So at this seminar I am going to, which has nothing to do with race, me and a couple of women had a discussion about race. I should note that these women were black. One of the ladies was from California, and someone asked her how she enjoyed Texas. She said it was hot, the people were friendly, but it seems that it is really racist here. The conversation continued on, but I couldn't help thinking is California less racist? I mean I think of Rodney King and say no, but I do know that the black people I do know from Cali seem to have a more idealistic view of race and race relations than let's say from me, who was born six miles from a sundown town, and was raised constantly reminded that I was different than the "norm". I mean most of those I know from Cali date IR, whereas IR is still seen as strange in this neck of the woods, in particular with black women and white men. Per some women IR is all the rage in California, and if I was into white guys I needed to move there as they were plentiful. I still managed to find one here in Dallas, but it was I admit slim pickings for the most part in terms of IR, most guys here at the time I was dating wasn't up to the challenge of stares and comments from strangers, friends, and family, not to mention here, blonde hair, blue eyed, stick thin, with fake boobs reigns supreme.
I know up on the east coast, there is a perception people in the south are all red necks, and we have not discovered central air and heat (is there a reason in every movie about the south, people are always sweating and drinking ice tea, even inside their own homes), but there is also a perception that whites down here are more racist, and then I think of thinks like Bensonhurst, Sean Bell, and Amadou Diallo. I know when I think of Florida, I never think of Miami, I always think of northern Florida with backwood rednecks. Or Mississippi, I always tend to think that the KKK is still out and about, even though I have no evidence of this. I think of Washington state as the white holy land, filled with neo nazis, but great coffee and lots of rain. Georgia I always think of Deliverance and the KKK.
So I am curious, does region really affect racism, or does it affect the type of racism?
50 comments:
I think region definitely plays a part, any it can vary within the same state. I live in Virginia. The western part of the state is more rural and Deliverance-like, so there are fewer interracial relationships there. The Northern part of the state is metropolitan like New York and Philadelphia, so you see more interracial relationships there. I live in the Hampton Roads area, which is the Southeastern corner of the state. Because of the strong military influence, this is one of the most integrated areas in the country, so I see lots of interracial relationships here. The most common I see are white female/black male and Asian female/white male.
I don't know why people still insist on making the south the "home of racism".
It's America. The whole damn country is racist.
I'm from Chicago and some people will argue there's not much racism here. That's a damn lie. Illinois has quite a few sundown towns.
I'm from Los Angeles. I'm of the impression that it's more racist in the South than in LA (but I've never been to the South), but LA is infinitely more racist than Ithaca, NY and Morgantown, WV.
I never heard of sundown towns until you or another blog wrote about it two months ago. Then I checked the web and found that Hawthorne, Ca which is close to where I live was a sundown town in the 30s and 40s. I think cops are more racist than the public at large, but then I generally don’t think much of the police.
In Southern California, there is a lot of IR, but I mostly see wm/aw, wm/hw, and a much smaller group of hm/bw. I see bm with anything including bw, they are really keeping their options open.
I scoff at the ida of California not being racist. I live in North West Floria and New York. There is racism all over but just expressed differently.
Racist people are everywhere and they come in different colors.In Florida they were more open about it. And that was the first place I lived.
Despite what people said about the differences btn North and South, I never thought for one second that the North was less racist.
Personally I thnk racism is just part of the Western Mindset. Atleast in the way I define racism. Racism to me doen't simply translate to hatred of people of another race. It is that inherent belief that the other person if an inferior human being. Most non black people won't readily admit it but harbour it in the back of their minds. The ones that we call racist are those that act out that belief. When people say all whites are racist, this is what they mean. A racist person does not have to be an all out KKK. But its the person that believes another to be inferior and acts on those feelings or shows his feelings.
So that is my definition of racism. This type of mindset is unable to fanthom that the other human cn have some equal or superior abilities than them.
The most friendly and courteous people tend to reveal this kind of racism. Patronizing behavior normally exhibited by whites is racist.
Simply put the inability to recognize another human being as having the same potential as you in all areas of life, is pure racism. So what if I have a different cultural background from you, what makes you so sure that I can not be better or equal to you on your own turf? A person that thinks this way to me is racist because they forget that we many of us have lived centuries exposed to Western Culture. So I have to be so dumb that even after 100 years I still can not compete on your turf?
