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Coming from a city that is majority black in the south, in the outskirts of Atlanta, as a white boy I got to be the second generation after the civil rights movement, I got to watch my great-grandparents, grandparents and other elders change their perceptions of society. 20 yrs ago I would have said they were pretty racist, however these days it isn't even remotely close to how it was. Most have adjusted to this new way and are teaching their offspring to be more accepting.
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,524,412 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EclecticEars
Quite honestly, the rural South is no worse in terms of racism and community acceptance of different races than urban California, which I live near now. Some of the worst race riots, in fact, have occurred in L.A. and Oakland. Been to San Francisco lately? Beneath the veneer of tolerance and peace lies a very segregated and classist city.
I don't buy arguements like this. Since Obama's been elected, there was a poll and 80 to 90% that believed he is actually a Muslim who was born in Kenya...are from.....drumroll, the South. So what does that tell you?
I don't buy arguements like this. Since Obama's been elected, there was a poll and 80 to 90% that believed he is actually a Muslim who was born in Kenya...are from.....drumroll, the South. So what does that tell you?
Did they say how many people were polled? Did they say how the poll was administered? Surely you're smart enough to realize that poll results can be presented any way to enforce a certain belief.
Polls are nice for fun, but anybody that actually takes them as a serious picture of any reality is silly.
I don't buy arguements like this. Since Obama's been elected, there was a poll and 80 to 90% that believed he is actually a Muslim who was born in Kenya...are from.....drumroll, the South. So what does that tell you?
Where is this poll?
^^^
If the South is "oh so racist," why aren't more of the blacks (which are the majority in a lot of southern states) moving up to the "oh so tolerant blue states?" (which are almost always more white than anything lol)
Maybe because the blue states aren't the tolerant rainbow-filled places that they say they are. Trust me, I live here, and I've seen a ton of racism. I know a lot of people who are actually afraid of blacks. I've seen the KKK here. I've heard people back when I was in high school throw racial slurs at the black people bused in from Hartford to our rural little town, and these are the same people who liked to say they were "tolerant."
There's racism everywhere. There's a lot of old-timers that still cling onto their beliefs that they had 50 years ago, both in the South and anywhere else. But I get sick of hearing the whole "the South is just full of racist, redneck, bigoted, stupid, religious wingnuts" that I hear often. It's getting old and tiring. And most people who say that haven't even been down South. They should look around in their own neighborhood for once, and stop believing overused stereotypes. I saw a lot more interaction between whites and blacks when I went down to Georgia than I have here in NE. *shrugs*
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,524,412 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UTHORNS96
Did they say how many people were polled? Did they say how the poll was administered? Surely you're smart enough to realize that poll results can be presented any way to enforce a certain belief.
Polls are nice for fun, but anybody that actually takes them as a serious picture of any reality is silly.
The last sentence you said only works when it is suits your fancy....I'm sure you've sworn by at least 1 poll in your life. Anyone who doesn't think that the rural South is not more racist than any other part of the US, needs to wake up.
^^^
If the South is "oh so racist," why aren't more of the blacks (which are the majority in a lot of southern states) moving up to the "oh so tolerant blue states?" (which are almost always more white than anything lol)
Maybe because the blue states aren't the tolerant rainbow-filled places that they say they are. Trust me, I live here, and I've seen a ton of racism. I know a lot of people who are actually afraid of blacks. I've seen the KKK here. I've heard people back when I was in high school throw racial slurs at the black people bused in from Hartford to our rural little town, and these are the same people who liked to say they were "tolerant."
There's racism everywhere. There's a lot of old-timers that still cling onto their beliefs that they had 50 years ago, both in the South and anywhere else. But I get sick of hearing the whole "the South is just full of racist, redneck, bigoted, stupid, religious wingnuts" that I hear often. It's getting old and tiring. And most people who say that haven't even been down South. They should look around in their own neighborhood for once, and stop believing overused stereotypes. I saw a lot more interaction between whites and blacks when I went down to Georgia than I have here in NE. *shrugs*
*gets popcorn*
That map looks kind of "strange" for the Central-Northwestern quadrant of Ohio.
You don't live in SW Connecticut do you? I have family in Bridgeport.
