Race relations, How far have we come?

[mama2one]

most parents ARE trying to do the best they can

 

[KCfromNC]

With the climate of race relations we have today in this country, this turned into a racial incident, which should have just been someone getting a speeding ticket.

When I see threads like this I am reminded of articles along these lines : More Than Half of Russian Facebook Ads Focused on Race

 

[Hank77]

One point is: How and why do "stereotypes" come to be? That doesn't even have to be answered, because even one poster here demonstrated such stereotyping by identifying Andy and Barney as two stereotyped kinds of police. So we KNOW where they come from..... From the experiences consistently seen in our daily lives.

That's true but does that mean that all stereotyping is factual? Even some that are factual isn't it important to know the cause of particular behaviors?

You talk about your black neighbors being good people who left their old neighborhoods. How many more good people are there in that old neighborhood that would leave if they were financially able to?

 

[TLK Valentine]

Seems pretty obvious to me that 1: We've come a long way, 2: We still have a lot of work to do, and 3: Sometimes we step forward, and sometimes we step back.

I think one of the keys to improving race relations is for everyone to acknowledge and remember all three of these points.

 

[TLK Valentine]

wondering if the girl who called the police who said "I have every right to call the police" would have called if she saw a white college women had fallen asleep studying

remember putting my head down over my college books so many times in the library while at college and can't imagine sleeping being a reason for police to be called

Same here -- I crashed out all over my campus back in the day; nobody ever called security on me.

 

[Willie T]

That's true but does that mean that all stereotyping is factual? Even some that are factual isn't it important to know the cause of particular behaviors?
You talk about your black neighbors being good people who left their old neighborhoods. How many more good people are there in that old neighborhood that would leave if they were financially able to?

You may be missing my point. I don't know of even one person of any race who WANTS to live there. Why is that?

Yes, my Buddy, Richard, would prefer to live where more people were like him, but he certainly does not want to live on the Southside (Blacks named it, not us) as life there exists today.

President Trump made a statement that got people all fired-up.... "What do you have to lose?" And that comment was only based upon the exact things thousands of Black people, themselves, have been loudly and publically complaining about for decades. They really don't seem to have anything to lose.... Won't they only win (as they are with this new economy) if conditions improve?

I honestly think one of the first things for any kind of progress is to get rid of a false pride that forces us to claim our life is perfect. If it was, there would not be thousands of people complaining about living it. And, it is NOT prejudiced to say that.

Blacks here in St. Petersburg have even MORE opportunities than Whites. I know, because I have been forced by the Government to hire Black men over equally/or more qualified White men. And years before that, I worked right alongside Blacks who made exactly the same money I made.... yet they lived in shacks, while I spent a portion of my money on improving my homestead. So, I do have a very hard time swallowing that old line of how I have had it better, and just don't understand.

But, I still keep going back to saying that if we won't help ourselves, we will always find ourselves depending upon someone else to take care of us...... AND we will come to resent both that/those people, and ourself for allowing it.

 

[Willie T]

BTW.......... Thank you, Mods.

 

[PeachyKeane]

You may be missing my point. I don't know of even one person of any race who WANTS to live there. Why is that?

Yes, my Buddy, Richard, would prefer to live where more people were like him, but he certainly does not want to live on the Southside (Blacks named it, not us) as life there exists today.

President Trump made a statement that got people all fired-up.... "What do you have to lose?" And that comment was only based upon the exact things thousands of Black people, themselves, have been loudly and publically complaining about for decades. They really don't seem to have anything to lose.... Won't they only win (as they are with this new economy) if conditions improve?

I honestly think one of the first things for any kind of progress is to get rid of a false pride that forces us to claim our life is perfect. If it was, there would not be thousands of people complaining about living it. And, it is NOT prejudiced to say that.

Blacks here in St. Petersburg have even MORE opportunities than Whites. I know, because I have been forced by the Government to hire Black men over equally/or more qualified White men. And years before that, I worked right alongside Blacks who made exactly the same money I made.... yet they lived in shacks, while I spent a portion of my money on improving my homestead. So, I do have a very hard time swallowing that old line of how I have had it better, and just don't understand.

But, I still keep going back to saying that if we won't help ourselves, we will always find ourselves depending upon someone else to take care of us...... AND we will come to resent both that/those people, and ourself for allowing it.

Unbelievable.

 

[Hank77]

You may be missing my point. I don't know of even one person of any race who WANTS to live there. Why is that?

I specifically speaking of people just like your neighbors and want to leave for the exact same reasons. So painting all of the people who are stilling living in the old neighborhood as being the people who use bad language, etc. isn't true, that's stereotyping those people as being all the same.

I know, because I have been forced by the Government to hire Black men over equally/or more qualified White men.

I am not doubting you, but what law forced you to meet a quota for minority hiring and what law required you to hire less qualified people?

But, I still keep going back to saying that if we won't help ourselves, we will always find ourselves depending upon someone else to take care of us...... AND we will come to resent both that/those people, and ourself for allowing it.

