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As I read post I always come across people who judge a place on how racially diverse it is. Most posts indicate a negative social climate to a place if it is too white. I find the more people are alike racially the more people seem to get along with less tension and all the problems that come with multiculturism. This has nothing to do with racism because I don't hate other races since every race has their good and bad elements. But it seems those people who are in love with diversity are following a politically correct mode of thinking.
I agree with you. Races and cultures do seem to commune together, and that's natural security. They understand each other and share common ground. This also goes for other social cliques ~ the wealthy, etc.
I happen to prefer being in a more "mixed" environment and always have. I grew up in a very small town in the 60's that was incredibly diverse. We carried the highest concentration of blacks in the area, and I'd say that a good 20% were Mexicans. And, yes, those students mostly socialized amongst themselves, and there was tension with the whites.
But it wasn't boring, and I liked having a mix of friends.
Multiculturalism adds to the arts and other fine things in life. We enjoy the ethnic cuisines and unique touches they contribute to society. We have an endless variety of music to choose from. Many places have cultural events ~ and don't most people have a ball at Oktoberfest?
In NYC I enjoyed listening to the occasional Jamaicans talking on the streets, loved the outdoor market I came across that sold mostly arts and clothes from Africa and the Caribbean. In San Francisco I always smile when I see that the Russian lady's Babushkas store is still in business.
On the other hand, I don't see anything particularly "wrong" with someone wanting to live in predominantly white cities/neighborhoods. Crime-ridden slums and out-of-control gangs can definitely make diversity seem way over-rated.
if I'm in a place that is entirely white I'll be far more likely to assume that those people DON'T share anything in common with me, because otherwise what would they be doing living in such a segregated place?
That's interesting. Your belief is that if the majority is White that it is segregated, either by force or self-segregated? Now what about 95% Black neighborhoods? Are they not equally segregated, and lacking in diversity? I'm not saying that you necessarily don't think so, but it's worth looking at if you don't.
I think we see lots of cities which are right around 50% White, 50% Black you could go to any given area and think that you were in an 80% White or Black city, depending on the area. Some cities break this mould, but few do. I live in a 49% White, 44% Black city and the place where I'm at right now is probably at least 80% White. I think that the 40% of people who claim to want diversity want to see 20% of the shops in their city come from different areas, but who never live in the same complex as the workers. Some would -- But not most.
That's interesting. Your belief is that if the majority is White that it is segregated, either by force or self-segregated? Now what about 95% Black neighborhoods? Are they not equally segregated, and lacking in diversity? I'm not saying that you necessarily don't think so, but it's worth looking at if you don't.
I think we see lots of cities which are right around 50% White, 50% Black you could go to any given area and think that you were in an 80% White or Black city, depending on the area. Some cities break this mould, but few do. I live in a 49% White, 44% Black city and the place where I'm at right now is probably at least 80% White. I think that the 40% of people who claim to want diversity want to see 20% of the shops in their city come from different areas, but who never live in the same complex as the workers. Some would -- But not most.
I think what the poster might be saying is that when a community is overwhelmingly one of "color", it is due to segregation, not to segregate, per se. This could be the case ethnically as well and have residual effects from "how it always was" or to that effect.
That's interesting. Your belief is that if the majority is White that it is segregated, either by force or self-segregated? Now what about 95% Black neighborhoods? Are they not equally segregated, and lacking in diversity? I'm not saying that you necessarily don't think so, but it's worth looking at if you don't.
I think we see lots of cities which are right around 50% White, 50% Black you could go to any given area and think that you were in an 80% White or Black city, depending on the area. Some cities break this mould, but few do. I live in a 49% White, 44% Black city and the place where I'm at right now is probably at least 80% White. I think that the 40% of people who claim to want diversity want to see 20% of the shops in their city come from different areas, but who never live in the same complex as the workers. Some would -- But not most.
I wouldn't want to live in a neighborhood that was 95% black, either. The segregation might not be intentional (as in: people might not have all moved there for BECAUSE they wanted neighbors of the same race), but it would still send up big red warning flags to me. I'd rather have variety of all sorts, and if a neighborhood that has people overwhelmingly all of the same race seems like it would be less likely to have diversity of other sorts.
This would admittedly be far less the case in, say, a small town where the population as a whole was almost entirely one race. If I were living in that town, for whatever reason, then I would at least want diversity in terms of having neighbors of different ages, etc.
