Okay, so something on the Jena 6 thread got me thinking... /rant ensues. This thread was going to be about the "n" word, but it's basically just about racial relations in general. IMO, the n word doesn't mean what it used to to many people (what I think of as the average white southerner). All black people used to be n words, but now it seems there is a very big distinction between black people & n words. Sure, to the KKK they are still all the same, but other than them I think most people see that a black person can be no different than a white person. While this may not seem like much, this is a huge ideological shift from the way it used to be. However, the n word has persisted & is still quite popular teminology amonst white southers (behind closed doors, of course)... From what I've seen, the n word is more a description of class than anything now-a-days, and the reason it has lingered on is because black people haven't made enough progress as a whole to change what is associated with that class.
I think most folks have preconceived notions that are difficult to overcome without multicultural interaction. The anecdote about Northerners being more racist than southerners speaks to this. That the n-word-that-shall-not-be-named applies to class, not the color of one's skin, I think is only halfway accurate.
Cparso,nothing can be done about race relations community vs. community.On an individual effort sure.There are a bunch of people who have friends of a different race,but the communities will not allow mutual love.That being said the black community is exactly that a "comunity".The white comunity is not as intertwined or close as the black community which is why so called leaders such as al sharpton can infiltrate their community and have such a hold on it.Guess what I'm trying to say is whites for the most part do not need that community feeling and it would be hard to infiltrate the white community and force your opinion or beliefs on it.Blacks march,go to church together,barbeque at parks together,go to southern football games together and have their "own" neighborhoods because I beleive all the history of not letting them fit in in normal society.Sure every once and A while you will meet a nice black person and might even be friends with them and that's fine,but there is alot of hate for whites especially in the south that you can see everyday when yo ugo to the local burgerking and order onion rings instead of fries and you get 4 whole onion rings.
I Agree that interaction is necessary. But I do not follow the anecdote. Care to elaborate? I didn't mean to say that it doesn't apply to skin-color, just that skin color is not the only factor anymore. Low class white people have their own derogatory nick names.
It depends on the community. As much as we'd like to think it doesn't happen, black people are discriminated against when buying homes or trying to rent. Good point. But, I'd say that it's very much the present & not just the past. For instance, black people have their own bars in Baton Rouge. They try to come to the "white" bars, but often aren't let in. Is this wrong? Maybe, but then again there aren't as many fights & shootings because of it. Basically, that's my whole problem with this. Black people complain that they are discriminated against, but, as a whole, they've got a reputation that they have earned & deserve.
Blacks (in general) are the one ethnic minority that has refused to be assimilated into "the melting pot." It's hard to figure. There are a few black families in my upscale white neighborhood and nobody resents them a bit. Why are they welcomed and accepted? Because they have assimilated. They have good educations and good jobs and drive decent vehicles and keep their kids out of trouble and owe the bank a mortgage note just like me. They keep nice houses and get involved with civic activities. They are a lot like the rest of us. But there are too few of them. Now, there are black families not too far away, in a formerly white neighborhood that we keep at arms length and definitely do not welcome into the neighorhood. Why? Because they brought the ghetto with them into their new neighborhood. Many are unemployed, many are on food stamps and welfare. Their kids run the streets, drop out of school and get into all kinds of trouble. The Police map shows that they have child molesters living among them and tons of crime happens there that does not happen in my neighborhood. They don't keep up their houses, mow their lawns, and they do things like paint them hot pink or dayglo green. Property values have plummeted. It's not their race that is holding them back and keeping white people from respecting them. It's their ghetto culture. if they can't leave it behind when they leave the ghetto, then the ghetto follows them . . . and white folks want nothing to do with it and therefore with them. If you ask the average black person, "what are the biggest problems facing blacks today", he will answer racism #1. If you ask the average white person, "what are the biggest problems facing blacks today", he will put racism about #5 after crime, teenage pregnanacy, welfare dependency, and school dropouts.
The N word doesn't have any negative connotations amongst the youth. It's only the old people that keep yapping about it. I've seen blacks call blacks, white call whites, blacks call whites, whites call blacks the N word in regular conversation. It's almost like the word "dude". Of course context means everything though.
I was referring to the story you told in the Jena 6 thread. I've known a few people from up north that seem to be more racist than people in the south, though they kind of cover it up, probably in large part because of their limited multicultural interactions. If your point was that we're less prejudiced in general than we were in the past, I agree with that. Unconsciously I have preconceived notions of what a person is like based on the way they present themselves, whether it is skin color, style of dress, vocal accent, activity of choice, mode of employment. Consciously, I try to be openminded and not form judgement based on superficial things. I think more and more people feel that way, which I'm guessing is partly what your point was. I agree with what was said earlier, I think in the Jena 6 thread - black folks think racism is a bigger deal than white folks. But their opinion can't be ignored because you think you know better unless you can closely relate to why they feel that way. Being a minority can have psychological effects because you are always treated differently, even if it just small things like the way people look at you. It can be overcome, but that doesn't mean that it should be ignored.
I recently had this discussion with my "token black friend". He argued that the #1 problem facing blacks today if the absence of responsible men. I did some homework and found this link. http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed101305c.cfm If you don't want to read the whole thing, here is the part that really jumped out at me. Sixty-eight percent of black children are born out of wedlock. This problem is compounded by the fact that (among both blacks and whites) out-of-wedlock childbearing is correlated with low levels of maternal education. Overall, the women who are least capable of supporting a family are the most likely to go it alone. Liberals often argue that blacks do not marry because black men’s wages are not sufficient to support a family. History says otherwise: At the beginning of World War II, over 80 percent of black children were born inside marriage. Black men’s wages at the time were $639 per year: around $8,000 in today’s terms. The figure is now about $30,000, or nearly four times higher than 50 years ago — but only 32 percent of today’s black children are born inside marriage. Historically, black out-of-wedlock childbearing skyrocketed while black men’s wages were rising, both absolutely and in comparison to whites. Something other than men’s wages must explain the collapse: changing cultural norms, for one, and a welfare system that pays women to remain single. I posed the question to him as to why he thinks that so many black men do not feel responsible for their children, and he seemed as perplexed as I was. This seems to back up Red's argument that their is a very big gap between assimilated blacks, and those that they left behind. If Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton spent as much time on this issue that they do on Don Imus and the Jena 6, the culture gap may have a better chance of closing. Just my 2 cents.
