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Old 08-17-2016, 03:57 PM
 
Location: Austintown, OH
4,261 posts, read 8,125,281 times
Reputation: 5495

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I clearly stated that "As far as things to do in the area.. I didn't really have any expectations, thankfully".

I didn't expect it to be like living in LA, obviously. Or San Antonio, which is where I moved from. I knew what I was getting into, so, this isn't some "slam" against the area because I had something bad happen to me or I didn't like it. It was ok, but not for me. And if you aren't sure what you can do in LA that you can't do in SC, then I can't help you. Oh, and I was just in Chinatown, and lots of other ethnicity there. There is so much to do out here it is ridiculous.

And to the party scenario... they weren't invited. That's my point. And they would have probably been upset with the amount of n-words being thrown around if they were.

What I am doing, is painting a picture for someone who is moving from outside the area, which is something I did in November of 2013. So, I would actually think my perspective is a bit more inline with someone moving to the area as opposed to someone who has lived in the area for 30+ years. I think that it is fair to not only to share the good, but the bad as well and let people make their decision accordingly, not to try to sugar coat it or challenge everything someone says that you don't agree with. I know a couple of other people that moved down around the same time frame, and all but 1 has left, and the 1 remaining is leaving as soon as her daughter graduates high school. Why are they leaving? Pretty much the same reasons I gave.
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Old 08-17-2016, 04:03 PM
 
Location: Greenville SC 'Waterfall City'
10,106 posts, read 7,316,943 times
Reputation: 4072
I think that a majority of transplants would disagree with your perspective. a lot of my friends in school were transplants. a lot of them moved back there after college. maybe they are just 'boring' people.

from my perspective, i could do anything in Florence that I would want to do in LA. they have tennis courts, golf courses, etc in small cities too.

i can't see any good company in Florence allowing white people to drop the n word at work or at work related parties. that would be one of the easiest ways to lose your job. i'm not saying you are making it up but it is difficult to believe based on my own experiences. and you are using it to depict it as the norm in the city even though you didn't work at other companies.

if black people were not being invited to parties, you should have talked to the HR department about it.

do you mind sharing what company that you worked for? i have a friend that works at the Florence newspaper and I'd like to expose this company. based on your account, there should be a ton of witnesses.

Last edited by ClemVegas; 08-17-2016 at 04:48 PM..
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Old 08-17-2016, 05:03 PM
 
Location: Austintown, OH
4,261 posts, read 8,125,281 times
Reputation: 5495
The party thing, that had nothing to do with work or anyone at work at all. I said in my post that was referring to someone I had mentioned earlier.

Fortunately, we were able to get that cleaned up at work, still was a divide but better. I know people at other companies there and they speak of a similar divide.

You had and have your experiences, and I have had mine.

Hopefully, if our OP moves there, he will have more of your experience. That would be great!
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Old 08-17-2016, 05:09 PM
 
Location: Greenville SC 'Waterfall City'
10,106 posts, read 7,316,943 times
Reputation: 4072
Ok.

i wish there was a way to independently corroborate claims of white racism. it is a serious accusation and you've depicted it as typical in the area.

i still don't know what you mean by a 'divide'.

Last edited by ClemVegas; 08-17-2016 at 06:20 PM..
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Old 08-18-2016, 10:14 PM
 
152 posts, read 349,014 times
Reputation: 229
Quote:
Originally Posted by IonRedline08 View Post

As an example.. using the person I mentioned before.. Has a couple of black gentleman working for him.. Has a huge Christmas party every year in Darlington.... went three years, anywhere from 75-100 people there.. not one black person. No hispanics. Nothing. Other events I attended around the area had a similar feel to them.
Were the black and Hispanic persons who worked there not invited, or did they just choose not to go? I would surmise it was the latter. Just as there are likely many blacks who have large Christmas get togethers where no whites were there. It does not make either your employer, or black people who have blacks only parties racist.

Quote:
Other events I attended around the area had a similar feel to them.
"Other events"? I just went to some "other events" last month in NYC... a museum and a baseball game. In the museum, I could literally count on one hand the number of black folks among the hundreds...and I mean literally. I have dozens of similar demographic shots if you want to see them.



At the ball game, there may have been a few more black folks, but not many (though many Hispanics). And I was in the cheaper seats...



Does this make NYC, or the museum, or the NY Mets baseball team racist because of the dearth of black patrons? Of course not. Nor does the lack of blacks at any Florence "event" indicate any form of racism or racial exclusion. Should blacks be rounded up and carried to events to make the events more diverse?

Unfortunately, most social interaction in America is largely segregated, but not because of any sinister, racist design. Some is economic (i.e. exclusive country clubs). But most is due to freedom of choice by both blacks and whites and everyone else to what they want with whom they want. Real life interactions it seems is not what is depicted in TV commercials....for better or worse. And that's true whether it's SC, NY or California.
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Old 08-21-2016, 02:18 PM
 
1,521 posts, read 1,933,926 times
Reputation: 685
People of both races choose to do what they want to do or associate with people they want to associate with. In Florence, its not based off of race its based off of interest in most cases. A black person who shares interests with a group of white people will hang out with them, a white person who shares interests with a group of black people will hang out with them, if any person's interests are different than a group of people regardless of race, they probably wont hang out all that much.
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Old 04-25-2018, 01:12 AM
 
Location: Warminster, PA
70 posts, read 75,066 times
Reputation: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClemVegas View Post
when i see people on here talk about there being a bunch of racism, bigotry in Florence, or other SC cities, they never seem to provide any specific examples or anecdotes. Were there a bunch of white people saying the n word, etc. were white people beating up black people or insulting them?

how many people did you see engage in racist, homophobic behavior? 5, 10, 25, 100, 100 plus?

i get the impression many transplants have confirmaton bias, based on stereotypes of the south of yesteryear. i can't see too many white southerners who would make it known they are racist, even if they are in fact racist, and especially in the workplace because that could easily affect their employment. so it seems like you would need to be able to read minds to know if a person is racist.
I too have noticed the vague wording of racism, with no examples. I remember reading similar vague descriptions when I was researching Jacksonville, FL. When no reasons are given, people don't take it seriously.
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Old 04-25-2018, 03:47 PM
 
8,143 posts, read 13,198,297 times
Reputation: 2529
Having lived in Florence in the 1990s during my college years. I can say that when I was there I viewed the city as dull bland boring and to be populated with yeehahs and hoodlums...and you could be shot or stabbed if you ventured into most "clubs" unless you were a local. The only thing I appreciated about it was it was on the way to the beach and had good BBQ. This of course was through the eyes of an 18 yr old.

I didn't find the city overtly racist but I did find it so be segregated and many people were very comfortable not operating across racial lines. There was a sense of "it is what it is" and many people tended to openly display their prejudice which was often based on accepted sterotypes without question. They were usually genuinely shocked or stunned if you confronted them with their bias as again many had accepted this behavior as the norm Florence is not totally unique in that regard. There are a few SC cities and towns that are similiar

Fast forward to today I think the city has come a long way. The city is growing the downtown is thriving and the city seems to have a greater appreciation for diversity. I believe now the segregation is more income based (which I am not saying is great) but that fosters a greater level of interaction and acceptance in addition to the fact that there seems to be more interest and effort to make events venues and gatherings more diverse. It doesn't always happen but for the most part most places want to make people feel welcome when they do choose to interact as opposed to the "stare but don't speak" aka EF Hutton (Google it millis) effect most people think happens when someone walks into a public gathering dominated by another race
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