But anyway, your post is spot on. I'm in school here in Cincinnati and I see the same things here in Cincinnati and all through out Ohio. There are white people I have come across at school who are from small towns in Ohio who have never interacted with a black person in their lives prior to college. Hell, there are people from metro Cincy that haven't interacted with a black person until college. I can tell some of them initally feel uncomfortable interacting with me until they recognize that I'm "safe" to talk to. I'm not an intimidating looking guy by any means. I'm a 6 foot, slim lanky black dude that typically wears wayfarer glasses (sometimes), corduroy pants, TOMS and a peacoat, yet white people will sometimes cross the street when I'm approaching them. All they see is skin color
Down south, I notice a lot more interaction between blacks and whites, while people view the "north" as everyone of different races holding hands and singing kumbaya and the south as white people still out looking to hang a black person. Overall, I think race relations are better down south because white people are used to being in close proximity to black people and have been doing so for decades now. In most of the northern areas, it is fairly easy for white people to segregate themselves if they so desire.
Another thing is that white dudes down south seem to be less intimidated by black guys. They'll hang out with you, but they're also not afraid to go "toe to toe" with you if you disrespect them. Frankly, I know some white guys that would probably beat the dust off a black dude if it came down to it. I can't say a know a whole lot of those types around here.
But to answer the question at hand, from personal experience the rural south is not nearly as racist as people perceive it to be.
The last sentence you said only works when it is suits your fancy....I'm sure you've sworn by at least 1 poll in your life. Anyone who doesn't think that the rural South is not more racist than any other part of the US, needs to wake up.
How does this poll relate to racism? You know minus the guy who tried to throw it in right at the end? Is it racist to assume someone wasn't born in the U.S.A.?
That map looks kind of "strange" for the Central-Northwestern quadrant of Ohio.
You don't live in SW Connecticut do you? I have family in Bridgeport.
But anyway, your post is spot on. I'm in school here in Cincinnati and I see the same things here in Cincinnati and all through out Ohio. There are white people I have come across at school who are from small towns in Ohio who have never interacted with a black person in their lives prior to college. Hell, there are people from metro Cincy that haven't interacted with a black person until college. I can tell some of them initally feel uncomfortable interacting with me until they recognize that I'm "safe" to talk to. I'm not an intimidating looking guy by any means. I'm a 6 foot, slim lanky black dude that typically wears wayfarer glasses (sometimes), corduroy pants, TOMS and a peacoat, yet white people will sometimes cross the street when I'm approaching them. All they see is skin color
Down south, I notice a lot more interaction between blacks and whites, while people view the "north" as everyone of different races holding hands and singing kumbaya and the south as white people still out looking to hang a black person. Overall, I think race relations are better down south because white people are used to being in close proximity to black people and have been doing so for decades now. In most of the northern areas, it is fairly easy for white people to segregate themselves if they so desire.
Another thing is that white dudes down south seem to be less intimidated by black guys. They'll hang out with you, but they're also not afraid to go "toe to toe" with you if you disrespect them. Frankly, I know some white guys that would probably beat the dust off a black dude if it came down to it. I can't say a know a whole lot of those types around here.
But to answer the question at hand, from personal experience the rural south is not nearly as racist as people perceive it to be.
Naw I live in NW CT, on the border of Mass.
I'm sorry you have to go through that :/ I like/dislike people for who they are, not what they are. I especially dislike the people who have to validate that they're "tolerant" by saying things like "oh, I'm friends with someone who is black so I'm tolerant!!!"
And yeah, I notice a lot of segregation and white/black separated neighborhoods here. The whole tolerant "kumbaya" thing is so wrong, it's almost funny. It's hard to hold hands with blacks when you live in a state that's 99% white -cough-Vermont-cough-
Sigh ... as already stated by the majority above, "NO MORE RACIST THAN THE URBAN NORTH!" As if a "place" could be "racist" in the first place!
A BETTER QUESTION MIGHT BE: How is it possible in this era of the information superhighway that so many people remain IGNORANT of the modern South? Or worse, so willingly EMBRACE and PERPETUATE every negative stereotype of the region ... just to elevate their own false sense of superiority?
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. All they see is skin color
