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I actually do not agree with the OP at all. I am a Gen X, though a young one at 33 so not far removed from Gen Y and though I can see if you are an extremely young Gen Y (18-mid 20s) that you would think that racism is more prevalent amongst younger generations if you live in a very segregated area. I never experienced any sort of racism as a black person growing up in the 80s/90s. But I lived in a very diverse, poor, neighborhood. We had poor whites, blacks, Hispanics (mostly Chicanos/Chicanas) and Asians (mostly Vietnamese and Laotian). We all got along well and I do feel that growing up and going to school with so many different people helped me to know that all people basically want the same things in life and that all people have a-holes, idiots, and low class acting sorts of folks in their ethnic groups.
I have younger family members, cousins, nephews, even my younger brothers, who are both Gen Y (they are 10 and 11 years younger than me) and they grew up with the same experiences as I did and do not hold racist/prejudicial views and judge people on individual characteristics, like myself. So I feel the area where you are raised is important.
I agree that kids (teenagers through young adults) are more likely to broadcast their extreme views (like the young girls on that racist rant video) especially if they have grown up in a segregated area and have not had experience with any other group of people except what they see in the media.
And FWIW, neither my 18 year old cousin or my 23 and 22 year old brothers want to be a thug or rapper or gangster. My 23 year old brother is married with 2 kids and works. My 22 year old brother works 60 hours a week as a supervisor (at 22!!) at a factory and makes the same amount of money as my husband. He has a hispanic girlfriend and is more into video games than rap music (like most Gen Yers that I know). My 18 year old cousin also is not an aspiring rapper. He lives here in Atlanta but is from my hometown so grew up in a more diverse environment as Atlanta is pretty segregated but not as much as a lot of other cities. He also is into video games and he is into politics and current events and is a great guy. I feel that you (the OP ) are generalizing your generations as I do believe that Gen Y holds less racist views as previous generations, including my own as my husband could tell some doozies of growing up in Chicago. Maybe you live in a similar place to where he is from as when he was a kid most black boys were supposed to be gang bangers or athlets and a small amount of rappers but that was back in high school days and when people get older, they usually realize that they don't have to fit in anyone's box. BTW, my husband was never any of those things, yet he made it through so if anything encourage your Gen Y friends to be themselves.
You stated "There's no individuality promoted amongst my generation, and the masses/MSM/society would rather you believe that a white person who's into rap, a black person who's into rock, a Latino who is into goth, and an Asian who is athletic, doesn't exist." This is absolutely false. Entire genres of white rappers exist (frat rap, reggae rap, rock-rap, hipster hop). Members in all these genres are Black, White, Hispanic, etc. Black hipsters exist. Blipsters. Black hipsters love indie rock, etc. No goth Latinos?! That's actually a stereotype in my hometown. The overweight, teenage goth Latino. Athletic Asians used to be, and still is, a tired stereotype (Asians knowing martial arts). Most research and polling shows that the younger you are (with our generation being the youngest polled), the more likely you were not racist. In fact, you were more likely to live in a racially diverse neighborhood than an older person. Makes sense since the older generations did believe in segregation.
I guess one telling thing is that there are more Black E-2 expats here in Seoul than in previous generations. More Blacks willing to move abroad more Blacks going to college (to get an E-2 Korean visa you need a college degree). Typically, teaching abroad was more seen as "White", but it has been more diverse in recent years.
But on the other side of the coin, there are less blacks in the UK and Canadian parliament (as a percentage of their black population), but the average black person over in those countries experience more economic and social success.
Barack Obama has virtually ensured that there won't be another black man in the Oval Office for quite some time. That's just the way it is. Mark my words.
I don't know about that. I disagree with Obama's politics because he's a little too far to the left for me and his economic policies just aren't working. But it has nothing to do with his race.
However, another African American may not be voted again for a long time because of the 12% of population factor.
I'm Gen Y and I had an incredibly diverse set of friends in high school. My uni is a little less diverse (and also huge) but I still get on well with anyone regardless of their race.
I feel that Gen Y is more racist because it's got a more minority mix to it. I'm sorry to have to come right out and say it but the face of racism going forward isn't some white guy burning a cross in someones lawn....it's minorities being racist towards other minorities because "they can't be racist" and never had that stuff pounded into their heads like most of us learning from the mistakes of our older relatives.
I've seen racial attitude surveys in the past and the worst group was old whites. However, when you got into the younger age bands it wasn't the whites anymore. On a postive note things are a lot better than they had been and hopefully we continue along this path.
I was born in 1981 so I am either a Gen Xer or Gen Yer depending on when you want to start the cutoff. Racism is racism. It is just different now than it was before. I don't think the amount is any worse or any less. It's just that the consequences for overt racism are actually being enforced at least against the majority due to the power they hold. The media and age old stereotypes will always be there for the foreseeable future.
