Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 30 replies, 31 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 2 months ago by
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- Muggers come in all colors, and it has nothing to do with their race. There are other factors that come into play (social, economic, etc.) You say that you have close black friends; have they tried to rob you or held you at gunpoint? If not, it should be obvious that not all blacks are dangerous, and you could just as easily have been mugged by a white, Asian, Indian or Latino.
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Name : SC29526, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 18, City : Crowder, State : MS Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,There are a million differences in the way blacks and whites live in the United States. For example, I see black kids treated very roughly, being screamed at by their mothers, and fathers, for things that white, Asian or Latino kids wouldn't be punished for. And as with every race, if you're raised around derelicts, you'll know it as the only way to behave, and copy the behavior. If you had close family who were criminals or were in jail, it's how you'd know to act, and might even be seen as part of growing up or a right of passage.The only solution I can imagine would be a widespread change in the way this population of the black community lives, and I know that's no small order. Who's to teach this? Whites? Not a chance. Other races would come off as insulting or 'disrespectful' by giving such ideas. Whites specifically could never begin to try to tell a black mother that if you scream at your young child, much less smack the child or otherwise abuse him or her, if you let the kid witness illegal actions and unsavory behavior, even if that's what your mother showed you, then that kid is going to continue this cycle, and may grow up to be yet another mugger or thief and further reinforce the stereotype the white powerbase in this country feels to be true. This 'plan' could only work or happen from lessons taught from within the black community, to the black community.
None of this is about race; it's about culture. Black American Culture. Everyone knows that stealing is wrong; sometimes kids are taught (just by watching) that doing wrong things is OK if you don't get caught. It seems that, in public, I see many more black women acting out this way. Asians, Latinos and whites generally tend to treat our young like the fragile, impressionistic sponges that they are. Generally, we try to imprint upon them to 'Do the right thing.'
Sorry if you disagree. But after you've cooled down, think on this: Do you really think that anything that whites will offer you will bring about dramatic, widespread change? Or do you really want dramatic change? Pity, guilt or reparations from whites will not give blacks what they need to stop this cycle of violence and poverty. I hope this population knows this as possibly the ultimate truth - that this change will only come from within.
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Name : Rick, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 34, City : san francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,White men lynched my uncle in 1950, a white woman slapped my grandmother for trying on a pair of shoes, white kids spit in my mother's hair while she tried to attend school, a white boy drew lewd pictures of blacks in our school bathroom... I could go on. Do I get nervous around whites? No. Why? Because I understand that the people who did those things are individuals who happen to have been white. Period. I know that most whites are nice, upstanding citizens, as are most blacks. Whites actually commit most of the crime in this country. Don't believe me? Look it up. But am I developing fears and prejudices against whites? No. If your attackers and your friend's attackers had been white, would you now be fearing white people? Probably not. So don't blame a whole race on a few misguided souls. If you do, it makes you just as bad as them.User Detail :
Name : Amber31532, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 23, City : Greenville, State : NC Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I'm a black woman and feel the same way (sometimes) about my own people. But I'm from Alaska and not used to a lot of black folks (I have my own prejudices against white people, too). I can see why white folks feel the way they do about black people in SOME instances. At the same time, I feel we are justified about the way we feel about y'all.User Detail :
Name : JAMARA, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 32, City : hampton, State : VA Country : United States, Occupation : exec asst, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,I'm not sure about Minneapolis or what type of people live there but I kinda understand where you're coming from. I, too, flinch when I see any group of young men congregating in mass, regardless of race. I've had female friends harrassed and followed by the 'skate punks' in the mall, all of whom are white. And I recently had my front door kicked in in an attempted robbery of my home by a gun-toting, heroin-addicted drifter, also white. Am I afraid of whites, particulary white men? Not a chance. I married a white male even though society (and my parents) lead me to believe all white men have the tendency to molest children and are serial killers. I think being victimized by anyone will make you leery of that particular group, especially if they are all of one race group but as a human with a great deal of hope and faith in my fellow man, I have to give everyone the benefit of a doubt until they prove themselves to not be worthy of such benefit.User Detail :
