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Seems like it was kind of unnecessary to personally attack someone for giving their opinion. Also seems like you are putting words in his mouth and thats kind of unfair if you ask me. I've noticed some racism down here but no more than where I lived previously(NY) and I understand what you are saying but there is such a thing as taking it to far
Sorry if I went too far and thanks for understanding what I was trying to say. That previous post by g-man made me quite angry. I also forgot to mention that just because someone is of a different race, doesn't mean they are from another country. ("If these people from other countries thought there was a good bit of racism here, why would they stay and open restaurants all over the place? I win.") This statement by g-man just proves eena's point that he/she was being treated differently because of race, despite being an american.
Unless you are native-american, ALL of our families are from another country. We are a nation of immigrants.
I have no doubt that there is racism, sexism, ageism and every other kind of ism in Greenville, like there is everywhere else. I've made the point before and I'll make it again - Greenville is not a homogeneous place. 50 years ago Greenville was mostly made up of a few wealthy Episcopalians and a lot of Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian folks, mostly Scots-Irish in heritage, who generally farmed or worked in mills. Greenville never had a large percentage of African-Americans since most of the county before the Civil War was small farms and the owners couldn't afford slaves.
By the way, Greenville was Unionist during the Nullification period and had a strong Unionist component right up to the beginning of the war - like most of the mountain territories. Most of the Scots-Irish folks in and around the mountains felt that they had nothing in common with the large planters in the midlands and coastal plains, and most areas in and around the mountains had a lot of Unionist sentiment right up until the war was inevitable. Virginia's mountain counties split off and became West Virginia. In the Carolinas and Tennessee once the war was inevitable the mountain counties fell into line, but the point I am making is that viewing the south as a monolithic entity didn't even make sense back then.
But I digress. Greenville had Jim Crow laws, like everywhere else in the South. One of Greenville's watershed (and most embarrassing) moments was the trial in 1947 of the multiple people accused of lynching Willie Earle - a black man who was accused of killing a white cab driver. Strom Thurmond, the governor at the time, was determined that these people be brought to justice, so he forced a very public trial, which was closely covered by the leading newspapers and periodicals in the country. The English author Rebecca West wrote a brilliant article for the New Yorker magazine entitled "Opera in Greenville" about the times and the trial. The 31 defendants were acquitted. Although Ms. West's article was in retrospect very fair, overall Greenville got a real black eye from this affair.
15 years later, when Greenville began to go through the Civil Rights era, city leaders were determined that Greenville would not be again seen as a reactionary backwater. As a result, the Civil Rights movement, culminating in full school integration in 1970, went smoothly and with a minimum of rancor.
Overall, the 1970's marked significant change in Greenville. Max Heller, an Austrian holocaust refugee and a member of the small but influential Jewish community in Greenville, was elected mayor. Heller served several terms and is still a beloved citizen of Greenville. He was, as much as anyone, responsible for the rebirth of downtown Greenville. Also in the 1970s, Charlie Daniel (of Fluor/Daniel), Francis Hipp (of Liberty Life Insurance) and later, Buck Mickel of Fluor/Daniel began to work very hard to bring industry to Greenville to replace the declining textile industry. One of their first and biggest successes was the decision of Michelin to place its North American headquarters in Greenville. Buck Mickel later convinced the Hyatt to build a new hotel downtown, which opened in 1982 and was the cornerstone of the downtown renaissance.
Later industries moving into this area included several large Japanese companies and a number of German companies (anchored by BMW), among others. The result is that Greenville now has more foreign investment per capita than any other county in the US.
Does Greenville still have people who are prejudiced against people of other races and national origins? Absolutely. In the past few years some of the more vocal prejudice has been against people from Latin America. I guess that is what one post above meant by "beaners", although I have never heard that term. Are there places in Greenville were a lot of people are prejudiced against people not "like them"? Absolutely. But if people of other nations felt overall discriminated against in Greenville, do you really think they would keep coming and keep investing in such numbers?
As someone who grew up in the segregated South (eastern Virginia) in the 1960s, the change between then and now is amazing - especially in Greenville. So it is amusing and frustrating for me to hear people perpetuate the stereotypes about prejudice. I don't deny that it goes on - I just think it arguably goes on less in Greenville than about any other place you can find.
Sorry if I went too far and thanks for understanding what I was trying to say. That previous post by g-man made me quite angry. I also forgot to mention that just because someone is of a different race, doesn't mean they are from another country. ("If these people from other countries thought there was a good bit of racism here, why would they stay and open restaurants all over the place? I win.") This statement by g-man just proves eena's point that he/she was being treated differently because of race, despite being an american.
