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Oh MY. I can't believe what I am reading, how ugly some of these words are! I am glad that you are exploring the world nicolepsy; clearly it is something that some people will never be comfortable doing...and that is their loss. You will be a richer, wiser person for learning about others...some people are just too scared to step out of their 'comfort zone', and when they carry that attitude with them, it's no wonder people respond to them in a bad way...
and a side note, I am a black woman, with white family members, South American family members, lived in other countries, and was exposed to a wealth of diversity. I have never been car-jacked, shot or attacked! People should not make comments based on their fears... but on fact...
thanks for your support movingtolou! all i was trying to do was express my joy about tampa and i got shot down for some reason. i have heard this term "comfort zone" alot lately when i ask people questions about why some people are the way they are (content with mediocrity and such). frankly i have never understood it so hopefully i "get it" now. oh well, different strokes for................
After what you've been through, why are you looking for more of the same? Some day those boring people back in Ohio may not look so bad after all.
i am definitely not looking for more crime. now that i am an adult i feel i can look after myself better and not be at the mercy of my environment. i am in a very safe neighborhood and i wont be going out after dark into unknown areas or anything like that. all i was saying was that i am happy to be around a variety of people. it is interesting to me. it has nothing to do with crime.
I agree with you re: diversity/variety/spice - whatever you want to call it! It's one of many reasons we were glad to move here from a very "vanilla" area. We had always taught our children that the world is made up of many hues, and were glad to have them see this firsthand. So, WELCOME to Florida!!
Try to ignore the negative, biased people who are so quick to point a finger. They obviously have too much time on their hands, considering how much of it they spend in front of their computers spreading intolerance...
I'm sure many of these people would be quick to say how GREAT America is, but isn't the "melting pot" aspect of this country - for the last 230+ years - what has made it great? Many won't agree, but I don't care - it is absolutely true. And, by the way, crimes are committed by people of every color/ethnicity. We should be working on living peacefully together, not tearing each other down.
I agree. I have to admit, my feathers get ruffled when I read all these posts slamming "diversity." I am a 3rd generation Tampa born native, my grandparents came from Spain. I grew up with other Spaniards, Italians, Cubans, African Americans and many island cultures. Tampa is a great melting pot, it started out that way and it still is. I just cannot believe the small-mindedness of some of the posters on this forum.
We now live in Lakeland, and I am happy to see that there is FAR more diversity (NO, it is NOT a bad word!) here than I thought there would be. In fact, just last weekend Lakeland held a wonderful multicultural festival in the beautiful downtown Lake Mirror Park to celebrate all of our diversity! I was happy to see even many more Asians than I thought lived here, as well as various Hispanic, African and cowboy-sportin' southerners! And you know what? Everyone was having a great time, and was one of the most CIVIL and fun festivals we have ever attended.
I feel sorry for some of you, it must be miserable in your small little worlds.
The "haters" should keep in mind--the more you cut yourself off from everyone around you who isn't just like you, the more isolated you are. Better watch out--you never know when you just may need help from one of those groups you so casually dismiss! I'm reminded of the Hispanic young man who pulled the white woman from her submerged car recently.
Oh MY. I can't believe what I am reading, how ugly some of these words are! I am glad that you are exploring the world nicolepsy; clearly it is something that some people will never be comfortable doing...and that is their loss. You will be a richer, wiser person for learning about others...some people are just too scared to step out of their 'comfort zone', and when they carry that attitude with them, it's no wonder people respond to them in a bad way...
and a side note, I am a black woman, with white family members, South American family members, lived in other countries, and was exposed to a wealth of diversity. I have never been car-jacked, shot or attacked! People should not make comments based on their fears... but on fact...
Movingtolou, when I read that you identified yourself as a black woman and that you feel people should make comments "based not on their fears....but on fact," and considering the civil tone of your post, I felt compelled to write and ask your opinion on my feeling vis a vis the perception of the black community by some.
Consider these facts: Black people, who make up roughly 12 percent of the country's population, account for about half of the crime. That's a rate FOUR times higher than other races. Two of three black students drop out of high school before graduating. SEVENTY percent of black children are born out of wedlock - how does that bode for the future of those kids?!?
