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Im sorry but the more I look at number's the stronger my case keeps getting. These numbers are unbelievable. African americans make up 12.6% of the country, personally I thought it was much higher then that but from all the sources I can find that is roughly the percentage. Whites make up roughly 72.4%. The 12.6% of aa's occupy about 50% of the total jail population in this country,with latinos and whites splitting the other 50%. So what that means is that the 38,929,313 black people in this country out number the 223,553,265 white people in terms of being incarecerated nearly 2to1. That is crazy! To say that people should not be racially conscious after looking at numbers like those is ridiculous.
But these numbers only address things on a group level. Have you ever thought of things on an individual level? I'm asking these questions because I am Black, I don't commit crimes, and I don't see any reason for people like me to be lumped in with criminals just because they happen to be Black. Yes, I see the numbers, but the numbers don't tell me everything. They don't represent people like my father. My father is not in jail right now. I'm not in jail either. You just keep putting numbers up. What is the point in putting the numbers up? Are you
1) Trying to justify avoiding ALL Black people?
2) Trying to paint all Black people with one broad stroke?
You say you have a strong case. Well, what case do I have, as a Black man, to be racially conscious based on these numbers, considering that these numbers don't represent ME?
But these numbers only address things on a group level. Have you ever thought of things on an individual level? I'm asking these questions because I am Black, I don't commit crimes, and I don't see any reason for people like me to be lumped in with criminals just because they happen to be Black. Yes, I see the numbers, but the numbers don't tell me everything. They don't represent people like my father. My father is not in jail right now. I'm not in jail either. You just keep putting numbers up. What is the point in putting the numbers up? Are you
1) Trying to justify avoiding ALL Black people?
2) Trying to paint all Black people with one broad stroke?
You say you have a strong case. Well, what case do I have, as a Black man, to be racially conscious based on these numbers, considering that these numbers don't represent ME?
Yes, sorry, the numbers do unfortunately represent you in some way. While you are not a portion of the african american population who is incarcerated or of the criminal element, you are still a black man and these ridiculous numbers of people out committing crime,or perfoming any other negative stereotype who share your race reflect poorly on every african american male. Yeah it is unfair, but it is the way the world operates. For example someone in Podunk,Utah who has never had an interaction w a black male has nothing but these numbers and stereotypes to go by. For someone like me who has had many different interactions at school, or work can obviously make a better assesment of an african america male to judge if they are in fact a part of the negative population or not. Either person though still has to look at these numbers and put an element of risk assesment into the equation. I mean if the numbers are saying a black male is about 10times more likely then the white male sitting next to him to commit a crime, then which person do you think a normal, law abiding citizen should or would be more inclined to gravitate toward? For me as a law abiding white male who wants no more problems in life then I have to have, I can openly say I gravitate more toward white people, and alot does have to do with these numbers. It is sad, but its true. Alot of other white people wont admit it but they are the same way. I dont know what the answer to the problem is, it is probably just time. I think over time these numbers will hopefully not look so bad, but as of today it is the way it is.
Interesting that I can look at the very same data and see different things. Looking at these very same numbers, I see that the vast majority of black folks are not criminals. I can see that a disproportionate number are doing time in penitentaries, but that's one of the arguments I've heard for legalizing marijuana. That there are more blacks serving time for marijuana possession that whites, and I highly doubt that black folks smoke more pot proportionately than white folks.
I'll look at crime stats for a neighborhood, and if a neighborhood is high crime I probably won't want to hang out or live there, but I'm not going to avoid a place simply because I know there are black people there, nor do I clutch my wallet when a black person is walking by. I don't view people as threats merely because of their skin color or because I've looked at data and used that to justify my belief that black people aren't really humans but some kind of perpetrators of crime and violence that I must avoid to stay safe.
Racism is all over America and you can't allow it to stop you from living or moving forward in life. I live in NC and there is much racism in this state, however people will respect you if you respect yourself. One day America will wake up and understand that we as a country no matter what our race is all belong to the human race.
I don't think any decent sized city with a diverse population is overtly racist. But I'm personally of the mindset that America itself has ceased to be about race, and is more about class these days. While there are some ramnants of racism here and there, I don't think racism really hold anyone back. And yes I'm a black man saying this.