This is the kind of racism black people should be focusing on because its the foundation of it all.
Well, yes, it's a portion of nurture and I'm fairly square on the racism is nurture, not nature side of things.
But, in defense of my home state, Washington, we really should be divided between Western Washington (ie Seattle) and Eastern Washington (ie Western Idaho). I live in Eastern Washington, and well, the biggest local story I can remember growing up was when a local branch of the Aryan Nations got sued after chasing a woman for several miles after her car backfired.
She sued, got their compound and turned it into a center for multiculturalism.
I absolutely thing region affects the type of racism you may see. It was 6 years ago that I moved from Chicago to Maine and immediately noticed a difference in day to day racism. In a weird way living here is preferable, in Chicago racism was indirect... you know getting followed in the store, being invisible in lines. That type of indirect yet small stuff that just eats at your core over the years.
Here in Maine, when I do encounter racism its a lot more obvious, not subtle which I find easier to deal with, if that makes any sense. At least I know who the bigots are rather than trying to guess.
One of the most overlooked aspects of racial issues is regionality.
I grew up in Utah where you will find some of the friendliest, and most idealistic people anywhere... bu they are nearly ALL white. People are so inexperianced they do stupid things not out of racism but out of ignorance, or rather inexperiance.
I also lived on Bankhead in Atlanta where there are NO white people... I got stares (and words) there too.
The South is still battling with their history and that directly affects their view on race.
Now in Philly... I have had the "N" bomb dropped on me like no where else, yet we see more mixed couples than anywhere else (except Denver oddly enough).
Region is a huge part of it.
NYC is racist, every few months the cops kill or kick some black or Latinos ass, neighborhoods are form the most part segregated, we only got integration b/c of gentrification which is basically a gradual removal of people of color. The crappy city schools are 90% black and latino, white kids rarely go to public school.
I live in upstate NY and I do not see many BW/WM IR relationships unless they are of the younger set 25 and under. I was born in Slidell, LA so...yeah I know a lil sumthin sumthin about racism. I think the difference above the mason-dixon line is that they (for the most part) hide their racism while on the other hand, Southerners will not hesitate to say that they hate n*ggars. I would definitely feel more uncomfortable/scared going through a white southern town than a black one with a white male companion/lover.
I try to stay out of out-of-the way rural places anywhere if I can help it. I don't think that rural white people are the racial harmony kind of people.
I'd say so. I grew up in Wisconsin, the whitest heart of the Midwest and they weren't racist just ignorant.
I, like temesha, am from Hampton Roads (Norfolk, more specifically). I have seen some wm/bw relationships there, but the military reigns supreme, therefore most IR's are asian/white. In all reality, I dated more white men while living in Southeast Georgia than in Norfolk. Odd? Yes, but for some reason, when living there, I was constantly approached by white men....
dana111
A region affects the type of racism. You may think that Californians are less racist because they seem to be more liberal. I believe the racism in California and places similar to it is more clever and high tech than the racism you will see in the southern region of the United States.
Also, I grew up thinking that Northeastern White people were smarter and less racist than Southern whites simply because the Yankees won the Civil War and that they must have liked Black people to have fought for our freedom. But, I don't believe that any more. I went to a mall in New Hampshire a few years ago and to leave the store I had to get on the escalator. To avoid the escalator, I walked up to a white male cashier and asked where the elevator was. He acted as if he did not want to speak to me and answered my question after I asked it again. The store was big. I couldn't find the elevator and decided to take the escalator. I was at the top along with two of my cousins and we were laughing about the fact that I was afraid to get on the escalator. A white male security guard came behind us. I thought he wanted to get on the escalator. He didn't say anything. He just straightened the shirt in his pants and almost pushed us on the escalator by stepping closer behind us. When we got on the escalator, he left. I believe he must have been trailing us on the camera. I don't have a good image of New Hampshire today because of that. Just like Mississippi. If I hear that state's name, I think of the Ku Klux Klan.
I dunno, to me it's all about perception I guess. Like California is supposed to be one of the most liberal states but you'll still see people talking about racial tensions (like I think a couple of comments above me said).
