Is race really an issue right now?

[Guest SisterofJared]

I have heard it suggested here that race is a real sensitive issue just now.

I live in the Seattle area, and I am not seeing that at all here.

I am wondering if where you live, race is much of an issue?

I tend to only think the media was trying to portray it as an issue, while Americans aren't feeling it.

I don't perceive it as an issue here and now.... I've noticed a few other posters from Washington and wonder if they agree or disagree with me. And also what people thing about their own areas.

Sister of Jared

[MarginOfError]

If you're living in a racially homogeneous area, then race really isn't likely to be much of a thought. In areas where there is racial heterogeneity, it's a much bigger deal.

In my opinion, the issue isn't really race any more, but socio-economic status. Minorities are disproportionately affected by poverty, have disproportionate access to education, housing, etc. The fact remains that non-caucasians tend to face more and tougher challenges than caucasians.

However, I do not believe that this persists because of racism. I think these issues are a relic of a racist America. Over time we have been able to put a big dent into racism, and I firmly believe racial discrimination is dying (not necessarily dead, but on its way out). We still have a long way to go before we really obtain equality, however (by equality I mean that socio-economic status, education, etc are proportionately distributed across the races).

[pam]

Right now I think the biggest obstacle is stereotypes. You see this time and again. After 9/11 it seemed all Muslims were considered evil. After a shooting here in SLC at Trolley Square by someone from Bosnia...the Bosnian community fell under attack. I worked for a manager who thought all Mexicans were thiefs.

Until we can get away from the stereotypes, racism will never be completely eradicated.

[DigitalShadow]

I live in Utah. I haven't noticed any racism here, but then again I haven't noticed any minorities either. I'm half Mexican and I think I'm the closest thing to a 'minority' in the company I work for.

I do think that there is more racial tension lately because of the election, but I don't think there is more racism. Racists who already existed before the election simply became more vocal and maybe even violent. At least that's what I gather from browsing forums and checking out the news from time to time.

[pam]

I don't notice racism as much as a whole as I used to. It's mainly in individuals comments etc.

Kind of a funny story but not really. I was at work one day and was working with another girl. I noticed a black man at one of the gas pumps. Man, he was gorgeous. I said so to the girl working with me. She turned to me and said "Um but Pam, he's black." That just totally floored me as I had not heard a comment like that in years. I wasn't even thinking of him as any thing other than a very good looking man.

So while I think racism still exists...I think it is becoming more and more isolated.

I grew up in a High School where I was a minority so I grew up with people from many backgrounds and races. I never felt much of a tension there because of the diversity. I may have been one of the lucky ones I don't know.

I still think racism exists but I think we are moving towards the positive in making it less and less noticeable.

[MarginOfError]

So what you're saying, pam, is that you've never felt discriminated against for the color of your gumdrops?

[pam]

Only the stereotype that when people look at me they immediately want to bite my head off. I mean they don't even give me a chance.

[MarginOfError]

Well, would you rather they started at your head or at your feet?

[pam]

lol Okay back to the subject of the thread.

[KeithLBrown]

Speaking as a Black man, I personally feel that in certain areas of the country racism has always been and continues to be an issue. I do not think that it is as large an issue as it was during the Civil Rights Movement (1955 - 1968), but there are some places in this country that I would not be particularly welcomed simply because I am a Black man.

I remember an incident when I was in the Navy. We were in Mississippi. Two of my shipmates decided to go to the bayous to have dinner together. One was White and one was Black. At the restaurant that they went to they were told that the White guy would be served, but they would not serve the Black guy. How sad to think that this type of behavior still exists, but in reality it does. During my 20 years of military service I also served with people who never had the experience of being around Black people and so they only had one opinion of Blacks to go by and that is what they had been taught. In that case I don't think that racism was the real issue, but rather it was "ignorance" or the lack of knowledge.

May I also say that a lot of the problems that I see in the world today is not so much that Whites are against Blacks, but in some cases Blacks are against other Blacks. Why? I think that some of it is out of jealousy. There are some people, rather we want to admit it or not, that literally hate to see anybody doing better than themselves. Again, sad, but true.

May I add as a final note that I was extremely proud of this great nation and how the outcome of the election was handled. It did not turn into a race issue, although, being a realist, it could very well have. I believe for the most part, race is not so much an issue as it once was, but stereotyping on the other hand is. Too many people are quick to throw a group of people into a category and judge that whole group of people according to the actions of a few.

