Anyone experienced RACISM first hand?

[Fausto]

I can't say as I've ever really been on the receiving end of racism (or the giving end, for that matter), but it's certainly ever-present here in the south. Atlanta is unique as we have a somewhat odd mix as far as what groups are in which positions of power. For example, many of our elected officials are minorities (mostly black) while most of the money intown is white (though we have some of the wealthiest majority black neighborhoods in the nation in southeast Dekalb county). There have been some ugly incidents in recent memory here that are somewhat unique to Atlanta. One good example was the recent mayoral race: all three leading candidates were black, so they resorted to racial politics in an effort to distinguish themselves as the "blacker" candidate (the vast majority of elgible city of Atlanta voters are black, BTW). Robb Pitts' wife is white, so of course this was touched on (indirectly). There was a good article in the local paper on this (that of course I can't find now...sorry). I just thought the racial sniping amongst three black candidates was really a disservice to all those who fought for civil rights to where there could even BE a black mayor of one of the largest cities in the US.

Another interesting series of incidents regarding the recently-voted-out representative Sherry Dorsey, who basically gerrymandered her district to exclude white voters in an attempt to remain in power. When confronted by those who felt she was failing to represent all in her district (read: the white people) she and her supporters simply screamed "RACISM!!!". This is an all-too-common theme down here...our outgoing mayor being perhaps the biggest offender. I'm sorry, but using one's minority status to shout down critics instead of actually responding to the criticism is disgusting.

Creative Loafing story on Dorsey

Fausto

 

[FuZoR]

hmm, not really. i was called beloved patriot and chino like once or twice in JHS, thats about it. Maybe im to ignorant. Here in NYC, its pretty diverse and everyone seems to respect each other to a degree .

 

[kt]

In this day and age, we all need to be "politically correct". So, please don't use the word "racism". The politcally correct term is "ethnic discrimination".

 

[HamSupLo]

i got called "chino" by the cholos during Jr HS and early on in HS.....i guess it's an ignorance things cuz people don't seem to do those kinda things as they get older. Some of those hispanics became pretty good friends since we wound up on the same sports teams, classes, etc.

 

[Looney]

LOL chino, i remember being called that when i worked in a slaughtering house. I didn't even last two months in that job before getting into a fight and getting fired. I didn't even know that was offensive... the fight was when he insulted me in English. Guess if i'd known that was racist i wouldn't have lasted a week.

 

[jjones]

i've been called a various assortment of racial slurs against whites and italians but that just seems normal to me considering some of the neighborhoods i've been around. also it also seems i'm responsible for "keeping a brother down" but i think this is just my birthright.

 

[Hakunin]

Heh, I have been called beloved patriot or beloved patriot a few times (I'm 1/4 Japanese), although it didn't bother me too much.

Some guy left notes in my Dad's locker in HS saying "you are a half-breed" and other racist stuff, so he beat the sh!t out of the guy; needless to say, people didn't say anything like that to him after that.

 

[ManSnake]

Racism, no. Sexism, definitely. I was discriminated twice when applying for a job in IT. It seems that when you are competing for a job position with a girl in IT, you (guy) always lose to the girl even though you are clearly more qualified for the job.

 

A carload of Puerto Rican kids once shot at me in the Bronx yelling "go home white boy".

 

[Texmaster]

<< Once my friend and I were walking out of my apt. in Ohio, when a car drove by with rap playing really loud - but a good song. My friend, while I was locking the door, was kinda dancing to the beat while he waited. Then we hear a shout from the car of "Gonna gut you f**king honkies!". We were a little alarmed to say the least, but just walked away and the car drove off.


But you know what? I have just that one insult in my entire life. And most of us here have one or 2 isolated incidents, or one job in an inner city, etc. But as bad as those are, I would wager we have seen just 1/10000th of what an average black, asian, or hispanic person goes through in their lives.

Don't get me wrong, I think racism in any form is wrong... but would any of us who are caucasian really go up to any of our black/asian/hispanic friends and tell them about the hard time we've had with racism?

I think many of us of caucasian decent have had it VERY easy, comparitively speaking.

I'm not justifying or minimalizing anyone's experience(s), just trying to maintain perspective.

(BTW, my close friends run the spectrum of many races, and I'm in an inter-racial marriage.) >>




Once you get into who suffers more from racism instead of acknowledging racism exists everywhere, you drift down a path that has no end.