I think region can play a role in the type of racism, though. But I just keep thinking of the fact that I've grown up all my life in Tennessee and the state has this history of racism (that still goes on), and the whole South has this history of racial hatred/tensions and all that, but I'm reading some of these comments from people in other states and its just got me wondering if it's really where you live affecting racism...
I think we'll know for sure after Election Day, not only state by state, but county by county.
region plays a part. although i don't think racism has a type. it is what it is wherever it happens.
and i don't know what your friend from cali is talking about. yah there may be more white men willing to date african american women but it doesn't mean it's any easier. you can't exactly pick them off the floor and walk them down the aisle.
im from cali and i happen to think the norm for interracial dating is white/asian.
btw, what's a sundown town. is it the whole you shouldn't be there past sundown if you want to live?
that ish is so scary.
I think we'll know for sure after Election Day, not only state by state, but county by county.
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That isn't fair at all. Equating someone's politics with their views on race is both innacurate and unfair. Now while a person's views on race may affect their politics, you cannot assume one pics one candidate, or one party over another because of it.
I am not a McCain man at all but saying you can tell a racist by if they vote for Obama or not is wrong and actually hurts "the cause."
If you accuse someone of racism innacurately you wound a potential ally and feed the enemy.
I think racism is relative to the people in the state. California and NY are filled with people from other states. I hardly ever hear about people moving to the south if they don't already have family there or lived there once.
I am an Arizona native born from immigrant parents (Nigerian and Jamaican). I honestly can't remember anytime I have experienced any direct racism or name calling. Racist people are everywhere. The fact that I live in a state with more Hispanic/white tension relations might play a part. I went to a High School that was 77% Hispanic.
I honestly do think the south is more open about their racism. I have a college friend who came to AZ for school and was continually frustrated that there was no racism (openly/continuous) like he expected in Texas. I constantly had to tell him it was just different here. He thanks me now for helping him get through it. But being from Humble, Texas definitely made him more focused on race.
At the end of the day it’s about the people you surround yourself by. My community has always been diverse. And my 2 best friends are Hispanic, who both get confused for Asians. lol. I think I tend to flock towards more ethically/internationally diverse looking people anyway.
TIKI
The only time I have directly experience racism is when I took my black gf to visit my sister in Memphis and was called a n-lover by one of her neighbors. People in the south are nice, but a bit backwards.
Here in Columbus, I have seen more WM/BW couples than ever before. Maybe I just notice them more these days, or maybe because it is the largest city I have lived in and there will just be more overall. Columbus is fairly liberal though, maybe I found a good place. Also when you hit the clubs it is not rare to see a BW with a WM dancing or having drinks.
However, after college, I would like to try some new places mostly Charlotte or Raleigh, NC. I am interested in the perception of those places though before I make a choice.
I don't know why people still insist on making the south the "home of racism". It's America. The whole damn country is racist. I'm from Chicago and some people will argue there's not much racism here. That's a damn lie. Illinois has quite a few sundown towns.
Yeah I think so too, I don't think it is a southern thing.
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I scoff at the ida of California not being racist. I live in North West Floria and New York. There is racism all over but just expressed differently.
I definitely agree. I think some people are able to express it a bit differently. I think it can be a bit more covert in some areas than others.
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Well, yes, it's a portion of nurture and I'm fairly square on the racism is nurture, not nature side of things. But, in defense of my home state, Washington, we really should be divided between Western Washington (ie Seattle) and Eastern Washington (ie Western Idaho). I live in Eastern Washington, and well, the biggest local story I can remember growing up was when a local branch of the Aryan Nations got sued after chasing a woman for several miles after her car backfired. She sued, got their compound and turned it into a center for multiculturalism.
Hey Evan!!!!! Dang that woman was genius. That was really nice of her to do that, I wonder what happened to those members. I know once my cousin, who is a lawyer in Louisiana was hired to defend some KKK idiots. They felt if they had a black lawyer, they would look less racist.
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One of the most overlooked aspects of racial issues is regionality. I grew up in Utah where you will find some of the friendliest, and most idealistic people anywhere... bu they are nearly ALL white. People are so inexperianced they do stupid things not out of racism but out of ignorance, or rather inexperiance.
