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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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I've heard a lot of stereotypes, but what is the real situation with regards to attitudes towards other races in the rural South? Are most people pretty closed-minded towards other races/ethnicities? Or are they tolerant/welcoming on the whole? I know some areas are mostly black, while others are mostly white, how are black white relations? How do whites and blacks view say Asians, Latinos, Middle Easterners? If an Asian American moved into some small town in Tennessee or West Virginia would he/she be accepted? I suppose a white transplant might also be viewed with suspicion, but do these closed-minded attitudes still exist to a large degree?
I've heard a lot of stereotypes, but what is the real situation with regards to attitudes towards other races in the rural South? Are most people pretty closed-minded towards other races/ethnicities? Or are they tolerant/welcoming on the whole? I know some areas are mostly black, while others are mostly white, how are black white relations? How do whites and blacks view say Asians, Latinos, Middle Easterners? If an Asian American moved into some small town in Tennessee or West Virginia would he/she be accepted? I suppose a white transplant might also be viewed with suspicion, but do these closed-minded attitudes still exist to a large degree?
The answer lays within the schools and whether you get strange looks if you bring up the subject of interracial dating... if the schools are "integrated" but in reality segregated (cliques never mix across racial lines) or they're just flat-out segregated, then you're likely in a racist area. If people look revolted by the idea of interracial relationships, you're in a racist area.
Just as racist as the rural west, midwest, northeast, southwest, upper midwest, mountain west, and interior midwest.
I agree. My experience in the South as far as racism is that it's not better or worse than any other part of the country. I think racism/prejudice is just as bad in urbanized areas too. The only difference between the urban prejudice and rural prejudice I've seen is that rural prejudice is often based in religious fundamentalism whereas urbanized prejudice is often based on segregation and stereotypes. For example, one of the most prejudice people I know is a retired cop from Brooklyn. She sees a black kid on her block and automatically assumes he's there to do a purse snatch.
Just as racist as the rural west, midwest, northeast, southwest, upper midwest, mountain west, and interior midwest.
Never been to the South so I can't say they are especially racist or not, but I don't think every single place on Earth has exactly the same amount of racism. That's naive. Of course racism is a trope that has stronger influence in some geographic areas than others.
Never been to the South so I can't say they are especially racist or not, but I don't think every single place on Earth has exactly the same amount of racism. That's naive. Of course racism is a trope that has stronger stereotypes in some geographic areas than others.
You probably won't find lynchings anymore in the south, but you may still encounter plenty of racists. But it's simply not the same as it once was (luckily). When I lived there, I encountered plenty of racist people, but I never knew anyone who would actively hurt another person simply because of race. I knew white people who hated black people, but they would still be relatively polite to them and would never hurt a man just because he was black. I also knew lots of white people who would make racist jokes, but certainly wouldn't claim they hate black people. And then there are the sweet old ladies who don't hate anyone, but unknowingly say offensive things. They would be mortified if you told them you thought they were racist, because they would never intentionally hurt another person, including the hurting of feelings. I don't have any patience with the first group, those who will proudly tell you they hate a certain race, but that group seems to have the smallest membership. The second group, the racist jokers, don't really mean any harm, they just view racist jokes the same as dirty jokes: not something you say around ladies, but funny, they think, when alone with the guys. While certainly offensive, they seem to be pretty harmless. The third group certainly means no harm at all, they simply don't realize it when they say racist things. I can't hardly hold that against them, because we may all be a little like that.
I should also add that while I lived there, I saw FAR more hatred toward people of middle eastern decent (whom were assumed to be Muslim) than black people. Black people were usually just the butt of jokes, but the hatred toward, specifically, Muslims was considerably worse.
Edit: I should also add that the people I encountered who hated specific races also hated everyone who wasn't exactly like them: white, straight, Protestant southerners. You could be a white southerner but if you were agnostic, you were inferior. You could be a white Protestant, but if you were from anywhere but the south, you were inferior. And so on.
IMO, less racist than many urban areas of this country (I'm not joking). In the rural south, I've seen alot of interacial dating as of late. The "old timers" are having a little trouble with this, but the younger generation sees it as being perfectly normal. Keep in mind also that our president is the grandson of two rural whites from Kansas. Now, Kansas may not be the south, but the current situation in the rural south is very similar.
I've even seen a few older couples (interacial couples in their 50s and 60s) out and about holding hands in public. Things have really changed and I am happy to be alive to witness it. However, there is still the element of hatred and ignorance (which can be found in any region). There's also that particular group who feels that disapproval of IR dating is NOT the same as being a racist. My question to those folks is simple; if you judge the contents of a relationship solely by the skin colors of its members, how are you NOT being a racist? FWIW, some of the biggest bigots I've met (when it comes to being disgusted by interacial dating; especially black male/white female couples) are actually from New England. Not trying to throw New England under the bus here, but there seems to be a lot of subtle racism up that way and I am sick and tired of it being imported here to Charlotte.
There's racism everywhere, the South being racist is an over-used stereotype. Hell, I live in a small town in Connecticut and have seen tons of racist people. Back when I was in high school, a lot of the kids put together "white shirt Wednesday" where they showed their racism. I've witnessed fights between races...and my school would bus in poor blacks from Hartford to integrate them into our school for diversity (our town is like 98% white lol) but that didn't go so well.
IMO, less racist than many urban areas of this country (I'm not joking). In the rural south, I've seen alot of interacial dating as of late. The "old timers" are having a little trouble with this, but the younger generation sees it as being perfectly normal. Keep in mind also that our president is the grandson of two rural whites from Kansas. Now, Kansas may not be the south, but the current situation in the rural south is very similar.
I've even seen a few older couples (interacial couples in their 50s and 60s) out and about holding hands in public. Things have really changed and I am happy to be alive to witness it. However, there is still the element of hatred and ignorance (which can be found in any region). There's also that particular group who feels that disapproval of IR dating is NOT the same as being a racist. My question to those folks is simple; if you judge the contents of a relationship solely by the skin colors of its members, how are you NOT being a racist? FWIW, some of the biggest bigots I've met (when it comes to being disgusted by interacial dating; especially black male/white female couples) are actually from New England. Not trying to throw New England under the bus here, but there seems to be a lot of subtle racism up that way and I am sick and tired of it being imported here to Charlotte.
There are quite a few reasons why some people may not like IR dating but I wouldn't consider them racist. But this isn't the thread for that.
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FWIW, some of the biggest bigots I've met (when it comes to being disgusted by interacial dating; especially black male/white female couples) are actually from New England. Not trying to throw New England under the bus here, but there seems to be a lot of subtle racism up that way and I am sick and tired of it being imported here to Charlotte.