I do think people will see racism if that's what they're seeking out. I know people who will find racist behavior in any and everything. But in my opinion, I don't really think there is very much systematic racism. Seattle, like Atlanta is more class based. Seattle has less black people than other major cities, but consider it's history and migration, that's not hard to understand. I think in general people are less likely to want to migrate to the northwest because higher cost of living in general, and it's so far from everything. California seems to be more attractive to people migrating to the West coast, where most of the black west coast population is.
I do feel a bit of awkwardness being the only black guy walking around Bellevue (I've never seen a place so white washed), but it doesn't matter to me. As long as no one bothers, and I'm not denied service anywhere I go I don't care. My money is as good as anyone else, which seems to be the only thing that matters in Bellevue. I actually got more dirty looks when I was walking around Queen Anne and when I visited Space Needle. But I do understand most of those people were tourist. For a city with no black people, Seattle seems to be open to black people. Even in Atlanta with a much larger population, people are pretty tense around black people, especially if they show up in place where they're not suppose to be. I do get a feeling black people stay out of certain areas and tend to only hang where they feel comfortable. But I go anywhere I want, because what's in my wallet is a lot more important in this country than my skin color.
Yes, sorry, the numbers do unfortunately represent you in some way. While you are not a portion of the african american population who is incarcerated or of the criminal element, you are still a black man and these ridiculous numbers of people out committing crime,or perfoming any other negative stereotype who share your race reflect poorly on every african american male. Yeah it is unfair, but it is the way the world operates. For example someone in Podunk,Utah who has never had an interaction w a black male has nothing but these numbers and stereotypes to go by. For someone like me who has had many different interactions at school, or work can obviously make a better assesment of an african america male to judge if they are in fact a part of the negative population or not. Either person though still has to look at these numbers and put an element of risk assesment into the equation. I mean if the numbers are saying a black male is about 10times more likely then the white male sitting next to him to commit a crime, then which person do you think a normal, law abiding citizen should or would be more inclined to gravitate toward? For me as a law abiding white male who wants no more problems in life then I have to have, I can openly say I gravitate more toward white people, and alot does have to do with these numbers. It is sad, but its true. Alot of other white people wont admit it but they are the same way. I dont know what the answer to the problem is, it is probably just time. I think over time these numbers will hopefully not look so bad, but as of today it is the way it is.
In short, is this what your saying: That is doesn't matter who decent a person I am, I am going to be judged according to the worst of the African-American population?
And if that is the case, what do I do, as an African-American male living in this society? I live in this society. Have you ever considered that I want to be safe too? Have you considered that I might want the same things out of life other people want?
Personally, I don't know what the numbers will look like over a few years. This is what I know. Black people who want to be safe and live in crime free neighborhoods often vote with their feet. Unlike you, they would like to live around other Black people. However, they want to be safe, and at the current moment, alot of middle class Black people don't live in predominantly Black areas.
And another question. If a Black person, who works hard, who takes good care of himself, who decent and law-abiding, moves into your neighborhood, are you going to stay, or are you going to leave the neighborhood? I ask because people equate neighborhoods going down with Black people moving in. This is how it often works. Decent, law-abiding Black people are moving in. They want to live in a place that they perceive as safe. They want to have a higher quality of life for themselves. Something every American wants. Some people who don't want Blacks in the neighborhood get up and leave(when they can afford to), and sometimes sell at a loss. This continues and then the neighborhood comes down. Not because Black people moved in, but as property values drop, the very unsavory elements Black people are trying to avoid eventually make it out there. The question is this. Why is it that Black criminals go to places where Black people live?
Last edited by green_mariner; 09-18-2012 at 05:26 PM..
Racism is all over America and you can't allow it to stop you from living or moving forward in life. I live in NC and there is much racism in this state, however people will respect you if you respect yourself. One day America will wake up and understand that we as a country no matter what our race is all belong to the human race.