Still, I don't think that should hold anybody back if they truly want to succeed. Some just have to try harder than others and achieve more to get to the same spot. It is what it is. Like my dad told me a long time ago, "You are going to have to be at least twice as good as everyone else to get the same respect." So that has pretty much been true for the majority of my life. Am I going to sit and complain about it, no. I can only affect change within my family and local community at this point in my life.
That means, I am not going to worry about a couple of white teenagers that live in the hood complain about ghetto blacks because that is all they know. Hell, if I lived in Appalachia, I would probably have a similar outlook on white folk. But, I know better and realized at a young age that trying to generalize large amounts of people is in the top ten list of the stupidest thingsw people can do. When you generalize people you usually end up with a foot in your mouth unless you are talking to a bunch of like minded simpletons who will nod their heads in agreement with your own ignorance.
I actually do not agree with the OP at all. I am a Gen X, though a young one at 33 so not far removed from Gen Y and though I can see if you are an extremely young Gen Y (18-mid 20s) that you would think that racism is more prevalent amongst younger generations if you live in a very segregated area. I never experienced any sort of racism as a black person growing up in the 80s/90s. But I lived in a very diverse, poor, neighborhood. We had poor whites, blacks, Hispanics (mostly Chicanos/Chicanas) and Asians (mostly Vietnamese and Laotian). We all got along well and I do feel that growing up and going to school with so many different people helped me to know that all people basically want the same things in life and that all people have a-holes, idiots, and low class acting sorts of folks in their ethnic groups.
But remember that the 80s and 90s were the most racially progressive times in American history; the last 12 or so years have seen nothing but racial polarization and faux "racial progress" i.e. multiculturalism. You didn't see any of this yuppification of whites, hoodification of blacks, cholofication of Latinos, etc during those decades. And the fact that you were raised in an integrated (diverse, IMO, isn't an accurate enough term to describe your scenario) neighborhood allowed you to be yourself, avoid the worst of the racists, and not have to play an "ethnic role". That was the case for me during the part of my childhood when I lived in a racially integrated neighborhood as well, but that all changed when I was forced to move to majority all-black county. And the fact that the metropolitan area I'm currently in right now is attracting young white and Asian Gen-Y transplants who want to be in segregated neighborhoods (via gentrification) doesn't help.
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I have younger family members, cousins, nephews, even my younger brothers, who are both Gen Y (they are 10 and 11 years younger than me) and they grew up with the same experiences as I did and do not hold racist/prejudicial views and judge people on individual characteristics, like myself. So I feel the area where you are raised is important.
I agree that kids (teenagers through young adults) are more likely to broadcast their extreme views (like the young girls on that racist rant video) especially if they have grown up in a segregated area and have not had experience with any other group of people except what they see in the media.
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And FWIW, neither my 18 year old cousin or my 23 and 22 year old brothers want to be a thug or rapper or gangster. My 23 year old brother is married with 2 kids and works. My 22 year old brother works 60 hours a week as a supervisor (at 22!!) at a factory and makes the same amount of money as my husband. He has a hispanic girlfriend and is more into video games than rap music (like most Gen Yers that I know). My 18 year old cousin also is not an aspiring rapper. He lives here in Atlanta but is from my hometown so grew up in a more diverse environment as Atlanta is pretty segregated but not as much as a lot of other cities. He also is into video games and he is into politics and current events and is a great guy. I feel that you (the OP ) are generalizing your generations as I do believe that Gen Y holds less racist views as previous generations, including my own as my husband could tell some doozies of growing up in Chicago. Maybe you live in a similar place to where he is from as when he was a kid most black boys were supposed to be gang bangers or athlets and a small amount of rappers but that was back in high school days and when people get older, they usually realize that they don't have to fit in anyone's box. BTW, my husband was never any of those things, yet he made it through so if anything encourage your Gen Y friends to be themselves.
So your family members must have been raised in well integrated neighborhoods throughout their entire childhood, but I would have concern for the relative who's in Atlanta, since it is mostly a racially segregated place that is well known for blacks taking pride in playing the "ethnic roles". I know that Chicago must be Hell, but where I currently am is not that much better, despite how certain boosters would shove it down my throat that the city is the 2nd best thing since sliced bread.
But I do see what you're saying, and thanks for the encouraging response.
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Originally Posted by Mathguy
I'm Gen X.
I feel that Gen Y is more racist because it's got a more minority mix to it. I'm sorry to have to come right out and say it but the face of racism going forward isn't some white guy burning a cross in someones lawn....it's minorities being racist towards other minorities because "they can't be racist" and never had that stuff pounded into their heads like most of us learning from the mistakes of our older relatives.
I do see this extreme racist behavior in a lot of Indians, Asians (mostly females), and Latinos (although locally, they're more self-segregating in a neutral way). As I always said, if a black person wants to know how they will be truly seen in a city/area, look at how the Latinos and Asians view "certain minorities".
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