This isn't true! I mean come on! Maybe back in the 60s...

[EweSheep]

Quote:
I got this "Go home, Yankee" often when I lived down there. Such a confusing state of mind I was in but later understood that I was not wanted in certain areas. The schools were the worst.

 

[country lady]

I haven't read all the posts but it seems only whites can be racist--not true. I had a professor who said the Latinas wouldn't dance with him in New Mexico because he was caucasian.

 

[nop169]

Being born and raised in the south I can say that yes the ideas of racism still are prevelant however it is getting better. Our local school system tries to balance the schools but as some of you mentioned - certain peoples tend to occupy certain areas so we do have an imbalance of students in some areas.
We have first hand experience with this issue as we are a white couple with a biracial child. She is 12 now - a beautiful, smart, well adjusted child who is our pride and joy and until 2 years ago had no idea she was adopted. You may find that strange but we taught her that God loves variety. Her mom & she have brown eyes - I have blue. They are female - I am male. Wife & I are light skinned - she is dark. No big deal. Truely she (DD) is color blind when she sees a person because that is what we tried to teach her.
13 years ago there were very very few biracial children in this rural area. We had many people feel the need to comment. Sometimes they were supportive & sometimes not. Both the white community & the black community. However - many many people's attitudes changed after meeting my daughter, holding her as an infant, hearing her lovely voice sing in church, having a conversation with this bright child. I truely believe DD was sent to us to open peoples eyes, stretch their hearts & minds. Many people in the south believe what they were taught & never question those beliefs but sometimes, somone like our DD will touch their lives & occasion change.
It is not fair to say the south is predujiced without also understanding that there are other areas of life in the south that are also as backwards and biased. Such as women should be subservent. Men OWN their families. Physical & mental abuse are somewhat common due to the belief that the man is the head of the household. The churches & schools of my generation supported this way of thinking - but it is changing. The economic suppression also has a direct cooralation to this. Today, drugs are rampant, work is scarce & morality & integrity are fast disappearing. Responsible parenting, marriage and extended family support are dwindling.
It is changing.... I am 42. I see change - I see most southerners thinking things through... learning... and changing the ideas that they pass to their children. You do have some people who are adament in their ignorance but most southerners are good, honest, hardworking, God fearing people and are not afraid to work, to learn & to change. I think that my daughter's generation will see a person less by skin tone or nationality and more for the type of person they are. As for us - we eagerly await DD going to college, finding a good man & having us some grands....(of course not too soon!) and we could care less if her husband is white or black or any other color. Whoever God sends her will be good enough.

 

[mangled]

I haven't read all 7 pages, but here's my $0.02 worth ...

I was born and raised in western Pennsylvania, I lived in Phoenix for 7 years then moved back home. We're pretty traveled. I've been across the country 13 times, and down south 3 or 4 times. I can tell you, the worst racism I've ever seen in my life is right here in good ole western PA.

There are buckle-wearing members of the KKK right here in this town. I see them at the grocery store. I have friends that are extreme racists. It's accepted around here.

That being said... whites are certainly not the only race capable of prejudice. I can say that I was a victim of prejudice while we lived in Arizona. Those Hispanic girls wanted nothing to do with this white gringo fresh from the northeast. No friendly words were ever exchanged, I was never spoken to, and no one would come when I needed help. This was in a nursing home environment. I lasted exactly 7 days. As I was walking to my car that last day, the one girl smiled and said, took you long enough. It's a terrible thing.

I have spent some time in the south. Georgia, North Carolina, and I can say, I've never been treated unkindly. White or black, our hotel and restaurant workers are all very polite. I expect the usual, where y'all from? LOL. As we are from just north of Pittsburgh, our accent stands out.

Traveling with a U-Haul and a car carrier through Southern Georgia, my car trailer blew the duallies on the passenger side. I was a single white girl, alone with my cell phone, with 4 hours to wait until they could get me a new trailer. Hundreds of cars passed, no one stopped until a car of young black men pulled up. I was out, talking on my cell phone on the berm. They pulled up, music blasting, and rolled out in a cloud of smoke. Those boys stood with me for 2 1/2 hours until my replacement trailer came, because according to them, it wasn't a good place for a single white girl to be broken down. I actually hugged them when they left.