I don't think a neighborhood has to perfectly reflect the ratios of various demographic categories (age/ethnicity/race/economic level/education level/etc.), but I do think that while a neighborhood might have a majority of residents of one race (or age, etc.), that neighborhood would be far more desirable to me if there was enough diversity so that there's just a handful of token residents who don't fit the profile, whatever that profile might be.
Like I've said before, I cherish diversity, but I cherish integration to a greater extent. But honestly, people are more likely to get along and mesh with people that are similar to them. Most blacks in St. Louis act very differently from me. It's truly a culture thing: I don't say the N-word, I don't absolutely love basketball, I don't act ghetto, I'm not loud and obnoxious. This sounds bad I know, but its the harsh truth. When gaining friends, I don't pay attention to color, but I do pay attention to similar interests.
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As I read post I always come across people who judge a place on how racially diverse it is. Most posts indicate a negative social climate to a place if it is too white. I find the more people are alike racially the more people seem to get along with less tension and all the problems that come with multiculturism. This has nothing to do with racism because I don't hate other races since every race has their good and bad elements. But it seems those people who are in love with diversity are following a politically correct mode of thinking.
I don't care about racial diversity as much as I care about cultural diversity. Miami is a much more interesting place due to all the cultural diversity (Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, etc) and would be a more bland and uninteresting place without this influence. New York is a more interesting place with its Black, Italian, Chinese, and Puerto Rican, Jewish, Carribbean neighborhoods and would be far less exciting if everyone was a uniform American culture. I love the Mexican and various Asian neighborhoods of Los Angeles as well as the Chinatown in San Francisco.
America is far more interesting being multicultural and multiracial. I say this as my parents were immigrants, but I never had a problem getting along with people from different cultural backgrounds or races. In fact as a Serbian-American growing up in Detroit it was mostly a requirement- I was either going to make friends from people with different cultural and racial backgrounds (Black) or be a loner. Most Anglo-Americans would benefit if they moved out of their bubble-suburbs where everyone is the same and meet, socialize, befriend, and live among different people.
Last edited by StefanProgovac; 04-10-2010 at 11:39 PM..
Like I've said before, I cherish diversity, but I cherish integration to a greater extent. But honestly, people are more likely to get along and mesh with people that are similar to them. Most blacks in St. Louis act very differently from me. It's truly a culture thing: I don't say the N-word, I don't absolutely love basketball, I don't act ghetto, I'm not loud and obnoxious. This sounds bad I know, but its the harsh truth. When gaining friends, I don't pay attention to color, but I do pay attention to similar interests.
This might be an urban poor deal more than anything. Urban poor whites might not be what you'd like either. I perhaps unfairly envision being poor in an urban setting is likely lots of stress, noise, crowding, and poor schools. However I don't think the black experience in America is only that of poor urban people with lower education.
Maybe you could go to a smaller city or meet with people from one of the better historically black universities and I think this will be less true. (Assuming it's true at all) I remember reading that Morehouse in particular requires certain standards of "gentlemanly" behavior. There are some mostly black suburbs that are said to be nice.
Granted one element of your list "acting ghetto" is left vague/undefined and I'm not sure why liking basketball is any worse than liking Baseball or Hockey. Personally I'd rather watch an NBA game than the World Series or Stanley Cup, not that I really like any of those all that much.
Urban people seem really racist, but only against blacks, to me sometimes.
This might be an urban poor deal more than anything. Urban poor whites might not be what you'd like either. I perhaps unfairly envision being poor in an urban setting is likely lots of stress, noise, crowding, and poor schools. However I don't think the black experience in America is only that of poor urban people with lower education.
Maybe you could go to a smaller city or meet with people from one of the better historically black universities and I think this will be less true. (Assuming it's true at all) I remember reading that Morehouse in particular requires certain standards of "gentlemanly" behavior. There are some mostly black suburbs that are said to be nice.
Granted one element of your list "acting ghetto" is left vague/undefined and I'm not sure why liking basketball is any worse than liking Baseball or Hockey. Personally I'd rather watch an NBA game than the World Series or Stanley Cup, not that I really like any of those all that much.
Urban people seem really racist, but only against blacks, to me sometimes.
This is why I said in the beginning to not take my post the wrong way. I don't think you really understood the "bigger picture" of my post. Some stuff was exaggeration, and of course not all black people act like that, I was just using that as an example.
Understand? I can go into greater detail if you need me to.
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