Name : Jane P., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 32, City : Raleigh, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : Paralegal, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,I am a African American born and raised in the inner city. Most people of color are honest and lawful. Unfortunatley, you have a few criminal parasitic indivduals who are the bane of the black community. They've preyed on me too. And just like you, I want to go out and fry their a**ES.User Detail :
Name : Steve, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Religion : African Methodist Episcopalian, Age : 30, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Keep in mind your evidence is anecdotal and not representative of reality (check FBI crime statistics). Most people haven't and never will be attacked/mugged by anyone black but are still afraid. Here in Atlanta, there are plenty of upper middle class black neighborhoods where you'd be completely safe, and lower class white neighborhoods you'd be lucky to make it through in one piece. It makes more sense to be afraid of poor people than of black people (if you absolutely must pick a group that is).User Detail :
Name : JustMe26895, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 27, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,This is a very good subject. I have had bad experiences too. Wheres whitesdid lynching in the 50's, crime against whites by blacks is common today. The media is silent about it, but they go beserk when a white against black crime happens. Racism isn't a white thing, it is everywhere.No matter how many times people attack you for telling the truth about your own experiences, don't join a hate group. When white people are victimized, they don't have many to turn to and guess who is waiting for you? Haters will listen to you, but no one will listen to them. Your best bet is to find a nonracist white group and work through them.User Detail :
Name : Kathy, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 37, City : Fresno, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower class,I read this above: 'Whites actually commit most of the crime in this country. Don't believe me? Look it up.' So I did. Whites are most of the PEOPLE in this country -- four out of five. Nonetheless, they are the second highest group of, for example, murdereers, right after blacks. Blacks are about 12% of the US population. Whites are about 80%. (as of 1990 census - http://www.census.gov/population/documentation/twps0056/tab01.xls ) Blacks commit at least 35% of the murders in the US. Whites commit at least 34%. (FBI Uniform Crime Reports - 2002 data - http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_02/xl/02tbl2-6.xls ) That means that, black vs. white, blacks commit seven times more murders per capita than whites. The annual National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) interviews victims of major crimes, which include rape, aggravated assault, and robbery (but not, for obvious reasons, homicide). For crimes committed by a single individual whose race can be identified by the victim, 25 percent of perpetrators are black. For robbery, the figure climbs to 51 percent black. These figures have held fairly constant for many years. (http://www.stats.org/record.jsp?type=news&ID=254) Since 1972, the U.S. Department of Justice has conducted a National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to determine the frequency of certain crimes. One category is interracial crimes. Its most recent publication (1997), titled Criminal Victimization in the U.S., reports on data collected in 1994. In that year there were about 1,700,000 interracial crimes, of which 1,276,030 involved whites and blacks. In 90 percent of the cases, a white was the victim and a black was the perpetrator while in 10 percent of the cases it was the reverse. (http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/wew/articles/99/conspiracy-silence.htm) Obviously, the reasons behind these statistics are complicated, but we need to be honest with ourselves in identifying the problem before we can hope to solve it.User Detail :
Name : Matt, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 34, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I'm a white female who lives in a very mixed neighborhood and I've never had any problem with black guys (other than cat calling!) I often walk home late and alone and walk past many black guys and feel no fear whatsoever but I do know 3 people who were held up at knifepoint by black guys. What is the solution? Thats difficult. Your caution is based on solid emperical evidence not statistics - so it is natural - and will be difficult to get rid of it. Could you possibly relocated to a nicer area? Usually you have to remove yourself from negativity rather than attempting the impossible task of removing the negative.User Detail :
Name : Jay31341, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States,YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! So what was the main reason for the KKK and other 'groups' of this sort? To welcome blacks as equals? Whites are only getting back what they gave out! They made blacks fear them, so I think that 'turnabout' is fair play! Remember, what goes around eventually comes around!User Detail :