Unless you are native-american, ALL of our families are from another country. We are a nation of immigrants.
I'll be quiet now and go to my room.
Sorry I angered you. I should of said other cultures and race instead of countries. If they thought there was racism here, then why would they start up restaurants and say they love the area instead of pack up and leave for some where else?
Living in Anderson, SC , just outside of Greenville by 30 miles . Have lived most everywhere in the U.S. , can say so far this feels the most comfortable & affordable all the way around. Tax wise great for seniors only wonder if North Carolina is as Tax Friendly for seniors?? No sales tax here on food as of October 1st , low property taxes , low home owner & vehicle insurance , reasonable food prices , lots of great medical providers everywhere.. Thanks..
Beaner? Never heard that term before. If there is lots of racism in this area, then why are there so many different cultured restaurants located downtown? For example, a new indian one just opened on Main Street a few weeks ago and is doing very well. If these people from other countries thought there was a good bit of racism here, why would they stay and open restaurants all over the place? I win.
never heard the term? ah, perhaps you are not one of the ignorant people i was referring to. i, on the other hand, hear this term applied to my family and me several times a week. it doesn't even matter that we aren't even hispanic. and even if we were, what difference would it make.......but i won't get into all of that......in any case, i was simply saying, that IMHO, of all the places i've been in the states, i've never experienced racism to the degree i have in greenville, and yes, spartanburg, sc. does that make me want to pick up and leave? or does it make me want to open an island style restaurant complete with ukelele music playing in the background just to prove how OBVIOUSLY TOLERANT everyone is? neither. i love it here. i love the small town feel. i love the character of the place. i love the laid back, easygoing pace of life. i love the friends i've made who truly know how to represent southern hospitality. the question, however, was what do i regret about moving here. and my answer to that is that for the first time in his life, my happy-go-lucky 8 year old was treated like he was less American than his black and white schoolmates. and my husband who works his butt off ten times harder than half the guys at work is treated like he doesn't deserve to have a job. we can't even go grocery shopping without some idiot making a racist remark. we can't get good service at most restaurants. ugh, i could go on forever. but what difference would it make? it all boils down to ignorance, and i'm not really interested in becoming a teacher. if you don't believe what i'm saying, then either your mama raised you right and it doesn't apply to you, or you haven't left the house in a while.
...if you don't believe what i'm saying, then either your mama raised you right and it doesn't apply to you, or you haven't left the house in a while.
I can honestly say that my mother did raise me right and I stay out of the house as often as possible, yet I have never once in all my many years here in Greenville heard of what you are speaking. You say you can't even go to the store without hearing it, and your husband is discriminated against, and yet you obviously don't care greatly enough about these supposed problems to do something about living where you can find peace with your neighbors. As a Greenville resident who is completely in tune with my surroundings, I seriously question the validity of your statements. Perhaps you need to get out of your own neighborhood more often? I just don't know what else to say since interracial and multicultural harmony has become one of the very best parts of my life here in Greenville.
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If they thought there was racism here, then why would they start up restaurants and say they love the area instead of pack up and leave for some where else?
If there is lots of racism in this area, then why are there so many different cultured restaurants located downtown? For example, a new indian one just opened on Main Street a few weeks ago and is doing very well. If these people from other countries thought there was a good bit of racism here, why would they stay and open restaurants all over the place? I win. 
ah, perhaps you are not one of the ignorant people i was referring to. 
i, on the other hand, hear this term applied to my family and me several times a week. it doesn't even matter that we aren't even hispanic. and even if we were, what difference would it make.......but i won't get into all of that......in any case, i was simply saying, that IMHO, of all the places i've been in the states, i've never experienced racism to the degree i have in greenville, and yes, spartanburg, sc. does that make me want to pick up and leave? or does it make me want to open an island style restaurant complete with ukelele music playing in the background just to prove how OBVIOUSLY TOLERANT everyone is? 
neither. i love it here. i love the small town feel. i love the character of the place. i love the laid back, easygoing pace of life. i love the friends i've made who truly know how to represent southern hospitality. the question, however, was what do i regret about moving here. and my answer to that is that for the first time in his life, my happy-go-lucky 8 year old was treated like he was less American than his black and white schoolmates. and my husband who works his butt off ten times harder than half the guys at work is treated like he doesn't deserve to have a job. we can't even go grocery shopping without some idiot making a racist remark. we can't get good service at most restaurants. ugh, i could go on forever. but what difference would it make? it all boils down to ignorance, and i'm not really interested in becoming a teacher. if you don't believe what i'm saying, then either your mama raised you right and it doesn't apply to you, or you haven't left the house in a while.
