Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is something I fear as well. I do think this is something some people may want. I'm Black American. I'm not an immigrant. My ancestors were brought here by force hundreds of years prior to be slaves. Slavery ended, and that was followed by Jim Crow. Black people had to fight to make sure they had the rights and freedoms they should have had in the first place. First it was a fight to be considered human. Then it was a fight for citizenship, and then it was a fight to make sure the rights and freedoms that come with citizenship are respected.
I see the USA like this. I can live anywhere I want. I live where I live now because I have a job. The neighborhood I live in in close to my job. During Jim Crow, I wouldn't have been allowed there. Today, I can live wherever I want, and so can you. I can live in any state, and any city I want. I can vote, eat where I want, I have the same rights and freedoms as anyone else. And so do you. I would not want to be confined to an ethnic enclave either. I don't believe in having segregation. I am not for racial separation. I've been against it my whole life.
A bit about me. I went to a high school that was about 90% White/7% Black when I started, 82% White/14% Black when I graduated. There was some racial tension in the school. And this was in Georgia. One big issue during the early 2000s was the Confederate flag. It was a flash point for racial tensions in my high school. I think of of how I fit in, or struggled. I was bookish/nerdy. I wasn't tribalistic. I struggled to fit with some of the Black kids because I was "lame" or "not Black enough"(a few kids made fun of how I talked). Some of the White kids (and it was mainly skateboarder types or "redneck" types who did this) were not nice either. I got called the "N" word to my face, got bullied alot for other reasons. I was that kid never though in terms of "stick with your own kind". I just went with whoever showed me love. I went with whoever I got along with best.
Honestly, I don't think I would do well in a revived Jim Crow. It would be like a dictatorship/jail all at once.
I feel for you. Maybe people like us need to speak out more! The media only shows the extreme views and actually contributes to racial stereotyping when they show the riots and condone attacks on innocent whites.
I feel for you. Maybe people like us need to speak out more! The media only shows the extreme views and actually contributes to racial stereotyping when they show the riots and condone attacks on innocent whites.
I do believe the Media plays a large part in creating this division. They will be the first to show the Racial problems but the last to show things like this...
Under the social contract of living in civil society, people give up some of their freedoms for the common good with the expectation of getting some benefits, like protection from bodily harm from others in society. However, if you witness a cop murdering an innocent person from your group with no consequence, you may come to realize you are no longer benefiting living under this social contract. So then you take back those freedoms you gave up, like stealing and robbing when you think you can get away with it.
This is not to say I condone looting stores. But the behavior is totally expected given the circumstances. For example, homeless people in NYC are always breaking laws like smoking on the subway. They are not benefiting very much from society so they see no reason to respect its laws. You may debate whether our current crop of looters have similar grievances but don't forget the massive unemployment and bleak economic future for a lot of people right now.
They want to be able to walk around and not be shot, or mugged, or see their stores looted.
You said this: "Every white person I've spoken to now wants to more than social distance themselves from the demographic that is beating people and looting."
What more do they want to do besides social distance to said demographic?
And consider this. Alot of Black people struggle to walk the streets without being mugged or shot. Alot of Black-owned stores are being looted as well. Alot of Black people with the means have left certain neighborhoods, never to return.
There is actually more peaceful protesting going on than there is rioting and looting.
The folks protesting peacefully are by and large not the ones rioting and looting.
You can be against the rioting and looting and stand with the peaceful protesters.
Those who are causing trouble are from different sides of the political spectrum and different races. Some people want to cause trouble. Some people want anarchy. Somme people want free ****. Some people want the other side of the spectrum to look bad.
You do not have to hate the police to stand with the protesters.
You can be a police officer and stand with the protesters.
To say “black lives matter” does not mean you don't believe any other lives matter. The same goes for “blue lives matter” or “all lives matter.”
If you don't like where this country is going, vote. I don't care what side you are on, vote.
They create prejudices. Every race has people who are prejudice. Blacks have a legit prejudice of whites especially if you were black growing up in the 50's.
You gotta remember a lot of white people live in parts of the country where blacks just don't live. They never see them outside the media. So when you see what's going on & notice black people doing this again & again you start to think many are like that. Obviously that's not true but the media doesn't really show all the good in black people.
I grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s when black on white crime was much more of a problem. In fact, that’s all I’ve ever known, and I’m 51 years old. I don’t hate all black people though. In fact, I’ve never had anything but positive interactions with black people. I do not judge groups of people by the actions of individuals.
You said this: "Every white person I've spoken to now wants to more than social distance themselves from the demographic that is beating people and looting."
What more do they want to do besides social distance to said demographic?
And consider this. Alot of Black people struggle to walk the streets without being mugged or shot. Alot of Black-owned stores are being looted as well. Alot of Black people with the means have left certain neighborhoods, never to return.
You are a reasonable person and I wouldn't mind living near you. I'm not sure of the reasons but areas with a concentration of blacks are dangerous and we are seeing it every day on TV. I do agree and know blacks that have left to come to wealthy suburbs like where I live and I doubt they will return.
I also strongly believe the COVID lockdowns built up frustration in a lot of young people who have been denied the normal activities in going out with friends, attend high school or collage classes in person might have played a factor in some of them who would have not otherwise joined the protests with the intention to be peaceful but got carried away w group mayhem. Not that there’s any excuse for violence but we do have to look at how feeling like they are on “house arrest” might have played into it.
I grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s when black on white crime was much more of a problem. In fact, that’s all I’ve ever known, and I’m 51 years old. I don’t hate all black people though. In fact, I’ve never had anything but positive interactions with black people. I do not judge groups of people by the actions of individuals.
okay does that mean a white guy who grew up getting beat up by black guys not allowed to have a prejudice because you had a better experience?
I feel for you. Maybe people like us need to speak out more! The media only shows the extreme views and actually contributes to racial stereotyping when they show the riots and condone attacks on innocent whites.
This is what I know. Many individuals already look down on Black Americans, even if it isn't vocalized alot. On the one hand, I know the riots aren't going to make this any better. There were certainly Whites involved in this, but Blacks will be heavily associated with it. This will not help Black people at all. And the persons who will pay for it the most will be individuals like myself, who aren't rioting or causing problems.
On the flip, I know there are some people who have given up. Some people will riot no matter what. Some people are angry, don't care, aren't thinking about the future. It's all about retribution right here and now. Those persons aren't going to heed any calls of people like us speaking up. Some people's minds are gone. I don't condone attacks on Whites who are doing nothing to anyone. The sad thing is, said individuals doing the attacking understand nothing but violence.
In the end, the innocent pay. I think about some of the stuff I went through in high school. Being that bookish nerd didn't prevent me from experiencing racism at the hands of my own peers. It didn't stop some kid from threatening to hang me. It didn't stop me from experiencing racism from other individuals in my life.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
