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Move to Portland.. or Oregon in general.. it is the whitest place in America.. or so I am told.
No, I believe Montana, North and South Dakota, and Nebraska have Oregon beat. Oregon is a down-right gorgeous place though, and I envy you for getting to move there. Here's an interesting link to American Ethnic Geography.
Obviously I'm not saying that everyone is perfect but come on, unless you're in a hate group you have to admit that the stuff this woman said was racist. She didn't have to go into the details in such a way that she did. It almost looks like she did it on purpose to start another Joe Horn type thread. Alot of black kids act like and do what they see on TV just as much as white kids do. I've met more successful black adults in my life then I have bums/drunks/panhandlers, ect, ect. To say the stuff that woman said is wrong and reading what she wrote and how she described it, It looked like she had a bad opinion of the town from the get go and didn't even attempt to like the place or be friendly with anyone. Sickening.
She is no more racist talking about her experiences that I am talking about my own cracker race. Racism is so overdone.
You're talking about your own race. She is putting down two others.
There is no difference. Maybe it's more of a judgment call than that of racism. I know, we shouldn't judge, but we do. Also, she is a newcomer to the area and from what I gather, Texans are so very friendly and make newcomers feel so welcome. Because they're black or Hispanic, does that not still make them Texans? Not just the teens act like that. Where do you think they learn it? Cosby will tell you it's the parents.
If I were in her shoes, I'd be afraid to be friendly for fear of the mentality of them and they'd think she was "wanting them" so to speak. No, I agree with her and believe her feelings are justified. She seems to be friendly to those that warn her to be careful, stay in at night, and don't go anywhere without her boyfriend.
You just got a lesson from the school of cultural diversity.
The crotch grabbing, jiggling, scratching thing goes on in Galveston too. My fairly tall, slim, blonde German-Texan wife works in that town and deals with the same thing, but deals with it and knows how to ignore it. That's just low class ghetto, plain and simple. It could also mean they have the clap or herpes. STD's are pretty bad in E TX.
People that was the OP's second post ever, don't get sucked in.
How many of us once had a second post? That is immaterial. Some day, she may have hundreds. She has a good point in post #1 about current fashions in church and Dilliards. Hmmm, sounds like she's getting the idea already about pretention.
She is no more racist talking about her experiences that I am talking about my own cracker race. Racism is so overdone.
Great, so now whites are the "cracker race." How, pray tell, do you define a "cracker?" Someone who is poor, who lives in a "trailer," perhaps? Well, I'm poor and live in a manufactured home but I'm no cracker. Insulting people of your own race just to "prove" to others that you're not a racist doesn't work. NO ONE should be insulted because of the color of their skin. Period. Only people's actions and deeds matter.
This is one of the most -- if not THE most -- touchy general topic in the world. I think, to be honest, when most of us read the thread headline, we thought..."oh man, here it goes...should I stay out of it and say what I really think?"
So I am going to choose the latter course and say what I really think. It may get me slammed, applauded, or run out and banned, but I will let the chips fall where they may in that regard. I come to this forum because I love Texas and exchanging "good stuff" with my fellow Texans. And feel a special closeness to the same! Being "popular" will be as it may. Being unpopular will fall as it may. Whichever.
So here goes...
The OP did nothing more, when it comes right down to it, than relate an honest initial and ongoing experience that more than care to admit know in our secret hearts is based on fact. I soooo wish the general point weren't true, but it is.
It is not "racist" to say that. In fact, I will match my credentials -- a white conservative Texas/Southern male -- with any "liberal" any day of the week. I don't mean that "some of my best friends are black" crap" criteria...but that former aides and students who would absolutely scoff if asked if I was a "racist". I don't say that braggingly, but truthfully.
Ok...back to the point, and my own outlook on it...
The whole sorry tale and derived outlook is grounded in fact...and everybody really knows it. Stereotypes and generalizations do not spring up from nowhere, but rather are based on fact and persist because of the same. Sad but true.
I take a backseat to no man, woman, nor child in my defense of the South in that we have anything to apologize for in terms of race relations. The only thing that made us different back in the old ugly "Jim Crow" days was that we were less hypocritical about it than was the North. Today, the South of Jim Crow is the most integrated and progressive in the country! I am proud of that.
To come to full circle, as relates to the original topic, this particular aspect is not a matter of defending Tyler/Texas/South. If that were all it was....? Oh man...fetch my musket...LOL
Rather, it is just that a VERY..."delicate"...is that the word...?...fact... is there are some things in the South that simply have to take their natural course and we might not speak of in the same way characteristic of northerners.
But the basic experience related by the OP is, unfortunately, true. The only place I would argue is it is LESS true in the Texas/South, than in the North/West Coast...
I have been so very disillusioned...
My fiance' and I moved to Tyler a few months ago. His job was transferred from Michigan. We really didn't have a choice. I was excited about the move, at first. Mostly becuase I thought it prudent to look up Tyler and it's demographics and job outlook as well as schools and colleges. ( I have a teenager and wanted to see what the schools were like and I was a fulltime student in Michigan.)