Do you think that ignorance can be racist? Or do you separate the two?
I also lived on Bankhead in Atlanta where there are NO white people... I got stares (and words) there too.
My husband had a similar situation and people either reacted like he was the coolest person ever, or they acted as if he was the downfall for all things black. He said it felt weird.
Also, I grew up thinking that Northeastern White people were smarter and less racist than Southern whites simply because the Yankees won the Civil War and that they must have liked Black people to have fought for our freedom. But, I don't believe that any more.
Seriously. I used to think the same way, I think I was wrong to make that assumption LOL
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btw, what's a sundown town. is it the whole you shouldn't be there past sundown if you want to live? that ish is so scary.
Yes pretty much.
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I honestly can't remember anytime I have experienced any direct racism or name calling. Racist people are everywhere. The fact that I live in a state with more Hispanic/white tension relations might play a part. I went to a High School that was 77% Hispanic.
Wasn't AZ the last state to observe the MLK holiday, they fought it for years.
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Here in Columbus, I have seen more WM/BW couples than ever before. Maybe I just notice them more these days, or maybe because it is the largest city I have lived in and there will just be more overall. Columbus is fairly liberal though, maybe I found a good place. Also when you hit the clubs it is not rare to see a BW with a WM dancing or having drinks.
OK if I ever get divorced, I'm moving to Ohio, per you and Casper the white boys up there like the sistas LOL :)
Having moved from city/suburban Ohio to middle of no where Missouri (but Obama was here today) it is blatantly obvious to me that either people here are less racist or just better at hiding it. Maybe it is a town vs city thing here but random white people hold doors open for me, waiters give good customer service and people I work with went out of their way to be nice to me.
My mother expects me to move back to the Cleveland area or at least closer than I am now but I don't know if I can go back to living that way. Random people being rude to you for no reason is not for me.
I lived in Columbus, OH for 8 years. There are a ton of bm/ww pairs. Occasionally you will see a bm/bw couple and even less often a wm/bw couple. They do have a large openly gay community which is probably where the liberal reputation comes from. The neighborhoods are segregated. I will admit however that was the only place in my life where I have ever been asked for my number by white man (3x) or an Asian man (1x). This wm who was a great dancer asked for my number at OSU's block party. Unfortunately I was intimidated by the circle of angry black men who had been staring at us for 5 songs (1 even cut in) and hesitated which he took as rejection.
I live in Georgia, but I'm originally from North Carolina. To me, the racism was worse in NC. There are many IR couples here in Atlanta-- more than I've seen in other parts of the South. It's still hairy traveling in some parts-- like Alabama. We went to visit my husband's brother in New Orleans and I got scared when we stopped in Alabama. Everyone was staring at us and I got really nervous--my husband was like, "OK, let's just get the hell out of here, the vibe is bad." Certainly in some rural towns of Georgia that we have been in, we were getting stares and whispers. I've never lived anywhere but the South, but the impression that I get from friends who moved here from Chicago, New York, etc., is that racism is there as well.
Okay, I actually had some details wrong. They didn't simply chase the woman, they caught her and her son and beat the crap out of them. The civil suit apparantly bankrupted the Aryan Nations, forcing them to auction off their land. After which all the buildings were burnt down and it was turned into a peace park.
It's all there in the NYT's creepy ass obituary of the Aryan Nations founder.
Also, when I wrote this:
"Well, yes, it's a portion of nurture and I'm fairly square on the racism is nurture, not nature side of things." I meant that it's not just family, but friends and basic attitudes where you grow up that shape you, obviously. It doesn't actually say that, which is why I should proof read my comments before I post them.
And the links, which should have been included in that post are here:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000828/ai_n14332073
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/09/national/09butler.html?pagewanted=all&position=
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3719/is_200607/ai_n16855772/pg_22
I really need to start proofreading.
I would say the "type" varies with the region.
I grew up in the SE (traveled widely throughout) and lived in Cali for a while and traveled all over Cali, Arizona, and Mexico.
Not that Mexico counts. But it might.
I have found white Southerners to be easier to talk to even strangers.
But I have had some crazy experiences both in the South and in the West that usually takes the form of invasive questions about my education, finances etc.