Yes, sorry, the numbers do unfortunately represent you in some way. While you are not a portion of the african american population who is incarcerated or of the criminal element, you are still a black man and these ridiculous numbers of people out committing crime,or perfoming any other negative stereotype who share your race reflect poorly on every african american male. Yeah it is unfair, but it is the way the world operates. For example someone in Podunk,Utah who has never had an interaction w a black male has nothing but these numbers and stereotypes to go by. For someone like me who has had many different interactions at school, or work can obviously make a better assesment of an african america male to judge if they are in fact a part of the negative population or not. Either person though still has to look at these numbers and put an element of risk assesment into the equation. I mean if the numbers are saying a black male is about 10times more likely then the white male sitting next to him to commit a crime, then which person do you think a normal, law abiding citizen should or would be more inclined to gravitate toward? For me as a law abiding white male who wants no more problems in life then I have to have, I can openly say I gravitate more toward white people, and alot does have to do with these numbers. It is sad, but its true. Alot of other white people wont admit it but they are the same way. I dont know what the answer to the problem is, it is probably just time. I think over time these numbers will hopefully not look so bad, but as of today it is the way it is.
If I had more time, I would thought this out more. However, I have had a night to sleep on this. And this is what I have to say.
You say there is nothing that can be done with how Blacks are seen until the crime rate is down. You are looking at me as if the crime rate is my fault or something. Middle class Black people like me can’t do anything about the crime rate, other than react to crime. Why? Think about where alot of us middle class Black people live. Then think about where most of these thugs live and do their dirty work. Middle class Black people do everything they can to avoid the thug element. We know that such an element of the population would basically be weak links, kryptonite basically. You say until the Black crime rate drops, the perception of Blacks will continue to be bad. Well, there is not much I can do about some hood rat committing crime. If we are not living around that hood rat element, how can we stop them from committing crimes?
When I leave the state of Georgia, I want to live in a place where I don’t have to deal with hood rats of any race.
Second, I don’t think it is fair for me to suffer for the crimes that were committed by Black people. I’m obeying the laws and trying to be a contributor to society. Why should I suffer because criminals who happen to look like me are committing crimes? I’m only asking “Why should I”? I’m not asking “why will I”, “why am I” or “when will things get better”. I only want the answer to “Why should I be treated unfairly”? That is what I am asking.
You are showing statistics. However, you are showing statistics for a “group”. You are not taking into account individuals. I showed you before that even with the astronomical crime rates, the majority of Blacks are not committing those crimes.
If you are proposing that Black people should be avoided, then I have questions for you:
1) How does this help Black people participate in this society?
2) Where does this leave Black people if everyone avoids them?
None of these questions are rhetorical. I’m asking them (all of them) because I’m looking for answers.
And as for me, this is how I think. I don’t pay that much attention to statistics. I am aware of them. However, how I deal with people is on the individual level. From my own personal experiences, I have dealt with some bad White people. I’ve been harassed, assaulted (paintball shooting, rocks thrown at me), and even my parents property was vandalized by some White people where I live. It was done particularly by two segments of the White people, skaters and rednecks. Does this mean I avoid all White people? No I don’t. I take people as individuals. Same goes with Black people. According to your statistics, you could argue that even Black people should avoid each other. How does that help Black people? It wasn’t just some White people causing problems for me. I was also teased by some Black kids for “acting White”. Guess what? I judge by individual merit. I don’t think badly of all Black people. I stick around the good and avoid hood rats.
Racism is all over America and you can't allow it to stop you from living or moving forward in life. I live in NC and there is much racism in this state, however people will respect you if you respect yourself. One day America will wake up and understand that we as a country no matter what our race is all belong to the human race.
The world would be a better place if you they took your advise. Racism disturbs me greatly. I am a white women and grew up with mixed races on the east coast. Just because someone is African American, doesn't make them less worthy of respect and we shouldn't assume they are a criminal. I don't know what makes white people think they are so much more deserving that African American. This was actually a disturbing post IMO and hopefully we can walk away knowing there are bad people in all races and someone needs to be judged upon who they are and not their skin color. Unfortunately, our country has not fully overcome racism. Very unfortunate!
The world would be a better place if you they took your advise. Racism disturbs me greatly. I am a white women and grew up with mixed races on the east coast. Just because someone is African American, doesn't make them less worthy of respect and we shouldn't assume they are a criminal. I don't know what makes white people think they are so much more deserving that African American. This was actually a disturbing post IMO and hopefully we can walk away knowing there are bad people in all races and someone needs to be judged upon who they are and not their skin color. Unfortunately, our country has not fully overcome racism. Very unfortunate!
This is some of what I'm trying to teach people. However, for some people, it doesn't work.
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