All peoples, are races, and all countries are guilty of racism, not a group of people or country alone.

Once this is recignized, then you can look for a solution.

 

[777php]

Growing up Chinese in SF, CA you would think that the tolerance level would be higher but, unfortunately in my case it was not.

I went to a predominately white catholic k-8 school. I don't think there was a day that I wasn't called a derogatory name. They would throw things, pick on me, and start fights.

One day they circled me and had one guy start pushing me in order to start a fight, he tried to punch me in the head but grazed me, I gave him an uppercut to the breadbasket. He lost his breath and the fight was over. Even though I had won the fight, the tormenting continued until the day I graduated.

It was funny to see the same guys in my High School where that kind of stuff would get your @$$ kicked. The school was definitely more diversified in ethnicity.

 

[Antoneo]

I've had a hard time in JHS here in NYC (I live in a predominately white mid to upper mid class neighborhood).
I have been spitted on, punched in the head for no reason, and of course the usual racial slurs and remarks ie beloved patriot go back to your country etc.
There were two kinds of classes in my school and most other JHS too. The "regular" classes and SP or magnet classes. I was placed in the magnet class and I have to say that I was treated as an equal there for the most part. The kids from the "regular" classes had a problem with me and bothered me consistantly after school or whenever I was not with the rest of my classmates. Shows how intelligence really matters.
The other asian kids in my class were picked on similarly except this one kid who went completely ballistic whenever bothered. He would whip out a compass and threaten. That kid was crazy.
Now in a very diverse HS, I have found that racism towards me is very little. Except for the fact that blacks stay with blacks, whites stay with whites, and asians stay with asians.

 

[JoeBaD]

What, no classy?

 

[Wallydraigle]

I've been descriminated against brutally all my life but it doesn't matter because it wasn't based on race.

 

[TallBill]

ehh.. i went for a physical in some little doctor's office in newark... walked in and got turned away... they said they were closed, but i had just called over the phone and they had said i could just walk in up till a certain time... it was well before that time....

 

[vash]

The only times I experience racism in the US is when I go to to a Korean restaurant. When I go there, don't speak Korean much, I usually get crappy service -- they hardly come to my table when I need something, hardly flag me down, etc. However, they do seem quite attentive to other customers that speak Korean. This may sound dumb, idiotic, etc, but its very easy to notice, especially if you live in SoCal. Whenever I go to a Chinese, or Japanese place, the service is great, but its almost always when I go to a Korean place the service just turns really bad all of a sudden.

vash

 

[FenrisUlf]

I lived in Korea for two years and there was definite racism against any non-asian people. When there are only about 40,000 Americans in a country of 40,000,000 you know what it's like to be a real minority. I was the first Caucasian that some of the Koreans had ever seen. Children would come up and touch my (and my girlfiend's) hair and skin and want their pictures taken with us. It was a bit wierd being a tourist attraction. There were negative things too. Mothers didn't want their daughters marrying or dating non-Koreans (there was a big story in the Korea Times in 1997 about it, basically saying that although many of the younger women wanted to date foreingers, their family was totally against the idea). If you were involved in a traffic accident (even in a cab) it was automatically your fault since the thinking went "if you weren't in our country the accident wouln't have happened". Caucasians were considered to be one small step down (but still a step down) the social ladder from Koreans, but blacks and hispanics were several steps down the social ladder. The attitudes in places where Americans frequented (around military bases mostly) were of course more receptive to foreigners, but away from those few areas was a different story. Prices may have been higher for us, but it was hard to tell since bargaining was a way of life and when you don't speak much of the language, you were bound to get somewhat screwed. One memorable incident was when I was waiting for a friend in Seoul and a nearby vendor saw a passing black man. He turned to me (I hadn't been talking to him since his mental stabilty looked suspect) and said "N*****s no good. They all steal." I looked at him incredulously and just walked away. All in all my experience was positive, but there is no doubt that there were many instances where I was being looked down on. I hold no grudges - It's their problem, not mine.

 

[Jfur]

<<

<< SAME with white kids and dread locks!! Rasta?s (For the most part) hate whites? GET A CLUE!! >>



haha i hear THAT, that's some of the funniest sh|t around. Listening to Bob Marley is one thing, but any white man who thinks he's rasta is a MORON. It's so funny >>



I know some white Twelve Tribesmen. They are very hardcore.