At 50 years of age, I still dream of the day that Dr. Martin Luther King preached about -- when man will no longer be judged by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. When that day comes, I believe that once and for all, we will put the issue of racism to bed. May God speed the day!

[pam]

Amen Keith. I second everything you just said.

[kona0197]

Race has always been an issue.

[Guest SisterofJared]

I live in Utah. I haven't noticed any racism here, but then again I haven't noticed any minorities either. I'm half Mexican and I think I'm the closest thing to a 'minority' in the company I work for.

I do think that there is more racial tension lately because of the election, but I don't think there is more racism. Racists who already existed before the election simply became more vocal and maybe even violent. At least that's what I gather from browsing forums and checking out the news from time to time.

That's what I am wondering about... if these so called racial tensions are real or simply being fabricated by media.

[prisonchaplain]

One day I was bringing a group of about 10 Christian volunteers into the jail to conduct religious programs. One of our staff, who happened to be African-American, asked me, in front of this group, "Chaplain...Do you think Jesus was black?"

I knew this fellow's dry sense of humor, and responded without missing a beat, "Yeah...probably." He, and the group were dumbstruck.

Okay...he was probably more olive-colored, but he was as close to black as he was white. Why should my answer have been so shocking, even if it was a bit tongue-in-cheek?

[KeithLBrown]

That's what I am wondering about... if these so called racial tensions are real or simply being fabricated by media.

I personally believe that the media does at times tend to blow things out of proportion and make things seem to be worse than they truly are.

With that being said, with the outcome of the recent election, being a realist, I believe that there is a certain amount of racial tension on the horizon. There are many radical groups to include the KKK and Skin Heads to name a couple, that would love nothing more to start a major blood bath in this country. These groups are very real and very dangerous.

I have read several reports that the number of threats against President-Elect Obama are on the increase. There are many people in this country that are highly upset and offended that a Black man will be the next President. I pray that none of the threats are carried out and that the powers that be will treat each one as a matter of importance and not dismiss any.

It is really scary to think what would happen in this country if anything of this magnitude were to happen, but yes, the possibility does exist. I do not think that the media is simply fabricating all of this. All of us as American citizens need to stand a vigilant watch and continue in daily prayer.

[Guest SisterofJared]

Thanks for your response, Keith. I think you would have greater insight into this than I, since I am not in a racial minority. (Or not visibly, anyway. LOL. Like most American's I am a mutt.... have a touch of American Indian as well as possibly some black in me.)

I think that with time, racism is slowly being overcome. Our children are less affected by it than we were, and I think our grandchildren will be even less affected than our children. They say that time heals all wounds, and I think that prejudice is slowly being diluted, one day it will hopefully not exist at all.

But there are undoubtedly some rednecks around who fight to keep it alive.

I do see that there is more of class distinctions rather than race. For me, it is hard to see that minorities have it harder, because frankly my own family has always been in that lower income. I grew up in poverty and have struggled with it almost all my life. We had three years recently when we were not living in poverty, but that ended when my doctor made me quit work. I couldn't deal with the resulting poverty, and recently went back to work against his advice. Poverty is not fun. But for me I have always wondered why people think poverty is a color issue, since I am caucasian and always lived in poverty.

I think a lot of the struggle for black people economically has been to overcome the horrific effects of slavery. Why would they expect to have less babies out of wedlock, to have strong families if they weren't allowed to maintain marriages, if their families were torn apart by slavery and if they were expected to be breeding machines for slave owners? I do believe that those things are in the process of being overcome. How do make it happen when the rest of our nation is losing family values at the same time is beyond me. Studies show that more black people have homes without fathers present. But rather than helping overcome that problem... the rest of society is joining in.

Sorry, that is a bit of digression from the issue of is race still a problem. Evidently I'm hearing that it isn't causing the same tension, but that it still is an underlying problem.

[Kyra]

I think that it's mostly an issue for the people who make it one. I live close to the Ute reservation. They make race a HUGE issue, and honestly, they're more racist against white people than they think we are against them. A cop can't even give a Ute a ticket around here because he'll be called a racist, it will be taken to court and the cop will lose. It happens again and again. Utes can't be suspended from school because that makes the teachers and administration racist. It's gotten to the point where public schools out here really are not safe, because the Utes can beat on whoever they want without consequences. It's out of hand.

