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Just because segregation is a thing of the past, certainly doesn't mean that racism or homophobia is. Prejudice is indeed everywhere and it still lives in 2008 as it will in 2038 and was in 1908 as long as there are differences people will be ignorant of them. not saying that the up-state is a bad area to live because it isn't however for african americans or gays there may be a less tolerant atmosphere due to the homogheny of the region i.e predominantly white, christian, conservative reds. Just stating the facts. and for it being in the south i ranked columbia#1 because the population is atleast one third african american and they also have gay pride and gay ordinances, i dont know of too many places in the southeast outside of Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale that are that progressive, maybe portions of southern Louisiana prior to hurricane Katrina.
Last edited by waccamatt; 06-20-2008 at 10:05 PM..
Reason: Bolding entire posts.
I never said that prejudice will never exist. It does everywhere. It's been my experience that if someone wants find something and looks hard enough they'll find it, whether good or bad. Just because it's the south doesn't mean everyone is a flaming racist gay hater. That's not the case at all. Just because there is a high # of African Americans doesn't mean that people are less racist (not saying that's the case). It only means there's a high # of African Americans. Honestly, before this post it's not something I noticed, looked for, or cared to know.
What's the point of this thread? People are people regardless of race, color, sex, creed, religion...
Well brandon if you actually read the post thoroughly you would know that money magazine has listed some of the top cities for black professionals and spencer also has list for the best southern cities to be young, single and black. yes indeed people are people and as a person of color who is interested in visiting the south i would like to go to a place that has musuems, representative to my culture and heritage, where i wont have to worry about being the only one on my street of color. and obviously it showed that your oblivious to anything besides What fits into your little box of diversity because as you mention " You don't care" and thats the problem is there isn't enough self awareness especially for minorities.
Innocence and Brandon, please let's make sure this thread doesn't become a name-calling match.
Innocence has a good point - different groups of people have different cultural interests on some levels, though there are also some common interests, too. There are obviously differences in cultures between black and white, Hispanic and Anglo, Italian and French, gay and straight, Christian and Jewish. Usually a person isn't going to move somewhere if they can't find at least a decent number of people they share common backgrounds with. If someone is a member of the majority white Protestant group it is probably harder to understand what it is like to be part of a minority group and probably members of minority groups sometimes forget that a person's lack of understanding of cultural differences doesn't necessarily make them biased. I do find it disturbing, however, when I hear comments denigrating another person's culture.
I hope that you can understand that brandon and i'm not saying your wrong, because people are people and we are all brothers and sisters, but i just want to be in an area that celebrates my own unique identity and if you pay close attention to this forum in general many other users especially in regards to the southeast have questions pertaining to how accepting an area is of minorities or gays.
Why be so defensive about a response to a post? If you are looking for somebody to just agree with your own opinion on a matter, then ask a more leading, closed ended question, rather than an open ended one that leaves the responder autonomy to form their own opinion. We might not always hear the answers that we want to hear, but that doesn't mean that we should bully the other person into agreeing just for the sake of agreeing. Peace on earth.
What's the point of this thread? People are people regardless of race, color, sex, creed, religion...
Brandon, you are obviously white. Black people don't have the luxury of being so dismissive about the subject of race, because for them the US is not a post-racial society. It is easy for white people to spout off things like "people are people regardless of race" and "race doesn't matter" but for black people, and other minorities, race matters very much in their day to day lives.
Brandon, you are obviously white. Black people don't have the luxury of being so dismissive about the subject of race, because for them the US is not a post-racial society. It is easy for white people to spout off things like "people are people regardless of race" and "race doesn't matter" but for black people, and other minorities, race matters very much in their day to day lives.
I agree. Something that we white people tend to do is marginalize the effects of racism on minority groups. Just because people aren't publicly lynching anymore doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. People often confuse racism with prejudiced behavior, and there is a distinct difference between the two. Racism has less to do with a dirty look, and more to do with inequities in power, wealth, education, and ownership, to name a few. For example, a social service agency might employ fewer qualified counselors in an inner city neighborhood, or a white law breaker might have smaller violations ignored by the judge and police where a black person won't, or there might be less pay for teachers who work in inner-city schools, thereby giving the students less of a chance of having quality skilled teachers that are happy to be teaching there. These are all forms of the types of institutinal racism that minority groups must live with every day. Yes, if you have money you might be able to live in a good neighborhood, but if you are a minority you are still less likely to able to earn the type of living to "buy your way out" of a bad neighborhood, especially if you were born and raised there, as were your parents, grandparents, etc... I'm sorry, did I go off course?
It goes both ways...white people and black people can both be racist and prejudiced. I don't remember reading that only whites are prejudiced...anyway I'm done with this thread and will not respond to any other posts. And yes, I've been treated different by other races in a negative way because I'm not of the same race. No sense in worrying about it because it doesn't hurt me.
FYI, I am white but I have friends of several races and have had several black roommates in my life. I feel as though I'm being treated as the bad guy for advocating acceptance. Anyway, I won't be responding on this thread again.
And yes, I've been treated different by other races in a negative way because I'm not of the same race. No sense in worrying about it because it doesn't hurt me.
That's exactly the point, Brandon. It doesn't hurt you. It bothers you, it is irritating, but at the end of the day it doesn't impact your life.
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