[swanstone1]

My daughter just came home from work where a co-worker was talking about her kids softball game last night. She was talking about this black guy from TX, whose Dad is an ex pro ball player. The kid (early 20s) was filling in on a pinch and had a bad day. The crowd kept yelling that he was a stupid "n" word, dumb "n" word" and worthless "n" word. Hello!!!!!! And they say the south is prejudice!

This "kid" happens to be my daughters friend that is the most well spoken, well mannered young person I've met in VT! He has unlimited access to my home at any time and has been here often. I am just mortified that this behavior still exists. Guess white trash knows no state lines or North/South boundaries!

[joe moving]

hmmmmmm so is it your daughters friend, or your daughters co workers kid who heard about this? just wondering if something didn't get exaggerated over a game of telephone?

I am surprised there would be no action by the pitcher's team with words like this. haven't heard anything like that in public or otherwise in as long as i can remember.

[swanstone1]

Originally Posted by joe moving

hmmmmmm so is it your daughters friend, or your daughters co workers kid who heard about this? just wondering if something didn't get exaggerated over a game of telephone?

I am surprised there would be no action by the pitcher's team with words like this. haven't heard anything like that in public or otherwise in as long as i can remember.

My daughter was at work for 10 hours today (leaves at 4 am) and was talking about what the other person did the evening before. (Adult softball team) The co-worker mentioned the "black" guy from Texas that cost the game-and since we ARE from Texas it piqued her curiosity and she HAPPENED to ask the guys name..........Lo and behold it turned out to be her friend. Coincidence???? How many young 20's black men, from Texas that play ball are living in the St J area?

My daughter's friend was embarrassed when she called him after work to ask if he was ok and he asked "how did you know?" No, I am not a reverse racist and I've never encountered this before-ANYWHERE. However, if the shoe fits............

[GreenMountainMan]

Yes racism exists in Vermont to a certain extent. The state is 99% white and majority of the small towns and cities in Vermont are all white and they never seen a black person or hispanic person in person before, only on tv.

About the only diverse areas in Vermont is Rutland, Burlington, Barre, Montpiler and Brattleboro. Indeed it is sad to see racism still around in 2011 in Vermont of all places, but it is what it is.

[arctichomesteader]

Racism in Vermont is usually more hidden. It doesn't help that most of the "diversity" many see or hear of are the drug dealers in Rutland or such, rather than the educated non-Whites that go unnoticed...

That reminds me of an incident in Rutland where some Rutland High School sports team mocked some foreign students from MSJ (Finnish if I remember right? White even...).

[Hatless Wonder]

This sounds like something that would make the news out here.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by swanstone1

My daughter just came home from work where a co-worker was talking about her kids softball game last night. She was talking about this black guy from TX, whose Dad is an ex pro ball player. The kid (early 20s) was filling in on a pinch and had a bad day. The crowd kept yelling that he was a stupid "n" word, dumb "n" word" and worthless "n" word. Hello!!!!!! And they say the south is prejudice!

This "kid" happens to be my daughters friend that is the most well spoken, well mannered young person I've met in VT! He has unlimited access to my home at any time and has been here often. I am just mortified that this behavior still exists. Guess white trash knows no state lines or North/South boundaries!

The coworker told your daughter that the 'crowd' kept yelling racial epithets.

How large was this crowd? And of that crowd, what was the actual number of people yelling racial epithets?

Concerned coworker turned a blind eye during the event making her just as bad as the dolts shouting the 'n' word.

[harry chickpea]

Perhaps "wanna be" racists is a better term for those recidivist sports fans. IIRC, there were a couple of klan groups at one time in the state, one in Barre and one around Rutland. They dried up pretty quickly. I could be wrong on there being two groups though.

There was also a eugenics movement in Vermont in the 30s that even made it into schools for a little while. The primary intolerance in the state was more religion than race though, likely from past historical events and divisions, and racism was more aimed towards Italians and Irish.

Blacks were VERY rare in Vermont until the 1970s. There was a black army unit stationed at Ft. Ethan Allen back in the... 1940s? They had been given strict instructions by their superiors on how to act, and they made an overall good impression on many Vermonters who had never seen a black before. Waterbury and Stowe had a couple of black families, that were industrious and well thought of. I run across photos of them from time to time, showing them mixed in with the everyday activities and celebrations of the 1800s.

[LisaMc46]

I didn't hear anyone my age use the term "colored" until I moved to Vermont. Prior to that, my grandparents were the only people who referred to blacks that way.

There certainly are some racist people here. I once had someone corner me at a party and explain how he was upset that his daughter is dating a black man because "they're all on welfare and they don't like to work." But, overall, it's no worse than when I lived in N.J. in an area that was much more ethnically diverse. In N.J., it's just more covert.

Most people here are liberal and will go out of their way to befriend a black or hispanic person b/c then they can say they have friends of different races.

I am hispanic and while I've never been called a **** here I constantly get double-takes. People in my small town just aren't used to seeing olive-skinned, black-haired women with ethnic features, I guess.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by LisaMc46

Most people here are liberal and will go out of their way to befriend a black or hispanic person b/c then they can say they have friends of different races.

It is your position that whites befriend people of other races in order to say they have friends of different races? Isn't making an assumption like that a tad racist?