Northeastern people scare me no matter what their color. Never been there- just met a lot of transplants.
Sorry, but I can't stop, on looking into this further, it turns out that in addition to losing their land, they also lost their intellectual property. Including the rights to the name 'Aryan Nations.'
I shit you not.
It's probably a good thing you can't hear the giggling I'm doing, or you'd think I was deeply troubled.
kit keep it trill said: I think we'll know for sure after Election Day, not only state by state, but county by county.
I agree with you, somewhat, for there will probably be lots of people, of all races, who will not vote for Obama because he is [bi-racial] black.
But there will be lots of people who won't vote for him, such as me (I'm a black woman), because of his politics. No, I shalln't be voting for McCain, either. (My politics are definitely liberal/progressive/left-of-center, so I cannot vote for McCain. Neither can I vote for Obama, who is showing himself to be firmly rooted in the right.)
So, does that make me, and others like me--who have chosen not to vote for Obama, not because he is black, but because we have looked at his record, how he is running his campaign, listened to what he has said, pondered his political positions, and have concluded that he is not our choice--racist? You just can never know, after election day, whether those who did not vote for him did so because of race or because they do not agree with his politics.
By the way, I think he will win, regardless of the fact that I won't be voting for him.
Having moved from city/suburban Ohio to middle of no where Missouri (but Obama was here today) it is blatantly obvious to me that either people here are less racist or just better at hiding it. Maybe it is a town vs city thing here but random white people hold doors open for me, waiters give good customer service and people I work with went out of their way to be nice to me.
Ladonna,
Holding open doors and being nice is a "southern" thing. I used to have a client in New York, and I swear these people hated me when I worked with them, they were so gruff and rude to me. Then I left the account, they freaked out, saying how much they loved working with me, and I was the best and begged me to come back. I figured out, they are just different than me being a Texan, where we aren't as blunt, or aggressive in things. It took getting used to. But people down here are raised to call people "sir" and "ma'am", hold open doors for people, and just say "hi" and smile at complete strangers.
It's still hairy traveling in some parts-- like Alabama. We went to visit my husband's brother in New Orleans and I got scared when we stopped in Alabama. Everyone was staring at us and I got really nervous--my husband was like, "OK, let's just get the hell out of here, the vibe is bad." Certainly in some rural towns of Georgia that we have been in, we were getting stares and whispers. I've never lived anywhere but the South, but the impression that I get from friends who moved here from Chicago, New York, etc., is that racism is there as well.
Starkitty,
When we do our road trips to Houston, we have to stop and get gas or stop to eat somewhere, it is usually Buffalo, TX, which is a small, redneck town. They will look at people, stare at them all day, or assume me and the man aren't together. They then stare us down, I just keep eating, or doing whatever, and my husband gets all nervous. He is scared we are going to get lynched.
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Also, when I wrote this: "Well, yes, it's a portion of nurture and I'm fairly square on the racism is nurture, not nature side of things." I meant that it's not just family, but friends and basic attitudes where you grow up that shape you, obviously. It doesn't actually say that, which is why I should proof read my comments before I post them.
No problem, I don't half read what I post or comment on either, and sometimes I wonder if I typing faster than I can think because I will leave out important information or just assume everyone can read my mind :)
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Northeastern people scare me no matter what their color. Never been there- just met a lot of transplants.
Yeah, I have been to New York, Jersey, and other places, but it is different way of living up there.
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Sorry, but I can't stop, on looking into this further, it turns out that in addition to losing their land, they also lost their intellectual property. Including the rights to the name 'Aryan Nations.'
That is crazy, what do they call themselves now?
That is crazy, what do they call themselves now?
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Broke.
ignorance in and of itself is in no way racism. You cannot fault someone for what they do not know...especially if gaining the lacked knowledge is not a natural or accessible process.
That is crazy, what do they call themselves now?
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Broke.
ignorance in and of itself is in no way racism. You cannot fault someone for what they do not know...especially if gaining the lacked knowledge is not a natural or accessible process.
I live in North Carolina, and I've never experienced overt, blatant racism here. However, over the years, especially now that I'm older, I notice the subtle, patronizing type of racism common in white folks my age and older. I've experienced snobbishness from the white women who did not want to accept me into their social circles, to folks who pat themselves on the back for being so tolerant and "liberal" because they've exchanged a few words with me, to people who are taken aback because I have an advanced degree, speak and carry myself well, and refrain from watching mainstream news.
