How are Blacks accepted in West VA? (Charleston, Hinton: felons, college)

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by affi

Since Obama lost West Virgina by a landslide and I have heard of racist acts in West Virginia, How is it up there?

Are Blacks accepted?

Is it diverse?

Please tell me. Thanx.

By the way, since you asked, "how is it up there?" you must be from the south. Compared to the south, West Virginia would appear to be the safe end of the underground railroad. There is racism everywhere by all races but West Virginians are pretty tolerant of all people unless you say something they don't like about West Virginia.

[GottaHerdOn]

I'm a big Hillary supporter, always have and always will be. I've always liked her more than Bill, even though I liked him a lot too. During the race between Hillary and Obama, when the slurs started coming at West Virginia and Kentucky for supporting Hillary by 40-50-60%, and how we were "all" racists and bigots... I asked the question that if we were racists, does that make all the states Obama beat Hillary in "SEXIST" states??? The media jumped on the Obama wagon a long time ago. Why I'm glad they didn't jump on the McCain wagon, it really pissed me off to see them slinging it all over Hillary while painting her as "just trying to make a scene" The media has made me so angry ever since the Sago mining disaster a few years back, which was not portrayed correctly (my mother was there on call from St. Joe's) and they just totally took this previous election and made WV look like a bunch of racists. The sad thing is, people today are so impressionable from the media they will believe anything the news tells them. DK blames in on the liberals, I've tried telling him I'm a flaming liberal and I don't appreciate them or their views much either. I think they flip flop too much and aggravate the hell out of everyone.

In closing...

West Virginia is not a "racist" state. West Virginia has black people, while it may be a smaller percentage than many other more urban or southern states, we do have plenty of black residents. What West Virginia does not tolerate though is trouble makers! These kids or 30 year old kid wanna be’s, whether they're black, white, or pink, that go around with doo rags on their heads, pants down passed their butts, dealing drugs, leaching the welfare system, can't speaking a word or proper English, and spout the "n" word in their daily vocabulary... Those are the kind of people we don't really respect much. Its not about color, its about your actions and how treat others. Which should be with respect

[r601020]

Originally Posted by GottaHerdOn

. . . . whether they're black, white, or pink, that go around with doo rags on their heads, pants down passed their butts, dealing drugs, leaching the welfare system, can't speaking a word or proper English, and spout the "n" word in their daily vocabulary... Those are the kind of people we don't really respect much. Its not about color, its about your actions and how treat others. Which should be with respect

I saw a young man on the street the other day, probably in his 20's, and discussed this with a black friend, that it was odd I didn't know what race he was (black, white, chicano, asian . . I guess they all look the same to me in that costume), but we both agreed he was looking for trouble, and it's sad to say, it will probably find him.

[Buzz123]

Gotta, you are right. I was in the media for 32 years. I am married to a former reporter/news anchor who quit the business when she realized the truth about the news media. Later, I got out because "NEWS" completely took over television which was originally an entertainment medium. TV was supposed to broadcast in the public interest. It now broadcasts in the interest of the news media. Here's something people should keep in mind when watching news...you can't believe ANYTHING they say. Every reporter is either told what to say, or has their mind made up what they will say, BEFORE they go out on a story. Most of the video that you see is staged, or is edited to look like what they want it to look like and make you believe.

As the guy in charge of programming and promotion at five different TV stations, I did survey after survey of viewers who said they wanted more positive news. After every survey the News Directors would laugh and say that people only answer that way because it sounds good, but they really want sensationalism. So forget what you and I want to see...the news guy knows what's best for us. And the managers know this, but they go along because it makes them very rich, not to mention the power it gives them.

BTW: You probably weren't around when Kennedy ran in West Virginia. We kept hearing him refer to Appalachia, and we'd ask each other where the he** is this Appalachia? We live in West Virginia.

[affi]

Sorry If i cause any confusion. I was Just asking a few questions. No reason for name calling. God Bless!!

[WVUPharm2007]

Originally Posted by affi

Sorry If i cause any confusion. I was Just asking a few questions. No reason for name calling. God Bless!!

You should understand that we have to put up with this bull**** all the time. We find it annoying that its something that we even need to address. The media and the meme that is pop culture have done such a fine job of artificially creating "problems" for WV to have that our real problems tend to get ignored.

It's nothing against you, honest. It's that which made you believe those things about us in the first place that makes us respond as such. It does anger us deeply. Imagine a white man walking up to a black man and asking him if he likes watermelons and fried chicken. It's along the same lines. We WILL go ballistic if we are accused of being ignorant racists. Frankly, I think we have the right to.

[David Kennedy]

WVUPharm:

You hit it exactly on the head with your post...I think people in general had a better knowledge of Wv in the 80's and 90's...I must attend meetings from time to time and those meetings have an influx of 'Dumbed-down Dweebs who have been born in the last 30 years...they are the experts and have the 'same old, same old Liberal Arts? Degrees.
Where have the General Studies gone? These people have a very limited background and it shows when they try to speak and heaven forbid that they write anything...
I ususally spend the conference times counting the uh's, the 'likes' the 'and,uh? as they have nothing to drive any presentation...
If they are 'out of state...they tell us what we should be doing...what a laugh...these experts...on Appalachia who think we are still a more feeble part of Virginia.

Affi: As we used to say in the Corps..."Get your head and a** wired together."
and don't take any offense...you asked the questions...

[NOVAmtneer82]

First of all we can easily admit that there are racists everywhere and that it isn't usually unique to just the African American culture.

That being said, racism does exist in WV, even in Kanawha County where I grew up. There is a certain high school in north Kanawha where not ONE single African American has graduated from since it's opening in the 1960s. Believe me, I had the luck of going to one of the feeder middle schools before my parents got some sense and moved back into Charleston. I've never met more racist bigoted people in my life than those in the northern part of Kanawha County and its twenty minutes from the capital and largest city in the state. I can't imagine how people act in other parts.

I think many people in WV try to be subtle about their racist views but when you still hear people refer to African Americans as "coloreds" or when they see a bi-racial family and say "I feel sorry for those poor children," you know it still exists. A lot of it I think is from sheer lack of exposure to other races, many places in the state are 99.99999% white so therefore these people have had little chance to be exposed to real world diversity.

I think everyone on this forum seems very tolerant and accepting of other races, but let's not pretend we don't know people in WV who act like that, and if you don't you aren't looking very hard.

[gcopezsanders]

Thank you for your honesty and candor. People that get angry at the question asked and decry the fact that racism exists just prove the point. Maybe you have to experience it to believe it, but you shouldnt.

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by mtneeratheart

A lot of it I think is from sheer lack of exposure to other races, many places in the state are 99.99999% white so therefore these people have had little chance to be exposed to real world diversity.

That's not a very good argument. If it were true, Mississippi (highest # of blacks) would be the most tolerant state in the nation. From what I see, the most tolerant states are nearly all white, like Minnesota and Vermont.