Listen, I WANT to live in a world where everybody interacts with everybody else without friction......but how am I supposed to find these qualities of the black community embraceable?
By the way, I have a huge admiration for some other races - including Asians who, by and large, excel in academics and business in this country and have a relatively low crime profile. In fact, I appreciate quality people of ANY race or background, including black people of integrity and principle.
Please take my post in the spirit it is intended......to ask you a question based on fact (the statistics can easily be found on various governmental sites) and without malice or hate........
Well most people(myself included), had a very naive view of diversity when I moved to a diverse area. I had always believed the things I seen on TV about minorities being nice and just wanting to be treated equal and things like that. So I had always went out of my way to be extra nice to minorities and befriend them.
It was only after I discovered that roughly 90% of the ones I meet are rude and hateful especially to people like me(white guys), that I stopped trying. I'm not going to bend over backwards to be nice to people who hate me and think I owe them something. Yes, there are exceptions, but the reality is that most of the people of color I meet do not hold the same values, morals and beliefs that I do about society in general. And, as the previous poster pointed out, most violent crime is done by minorities. Those are the facts.
So why would I want to live in or raise my kids in an area where most of the people are minorities?? Let them stick to their side of town and I will stick to mine.
I appreciate the 'spirit' in which your question is intended...but it seems an already loaded question that (by your own admittance) reveals your perception of the black community. Listen, I am not going to pretend that problems don't exist in the black community...but to address a complex situation, and you want for me to provide you with a simple answer? If you say you look at people independent of race, and appreciate people of integrity and principle...you should stand by that.
I went to a nearly all white high school...do you know how many white girls I knew that shoplifted?!?! I don't know of one that was ever arrested...but I don't assume all white girls shoplift. I, on the other hand, have NEVER shoplifted...but one day while perusing the aisles of The Gap, was pulled into a back room because the salesperson saw me put 'socks' in my pocket. I was really confused. When I pulled my coat pockets inside out, a tissue fell out. It wouldn't be the last time I was 'suspected' of shoplifting. My brother is the most straight-laced guy you could ever find; my uncle, a (black) lawyer also a pretty upstanding citizen; I can't tell you how many times they've been pulled over for bogus reasons. My point is, the perceptions that some hold have a lot to do with 'criminalizing' some people, and not others... This is such a multi-faceted question. Class and economics have a lot to do with it; and do I really need to go into the history of socio-economic exclusion in this country with you? I still have family that remeber when they weren't allowed to go in certain places, or to certain schools. These things are real; and it wasn't all that long ago...I have had incredible opportunities in my life, I recognize that not everyone came from a two-parent home, didn't have to worry about where meals were coming from, and if the light bill would get paid, I had a safe school to go to...and teachers that cared. Some of these things just happened by way of good fortune.
A lot of the problems that you threw out are intermingled. If you are really interested in finding answers to these questions, I suggest you put aside your reservations and get out and meet some black people. Maybe read Tavis Smiley, Michael Eric Dyson or Dr. Cornell West. We are all different, you know...and I certainly don't speak for all black people. Some people will be happy to respond to your 'specific' questions...others might be insulted...
And I certainly wouldn't look at statistics alone; if we did that, I'd be assuming that mostly everyone in the Southeast was less educated than me because I recieved my education in the Northeast.Hmmm? Perhaps you should read up on Bill O'Reilly's recent, eathshattering revelation at Sylvia's in Harlem...
Last edited by movingtolou; 09-26-2007 at 04:14 PM..
if i may add something: i was plunked down in oakland calf as a child (i am white) (i was the only white girl in my 6th grade class) for a couple of years and was beaten up and threatened and harrassed and raped and it was the most horrible time of my life. i then moved to a different city in calf and went to school with mexican gangbangers which was also very frightening. my point being that i know the negatives of "diversity". im not some naive person who just fell off the turnip truck. if that is even a saying (sorry but i was in ohio for toooo long)
Not sure why this thread is taking the direction it is. Above are the words of the OP who had, by her own admission, been subjected to torment BECAUSE of being a minority race. Simply put~my question still is~Why do you want to put yourself through it? I read your answer, but your life will be filled with having to be cautious and always aware of your surroundings. You stated you will not be able to go out at night. Why do you want to live that way?
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