This I agree with. That is why I believe that anyone receiving charitable benefits from the taxpayers should have to work in some way. Whether that is a part-time job, a full time job, internships, or community volunteer work.
This is for their own sense of self worth and for their children.

 

[Willie T]

Please understand, I don't give a tinker's dam about skin color. I DO, however react a lot to obvious attitudes. And when I don't even live in a certain part of town, but consistently hear more than 10 times as much putting-down and shaming of their children, from just driving down the street, "Yes" I am going to conclude that this is much more a way of life in that area than the area where I would be much more liable to hear it if it happened — in my neighborhood. Any sensible person would.

Can you find such a conclusion incomprehensible?

 

[Willie T]

To answer one of your questions, Hank: You may be too young to remember this, but it dang near wrecked the economy around here for several years in the 70s, until we got rid of it.

(From the web)
"AFFIRMATIVE ACTION" is a governmentally required positive effort, beyond elimination of discrimination, to seek out and employ persons of groups that have been discriminated against. It is a requirement now imposed on all Federal contractors, which includes almost all employers.

 

[SummerMadness]

Here is what I'm reading, maybe I'm wrong: I don't care about skin color! But let me tell you all these stereotypes I have about black people. I will never live in their neighborhoods, look at how they act! I don't care about skin color! And the blacks ruined the economy with affirmative action, they really did because they forced us to do things we didn't want to do! But there is nothing wrong with me thinking ill of black people, I am only doing what I logically would do from observation. But remember, I don't care about skin color!

It seems like you do.

-----

Race relations, we have come far, but some clearly still need to catch up. I would chalk it up to age, but there are too many older Americans who are at pace or ahead of the pack.

 

[PeachyKeane]

To answer one of your questions, Hank: You may be too young to remember this, but it dang near wrecked the economy around here for several years in the 70s, until we got rid of it.

(From the web)
"AFFIRMATIVE ACTION" is a governmentally required positive effort, beyond elimination of discrimination, to seek out and employ persons of groups that have been discriminated against. It is a requirement now imposed on all Federal contractors, which includes almost all employers.

From the web? Where? Citation? Link?

 

[Willie T]

Here is what I'm reading, maybe I'm wrong: I don't care about skin color! But let me tell you all these stereotypes I have about black people. I will never live in their neighborhoods, look at how they act! I don't care about skin color! And the blacks ruined the economy with affirmative action, they really did because they forced us to do things we didn't want to do! But there is nothing wrong with me thinking ill of black people, I am only doing what I logically would do from observation. But remember, I don't care about skin color!

It seems like you do.

Do you have a car?
If you do, get in it, and drive through an average White neighborhood... drive through another... and another. Drive through ten of them, taking representative photos all along the way.

Now do the same thing on the Back side of town.

When you get home, ask someone who knows your town to tell you where they think each of the photos was taken.

Any more questions?

 

[PeachyKeane]

Do you have a car?
If you do, get in it, and drive through an average White neighborhood... drive through another... and another. Drive through ten of them, taking representative photos all along the way.

Now do the same thing on the Back side of town.

When you get home, ask someone who knows your town to tell you where they think each of the photos was taken.

Any more questions?

Lots.

You're saying this is true in any city in the nation?

 

[SummerMadness]

Do you have a car?
If you do, get in it, and drive through an average White neighborhood... drive through another... and another. Drive through ten of them, taking representative photos all along the way.

Now do the same thing on the Back side of town.

When you get home, ask someone who knows your town to tell you where they think each of the photos was taken.

Anymore questions?

Do towns have a backside? If towns have a backside, I would suspect it's where all the ignorant people live pushing the idea that their stereotypes are should somehow be taken as intelligent observation.

I'd hate to go through my community and see this:

 

[RDKirk]

It's physically impossible for affirmative action to have "dang near wrecked the economy" with regard to hiring black men because there simply aren't enough black men to have that great an impact. Demographics make it impossible. If every single black man was put into a job through affirmative action and no other way, that's still only a 10% impact (the black percentage of St Petersburg is only 3.2%). And that certainly never happened.

The real impact of Affirmative Action was not the hiring of blacks, it was the hiring of white women. That is where the demographics always was and still is. If white men have an issue with affirmative action, they need to look around at how many white women are surrounding them.

 

[mama2one]

And when I don't even live in a certain part of town, but consistently hear more than 10 times as much putting-down and shaming of their children?

I think people are attuned to certain things

for example, since becoming a parent, am "more protective" of other kids and willing to speak up/get involved
it's not that didn't notice kids before and had even worked/volunteered with kids but parenting changed my outlook

my guess is your outlook has you more focused on certain things which validates your thinking; is that possible?

 

[TheBear]

You know if you're doing 70 in a 55. He deserves a ticket.

Unless you're black, of course. Then, it's all about racism.

 

[mama2one]

have come to believe that white privilege exists