middle tn racism.. (Murfreesboro, Franklin, Smyrna: fit in, transplants, neighborhood)

[Diane Giam]

Originally Posted by marilyn220

Profs, I'm not from Tennessee or the south period (relocating from LA, but a tried and true NYer up until three years ago), but one thing I've always been told is that southern racists let you know UP FRONT that they don't like you, which I find to be a good thing and respect wholeheartedly!! I'm also a black woman looking to relocate to TN, Nashville specifically.

They're very different from the Northern racists that smile in your face, but knowingly hate your guts with every ounce of their being.

Just remember that the more poor or ghetto an area is chances are there will be IGNORANCE. It just comes with the territory.

I do not think you will have a problem in Nashville. I think every subdivision has a mix . I have a interacial couple that lives in back of me. No one I know gives it a second thought. I usually say hello when they walk with their new baby.
Diane G

[bigthirsty]

Originally Posted by helix139

...alive and thriving! My wife and I just got a visit from our family and we were both shocked by how racist our parents are. We both are from middle tn and don't remember it being that bad. For ex; my father in law told us a story about how he heard some Asian guy speaking behind him at a football game and my father in law became so upset that he turned around and told the guy to move! Can you imagine? Then we had to hear about all the blacks in one store they stopped in while in Ga. "We got outta there real fast!" And my father in law used the n word while in front of our kids..age 6 and 3.
My wife and I were thinking about moving to Tn after our son finishes school and now are concerned for other rampant racism in Tn. We know it exists here in Tampa as well but maybe not as prevalent. At least I've never heard anyone talk about being concerned for all the "blacks."

Let me get this straight... You are stereotyping an entire region for the way your family thinks..

wow..

[Rikrich]

Originally Posted by sharathps

Racism in my experience is lesser towrds the center of the city. I am from India and had beer bottles thrown at me and been called nasty names. A dude threw a half eaten piece of chicken in front of me and said "eat that, dog". I once got into the pool and there were a few kids swimming at the far end of the pool. I was on the deepside and they were at 3". The parents panicked the moment I got in and screamed "Get out of the water, lets go, fun is over". Yet another evening though, I got into the pool and couple of young girls got out of it immediately. One of them walked to where I was, shook hands and said "I am sorry, we dont mean to offend you. We were getting ready to go anyway, please do not think we are leaving because of you" which was nice. I think city folk are a little more used to a multi-cultural environment and rural areas...well anyone who aint white is a criminal out there....I think it is all a question of how much exposure you have.

I am so sorry that you have been treated in such a nasty manner. Not all people in this country are like the ones you encountered. Did some fool actually throw a half eaten piece of chicken at you? Absolutely horrible! Don't let the bigots get you down. You strike me as a very good guy. Hang in there.

[fabelsokand]

I am going to describe some things pertaining to racism that I've encountered/overheard around the Nashville area. The first is rather humourous, I was in an optometrist office waiting room., two people waiting, one filling out forms. The one filling out forms says, "Are there really so many negroes and criminals around here that they have to chain the ink pens to the clipboards? This is ridiculous!" Last week I pulled up to a gas pump to which I saw a neon orange sticker placed neatly that read "STOP IMMIGRATION" in bold letters then underneath featured a paragraph about "non-whites are turning America into Third World nation and how they are messy, disruptive, etc. etc." Then gave reference to the National Alliance, a White Euro-centric National Socialist organization formed by Dr. Willian Pierce. Last year, downtown, I saw some black homeless man approach two people asking for change apparently, and the man started screaming something about "you f**king ni**er, I'll f**king kill you, etc." and the homeless man took off. I believe there are more but that's all I can remember off the top of my head. This was all within the past 10 months or so.

[conefer]

Originally Posted by pawillia

How is the Hermitage area of Nashville, TN? Is there much racism in that area-- Can Hermitage be considered a rural area of the city?? I was considering moving there next spring...

we are a inter racial family im white my husband is blk. we have 2 kids. we havent had any problems at all! fl and ga we did but everyone is very friendly here in hermitage. the school is inter grated well. the kids fit right in. no one looks at you oddly or judgingly, there is nothing to worry about! shocking huh?

[wilson247]

Some of us Nashvillians even wear shoes and refrain from becoming sexually involved with blood relatives. And I don't play the banjo.

[2004idiot]

wilson247 HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR.........exceedingly rare for Nashville..........

I'll refrain from my racist/sexist experiences. People here like to pretend you're the problem, not the idiots you encounter......

Praying a tornado eats my house.

[london1979]

Ah, Nashville. I remember me and a friend of mine being followed around a mall up there. Not a store or two, but the entire frikin' mall! That was in 2003. I didn't think things like that still happened. I'm desperately trying to escape the hick culture here in Memphis. I was seriously considering Nashville. But it doesn't sound diverse to me. Especially with whites openly expressing disdain for black people that way.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by wilson247

And I don't play the banjo.

Hey, I put that on my "public profile"!

Well, I put a lot of crap on my public profile.

[pawillia]

Wow...2004Idiot that's pretty extreme!!