Can this type of racism be expected in most of South Carolina? (Columbia: campers, living)

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

West Virginia is considered to be a racist state as well.

Stepping in here as I was passing through, simply because I am originally from West Virginia, and can state from experience that the above is an awfully broad statement to make. In the cities like Charleston WV, Huntington, Parkersburg, and Beckley, there are considerable populations of black people, and in the larger of the cities, Eastern Indians, Asians, and other groups as well. Folks get along just fine. Now sure, get up on top of some obscure mountain somewhere and you're very likely to find people who have never even had contact with a black person before (or anyone else for that matter) and they may definitely be racist. But then again, go to ANY rural area anywhere - even New York State or California, and you can find plenty of racists to choose from. It's a rural thing - not a specific state thing.

Now, when I have gone to Charleston (SC) in the Historic district, I have noticed a low number of black tourists walking around. I had wondered in the past if maybe blacks were treated badly if they are in the district, so at work I asked my coworkers who were black what they thought of it, as many of them traveled around. Their answer - "We have no interest in going to Charleston". Further queries basically yielded answers that said they considered beaches the # 1 thing to do on a vacation, if they went at all, followed by simply visiting family who might live out of town. JUST beaches. No historic districts or walking tours or carriage rides - just beaches. At least from the 15 or so folks I quizzed, I didn't realize there was a racial different regarding vacation preferences, but it seems that way. So hence, my question maybe was answered as to why I don't see many blacks in Charleston's historic district - no racist treatment of the groups of folks - just no interest in being there. So some folks may go to an area and see no blacks or foreigners or anyone other than "White", and assume (maybe wrongly) that the reason these folks don't go there are because the locals are racist - when in fact maybe it's such a simple answer as that Whites prefer that type of entertainment over other groups. Maybe I'm wrong - it's just what I got from the Q&A about it via the coworkers.

Originally Posted by Rapunzll

One thing I do know is that in general, being white makes my life easier than it is for most people of other races. That should be something we can all agree on.

I think this is relative. Perhaps in Charleston being white makes your life easier. Same with Asheville, NC or Gatlinburg, TN. However, come over here to Atlanta and you have a definite advantage being black. Go to El Paso and being Hispanic will give you the upper edge. So it depends on the location in question if you're talking about people having advantages in general. No one group anymore will have an advantage everywhere in the U.S. We're too diverse for that as a nation now in 2009.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Columbiadata

Long before Strom Thurmond's retirement from the Senate he changed his views on race, and black people loved him and voted for him, so he's probably not the best example to use for a commentary on present-day South Carolinians as racists.

Present-day South Carolina residents re-elected Thurmond because he was an icon and a folk hero regardless of his views on race. That's why they kept re-electing him despite his obvious mental decline and senility in his latter years. If Thurmond had genuinely changed his views on race in his latter years, why did he continue to disavow the Black daughter he had? And if he was such an honest man who stood by his word then why did he have an affair with a Black Mistress during a time in which he was vocally opposed to Civil Rights. Thurmond was a politician so what did you expect him to say publicly if he sought re-election? I'm sorry but your assertion implies South Carolina residents lacked intelligence and I have a hard time believing they genuinely thought he reformed simply because of what he said publicly. David Duke also received black votes during his bid for the Senate. The majority of Blacks didn't vote for Strom Thurmond.

A better argument would have been to admit South Carolina residents didn't respect Thurmond's past or his stance on race but overlooked those things and voted for him due to all the other aspects he represented. But to pretend that South Carolina residents genuinely believed he reformed is pretty weak because I doubt most intelligent people believe that a life long racist and the leader of the opposition against Civil Rights suddenly feels differently. Either way, it still speaks poorly of the residents because they should have kicked him out of office a long time ago but they kept re-electing a known racist

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by Columbiadata

Long before Strom Thurmond's retirement from the Senate he changed his views on race, and black people loved him and voted for him, so he's probably not the best example to use for a commentary on present-day South Carolinians as racists.

This is true. A lot of Black politicians had good things to say about him when he died.

[davey123]

Atlantagreg, I think that your perspective is somewhat naive. First, racism is not just a "rural" thing; it happens in urban and surburban areas also. If you do not believe that's true, then you need to do a little more searching on the internet.

Second, you mentioned doing a Q/A quiz of 15 Black co-workers. From this quiz you were able to surmise that the paucity of Black tourists in the historic district of Charleston is due to the fact that Black people are just not interested in the historic district; they are only interested in the beaches. Hmmm. I wish that you would critically reflect on this for a moment. Surely you will see the fallacy in this logic.

Racism exists in rural, suburban, and urban areas. And yes, just in case you are wondering, it exists in Charleston also. The dynamics between Charleston and North Charleston are very interesting. I wonder what would happen if you "quizzed" 15 people in North Charleston. What would they say about racism in Charleston?

[princesasabia]

Dont move here, I cant wait to leave. SC is okay to visit if you want to visit Charleston or Greenville, other than that move somewhere else. I wouldnt't recommend anyone to move here. Im sure there are other states where you can move to.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by princesasabia

Dont move here, I cant wait to leave. SC is okay to visit if you want to visit Charleston or Greenville, other than that move somewhere else. I wouldnt't recommend anyone to move here. Im sure there are other states where you can move to.

That was very well-reasoned and objective.[/sarcasm]

[mrkool]

Originally Posted by beagledad

I've been considering relocating my family to coastal SC but more headlines like these are making me think twice...

Mike Green (@gopgreenhouse) on Twitter: "Just heard Obama is going to impose a 40 percent tax on aspirin because it's white and it works." GOP Green House (gopgreenhouse) on Twitter
Indigo Journal:: More SC Republican Racism (http://digg.com/d1tuPO - broken link)


"Rusty DePass, South Carolina GOP Activist, Says Escaped Gorilla Was Ancestor Of Michelle Obama"
Rusty DePass, South Carolina GOP Activist, Says Escaped Gorilla Was Ancestor Of Michelle Obama (VIDEO)


These are civic leaders making these comments. Scary. Is this common in SC or isolated incidents? Seems every week SC is in the headlines for these kinds of remarks.

<yawn> Big deal. But by all means, stay right where you are and don't relocate to S.C., since you are so scared by mere words and jokes.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by davey123

Second, you mentioned doing a Q/A quiz of 15 Black co-workers. From this quiz you were able to surmise that the paucity of Black tourists in the historic district of Charleston is due to the fact that Black people are just not interested in the historic district; they are only interested in the beaches. Hmmm. I wish that you would critically reflect on this for a moment. Surely you will see the fallacy in this logic.

You obviously missed parts of my post - especially the part where I said, "Maybe I'm wrong - it's just what I got from the Q&A about it via the coworkers.", as well as the part about my having observed the Historic District as a tourist - not a North Charleston vs Charleston resident perspective.

[pvjd]

You mentioned that being black in Atlanta gives you an advantage, but how can you say that when there is such an inequity in the distribution of wealth and power? Just because there are a large number of black people doesn't mean it is an advantage, with so many in poverty and so few that have ownership and actual control over things that effect their communities.

[davey123]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

You obviously missed parts of my post - especially the part where I said, "Maybe I'm wrong - it's just what I got from the Q&A about it via the coworkers.", as well as the part about my having observed the Historic District as a tourist - not a North Charleston vs Charleston resident perspective.

I responded to your post to suggest that it's not "maybe" -- it's "definitely."