Name : KofiM, City : Jersey City, State : NJ Country : United States,Your 35, you know better to trust us blacks in the first place. Hell, I'm afraid of my damn self! I think it is an individual obligation to make changes that concern or matter to you. It appears you've done this by having friends of different breeds. This should be the norm and not congratulated however, but respected nonetheless. Since I was 3 I've been fortunate to have relationships with every creed, breed, race, religion I can imagine. Now I feel uncomfortable if I'm not surrounded by all kinds. Maybe choose to fear those people in power who remind us everyday why segregation and hatred exist. 1) Every President of our UNITED STATES has been an Anglo-saxon male. 2) Majority of people in strength positions are of the same cloth. 3) As the young lady said earlier most heavy duty crimes are committed by anglos. Everything bad that has happened to me and my family that I know of was by someone caucasion. This is scary, yet I LOVE white people, even tricked one into marriage. You live and you die period and thats beautiful. Maybe you should mary a brother and he could communicate better with the bad people when trouble comes knocking. Read books about John Coltrane or Mingus this may help you! Love ya!User Detail :
Name : Rajiah, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Blind, Race : Black/African American, Age : 35, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Jazz Flutist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,It amazes me just how little things have changed. My response to you would be; maybe if you wouldn't act so afraid,and treated each person as an individual, you would get a different response. Living in the south, I know that I am judged, at first by the color of my skin. It makes me so angry sometimes. There are white people, that once they get to know you, they treat you one way while at work. Then when you see these very same people in public, they won't even acknowledge you when they are with there white families. I think that your fear is just an excuse for you to continue to justify your prejudice. I think that black criminals are exploited the majority of the time, while white criminals, most of the time, become famous or at the very least, just given their punishment, and that's that. I think that this and so many other instances are just things the white man use to continue the racial prejudices they have always had for the black race. I read the paper and I look at the news and in my opinion, the biggest difference in people, is that some of us get caught.Or at least it appears that way. So I say to you and anyone else who claims to be serving God: what would he say about the way you feel?User Detail :
Name : jd, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, City : goldsboro, State : NC Country : United States,I don't get it you look in the history books and the ones usually at war and taking everyone else rescources are white people. If any should be afraid it should be just about everybody else. Then again you look back and in the past that's how it used to be white people had the upper ground and they were still afraid. Black people make up 12% of the population so there is no way in this world we can commit all the crimes. It's that most of us don't have the money to keep it out of the papers and off the news. Whoever robbed you and your friends probably did it out of dire need. No one in their right mind commits crimes for fun, just like no one is a thug by choice. Though I'm not saying it was right for them to hurt you or anything but there's a 99.9% chance you will be physically assaulted in your life time ok so that's one for you. Get over it.User Detail :
Name : Kali26985, Gender : F, Religion : Baptist, Age : 16, City : Willingboro, State : NJ Country : United States, Social class : Middle class,I think this whole issue is a self perpetuating problem that I personally find very irritating. I know that the vast majority of black people are decent, law-abiding folks just like I know the vast majority of muslims are not terrorists. Here's the problem... we live in a society where MTV and the popular media tell us (and a lot of black kids) that it's cool to be a criminal and kill people as long as you write a song about it. Feel free to laugh and call me old and say 'sure, sure, blame it on the rap music'. But take a walk through the mall this weekend and checkout the high school kids. THEY WANT TO BE INTIMIDATING!! That's why they walk with a limp, dress like 50-Cent, hold their hands over their crotches (to make you think they're packing heat) and adopt the patented gangsta stare. We live in a society that increasingly glorifies and rewards criminal behaviour. It's sad because most of these kids have no criminal intent and are doing it just to be cool. Unfortunately, by going out of their way to look like criminals they generate concern that they are. Someone else posted a comment detailing all the various things white people had done to his friends and family and that it in no way affected his opinion of white people at large. I wonder if that person walked through the mall and saw a bunch of white people dressed in white hoods and sheets if he would be equally comfortable, even if these people were only dressing this way for 'cultural reasons'. My point being that I'm sure the original poster is not intimated by blacks wearing business suits or dressed like J Crew poster boys for that matter. My sense is that he is far more intimidated by those who activily try to be intimidating.User Detail :
Name : Joe, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 36, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,
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