Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Racism is within most of mankind, as people notice the differences of different groups of people, and given that they feel most comfortable around those that look like themselves, they act accordingly. Hence racial transition.
That some of you can't comprehend this fact, and realize that pretty much every place is the same, in terms of the way people react (for example, a less diverse area suddenly had a diverse population, the true thoughts of the residents would come out). Only lack of exposure to other people groups generally lends one to have a "We are the World" attitude.
I didn't read the entire thread so don't know everything that has been put forth but I see SE's analysis of the situation to cut to the core of the issue. As a species we have only been out of the Stone Age for maybe 20,000 years, if that long, and some peoples today are STILL living a Stone Age existence. It is simply part of our genetic inheritance, left over from a time when "stranger meant danger". As SE said, our brains are just wired to notice differences and to feel most comfortable around those that look like ourselves. That's not to say, we cannot learn otherwise from life experience--only that it's an inherent quality.
Most racist are California, New york New Jersey and Massachusetts
Least racist are Texas, Colorado and Oregon
of course, not everyone in the 1st group are racist and not everyone in the 2nd group is not racist, but these are just general observations from a well traveled individual like myself
I'm proud of our country because at least we acknowledge our racism and admit it is wrong. We take steps to address our racism. Even in the South, younger Southern families and residents try to raise their children with the type of awareness and education they were not necessarily given. The country is changing for the positive. It would be easy to get hung up on identifying the most racist areas but instead we should focus on the positive changes.
Have any of you been to Europe? Europe is far more racist than America particularly Eastern Europe. In Europe, they openly throw bannanas and call their Black players monkey during soccer matches. They will also hold large Nazi flags in the crowds and chant anti-ethnic remarks when they play African and Asian teams. In Eastern Europe, they are openly racist toward Romani (Gypsy) people because their roots are from parts of India even though they are Christian and have been living in Eastern Europe for multiple generations and are as Romanian as anyone.
The biggest thing I noticed about America is that despite your race or religion, you are an American are thought of an Americans. Sure, there are racist and other xenophobes who will say otherwise but they are the minority. In Europe, you could be African or Mexican whose Great Grandfather moved to Germany but you will never be thought of as German. The same applies to Britain. I know many Indian people who have multiple generations living in London and they are still not thought of as British. That's not true of this country. Even threads like this demonstrate how amazing our country in the fact we address and talk about these issues instead of denying them.
Lastly, I'm Hispanic and I think the White people in this country deserve a lot of credit and are often not credited with civil rights and racial equality. People only remember Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks but without the thousands of Whites who marched alongside them and supported their movement, this country would still be segregated today. We would not have a Black President without Whites voting Obama. I raise this because after spending time in Europe, I realize the Whites in our country really do a lot and try to make amends for past sins and are not given credit. There were many brave Whites that bucked the system and their own people to help minorities and they should be recognized.
Well in Germany and some other nations in europe public displays of the Nazi flag or Nazi salute is illegal and you can be arrested for that. If you see nazi flags at soccer stadiums it would definetly not be in Germany or Austria and several other European nations.
Yes there are cases of the Roma being persecuted and even forced to segerate from the rest of the population that has been practised till very recently in Eastern Europe, however in western Europe the discrimination against the Roma is not as bad, thats one of the reasons alot of Roma from eastern Europe try to move to Western Europe.
Well for black players playing in European teams the people generally have no problem with them if they are playing their side if they are very good.
Well Chinese immigrants to Eastern Euorpe but they have not suffered much racism and racism against them can be rare there too, and even throughout Europe including Western Europe this is so, even USA too.
Last edited by other99; 02-15-2010 at 04:44 AM..
Reason: edit
I think every state is racist, it's just so deep into this country. Don't believe me that some of your beloved states are racist? Well go back and learn on our history. Personally, it's hard to say which ones are worse than the others because I have been to many states that are considered backwater-racist states and never had a problem.
Wow, this is a very good question, but unfortunately I don't think that there is an answer. My fiance and I have been searching for the sort of place where we can feel comfortable and where we know that our future children will never feel out of place or face any sort of overt discrimination ( as far as race goes, at least ) We both come from Maryland, me the city, him the country. And we both did experience both types ( white to black & black to white ), although for me personally, I took it a little differently. I am white and most of the racism that I received was usually when I went into areas where there were very few whites and I never felt like it was any type of judgement against me, only that their limited experiences with whites has led them to be very skeptical. As for my fiance's racial experiences, they were a little different, primarily because those that made racial judgements on him were usually in some position of power, so the dynamic was different. Police officers, supervisors at his job, etc. , so it wasn't just them not liking him because he was black, but rather, they were sizing him up as a potential thief, or liar, or whatever the case may be. However, now we are in a very different world, South Florida. The racism here is so pervasive that I don't think that people even realize that they are doing it. It is really unfortunate, I was very hopeful that when we moved here, things would be better racially because since there were so many different types of people, they would have to get along, what other choice is there ? But it seems there is a choice, turning every problem that you face, and every problem that your community faces into a result of there being too many: cubans, haitians, jamaicans, canadians, dominicans, blacks, whites, etc.
We are still hoping that we can one day find a place that is more open minded and welcoming to all kinds of people. Any ideas?
What I have come to find out is that diversity definately does not equal racial harmony.
I lived in Maryland and I did see some racism, on both sides. But not as bad as I did in Florida. As someone who was born and raised in the Sarasota Florida area I know exactly what you mean. There is a lot of racism in Florida and it is in your face! I think that some people do not give a rats bottom if they are racist! I know for a fact there are some banks in that area that will not give loans to minorities, regardless credit history etc... or areas of employment which do not even attempt to hire a minority, even if the entire community is minority.
In my personal experience both Northern Virginia (Fredericksburg to Arlington/Alexandria) and Massachusettes have been the worst places with respect to racial profiling by police and school teachers. I've lived in NC and SC...lots of opportunity and much more civil. None of that really overt stuff, despite the political rhetoric. Frankly SC has just too many black people to even call them a minority. The state is so relatively poor that the stratification is more economic and education based, then racial. I've found VA to be an awful place to raise children, especially boys.
All the of fine states that voted red this past election.
Correction: All the of fine states (and/or counties) that had red voting shifts this past election compared to last ones.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
