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You obviously experienced bad attitude towards yourself, no doubt about that. But guess what? If my neighbours think badly about me, I don't care about them. I made many mistakes in my life, and I am not a majority anywhere (hey, i am a very unique, there's no one like me in this world), so they have plenty of reasons (real or perceived to hate me, or despise me, or disapprove me). I've seen a good share of stares in my life too, you know. But I know who I am and what I achieved in my life. I don't need no approval from anyone but a very few people (my family and close friends essentially). It's nice when your neighbour smiles to you, but if he/she doesn't - it's their loss.
Another thought:
Over time, I found out that many people tend to mirror you back. If you're a nice outgoing smiley person, they (unless they really have a bad day or a reason) would most likely smile back to you. And if you are "mind your own business person", they won't smile and wave and say hello to you first (again, most of the times)... I'm not saying this is an absolute, I might flash my genuine friendliest smile and say hello, and some people (who never met me before) might not like me for whatever reason, and be ignoring me in response, or people might turn aside and refuse to answer. But in general, people are more likely than not to be friendly if your approach them with a friendly face and attitude; and much more unlikely to be friendly if you seems negative to them.
Great post. I had gang bangers tipping their 40s at me as I rode my bike by them under the underpass in East St. Louis many a morning on my way to school. I gave them a head nod. They gave me a "nod". 2 years of this white cracker boy in spandex riding my bike to the train station in ESL and never a problem. I'm sure things would have gone differently if I was disrespectful.
I was in their neighborhood so I respected them. I wasn't a welcome element but I made no waves. I never considered this racism. It's just humans being human.
It wasn't always no harm no foul. Brookfield police was practicing racial profiling only 15 or so years ago. I knew this because I was working 3rd shift there and there were some black employees, which tended to get pulled over on the way into work. Happened enough that the company took the issue to these officer's bosses. The police department, or those which were doing this, had to apologize, literally.
Other than that type of infraction, there never was much of an issue between the races in the Milwaukee area. For the most part everyone got along. Guessing it's still that way, but hopefully Brookfield has become more PC and tolerant.
If I'm wrong about my perception of Milwaukee, please don't hesitate to clarify your opposing opinion.
...I'll be real.
You claim Mequon "oozed an unwelcoming atmosphere", which I find odd. I used to live in a townhome subdivision in Mequon and two of my black friends lived next door. The left St. Louis due to racial issues. They're still there in Mequon, 6 years strong, and they still love it.
You claim to get a "you don't belong here vibe" in Mequon, Cedarburg, Grafton, Oak Creek, etc. Going so far as to say people treat you like a second class citizen. This all feels embellished.
Finally, you somehow take offense to the word "hood" and attempt to correlate it to race relations. Makes me wonder about your intent of starting this thread in the first place.
You seem to have a lot of anxiety about race, which cannot play part in analyzing a situation...especially when you're suggesting an entire city has such profound race relation issues.
You claim Mequon "oozed an unwelcoming atmosphere", which I find odd. I used to live in a townhome subdivision in Mequon and two of my black friends lived next door. The left St. Louis due to racial issues. They're still there in Mequon, 6 years strong, and they still love it.
You claim to get a "you don't belong here vibe" in Mequon, Cedarburg, Grafton, Oak Creek, etc. Going so far as to say people treat you like a second class citizen. This all feels embellished.
Finally, you somehow take offense to the word "hood" and attempt to correlate it to race relations. Makes me wonder about your intent of starting this thread in the first place.
You seem to have a lot of anxiety about race, which cannot play part in analyzing a situation...especially when you're suggesting an entire city has such profound race relation issues.
Hey, white suburban towns can be very negative to minorities, you know. Not all of the people, but enough to create that feeling. I experienced it in very progressive Madison suburbs once. I like Madison in general, but don't think it's that progressive anymore. And your experience might vary from mine.
When I arrived first time to Milwaukee, I came in June and my flight was in the morning. I took a bus from airport to downtown and saw kids going around, and good people of different color going around doing their business. My buddy arrived in February with an evening flight, he took the same bus and he was kind of not really feeling secure with the evening crowd. Guess what, I loved Milwaukee ever since, and my friend felt he wanted out as much. People have different experiences, backgrounds and perceptions, you know.
This is all nothing but a bunch of hooey...hogwash...gobbledygook. We all get along fine, there is no race war or tension in Milwaukee because of segregation. In a liberals mind segregation=racism and there is no other explanation. This is 100% media and liberal driven. I hate to play the liberal vs conservative card because a lot of times it's intellectually lazy but here, the glove fits. Yes we are segregated but we don't play, work or shop segregated.
I don't think you're characterizing "liberals" very accurately. Many do believe that segregation is a by-product of racism, and there are historical reasons (red-lining, white flight, etc.) for that. It isn't just "media-driven" hype, though there is some of that.
But also, many liberals (and some conservatives) acknowledge that economic circumstances (economic class, basically) also contribute to racial segregation. For a variety of verifiable reasons, the richest people in the metro are Caucasian, and Blacks and Latinos are the poorest. Yes, there are exceptions, but this is the overall profile in the Milwaukee metro: race and class correlate strongly, and residential segregation is a direct result of the divide.
