[chj]

Originally Posted by Ben Around

Come on, Mawoods. What racial killings? Please give us some cites. Did the Governor of NY ever try to block black students from attending any state universities? Did any NYers bomb a church and kill 4 little girls? Were there laws on the books in NY banning blacks from voting? Were there separate sections of restaurants and separate rest rooms for blacks in NY? Did blacks have to sit in the back of any bus in NY? Did the police chief of any city in NY ever turn fire hoses on blacks demonstrating for civil rights?

Don't dump on other states to justify or minimize the things that happened in your own state.

But here's the deal: Alabama in 2010 is much different than Alabama in 1960. There is undoubtably still some racism there, just as there was and is in New York. Alabama is a beautiful state with a lot going for it. Lots of good people there.

My point? Many Americans still have negative feelings towards AL because of the ugliness that was there 50 years ago. It's gonna linger, especially to those of us who remember those days. I'm guessing you may be young and have no rememberance of this. I don't blame Alabamans for wanting to forget about this. I would too if these things happened in my state.

what about chicago?

Race Riots

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by chj

what about chicago?

Race Riots

What about it? Are you trying to tell us that the Governor of IL tried to block black students from attending any state universities, that Chciagoans bombed a church and killed 4 little girls, that IL had laws on the books banning blacks from voting, that there were separate sections of restaurants and separate rest rooms for blacks, that blacks had to sit in the back of any bus in Chicago, that the Chicago police chief turned fire hoses on blacks who were peacefully demonstrating for civil rights? yes, there were riots in Chicago and most other major American cities in the 60s, but these were a whole 'nother thing. There's just no comparo between what happened in the South between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Act and northern racial unrest. The main difference is the absence of INSTITUTIONAL racism in the north. Yes, there was and is racism, but it wasn't codified and enforced by officials as it was in the South.

[Southlander]

So, Ben, are you implying that one racism is better than another?

[WestCobb]

Originally Posted by cpg35223

Laziness. I have yet to visit a state that didn't have beautiful places to live and great people.

Haven't been to Kansas yet, eh?

[chj]

Originally Posted by Ben Around

What about it? Are you trying to tell us that the Governor of IL tried to block black students from attending any state universities, that Chciagoans bombed a church and killed 4 little girls, that IL had laws on the books banning blacks from voting, that there were separate sections of restaurants and separate rest rooms for blacks, that blacks had to sit in the back of any bus in Chicago, that the Chicago police chief turned fire hoses on blacks who were peacefully demonstrating for civil rights? yes, there were riots in Chicago and most other major American cities in the 60s, but these were a whole 'nother thing. There's just no comparo between what happened in the South between the Civil War and the Civil Rights Act and northern racial unrest. The main difference is the absence of INSTITUTIONAL racism in the north. Yes, there was and is racism, but it wasn't codified and enforced by officials as it was in the South.

No all I am pointing out is that the north has had racial issues just like the south has. You are trying to justify racism in the north by saying that the government did not have anything to do with it.

[PortCity]

Ben you are acting like racism in the North is justifiable.Yes Governer Wallace tried to stop blacks from going to universities but what make that any worse than the noose hanging in a SOUTH CALIFORNIA UNIVERISTY a few weeks ago ?

[EvilExquiste]

My parents are from Alabama and I visit the state multiple times every year. There is still open racism and I am told to avoid going to certain areas with my friends down there. It was unbelievable actually this happening in 2010. It also reminds me of why Alabama didn't let blacks and whites marry until the year 2000. Along with Alabama's racist past, it is easy to see why others give Alabama a bad rep. I don't see how anyone would ever want to live there. People appear nice for the most part, but that is just part of the culture doesn't mean they actually like you, or want to help you when you are in need. It just seems overly fake to me. Don't get me wrong, I think Alabama is a great, beautiful state, but most of it is far too rural for me.

[harry chickpea]

<shrug> What people think is more a reflection of their own minds than any reality. I was in college in Brooklyn the year after the Bed-Sty riots. It was... interesting. I've been at Wolfies on Miami Beach where the racism by one often target group was palpable. In reading my mother's report of a 1940s trip around the U.S., I saw she noted the separate drinking fountains and restrooms in ... Washington D.C.. I went through Birmingham and Bessemer in the summer of 1963. I remember it being hot, dirty, and a place where you could get 5 cent hamburgers, but was a good place to have in the rear-view mirror. In the 1980s, I ran a business in the same area. Places change, the old bitter people die and the new generation looks with fresh eyes. Read "Travels With Charlie" sometime. You'll never think about New Orleans the same way you do now.

As for some of us hating California - put me in that category. Yes, I've been there. Beautiful place, horrible government. However, forty years ago I would have jumped at the chance to live there.

The point of this ramble being that we are located in four dimensions that we perceive, if we move 10 miles north, south, east, west, up or down, we expect things to change. Some people miss the fact that as you move forward or back in time things can change as well.

[marmac]

-----forty years ago I would have jumped at the chance to live there-----

A few of my cousins moved there when discharged from the military after WWII.( 60+ years ago )

I'll bet they thought it was paradise compared to Minnesota.

They are all deceased now.

[mccarley]

Originally Posted by Jumpman023

, so why the hate?

Its just probably the good folks up north feeling bad cause they missed the era of carpetbagging and this is all they can do.