A question about bigotry in Wyoming (Cheyenne, Casper: university, live, move to)

[SkunkApe]

Last week, the truck belonging to my neighbors was vandalized. It was spray painted with the words "SPICK" (sp) and "GO BACK TO MEXICO".

Here's a link to the police report (first item):

Casper Star-Tribune Online - Casper

[NVDave]

Here's a little news snippet for people who think that a) Wyoming is filled with white power yahoos, and b) who think that 'progressive' states are all rainbows, skittles and unicorns:

Growing hate groups blame Obama, economy - CNN.com

NB that little snippet in there about which state has the most hate groups? California, with 84.

Michigan has one of the larger neo-nazi movements in the nation.

Now, here's a little historical quiz for those who get their knickers in a knot over this stuff: Tell us which state in the US had about one-third of its state legislature controlled by the KKK at the peak of the KKK's power?

Hint #1: It wasn't Wyoming.

Hint #2: It wasn't in the south.

A couple more quiz items for those who are still obsessed about this stuff:

Which state first elected a Jewish governor? And in what year?

Hint: It wasn't east of the Mississippi. Hint #2 - This state today is unfairly branded by the press as a supposed hot-bed of white supremacist noise.

[Redraven]

Originally Posted by Drew303

So when I was called the "N" word, it is bacause its what I put out? Damn it why did I go looking for racial problems like that?

Maybe, maybe not. There will always be those who use that word just to get your goat. It would appear they succeeded!
Now, to explain my statement;
when I was in the Navy, there were two types of Negro people; Those who fit in with the crowd, who would sit anywhere in the mess hall, and those were accepted as "just folks". Then, there were the ones who kept strictly to the Negro crowd, who had to say "MF" twice in every sentence, who were avoided by ALL other races, who talked ghetto trash talk all the time, who made no effort to fit in, and who caused the majority of the racial problems.
Guess which ones were called the dreaded "N" word?
Or, take the drunk, sitting on the curb, puking into the storm drain. If he (or she) is white, he/she is "poor white trash" (reinforcing a stereotype). If he/she is Irish, he/she is a "drunken Irishman" (reinforcing a stereotype). If he/she is an American Indian, well, it is OBVIOUS, reinforcing a stereotype.
If you don't like the stereotype that has been assigned to your group, it behooves YOU to do everything in your power to wipe that stain from the face of the earth! No one else can do it for you, you and your entire group need to do it for yourselves!
OK, you had the "N" word thrown at you. Now, the question arises, WHY? Was it merely a bigotted idiot who didn't know any better? Was it just to get under your skin, as I already postulated? (if so, it apparently worked, or should we say YOU allowed it to work?) Or, is it possible something in your manner or actions brought it on? those are questions only YOU can answer, we were not there, we don't know.
Now, have I ever been on the recieving end? Oh, yes. Memphis, 1959. A rather startling education for this Northern white boy. Beale Street, downtown, OFF LIMITS TO WHITE MILITARY PERSONNEL. I wallked into the bus station to use the rest room, and a Negro man came up to me and said "Honky, you best get the %@#%% outta here, you don't $%^belong on this side of the bus station. I thanked him for setting me straight, and left. I soon learned to stay away from where I wasn't wanted. since I am, shall we say, "athleticly disadvantaged" (read "p-poor at sports, any sports"), I have also been on the recieving end of bigotry from my own race. Non-jocks are anathema to all races, you know. Even teachers (especially P.E. teachers) look down on them!
It is seldom noted, but segregation worked both ways, as does racism.

[Drew303]

Originally Posted by Redraven

when I was in the Navy, there were two types of Negro people; Those who fit in with the crowd, who would sit anywhere in the mess hall, and those were accepted as "just folks". Then, there were the ones who kept strictly to the Negro crowd, who had to say "MF" twice in every sentence, who were avoided by ALL other races, who talked ghetto trash talk all the time, who made no effort to fit in, and who caused the majority of the racial problems.
Guess which ones were called the dreaded "N" word?

Your logic makes no sense. Just because somebody doesnt act like you, they are called the "N" word? Thats the stupidest thing ive ever heard, and a pretty weak attempt to justify calling others the "N" word.