I say "residential segregation" because, to an extent, you are correct to suggest that racial integration has a strong presence in play, work, and shop environments. But only to an extent. Unemployment in urban Black (and to an extent, Latino) neighborhoods (= poor urban neighborhoods) is appallingly steep. These unemployed people are not integrating a whole lot with the more proportionately employed Caucasian people in the metro. There is much work to be done in this regard.
Additionally, though some or many Blacks and Latinos may be mingling with Caucasians in some "play" venues, it is certainly not the case across the board. In the city, for example, audiences for museums, symphony, and such are overwhelmingly Caucasian (and older); activity at Bradford Beach is overwhelmingly Caucasian; the clientele at the hot restaurants in town is overwhelmingly Caucasian; in most suburbs, the customers at bowling alleys and AMC theaters are predominantly Caucasian.
I've seen proof of the mingling of races at Bayshore and Mayfair, and there are many other retail/commercial corridors where integration is evident. But again, to an extent. Downtown Whitefish Bay (Silver Spring Ave.) is overwhelmingly white, as are places like the Mequon Town Center, Mequon Sendiks Plaza, Riverpoint Village, Kinnickinnick Ave., Drexel Town Square (or whatever it's called), Southridge Mall, and so on. There are also overwhelmingly Latino and Black shopping areas.
It's important to add that there has not been much racial integration in religious venues: the races still pray separately, for the most part. Much of this is historical (going back to ethnic religious roots, patterns from the Great Migration, etc.), but much of it reflects the fundamental existence of residential segregation: many people attend neighborhood churches/temples.
All of this is important because, despite the significant intermingling of races (and, to a lesser extent, classes) in some areas, the quality of the interactions may not be very high. If different races shop in the same malls or eat in the same fast-casual restaurants, that's great, but are these people developing any kind of relationships with each other? This is why residential segregation is so important--where you live is a primary arena to make friends and build trust with people. Work venues are also good for this. Shopping venues tend to be more impersonal and transactional, and many play environments are like that, too. Ultimately, I think you're right to point out that residential segregation is not the only factor to look at, and I agree that race alone is not the only factor in sorting people into bubbles in our metro, but race (and racism, largely defined) is a big issue still, especially when intersectional issues such as class are involved.
Last edited by Empidonax; 05-22-2017 at 11:32 PM..
Hey, white suburban towns can be very negative to minorities, you know. Not all of the people, but enough to create that feeling. I experienced it in very progressive Madison suburbs once. I like Madison in general, but don't think it's that progressive anymore. And your experience might vary from mine.
When I arrived first time to Milwaukee, I came in June and my flight was in the morning. I took a bus from airport to downtown and saw kids going around, and good people of different color going around doing their business. My buddy arrived in February with an evening flight, he took the same bus and he was kind of not really feeling secure with the evening crowd. Guess what, I loved Milwaukee ever since, and my friend felt he wanted out as much. People have different experiences, backgrounds and perceptions, you know.
No one is challenging the statement in bold, including myself. OP's posts seem rather dramatic, indicating there is something else fueling his/her discomfort.
No one is challenging the statement in bold, including myself. OP's posts seem rather dramatic, indicating there is something else fueling his/her discomfort.
Look, I want to apologize if my post came off as over-dramatic or abrasive in any way, but I am not going to sit here and deny my unfortunate experiences and mistreatment in the Milwaukee area.
Look, I want to apologize if my post came off as over-dramatic or abrasive in any way, but I am not going to sit here and deny my unfortunate experiences and mistreatment in the Milwaukee area.
...and that's fair.
After living in MKE for 10yrs I now reside in a community that has been deeply integrated for decades [in fact, I'm a minority]. Combine this with my frequent travel and I can objectively claim that Black on Latino/White/Indian racism is disproportionately high in MKE vs. the majority of the nation. Point being prejudice in MKE is undoubtedly coming from all angles, not just whites, which further agitates its poor race relations.
In my opinion the solution is rather simple. Everybody just needs to make a conscious effort to stop being a**holes and we'll all get along.
I will speak to the "not feeling welcome in Mequon" part. Since I have now lived here going on 3 years. Most of the minorities you see in Mequon are wealthy, it's more of a factor of Mequon more than anything, wealthy communities are going to attract wealthy people. In Mequon when you see a black person it's more often than not they are well off, same thing goes for most people you see, so you could argue that when you see minorities in Mequon you just assume they are well-off. Tall black people probably get the 'are you a NBA player' look since a lot of athletes and coaches live up here, Jabari Parker doesn't seem to have a problem with Grafton since he bought a house up there and yes he is moving back to the city, probably got sick of the 45 min commute rather than racism. Eric Benet and Halle Berry didn't seem to have a problem with Mequon either when they lived here.
After all there is a reason why wealthy minorities move to Lilly white wealthy communities. Rich people regardless of race like to be near other rich people. So not feeling welcome in Mequon? seems like a stretch or at least a personal experience. On my block alone I have 2 mixed families and one black family and a gay couple and we all get a long great I'm not saying Mequon is the new View Park-Windsor Hills but it's not rural Arkansas. Typically the people who say race relations are terrible are those who want to believe it as terrible and they look for any reason to back up their agenda.
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