"That is crazy, what do they call themselves now?" As far as I can tell, they still call themselves the Aryan Nations. I can think of a couple of ways to work around the trademark infringement thing, but they may just be ignoring it. If I was Mrs. Keenan, I might not be eager to get involved in another lawsuit with those creepy, creepy, murderous people.
By the way, until this incident, I hadn't actually known that the national headquarters of the Aryan Nations was about seventy miles from my house. Right next to a town I've passed through dozens of times. At least one little fragment of the national organization is still there. Creepy.
Georgia, My cousins live in Atlanta and they moved from Nigeria and they say it is like Africa...that there are LOADS of black people, specially nigerians :-) hehe...
anyway i always thought it was more racist "down south".
I was born and raised in California. I'm 25 and have I've lived in Texas for five year now. People are people and racism is racism. It doesn't matter if it is San Jose,CA or Plano, Texas. I do think regional history has a great deal of influence on social dynamics. I do think as a POC I have more opportunities in the South than in other areas of the country.
Hey I'm from northeast, agre that the racism is different here, but sometimes people mistake the coldness and isolationism of people up here for racism. Don't get me wrong this place is really racist, espeacially with the 35 + crowd. Don't even get me started with the fucking police up here. But I've noticed that younger you go, the better the relations are. Again I've only lived in the northeast so I can't speak for the rest of the country.
JDR
"ignorance in and of itself is in no way racism. You cannot fault someone for what they do not know...especially if gaining the lacked knowledge is not a natural or accessible process".
I don't buy the argument that some rural American whites act in racially offensive ways out of ignorance. This can only be possible if they do not know American history and don't watch television. They know what race means and the implications.
In this day and age ignorance is no defense.
No, actually I blame TV for the ignorance.
Just think for a minute. If ALL you know of black people comes from TV, how accurate and informed would you really be?
History? The average Joe could not care less about history.
It is sad but true that millions of white Americans only know blacks through the media... which portrays high paid athletes, booty shakers, rapping criminals....and for a little "fairness" you have Jesse Jackson. Does this sum up who you are? If TV is the only contact you had, what would you think?
ignorance in and of itself is in no way racism. You cannot fault someone for what they do not know...especially if gaining the lacked knowledge is not a natural or accessible process.
Here in America, don't we have enough access to things for the most part?
I think in some instances ignorance is not really wanting to know.
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I've experienced snobbishness from the white women who did not want to accept me into their social circles, to folks who pat themselves on the back for being so tolerant and "liberal" because they've exchanged a few words with me, to people who are taken aback because I have an advanced degree, speak and carry myself well, and refrain from watching mainstream news.
This is what I deal with for the most part.
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By the way, until this incident, I hadn't actually known that the national headquarters of the Aryan Nations was about seventy miles from my house. Right next to a town I've passed through dozens of times. At least one little fragment of the national organization is still there. Creepy
See Evan I told you that Washington State was the white holy land :)
I was born six miles from Vidor, TX, and actually dated a white guy from there, and had no idea that it was a sundown town until high school. I never thought I rarely even driven through the town, I just knew it was close to where I lived. The guy I dated caused some controversy in his family by dating me though. His parents were ok with it, his uncles a bit more vocal to him about it.
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Hey I'm from northeast, agre that the racism is different here, but sometimes people mistake the coldness and isolationism of people up here for racism. Don't get me wrong this place is really racist, espeacially with the 35 + crowd. Don't even get me started with the fucking police up here. But I've noticed that younger you go, the better the relations are. Again I've only lived in the northeast so I can't speak for the rest of the country.
I don't know if it is racism though. A KKK person might ignore me down here, but a white person with racist tendencies will smile and say hi to me on the street. Up there NO ONE says hi to you at random, unless they are trying to ask you out.
The KKK started down here in Florida. Orlando actually which is Central Florida. IM in South Florida and there is a mix of people so I don't really see anyone being racist. I've been through North Florida and they seemed a little friendly. They didn't seem to have a problem with us, but of course that was just one small part of north Florida.