I'm not saying that racism is completely dead, there are definitely still some very evil, prejudiced people out there. I'm also not trying to be racist myself and say that all Utes are like this, because my brother-in-law is Ute and he's the complete opposite. This is just the type of racism I've observed in my area. It can work both ways.

Edited November 20, 2008 by Kyra

[Kyra]

With that being said, with the outcome of the recent election, being a realist, I believe that there is a certain amount of racial tension on the horizon. There are many radical groups to include the KKK and Skin Heads to name a couple, that would love nothing more to start a major blood bath in this country. These groups are very real and very dangerous.

I totally agree with you on this. The few people out there who are still racist are becoming more outspoken. And the more outspoken people become, the more followers they can get. As much as I didn't want Obama to be president, I also bear him no ill will. I hope that he is safely protected from groups such as these.

[Truegrits]

It is really scary to think what would happen in this country if anything of this magnitude were to happen, but yes, the possibility does exist. I do not think that the media is simply fabricating all of this. All of us as American citizens need to stand a vigilant watch and continue in daily prayer.

I agree. I do not think it is just media hype. I think it would be a terrible day for America, were it to happen.

Even before Obama won the election, I heard it said, that it didn't matter if he did win, he wouldn't be the president for long. But...what I hear is not anger/hate because of his color, but hate for his, and Mrs. Obama's, "anti-American" views.

[Guest SisterofJared]

But it could and would be perceived as an issue with color by many. I personally can't stand Obama, but I felt equally the same about McCain.

I voted in the past for Alan Keyes. He's black, but his political views line up with mine. I also could support Colin Powell. To me, it's not about race, but about correct government.

I think we should pray that nothing happens to Obama. I agree that could cause some major problems, especially if an assailant was caucasian.

SoJ

[mightynancy]

I think racism is very much alive in the U.S....even among people who would never admit it.

When my (white) sister-in-law and brother-in-law adopted a mixed-race baby from the wayyy extended family, family members would marvel at how "light" he was. "Oooh, he's so light, I don't think he'll look very black at all!" I hear lots of LDS people call Obama literally "scary", without being able to define a policy that frightens them.

[Traveler]

There is in my opinion only one human race. It is likely that if all the peoples of a particular type (determined by skin color, hair color, eye color or such) were removed from the gene pool that within 10,000 years that the variations and ratios that we see today would again exist.

The Traveler

[KristofferUmfrey]

I think racism is very much alive in the U.S....even among people who would never admit it.

When my (white) sister-in-law and brother-in-law adopted a mixed-race baby from the wayyy extended family, family members would marvel at how "light" he was. "Oooh, he's so light, I don't think he'll look very black at all!" I hear lots of LDS people call Obama literally "scary", without being able to define a policy that frightens them.

Socialized Health Care

Fairness Doctrine

Freedom of Choice Act

Tax Increases on those who provide the jobs

Carbon Emissions Taxes on coal plants designed to "drive them out of business"

Friendly sit downs with Iran

I could care less if he's black. I will quit my job to campaign if JC Watts runs for President.

[Guest DeborahC]

There don't seem to be many race issues in Portland, Oregon.

But attorneys here have green and purple striped hair, so skin color is just ::shrug::

I do think people here have really worked hard to work TOGETHER, which is one reason I love this community!

[Guest DeborahC]

Dang, somehow my post got messed up. Well, I'll cut and paste:

There don't seem to be many black/white racial issues in Portland, Oregon.

But attorneys here have green and purple striped hair, so skin color is just ::shrug::

I do think people here have really worked hard to work TOGETHER, which is one reason I love this community!

Here, as mentioned before, racism is more black on black, or hispanic on hispanic, in my opinion. And it appears to be a generational thing. It's almost always young men who are the troublemakers.

One thing about Obama winning the election is that he's given a whole lot of young black men and women great hope that there IS a ladder they can climb with hard work and perseverance. This is something that I feel was greatly needed in this country.

On the other hand, I wouldn't want to be EITHER candidate winning this election because nobody is going to be able to straighten this financial mess out. We've dug ourselves a deep old hole and the best advice I've heard is from the Church who say, put up a year's supply, get out of debt, don't spend money, and hunker down.

It's going to get MUCH worse before it gets better, in my opinion. In fact, I believe it will be WORSE than the Great Depression.

So even though I do worry about Obama's safety and pray for him every night, I worry more about the country breaking into civil war if things don't settle down on Wall Street. I've heard rumblings from other forums... and they're not nice.

Edited November 21, 2008 by DeborahC