[arel]

Originally Posted by looking4home

arel, you are looking at this from the perspective of a social worker, which isn't fair to others who are just "regular" people making observations. Vermont is a not a very ethnically diverse state. Saying that minorities might not feel comnfortable here, or that "they" might not like it, is perfectly okay. What - did you want the poster to name every single minority/ethnic groups he could think of to illustrate his point? And you are obviously concerned about crime/gang activity as you started this thread, and are always talking about being fearful of this type of thing and want out of NYC, so I think it's a little hypocritical to play the liberal social worker who takes offense at any perceived slight thought to be directed at minority groups.

I can appreciate your concern that I may have a different perspective than people who are not social workers, and that it may not be fair to confront "regular" people. There was a poster on the NYC forum who was constantly confronting people on their racism, even turning seemingly unrelated posts into racial insults. He annoyed a lot of people (including me) and there were a lot of frustrated and angry posts directed at him.

But your comments about being "hypocritical" and "play(ing) the liberal social worker" simply do not compute. Sorry.

Being from NYC, I am used to racial and ethnic diversity, and, as you mentioned, I am a professional social worker, so naturally I would be expected to be more sensitive to racism than some other people. But I think your comments presuppose some equasion between gangs and minorities. Most minority people are not in gangs, and not all gangs are made up of minorities, so such a presupposition is unfair.

And I am always struck by the contempt some people have for "liberal social workers". I have my theories about where that attitude comes from, but I won't expound on that right now. Maybe another time.

[pvjd]

Being a social worker myself, I feel that it is absolutely necessary to recognize, respect and respond to the diverse needs and rights to culture of all ethnic groups. It is this self-awareness that helps us to better serve those in need of assistance and we have to understand the role that environment plays in the shaping of culture. There is nothing wrong with recognizing that different cultures (not just ethnic) have preferences that are distinctly their own. Coming from a city that has a large African American, Hispanic, and growing Lebanese, Greek and Asian culture (what are the stats again for VT?) I witness every day the beauty of plural culturalism. This does not imply the absense of assimilation; just means that different cultures keep a little bit of what know and love. I can assure you that there is nothing socially unjust about this concept. If the majority of non-whites who I meet that have visited VT express that it is not their cup of tea, than I take that at face value rather than attempting to dissect it as if I have something to prove (or as if they are not capable of speaking their own truth). It is not racist, and I feel silly that I would even have to elaborate on this. I have just passed wind. My, what a lovely aroma.

[looking4home]

pvjd, I'm not going even comment on your last two sentences! But why didn't you explain from the outset that you were speaking from personal experience, and yours was not just a subjective observation? I think that would have made a big difference in the way some interpreted your message.

[arel]

I second that. pvjd, if you had written that people had expressed these things to you, and shown it wasn't just your subjective sense of how "they" feel, then I certainly would have interpreted your post differently.

I can only interpret based on what you write and how you write it.

[quickdraw]

If you're black and live in Burlington you will end up on the front page of the Burlington Free Press. Any school, play, club etc-if there's a black member they alone will end up with their picture in the newspaper. It's liberalism out
of control. It's like saying "the rest of the country may have problems with blacks, but we Vermonters don't". It's actually self serving and comical. In
1,000 years, historians will assume Burlington was full of blacks.

[pvjd]

As I have said before, I don't wish to validate every thought and word that exits my mouth and/or brain, nor should I have to. This is not a panel interview. How is Vermont lately, is Killington getting much snow? You know Tim Daily has a house in Wallingford--when I lived there I worked for Wundrland Pet Lodge (actual spelling) and we boarded his three dogs. I still have a permanent scar on my face from where his dog bit me. Pretty cool conversation piece. Anyhow, I don't know your names because I am not scrolling through trying to memorize all of your messages so that I can plot my next move against the thought police (if you use your head and read any of my other posts from the SC and AL thread I am sure that...nevermind). What was my tangent again? Oh yeah, you guys are right, I am wrong. You win.

[chaz longue]

Who's Tim Daily?

[fromPA]

Perhaps pvjd means Tim Daly?

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by arel

Most minority people are not in gangs, and not all gangs are made up of minorities, so such a presupposition is unfair.

Perhaps, but most gangs are made up of minorities. Therefore, less minorities mean less gangs activity.

There is nothing wrong with recognizing this, because it is a simple fact.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

Perhaps, but most gangs are made up of minorities. Therefore, less minorities mean less gangs activity.

There is nothing wrong with recognizing this, because it is a simple fact.

The whiter states have less gangs. It's a fact.