New and White to New York City- is it odd to be a minority? (Sullivan: house, living in)
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She's lives here but she is not a New York person in a sense that her rudeness is obviously and overwhelmingly intentional. Mostly likely she wasn't like that back home but she now has a role to play. It's not all her fault, it's learned behavior from what she seen on TV before she arrived and still hasn't realized that it's not really the correct way to conduct yourself here, or anywhere for that matter.
In fact, s/he raises an interesting question. I have traveled in the US and observed that few people have any experience with anyone of another race or culture
you're right on this point but the reason most of us aren't giving the OP the time of day is that is was clear that he wanted to make a statement, but instead pretended he had a question
sure that sort of disingenuous approach can work if you're jonathan swift, but i wasn't really impressed here
somehow anonymous internet forums seem to rarely produce nuanced, meaningful discussions on race and culture. oh well
yes the particular post that called his hometown crappy was quite rude
Whites are still the largest single group in the city, by a fairly significant margin.
Nonhispanic Whites make up 33% of the population. Hispanics make up 28%. It's definitely not a "large margin". Even if you count Hispanic Whites (who are usually actually of mixed background like myself), it's not like it's a huge margin. (44% vs. 25% for Blacks)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jobless and Broke
Manhattan and Stanton Island are the two "whitest" places in New York City but outside of the tourist areas, most people on the subway and actually walking around Manhattan are people of color or immigrants. Stanton Island is less and less white all the time.
My QUESTION still stands: If you grew up in an old fashioned white dominated town where English is spoken as the first language of nearly everyone isn't the extreme ethnic diversity of New York a challenge sometimes?
* If I were from a foreign country and I moved into Erie PA, my home town, it would be a shock adjusting too.
It's Staten Island.
And Erie is definitely not 90% White. Maybe your neighborhood was, but the city overall is less than 70% White.
In any case, there are still some 80+% White neighborhoods here in NYC, and a few 90+% ones.
I also don't understand why so many people are attacking this guy or girl for asking the question. People will need adjustment coming to new environments, whether it's the fact that people don't look like them, or it's a cultural difference.
In fact many neighborhoods are very segregated in this city, so a lot of people in New York don't interact with other races as much as they'd like to think. Many white people on this forum will never recommend a neighborhood that is not majority white, or they assume that all majority non-white neighborhoods are bad places to live - you hear this kind of thing all the time.
I also don't understand why so many people are attacking this guy or girl for asking the question
you can't see that giant chip on his shoulder? take another look
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jobless and Broke
This board is full of threads started by someone who is a foreign born person or an American born person of color asking for advice
...
People respond without question assuming it is OK
...
But if a white person... mentions he is somewhat affected
...
he is attacked
Tolerance is easy, but inclusion is not. New York is just like almost every other major American city in that regard.
This is likely the most logical response to my original post so far. Sure most New Yorkers are not 1950s style racists and won't yell or scream at someone of color or openly disdain them. But one thing I have noticed in racially and culturally diverse cities is most people have divided themselves up by race, religion, culture and class. They may tolerate the people different than themselves but they don't really interact, they just use the same air and water.
Vs. in metro Erie PA where I am from whole neighborhoods are full of people who come from very similar backgrounds, are white and fifth generation American. Not everyone is friends but they share an easier bond and can communicate and relate to each other easier than than the multicultural, multi ethnic, multi religion neighbors in Queen NYC.
Reactions of the OP when arriving to NYC from a small town in the middle of nowhere.
- Upon seeing (other than on TV) the first couple of non-whites ;
- Upon realizing that there are (new) immigrants here too;
-Upon realizing that he's competing with dark-skinned people for the same jobs;
-Upon realizing that none of this is gonna be like back home and has to adapt with the reality of NYC:
Pretty much. And just to compare:
Reactions of average non-white person arriving to a predominantly white area:
- Upon seeing (other than on TV) the first couple of....actually wait, never mind.
This isn't going to work because unlike the OP, non-whites don't really have the option of "sticking with their own kind", do they? Not unless they want to hide in their apartments all day. There's none of this "omg! A white person!" even for someone moving to the type of backwards town the OP is from.
If you move to NYC, you won't feel like a minority as a white person, unless you remain jobless and broke. In spite of the ethnic and racial diversity in this city, housing is largely segregated.
In Manhattan you will most likely live south of 100th st on the east side and south of Columbia University on the west, or in the Dyckman and Inwood area. There are quite a few exceptions nowadays with the gentrification of Harlem and now Washington Heights...
The Bronx except for Riverdale, parts of Kingsbridge, little Italy and the Bedford Avenue areas you probably won't live in or even consider.
Not too familar with Queens, Staten Island or Brooklyn...
There are sooooo many people in the 5 boroughs you won't even notice it.
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