Does racism still exist?....

[theSoulfulMofo]

I just got back from Wendys drive thru, half an hour ago (9:30pm)

The Wendys was in an industrial neighborhood... when I was ordering, there weren't any other cars in sight and the restaurant was closed for people eating-in.

As I was waiting for about 3 minutes to receive my food? I sat in my car, listening to my rock music? until I noticed in my side mirror, that a tall balding-blonde gentleman wearing a blue windbreaker with pink should patches, was staring at me in MIDDLE OF THE DRIVE-THRU? possibly no more than 10-20 feet behind me? then another guy in a black jacket walked up beside him?

I was terrified? how weird is it for two strangers to stand in middle of a drive thru, just to stare at a car and its driver waiting for his food?

At first, I thought the balding guy looked like a skinhead with a mohawk? I was running through the possible scenarios through my mind? like whether these two guys would approach by my window and pull me out to beat me to a bloody pulp?

What am I to make of all this?

 

[The Wanderer]

i dont call that racism or anything like that, that's just scary

i was at the DC metro system (kind of like the subway or tube) the other week, waiting to pick someone up, and this guy came walking over, i was just listening to music and not paying attention and i had my window half down (it was dark, not many other cars around), and he scared the shit out of me when he blurted out, 'excuse me'

for a second or two i envisioned the end of the world, all he wanted was a light of a cigarette...

but you never know

 

[Cleasai]

sadly it does

Out of curosity, were you blaring your music loud enough for other people outside your car to hear? I wonder if he was just annoyed by it so he just stood there glaring at you hoping you'd get the message?

I can understand your fears though. I live in a predomently large asian community and a very little bit asian myself (1/4 Japanese). Because I look mostly caucasion, however, I constantly hear people make derogatory comments without them knowing my genetic background. Although this doesn't illustrate the true nature of your fear it does show that racism does, sadly, still exsist. I would also like to say that this isn't the case for only asians. Shortly after 9/11 I was hanging out with my Persian friend who was born in Afganistan. I must say that she is very beautiful and very sweet... but you think people were staring at her for her beauty?

I'm sorry if I got a lil off-topic here but I just wanted to get that off my chest. Here's a for ya SoulfulMofo

 

[Cleasai]

Wanderer does bring up a good point also... some people are just damn psycho...

 

[The Wanderer]

no, it wasnt that loud, and he wasnt a psycho at all, he was very apologetic about startling me, he just kinda came from the side so i didnt see him till the last second when he said something

 

[cell]

i believe racism still exists. look under racism and you'll find my exhusband under that definition. my ex husband thinks all mexicans who are bald are gangbangers and scary. when the rodney king riots happened, he was threatened by a gang of mexican thugs because he looked like one of the cops who beat up rodney king. he peeled out of the driveway in his car with those guys chasing him down the street with bats and whatever else they had. stores were being looted that day. it was a bad day, duh.

im hispanic, and having to hear him make those and other comments over the years to me hurt me alot. he didnt care. he made me feel guilty for being who i am.

i think in your case mofo, those guys were psychotic for standing in the drivethru like that. i could be wrong. im glad your ok

 

[Cleasai]

icelle

 

[ABEL]

Soulfulmofo that is scary!

I've heard of people being robbed for quick cash in fast food restaurant drive through lines too...who knows what they were up to

 

[theSoulfulMofo]

no... my music wasn't loud at all.

I never blast my music... I have it at a comfortable volume level.

Besides... it was a U2esque rock ballad.

 

[daisybean]

Perhaps they were just a couple of drunks who had no cars and were hungry. If they couldn't get inside then they probably thought they sould go through the Drive Thru

 

[Cleasai]

I've thought about doing that before

 

[ABEL]

cleasai

 

[dizzy]

I think racism will never cease to exist. I'm Asian. Fortunately, the environment in DC is quite multicultural, and people here are used to seeing/being with people of diff. nationalities, so haven't been discriminated. At least, not yet.

 

[meegannie]

Coming from Kentucky, and having an old southern family in Virginia who still thinks there should be a Confederacy, I've seen a LOT of racism.

In college, I participated in this "dialogue on racism" one year and the woman leading the discussion claimed that ONLY whites can be racist because they "hold the power." When I argued that minorities can also be racist, she called me a racist and said that all whites are racist by birth.

