, please go back and read again. I did not say any of what you are saying I said. And, nowhere did I mention selective treatment, and that you somehow found a way to make my posts be about that offends me.

Read what I actually wrote and and not what you think I wrote. I am not shy, nor do I lack the vocabulary to say exactly what I want to say.

Originally Posted by Skyliner

No, I did not attend NGU and I have no relation to whomever decided to call the school paper by that name (which is a strange name for a small rural university publication).

I appreciate your honesty, but really am disappointed with the viewpoint that Greenville is somehow out to ignore people of a particular skin color. This is a slap in the face of my many friends (black, white, brown, tan, etc...) who have studied and worked very hard and decided to stay here in Greenville for the best of their families. Each have had to climb their way up the corporate ladder just as anyone should be expected to do. Those who have been blessed with the gift of being born into a wealthy white collar family are an obvious exception and they do exist in every prosperous city. No one deserves selectively special treatment based upon race alone, in my opinion. Yes, times were tough in recent history, but today there is great opportunity for all people to find happiness in life without the need for handouts. This is just the way I see it, not an assault on your own viewpoint.