experienced more racism here in 1 year than 20 years in CA (Seattle: transplants, lawyer)

[peequi]

Originally Posted by daily_mist

I don't think that counts as racism, sorry. It is just plain, gold old American ignorance.

Yeah, the person could have worded it much better, but just seeing the text you wrote, I don't think it is racism. What part of Cali you from? Most people I talk to who moved from Cali(mostly LA and southern CA area) say the Seattle area is much more open to difference types of people.

[seattlefun]

Originally Posted by peequi

Yeah, the person could have worded it much better, but just seeing the text you wrote, I don't think it is racism. What part of Cali you from? Most people I talk to who moved from Cali(mostly LA and southern CA area) say the Seattle area is much more open to difference types of people.

I was born and raised in SoCal. I have lived in Seattle for the last 6 months. Maybe I'm still too new to the area. But I find Seattle to be far more liberal and racially accepting than Los Angeles and Orange County. Well for sure Orange County. We are a white gay family with a black daughter and two whit boys. We have not had any issues here whereas we always had issues in Orange County.

[RotseCherut]

Originally Posted by cis_love

just a vent.. i've experienced more subtle and not so subtle racism in my year living in WA than the past 20 years in CA. today was my first day at my new job. i was being introduced around and one lady says to me:
RB (Racist BXXXX)-- so what's your first language?
ME: What do you mean? i only know one language, English
RB: Surely you must know another language. English can't be your first language
ME: Why would you think English is not my first language (with death glare)
RB: (stumbling around) I just thought... well, with your background... (slow fade)
ME: SMH ...

another day in WA, another unpleasant experience with an ignorant RB...

I don't know the lady's exact intentions, but let me share you a story that may have put me in the "Racist Light", even though I am not a racist (KKK robe wearing or insult minority guy behind his/her back type). So, I was in Africa for half a year doing humanitarian work and even learned a little of 4 different African languages and became friends with chiefs and learned a lot of the culture, way of life , etc. So, when coming back to the USA, I suddenly found myself re-looking at certain people in a different way, who may have appeared to look similar to people in the countries I visited. Every now and again I would see a black guy who looked like he was from Ghana or Uganda, etc and I would say hello and as soon as I heard his accent I would know he was not from there.

One time, I had an embarrassing moment, although I would have not been as ignorant as the lady you talked to, but, remember, not all people are quick-witted or think deeply. Well, I was in the town of Bellingham, a place with not many Black American people. Bellingham is a college town and has quite a few exchange students and I have met a few African students there. So, this dark-complected black guy was walking through downtown and looked to me like he could have been an exchange student. Well, he stopped to listen to a guy playing some music and was standing next to me, so I asked him where he was from and if he was an exchange student. Then, out of his mouth, with his native-born Northwest American accent, said no, he was born and raised in Bellingham. I felt like a complete idiot and was like, ohh, umm, sorry, I see a lot of exchange students here..

My intent was not to be racist at all, but I actually thought he was an African exchange student and was ready to engage him in Swahili, Luganda, Twi, Ewe or one of many languages I picked up. It was because he looked a lot like native born African people I saw and was in a town that didn't have many black American people.


Anyway, I just want you to be aware not everyone who is ignorant and says some idiotic stuff is intending to be racist. The problem with Seattle is it is an ethnically monogamous and culturally insular area, with not a lot of people of varying backgrounds. So, many people when they see someone different may act a bit strange without any bad intentions.

Being a white guy in Africa, I actually encountered people who never really met a white person and had many similar experiences. People would be very quick to make judgments or ask me ludicrous or ignorant questions.

[notfromseattle]

What race are you?

[cis_love]

hmmm... i had posted this about 3 weeks ago and then the thread got closed after like 500 responses. either there must be a glitch or city data needs more site activity and posted this again, lol... i'm not gonna rehash everything all over again. it's all fine and kumbaya y'all...

[RotseCherut]

Originally Posted by cis_love

hmmm... i had posted this about 3 weeks ago and then the thread got closed after like 500 responses. either there must be a glitch or city data needs more site activity and posted this again, lol... i'm not gonna rehash everything all over again. it's all fine and kumbaya y'all...

The thread probably was closed and cleaned up by the mods and then re-opened, as they thought it could become a useful thread again.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by RotseCherut

The thread probably was closed and cleaned up by the mods and then re-opened, as they thought it could become a useful thread again.

No, the OP cross posted his entry in another forum of City Data. He must've forgot that he did that.

[west seattle gal]

Stupidity, not racism.

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by cis_love

just a vent.. i've experienced more subtle and not so subtle racism in my year living in WA than the past 20 years in CA. today was my first day at my new job. i was being introduced around and one lady says to me:
RB (Racist BXXXX)-- so what's your first language?
ME: What do you mean? i only know one language, English
RB: Surely you must know another language. English can't be your first language
ME: Why would you think English is not my first language (with death glare)
RB: (stumbling around) I just thought... well, with your background... (slow fade)
ME: SMH ...

another day in WA, another unpleasant experience with an ignorant RB...

You should immediately return to Cali whre there is no racism.

What is your definition of racism? Someone who is curious about languages? To me, racism is someone who wishes harm to someone due to their race.

[treuphax]

Not having witnessed the actual incident of your "Racist B|TC#" I can't make assumptions about the tone of the conversation.

From what I've seen, the quality of Left-Coast Seattle-Style progressivism worships diversity so much that it might prompt its righteous-minded citizens to be abnormally curious about some touch of "primitive third-world exoticism" in their midst. Nothing disappoints these folks more than "ordinary monolingual Americans."

The original poster could have had some fun with it and invented some ridiculous story about ancestral roots, tribal royalty and slave legacy. Whatever privileges People of Color lack, they still do have more freedom about having a sense of humor about their own race if they choose to use it. Nevertheless I'm not confident about how best to deal with nosy colleagues, but in such a climate of tense thin-skinnedness, having a sense of humor about it is probably too tricky to be worth it. On the other hand I have heard some black people claim that they find it easier to get along with and find productive working relations with white people who might sin against certain racial taboos by occasionally using outmoded expressions than with some of those who are well practiced in all the slick progressive pieties.

Is this what's happening here?