When I was 8 or 9, I was in Michigan at my mom's house for the summer and my dad drove up from Kentucky to visit. We went to the mall, and I had to to go the bathroom, which was in the basement, so he waited for me upstairs and I took the elevator down. On the way back up, there were two teenage African American girls on the. As soon as the door closed, they started calling me white trash and threatened to kill me. They were talking about how they were going to beat me up, kidnap me, and then kill me "for being a little white piece of shit." Fortunately, when the doors opened, my dad was standing right there, so they couldn't do anything.

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

Absoultely racism still exists. It still exists in terms of racist attacks and racist comments. It still exists in terms of institutional racism which means Black people are disadavantaged in education, in employment and throughout society. The police are still far more likely to stop and search Black men than white men, Black people are still more likely to receive harsher sentencing than white people for the same crime (that applies both to the US where Black people are disproportionately represented in people given a death sentence, and in the UK where Black people involved in riots in Bradford two yeras ago recieved sentences of six and seven years compared to sentences of a year for white people committing the same crimes.) and Black people are still dramatically undererpesented in positions of power such as in Parliament or on school governing bodies or in local government. And to add to all that, six fascist councillors have been elected in the UK in the last year. So yeah, I'd say racism still exists and that it's a huge problem which every person needs to be active in opposing.

 

[nbcrusader]

The heart of man is evil

Racism exists and will always exist.

Racism abounds in many ways. It exists in the heart of people everywhere - from the stereotypical "redneck" to the civil rights champion. It is created by people who look for it and remains in people who deny it. It is found in things as small as brief interpersonal exchanges and on a large institutional level or the allegation of the institutional level.

It is also a source of political power for some.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

i believe racism still exists. look under racism and you'll find my exhusband under that definition. my ex husband thinks all mexicans who are bald are gangbangers and scary.

lol i am a gangbanger!

i love the rasist stereotypes about my ethinc group. i just laugh at the ignorance of all.

 

[adamswildhoney]

Racism definately exists!! I can attest to that bc I live with a 2 racists, One knows that they are and the other doesnt and I have to constantly tell them what they are saying is sooo wrong.

 

[cell]

lol i am a gangbanger!

*does a gang sign*

Orale homes!

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

'sup ?

*drives off in my lowrider with my gangbanging boyfriend Juan*

 

[Cleasai]

oooh, there be some hottie latina chicas in da hoooooouse

 

[deep]

Coming from Kentucky, and having an old southern family in Virginia who still thinks there should be a Confederacy, I've seen a LOT of racism.

In college, I participated in this "dialogue on racism" one year and the woman leading the discussion claimed that ONLY whites can be racist because they "hold the power." When I argued that minorities can also be racist, she called me a racist and said that all whites are racist by birth.

Sure, I remember reading about how all those white folks got lynched. And how they were refused accommodations and weren?t allowed to drink out of the fountain that said ?colored? on it.

Those minorities have made my life a living hell!

If I try and buy a house in their neighborhood they throw a brick through my window and yell I am RAISING their property values.

How has black racism affected the quality of your life? What has been taken from you?

Did you want to move to ghetto? Did you want an inferior education?

When I was 8 or 9, I was in Michigan at my mom's house for the summer and my dad drove up from Kentucky to visit. We went to the mall, and I had to to go the bathroom, which was in the basement, so he waited for me upstairs and I took the elevator down. On the way back up, there were two teenage African American girls on the. As soon as the door closed, they started calling me white trash and threatened to kill me. They were talking about how they were going to beat me up, kidnap me, and then kill me "for being a little white piece of shit." Fortunately, when the doors opened, my dad was standing right there, so they couldn't do anything.

This story is interesting. It is not nice for teenagers to scare young children. Did you wish your skin was black so this would not happen again?

Meggannie,

I hope you don?t think I am picking on you.

I just had this same conversation with somebody.
He said that racism was on the decline. I asked him if he would like to be a black man if he could be 10 years younger? He hesitated to answer.

Yes, Blacks can be prejudice, and I suppose racist. The problem with racism is in what it denies people.
What can black racism deny us white folk?

 

[Cleasai]

I asked him if he would like to be a black man if he could be 10 years younger? He hesitated to answer.