[Redraven]

Originally Posted by Drew303

Your logic makes no sense. Just because somebody doesnt act like you, they are called the "N" word? Thats the stupidest thing ive ever heard, and a pretty weak attempt to justify calling others the "N" word.

Actually, I have never been one to use that word. also, this was a LONG time ago, back when the word was quite common, ESPECIALLY in the Negro community. In the example I gave, the word was used BY Negroes to describe OTHER Negroes that they didn't particularly care for, and with whom they would not associate!
your opinion is noted, and if I ever meet any of those Negro guys again, I will be sure to let them know how stupid you think they were almost 50 years ago.

[robertjohnson]

Another brand new poster. Innocent and kind bi racial couple just wondering ............
All those white folks. You know how they are. So many together in one isolated place.
Just asking. Will they eat our kids? Think bad thoughts? 95% 97% white? Can't be good.
Just asking..............

[Redraven]

Originally Posted by robertjohnson

Another brand new poster. Innocent and kind bi racial couple just wondering ............
All those white folks. You know how they are. So many together in one isolated place.
Just asking. Will they eat our kids? Think bad thoughts? 95% 97% white? Can't be good.
Just asking..............

We COULD turn that around, you know. As a Northern white boy way back when, I was often very apprehensive in Memphis. It was my first experience dealing with Negro folks. Oh, yes, I had been around other races, Indians and orientals, but BLACK folks? Oh, wow! Not many of THEM in Northwestern Montana! That was a totally new, kind of scary experience! Obviously, the military thought so too, why else would the downtown blocks of Beale Street have been OFF LIMITS to WHITE personnel!

[Tex?Il?]

Although this is a generalization:

Let me let you in on something many people really don't know about cultural geography of America. We see a map and we see red states and blue states. We drive through places and see isolated towns on open highways an dense cosmopolitan cities in blue states. However, people are not going to really investigate the regional diversity of those places.

Truth is: college towns (ie. Laramie), boom towns (Gillette) and tourist attractions towns (Jackson) in red-rural-Republican states

are likely going to be more laid-back, more open-minded and more liberal than many Suburban areas outside Americas "world class cities."

My family includes many second generation Chicago-Polaks were blue-collared people that worked hard and now live in sterile McMansions in a northwest suburban called Barrington. They are very proud they acheived the American dream, but really are quite defensive about what they earned (very fiscally conservative, nothing wrong with that though). Many white blue collared Polish-Italian-Irish, etc. generally lived in working class neighborhoods at some point in the city and may have had run-ins with blacks and hispanics and therefore are also quick to deny they have any racist ideas.

you get bland people like that (big houses, not books, take lame trips (ie: Orlando)) and will assume they are more sophisticated because they live near a "world class city"

Now, Laramie and other college towns in more rural states concentrate the best and brightest and most open-minded in those state and (curious about other cultures because it is all new to them).

Therefore from my experience Laramie, and Marquette, MI the other town I went to college in, were more liberal and open minded than many friends and family I had in the Chicago suburbs. Seriously.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by NVDave

Here's a little news snippet for people who think that a) Wyoming is filled with white power yahoos, and b) who think that 'progressive' states are all rainbows, skittles and unicorns:

Growing hate groups blame Obama, economy - CNN.com

NB that little snippet in there about which state has the most hate groups? California, with 84.

Michigan has one of the larger neo-nazi movements in the nation.

Now, here's a little historical quiz for those who get their knickers in a knot over this stuff: Tell us which state in the US had about one-third of its state legislature controlled by the KKK at the peak of the KKK's power?

Hint #1: It wasn't Wyoming.

Hint #2: It wasn't in the south.

A couple more quiz items for those who are still obsessed about this stuff:

Which state first elected a Jewish governor? And in what year?

Hint: It wasn't east of the Mississippi. Hint #2 - This state today is unfairly branded by the press as a supposed hot-bed of white supremacist noise.

Indiana.

[Drew303]

Originally Posted by Redraven

It was my first experience dealing with Negro folks. !

I didnt know people still used the word "negro." You wouldnt happen to be older than 60 would you?