The city websites make this town look enchanting and welcoming...I should have looked for other websites that told the truth about Tyler. The city website boasts of low crime and a low census count of minority and blacks. They are liars and decievers. The city websites show statistics from the year 2000. This is 2008. The demographics have changed considerably from what I have witnessed.
This is important to me, because I am white and I want to live in a good neighborhood, work a good job and all without high levels of crime and the freedom to go wherever I want without having to be the only white person there...But, this is exactly how I am living.
I am a prisoner in my home. I can't even go out on my front steps to sit and read without having passing cars full of blacks and hispanics making comments.(why do they feel it necessary to stop in front of my house and make lude comments and say things that sicken me?) Or being bothered by a very persistent young black teen girl, who dresses like a hooker and always needs something from me. She has no qualms about coming to my front door to ask for cigerettes ...she has even asked my child for them...(live the stereotype much??)
Or, how about going to a fast food place to pick up dinner on a busy night, only to be subjected to rude and obvious comments from the less than courteous black teens that seem to run every fast food place in town? ( and move at the speed of a snail because I'm a "crackah!")
I nearly encited a racial riot when I asked a young teen male who was making our food, to put gloves on. Even the black woman in front of me was livid that this boy was touching his crotch and dancing around like a fool behind the counter... all without a care who saw him and just waiting for someone(a white person-as he kept making eye contact with everyone in line that was white) to say something. Thankfully, his manager stepped in and told him he was violating a public health code...(again, perpetrate the stereotype much??)
Let's face it people...living in a largely black/hispanic community has more crime, more violence, more poverty, lower standards for education, and a generally dirty look and feel to it.
Those of you who look to critisize my outlook and call me racist are probably people who haven't had much life experiences with blacks, worked with them, been victimized by them, have children they wish to protect or are just fooling themselves...or are indeed black or hispanic. Is every black or hispanic person this way? No, but put a community together that is generally black and hispanic and where whites are the minority, and you have the makings of a crappy place to live with no outlets for a family to live and thrive in comfort and peace. There is no harmony, the numbers of blacks and hispanics are too high. To coexist, a community can be diverse, but needs more equivalancies.
I and my family don't speak spanish. Yet everywhere I go, there seems to be some type of language berrier. I took my son to JC Penny's salon to get his haircut. He has the average skater-do,that is long and cool looking. I have always taken him to a Penny's to get his hair done...In Tyler, I made this mistake. The woman they assigned to cut his hair...didn't understand English very well. Imagine that! An immagrant that works here, lives here, take advantage of everything she and her family can here in America...but can't speak or understand the language. Well, my son walked out of there with a semi-Donald Trump comb-over. I was pissed. What a waste of money,time and several inches of my kids previously glorious blonde hair.
Yet another incident was at Walmart...everything moves slower in Texas...including the illiterate Mexican behind the counter that cannot read the lables on items such as produce. How many times do I have to be subjected to broken English and fragmented sentences?? Or, how about the lazy black people that move at an astoundingly slow rate just because they can. I went to the measuring counter at a craft store for fabric, only to stand there for 13 minutes to wait for a black kid to get off his break. Why doesn't this happen when a white person is behind the counter? Because white people don't have anything to prove. We just work.
Since moving here, I have been followed home from a gas station by a rather large black man, ogled regularly by mexicans and blacks(everytime I step outside my door), witnessed a horrendous brawl in front of the middle school...on my sons first day of school...seen too many young black kids perpetrating acts of violence and crime. My son hates school here. He doesn't want to pretend to like black music and talk like a black person to save his ass from gettin' pounded by an astounding number of black or hispanic kids. The teachers fear the students here. Many parents have told me to move my son to a private school for 9th-12th grade.The high schools here are rivals...with in the same town! WTF is up with that?? From what I have been told by my neighbors and fellow parents, are that the high schools here are worse than the middle schools. The fights are elevated to weapons and duels outside of school. Great! just what every mother wants for her son...learn to survive by picking which gang to join.
And, I live in a semi-good part of town. I pity any white person trapped in the slums. Yes, I typed slums. There are several areas in town that are ugly,dirty,overpopulated with low-income rentals and park-like areas that look as if a white person would be shot if they entered. I am white...and a minority here. Where are all the white people?? Where do they go to hang out? Where do they swim, play, enjoy the outdoors?
I haven't yet learned those things. I ask people regularly..."Where do you go around here that is safe and you don't feel like you're going to get mugged or raped?" The response is always the same, we don't! They stay at home or go out of town to enjoy time with friends or go to a park. They send their kids to private school or homeschool them. They arrange their lives to where their schedule don't conflict with the blacks or hispanics. They do as the rest of us do, avoid the problem areas...which is hard,because they are everywhere. One lady told me that she takes her kids to the park only at times when she knows the blacks haven't congregated there. She pays over $500.00 in the summer for her kids to swim in a private pool at a gym. All so they aren't subjected to rude comments and gang like scenerios, much like that of the Tyler public swimming pools. Once you arrive...you will see what I mean. The pool is nice, but the language is upsetting. The atmosphere is scarey. The blacks at the pool seem to feel obligated to say and do as they like. Even in front of small children. They don't censor themselves. They purposefully make you feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. The bathrooms are filthy and we all know why...