In Ohio I've also been followed around stores, accused of stealing, and pulled over for dwb (they claimed they were looking for a stolen vehicle). In 2000 there was a Klan rally in downtown Cleveland.
Hey Sid,
Many Californians ASSUME that the south is racist even if they've never been there. The history of the south is usually the measure that they use, so upon arrival some will start imagining there's racism in the air. I know lots of people here who have this air of California superiority in terms of all things "liberal" and "progressive". Sadly, most avoid ever visiting the south, and most who would only visit blue states on either coast, so Texas is a "no-fly zone". I know highly educated people who swear they can't live anywhere but in the San Francisco Bay Area due to their perceptions of the rest of the country, but they've never been anywhere.
In my opinion it's bias and ignorance, the same thing they assume exists only in the middle of the country.
For the record, in the progressive Bay Area I recieve more racism from nonwhites than whites...
"It is sad but true that millions of white Americans only know blacks through the media... which portrays high paid athletes, booty shakers, rapping criminals....and for a little "fairness" you have Jesse Jackson. Does this sum up who you are? If TV is the only contact you had, what would you think?"
Are you saying that rural Americans know little difference between right and wrong and their only source of information about blacks come from TV?
If this is the case then I don't see why a black person should be concerned by their attitudes.
From this point of view it would be fair to say that they may not recognize blacks as people.
" History? The average Joe could not care less about history."
So these people don't know about slavery and the Civil war?
I was born and raised in California (lived there twenty years). I lived in a mostly white middle class neighborhood. Race never seemed to be an issue. There were always a lot of white female/black men pairings, but no one really bats an eye. I moved to Northern Florida, and it's not as common. People down here are more racist or pay more attention to race. Although I've had more bad vibes from black women down here more than anything.
But there are racist and ignorant people everywhere. You can't just say the South is. But the region as a whole I think is more racist than say California or up North.
Well from my experiences thus far, during my teen years I lived in Colorado and at the time I went to school with Neo Nazi’s and White pride supporters. The only relations I saw were obviously white and White Mexican and White Asian. The military had a strong presence, but despite that, most of the races stayed separated.
I lived for several years in a Northeastern City that is a bastion of academics and tecchies. Despite its overtures at progressive politics and views it is inherently divided and racist. This is the same city that in the 70’s had a similar reaction when Blacks were presumptuously bussed into their school districts. They rioted and protested at the mere fact that they had to sit next to a black person. The city is still heavily entrenched with class and blue blood and common blood demarcation are heavily noticed. When I lived there I was subjected to an alienating type of racism. And since I wasn’t white, Asian and female, IR was distinctly a White/Asian configuration, followed closely by the usual stampede of Black men that wanted anything but Black.
Fast forward to the Southeast region I am now residing and although the diversity quotient is quite respectable due in large part to the Caribbean and Central and South Americas, IR at least where I live is still a White /Hispanic, Asian dynamic with as you would expect anything but a Black woman that doesn’t have pretentions to Alicia Keys or a lightened Beyonce.
I will be relocating probably next year and I have looked earnestly at Austin, San Antonio and Houston, as well as Seattle, but I am not sure if the Culture, arts (theater, opera, classical music), and diversity are particularly strong in these areas. I would really like to live a diverse city, with a strong professional Black force, and not think about racism and carrying baggage; however I do understand that it is wishful thinking.
I think region can affect how people express their racism, but I definitely think racism is rampant everywhere in our country. I've lived in Texas and California, and I've lived in rural and urban areas, and it seems to me that in all of those environments, you don't have to look very hard to see many examples of racism. Around the Bay Area where I live now, most people want to be perceived as liberal, whereas in Texas it was much more the norm to be very conservative, so that probably affects how openly people are willing to express their racism. Also, I think there's something about the whole Confederate identity in the South that makes Southerners sometimes more likely to be proud of being racist, like it would be disloyal to the Confederacy/the South/the whole country if they were to give up their racism. Without that historical connection to racism, it feels a little different to me here in California. People sometimes express their racism less openly here (sometimes, I say!!), but in a way that's more annoying, since it seems more hypocritical, and ultimately its harder to get at, because its buried under the white liberal racist look-good facade.
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