As far as racism, I have personally encountered it in many forms. White people don't think I'm white -- non-whites think I am white or are some other thing. I was physically attacked by a gun-wielding Romanian skinhead and verbally berated and denied fair process by Japanese (American) businesspeople.

But it's nowhere near as bad as some friends of mine who are African American. I can hardly blame people for being bitter when you see some of the crap they have to put up with. A lot of it is subtle and hard to call, but it is very damaging nonetheless.

 

[CJZ]

Since I moved here to Pittsburgh (from LA), I haven't felt really comfortable. I sometimes get stared at or get dirty looks from caucasians when I go to stores. My asian friends have had racial epithets yelled at them (from caucasians and afro-americans). I went to sign up for a Sam's club membership. As my friends and I walked in, the people working at the desk tried to look like they were doing something. So we figured we'd wait until they were finished or someone else could help us. After waiting five minutes, a group of caucasians walked in. Immediately, one employee asked them if she could help them. We were pissed. The woman probably realized how pissed off we were because she avoided eye contact. We had to find someone else to sign us up for memberships.
Just the other day, we went out to eat at a restaurant. When we entered the door, the hosttess gave us a dirty look. WTF? I was so happy to go home to LA for thanksgiving. I didn't get any stares/dirty looks from caucasians. I can't wait until christmas break.

 

[KK]

I just watched an episode of All in the Family, I probably only have seen about 3 episodes in my lifetime. Now that show was probably about the most politically incorrect show that I have ever seen. Archie and the George Jefferson were going back and forth cracking one liners about each others race. I could see all the flak a show nowadays would get if they even did 1/3 of what that show did. It was a pretty good show though.

KK

 

[Looney]

The only times I experience racism in the US is when I go to to a Korean restaurant. When I go there, don't speak Korean much, I usually get crappy service -- they hardly come to my table when I need something, hardly flag me down, etc. However, they do seem quite attentive to other customers that speak Korean. This may sound dumb, idiotic, etc, but its very easy to notice, especially if you live in SoCal. Whenever I go to a Chinese, or Japanese place, the service is great, but its almost always when I go to a Korean place the service just turns really bad all of a sudden.

Now that you mention it, i've experienced this as well in Korean restaurants. But i've had a good experience as well though.

The only time i've had a problem with a business was actually in Texas... and i live in Canada! Had to make a call to a local computer shop to order something for somebody, and the fvckers kept putting me on hold and forgetting me. Tried abotu 5 times, and kept telling my gf that i think something is extremely fishy... she kept laughing and didn't believe me, and had her give a call. Immediately they gave her service. Then i called back immediately after she called to see if it was just because they finally got time, and i was again put on hold indefinitely.

 

[Sp3nce]

I was in Erie PA a few days ago sitting in a car w/ my bud eating Micky Ds. These 2 black guys pulled up next to us, & just kinda looked over. We tossed a couple fries to the birds, and just sat there eating and talking amongst ourselves. When they left, they beeped their horn, I looked over, and I was flipped off. Times like that I'm glad I will make more money working the same job

 

[chiwawa626]

<< I would wager we have seen just 1/10000th of what an average black, asian, or hispanic person goes through in their lives. >>

intresting...well im indian and i come accross a few racist jokes a week about my culture or religion or whatever..i dont take much offence to them but they usualy come from the whites or other asians. In our area the black people are all wannabee ghetto so it dosent really mater lol...but i went around saratoga and this is a very rich area, half white the rest rich asians...but we went to a coffee place about 20 of us, all south asian origin and there was a bunch of whit people there and they jus staired at us and wouldnt kinda let us in...so we were like excuse me can we go in..trying to be nice about it they were like what do u want here....blah blah....so were like fvck it and we just started leaving rite, and then these fags start sayin sh!t and throwing rocks, fat ones like baseball size ones ( they weere buzzed i think) good thing those fagets missed... overall usualy i dont take much offense to racism becuase i can make some pretty good comebacks usualy...

 

[optimistic]

I think it also depends on where you live. Here in Los Angeles its very diverse, and people tolerate other races a lot better. As an inside joke my teacher would say he was the minority (he's white) because our student body was 40% asian, 30%white %20hspanic/black

 

[chiwawa626]

Sp3nce and many of u guys, this thread is "Anyone experienced RACISM first hand?" i dont know if u can complain about racism twards you and then be racist twards the person who did it to u...cuz that makes u no better anyways