How could he answer? To me, questions like that are filled with empty rationalism mainly because it is impossible for a member of one race to acurately comprehend what life is like for another race. How could he know what blacks have to live through on a daily basis? Does he go by what his black friends tell him? Does he go by what the media tells him? I am no way saying that what your friend said was right, but somewhere along the lines while living inside his little world, that is what he has observed.

Yes, Blacks can be prejudice, and I suppose racist. The problem with racism is in what it denies people.
What can black racism deny us white folk?

Does that make it right? As far as I'm concerned any form of racism denies another the right to live in peace and happiness and without fear.

[By the way Deep, I respect you completely, and I do not mean for this post to be a lash out upon anyone.]

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

oooh, there be some hottie latina chicas in da hoooooouse

 

[Angela Harlem]

Yes, Blacks can be prejudice, and I suppose racist. The problem with racism is in what it denies people.
What can black racism deny us white folk?

Racism isn't about property prices and the like, which I know isn't your point, its a unjust consequence of prejudice. You ask what it denies 'us white folk' as though 'we' are the unlucky ones though. It denies anyone regardless of colour, equality. Its not worse for blacks, or worse for white. Where there is inequality, one colour's is not worse than another. The consequences of prejudice and racism can be worse when a group is targeted or more affected by it. But the actual 'wrongness' of racial hatred is the one equality among the whole issue.

 

[meegannie]

Racism isn't about property prices and the like, which I know isn't your point, its a unjust consequence of prejudice. You ask what it denies 'us white folk' as though 'we' are the unlucky ones though. It denies anyone regardless of colour, equality. Its not worse for blacks, or worse for white. Where there is inequality, one colour's is not worse than another. The consequences of prejudice and racism can be worse when a group is targeted or more affected by it. But the actual 'wrongness' of racial hatred is the one equality among the whole issue.

There's a difference between racism and discrimination. Discrimination is a consequence of racism.

 

[meegannie]

Did you want to move to ghetto?

I already lived in the ghetto.

 

[diamond]

There's a difference between racism and discrimination. Discrimination is a consequence of racism.

 

[TripThruUreWires]

Re: The heart of man is evil

Racism exists and will always exist.

Racism abounds in many ways. It exists in the heart of people everywhere - from the stereotypical "redneck" to the civil rights champion. It is created by people who look for it and remains in people who deny it. It is found in things as small as brief interpersonal exchanges and on a large institutional level or the allegation of the institutional level.

It is also a source of political power for some.

excellent points.

on a personal note, my husband and i experience a degree of prejudice/close-mindedness nearly every day. my husband is 100% Asian. I, on the other hand, am 3/4 caucasion, 1/4 hispanic. we get looks and stares everywhere we go (from the US to Singapore)--ranging from confusion/bafflement to outright disapproval. it used to be quite annoying and frustrating; however, i no longer allow it to affect me...i figure, i'm not the one with the problem. as most parents of mixed children probably do, i only pray that our child (to be born in 8 months), will not have to experience any form of discrimination growing up. and although that may be a longshot, as a parent, at least i can raise him/her to have a thorough awareness of both his/her mom AND dad's racial/ethnic backgrounds, as well as instill a sense of pride in that regard.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

Re: Re: The heart of man is evil

as most parents of mixed children probably do, i only pray that our child (to be born in 8 months), will not have to experience any form of discrimination growing up. and although that may be a longshot, as a parent, at least i can raise him/her to have a thorough awareness of both his/her mom AND dad's racial/ethnic backgrounds, as well as instill a sense of pride in that regard.

congrats on the pregnancy!

my sister and her husband have 4 children who are of mix races. my brother in law is african american. my sister and brother in law have raised their children to be very aware of their mix race and to be proud of it. they are light skin children and are always getting remarks "you are half african american? you don't look like it!" it bothers my oldest nephew who is quick to tell those who comment on it that he is proud of his african american and mexican american heritage. they are beautiful children and i am proud that they are smart enough to be aware of the prejudice that is out there. even my brother and his wife are proned to the racism with their children. my sister in law is scottish and canadian, and when we travel to texas to visit family we are always getting looks from the mexican and white people. i think it is funny that many people still think it is strange to be in relationships with people of different races and ethinc backgrounds. it is a shame though because my sister in law mother stopped talking to her when she married my brother. she has never seen her 4 beautiful grandchildren. and i find it very sad when my brother's oldest son tells my mother that she and my grandmother are his only grandmothers.

I like to say my family is the U.N. and i am quite proud of it.