The level of violence in Tyler, is only exceeded by the level of immorality. If you wish to call my racism immoral, by all means do so. I cannot help being honest. I say what people whisper to me...out loud.Am I the only white person that feels this way here in Tyler...Hell No! Everywhere I go, I find a commonality with my fellow "crackahs" They whisper at me, they nod an exchange of disapproval, they tell me under their breath "welcome to Tyler, home of the lazy and uneducated." I know exactly what that means... Lazy blacks and illiterate Mexicans.
I had an older gentleman tell me last week that I should not go out without my husband/boyfriend. I was befuddled at first. Then I looked around and realized that he was commenting on the fact that a group of black males ( all around 20's??) were looking at me and making gestures. I found myself scrambling to get out of the store...and later having the "please don't treat woman like that" speach to my son. As I don't want him to grow up thinking that men are suppose to talk and act like that to woman. Especially in public. I do have one thing to say, the older Mexican gentleman respect woman way more than younger men and blacks. Why do black men seem to think it's ok to openly speak about a woman and her body and the things they want to do in public? And, why do younger hispanics follow this trend? Again, not all blacks are this way. But I have had a hard time finding many who don't.
Tyler sucks. So far, I am not impressed with Texas in general. As the whites in Tyler say..."You should have moved to a nicer area...Welcome to Tyler."
People like you **** me off!!! Stupid racist! If you dont like Texas then get out. Maybe if you weren't such a racist, people here would like you more. Texas and southern California are probably the most racially diverse states in the U.S.
I am half white and half mexican. I have never had a problem with racism. I have white, mexican and black friends. Never had a problem. Its funny how only a racist has a problem with these sort of things!
I live in a city, (Corpus Christi), where the white race is a minority. Yet its a nice city. It has two of the best baseball teams in the state and one of the best football teams in the state. Its got good shopping and a lot of really nice areas.
I can give you a list of cities in Texas that are a minority to the white race and are all great cities:
San Antonio
Houston
El Paso
Corpus Christi
McAllen
Dallas (about equal in blacks, hispanics, and whites).
These are all great cities, and two are international cities. Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio are rated as some of the very best places to live in the U.S.
What you are saying here is completely rediculous and pisses me off so bad. I dont understand if you are such a racist why you wouldnt want to move some place where white is the dominant race. Go to England or something like that. Get out of Texas.
This is one of the most -- if not THE most -- touchy general topic in the world. I think, to be honest, when most of us read the thread headline, we thought..."oh man, here it goes...should I stay out of it and say what I really think?"
So I am going to choose the latter course and say what I really think. It may get me slammed, applauded, or run out and banned, but I will let the chips fall where they may in that regard. I come to this forum because I love Texas and exchanging "good stuff" with my fellow Texans. And feel a special closeness to the same! Being "popular" will be as it may. Being unpopular will fall as it may. Whichever.
So here goes...
The OP did nothing more, when it comes right down to it, than relate an honest initial and ongoing experience that more than care to admit know in our secret hearts is based on fact. I soooo wish the general point weren't true, but it is.
It is not "racist" to say that. In fact, I will match my credentials -- a white conservative Texas/Southern male -- with any "liberal" any day of the week. I don't mean that "some of my best friends are black" crap" criteria...but that former aides and students who would absolutely scoff if asked if I was a "racist". I don't say that braggingly, but truthfully.
Ok...back to the point, and my own outlook on it...
The whole sorry tale and derived outlook is grounded in fact...and everybody really knows it. Stereotypes and generalizations do not spring up from nowhere, but rather are based on fact and persist because of the same. Sad but true.
I take a backseat to no man, woman, nor child in my defense of the South in that we have anything to apologize for in terms of race relations. The only thing that made us different back in the old ugly "Jim Crow" days was that we were less hypocritical about it than was the North. Today, the South of Jim Crow is the most integrated and progressive in the country! I am proud of that.
To come to full circle, as relates to the original topic, this particular aspect is not a matter of defending Tyler/Texas/South. If that were all it was....? Oh man...fetch my musket...LOL
Rather, it is just that a VERY..."delicate"...is that the word...?...fact... is there are some things in the South that simply have to take their natural course and we might not speak of in the same way characteristic of northerners.
You didn't do anything wrong though. And it was not racist!
OK now what's your point?
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Oregon is a down-right gorgeous place though, and I envy you for getting to move there. Here's an interesting link to American Ethnic Geography.
Insulting people of your own race just to "prove" to others that you're not a racist doesn't work. NO ONE should be insulted because of the color of their skin. Period. Only people's actions and deeds matter.
Just a few thoughts...