I have two family members in the school system down there and they say race becomes a problem in a lot of high schools, as the kids get older, and the parental or environmental pressure kicks in. They know of no segregated schools, public or private in Georgia. They think the segregation is more the neighborhoods. My family members are white teachers in a 98% black school. There simply aren't many white folk in their area. They live in a primarily black neighborhood and have had no troubles with where they live, aside from the normal neighborhood things.

Blessings-
Em

 

[conny63malies]

Quote:
but wouldnt that be segration too? we stopped DADT just a few days ago, sho why not mixed classes at WEst Point?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

When you say "south", what area are you talking about exactly?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
The only thing I disagree with in here is where you imply it is only the South that has backwards and biased areas. I've lived and worked in different parts of the USA and overseas. You can find those areas anywhere. You probably did not mean it that way, but I find that comment bigoted. That shows what a slippery slope this conversation is on and how easy it is to take offence.

It is pretty easy to talk about a group of people and really be biased, bigoted, and prejudiced. But attitudes toward individuals you get to know can be totally different, even when holding to the stereotypes. I'll never say that mankind is logical.

I am a white born and raised in the South many decades ago. Certain attitudes were prevalent. Some people still hold those attitudes. But when my parents started getting biracial greatgrandchildren, their attitudes changed dramatically toward the individuals more than toward the race, but there was some overall softening.

 

[FourPawz]

Quote:
A few years back I went to Harrisburg PA to visit my friend. We went to a shopping center. I kept having a feeling there was something off, something different. I just couldn't put my finger on it. When a black lady walked past me, I suddenly realized she was the only African American person I had seen since I got there. I commented to my friend, who said that this was the "white" area. I was stunned. Where I come from everybody is welcome at our shopping centers.

As for private schools, you cannot discriminate on race, period. If a non-white parent wants to enroll her child, she may not be prohibited from doing so, federal funding or not. Just like a landlord may not refuse to rent to a person due to his race.

 

[sheila3935]

My neighbor and I have chickens. Recently a Mexican family moved into the neighborhood and have chickens. We went over to introduce ourselves welcome them and talk about chickens. The women wouldnt even talk to us. The 2 men came out and talked for a few minutes but the women stayed up by the house giving us not so nice looks. Racism sadly is everywhere. I have been called some not so nice racial names and had not done a thing, and I am white. I suppose it has gotten better in some ways from the way it was in the 60's and gotten worse in other ways. I have always had a wide variety of friends regardless of their color, sexual orientation, or who they were married to. The absolute perfect couple that I know are a young couple just starting out in life. Cameron is black Hannah is white. They truly love each other and are a very nice young couple. I wish them all the love and luck in the world. By the way they both call me mom even though there is no blood relation. I also see it in the Amish community. People say some of the meanest things about the Amish. My great Grandma and Grandpa were Amish. When they are in the stores here people are just rude. Staring like they are a freak of nature or making comments. Sadly racism is everywhere in some form or another. I have been passed over many times in my life for promotions because I am a woman. When I first started at the farm store I had a fellow employee tell me I dont know why they hire women for this job, now I'm gonna have to come over here and do all you lifting. I proved him wrong.

 

[EweSheep]

Yes, changing is coming but very very slow. Like the famous words of MLK "I have a dream" Wonderful speech but oh, it takes so long.

Yes interracial childrens are commonplace here and they are all lovely people.

Back to the military schools, I don't know what to think of it. All I know West Point is very male orientated and time honored tradition to have only men. Would it freak the women out if a man or a group of men come into an all women's military school or private school.

There was in the paper a while back that some of the schools are going to experiment having all girl school and all boy school particuraly the high school kids, their hormones on the overdrive and not on their studies. In a way its a good idea and in a way, its a bad idea (socialization skills) but I'm all for studies, keeping minds on school work and not having to think about boys all the time. On the other hand, how would girls learn about boys, saying no to sex or gangs, life decision making, etc. when boys are involved as in teamwork like in the real world that you have to co-mingle with men and women alike to get the job done or swapping ideas for a problem solving task like math and communications.