White and Asian Family (Asheville: middle-class, neighborhood, public schools)

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by JimBrown1962

Well you know what, the staring and rude attitudes are pretty much not worth even a second thought, because yeah you are right, you really don't know. But it's the words that people like to throw at my kids and my wife that are pretty obvious, like "slant eye, and ch**k." This makes it pretty certain, don't you think? All it takes is a couple of times and you start getting a dim view of people, and maybe a little paranoid.

But, when I asked the question I guess I didn't realize that people would think I am stereotyping, and I didn't think there would be people on the website that would be "stung" by the line of questioning. My sincere apologies, and it's the last thing I wanted to do is insult others.

I'm not sure why anyone would be offended by your post - I thought it was a valid question, lots of people ask questions like this in other state forums. Personally, I am not offended at all by people asking a question such as this. It's good to know what to expect from an area before making a drastic change in lifestyle like a move to another city or state.

[Fitz]

I'm not personally offended by JB's post, but if this type of discrimination is a problem all over the country, then there is no use in asking the question about Asheville. If there is a need to ask, then it's fair to assume that the person is subscribing to some preconceived idea or stereotype.

If you think this issue hasn't been dealt with extensively on the NC forums, then use the search function:

keyword "discrimination"

keyword "racism"

I hope that he and his family have a nice visit this weekend.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by JimBrown1962

Well you know what, the staring and rude attitudes are pretty much not worth even a second thought, because yeah you are right, you really don't know. But it's the words that people like to throw at my kids and my wife that are pretty obvious, like "slant eye, and ch**k." This makes it pretty certain, don't you think? All it takes is a couple of times and you start getting a dim view of people, and maybe a little paranoid.

But, when I asked the question I guess I didn't realize that people would think I am stereotyping, and I didn't think there would be people on the website that would be "stung" by the line of questioning. My sincere apologies, and it's the last thing I wanted to do is insult others.

Hey, no harm done - don't sweat it I was just trying to point out how a question like this looks from our perspective (and we do get asked this A LOT). Have a great trip!

[JBsunny]

I have observed throughout my lifetime that anyone who is not "white" in this country is DISCRIMINATED against in some way, shape or form. It does not matter if you are Native American, (who have gotten and are still getting the worst of it) or HIspanic, Asian, or ALIEN. Doesn't matter. The WASPS look down on everyone else. I have lived in several different parts of the country and this seems to be the norm no matter where you are.

[TribalCat]

I swear I must live in a bubble. It's hard for me to understand why in 2007 people still get upset over color. I don't get it. People are people are people. You have good ones and bad ones regardless of color. I've seen posts from people who won't move to a town unless it has at least 90% white people. What's up with that?

I've lived in California, Virginia, North Carolina, Hawai'i, Japan, Maryland, Oregon, Iran, Wyoming, and Colorado. I'm Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, Spanish, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and French. I was raised by a Japanese mother and a Scottish-Irish father. Diversity is normal for me. The only place we ever had a problem was in North Carolina...BUT that was over 40 years ago! I'm hoping times have changed since then. Asheville is one place I'm considering moving to. Please tell me things are different now.

[mm34b]

Nothing much going on in the state of North Carolina.

StateMaster - Statistics > Hate Crimes > Race related (per capita) (Latest available) by state (broken link)

[hmfbusa]

I am in an interracial marriage. The racial undertones are not really noticed unless they are directed at you. If you are not involved in an interacial situation you may never experience the racism. My wife nor her family never saw it until she married me, now they see it clearly because they are affected.
It is a valid question.
Asheville is very open. The surrounding areas seem to be less accepting in a lot of cases.
For the record I am from Hendersonville originally but have lived in Asheville and other parts of the world,(not an Army situation) . There are some really nice people here but there are pockets and sometimes I think the war is still going on...not the one in Iraq either.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by hmfbusa

I am in an interracial marriage. The racial undertones are not really noticed unless they are directed at you. If you are not involved in an interacial situation you may never experience the racism. My wife nor her family never saw it until she married me, now they see it clearly because they are affected.
It is a valid question.
Asheville is very open. The surrounding areas seem to be less accepting in a lot of cases.
For the record I am from Hendersonville originally but have lived in Asheville and other parts of the world,(not an Army situation) . There are some really nice people here but there are pockets and sometimes I think the war is still going on...not the one in Iraq either.

I don't care if you're married to an albino African pygmy or adopted an Eskimo. You made some choices that came with complications. Try walking aound in the world with a child who was born with a disability. You will get lots of stares and occasionally rude remarks too. It's sometimes a cruel world; get to the back of the line if you're waiting for special treatment.

[chickypea]

my experiences with racism and elitism are the opposite of someone posting above. i am "mixed" and/or "foreign" in appearance and have never felt more at home than in madison county, where i've lived the better part of 20 years. i appear to be latino, indian, middle eastern, etc. and date interracially (black, white, asian, etc.) and have NEVER had a sense of rudeness from anywhere outside of asheville in this area. when i lived in the "historic Montford" area, however, i often felt the sting from white neighbors as well as some black neighbors who disapproved ... i would avoid the elitist asheville area and head for the hills ... asheville has changed from being the funky, diverse community of artists it once was to being mostly homogenized affluent folk with a general disdain for "local" persons ... (IN MY EXPERIENCE AND OPINION)

[hmfbusa]

Originally Posted by Fitz

I don't care if you're married to an albino African pygmy or adopted an Eskimo. You made some choices that came with complications. Try walking aound in the world with a child who was born with a disability. You will get lots of stares and occasionally rude remarks too. It's sometimes a cruel world; get to the back of the line if you're waiting for special treatment.

Sorry about you child. But no where did I implicate that I wanted special treatment. I did relate my experience on Mixed relationships in the area. The subject in this thread is mixed relationships; you have a special needs child. Not the same.