How can someone be born and raised in the DC area yet still be racist?
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Anonymous
Instead of thinking of this as a "culture" that people are just enmeshed in, have you ever stopped to ask why those things are the case? First and foremost, this is not a "culture." Yes, there are some behaviors that are less than desirable in any group of people. These are individual traits that should not be ascribed to an entire group. I've seen just as many rude and lazy service people that are White. So what? That's a statement about that person's work ethic, not about a whole race of people. Oversexualization of young people is everywhere and is not a Black issue. Young White girls have been victims of this too and is a statement about how our entertainment industry has created a monster where our young women's value is in their sexuality. And the music? White people are the ones keeping that exact music in circulation. There aren't even physically enough young Black people to keep that music going. White executives commission it and young White kids keep it going. That's how its always been. And Black people, as they've entertained White people for years, perform it for White audiences because that's how it becomes popular and lucrative for the record companies. Everything you mentioned can be found in poor white areas. I've spent quite a bit of time in White trailer parks and seen some of the same things that disrespect the surroundings and don't lift up the population. Conditions like that are usually based on a depressed condition as opposed to the color of your skin. People with higher property taxes usually demand better. Go into some higher property tax, predominantly Black areas and you will see nothing of that sort And, do you want to know why Black kids focus on rap and basketball? Because that's where they see themselves represented. For years, they've been told that their value is in their entertainment and physical ability. On that same note, what about all the young White kids vying to be Instagram influencers and models? I've seen more White 15 year old girls twerking online because they're looking to "influence" and make a ton of money. Or how about the young White kids looking to be the next Kardashian? Please look at what you're saying and realize that there's a White equivalent. These are not Black "culture" points. They are issues with our overall society. I'm not saying that Black people don't have things to work on to make our plight better. But, taking things like this and turning them into reasons that you don't like the "urban Black culture" is just a way for you to justify the racism that will continue to keep divisions in place. That's the bigotry that people are fighting against. Taking something that ALL people do and making it worse or less worse because of the color of the offender means that a look inward is appropriate to find out the root of the bigotry. |
Anonymous
Blacks during the 1960s had business districts, many had middle class lifestyles, had strong communities, etc. despite racism. I would posit that well-intentioned, but flawed attempts by whites to make up for discrimination have caused MORE problems for that community... Great Society welfare regulations, urban slum redevelopment building housing projects, an attempt to protect Black communities from the crack epidemic led to the 1990s crime bill, etc. And then, we have to include globalization, which has removed job opportunities for people (Black and White) with less education. That disproportionately hit the AA community during the same period. All of that had more economic impact than "systemic racism." |
Anonymous
You truly don't think a culture that glorifies violence and crime is WRONG? |
Anonymous
This is very true and I have experienced this on Next-door. I am shocked at how some people will post or complain about criminal or suspicious activity in our neighborhood and some posters will criticize the post or claim it's racist. I just assume they grew up in a neighborhood where bad things happened. I grew up in a safe, white neighborhood and do not have ANY tolerance for crime. Zero tolerance. I do not want to be around it or even hear about it. |
Anonymous
In your back?? My office is in your face about it |
Anonymous
This. It is the elephant in the room. Most people DO notice this and they know it. Anyone with half a brain has a serious issue with police brutality and systemic racism. BUT most people also are well aware that AAs are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in this country. Where are the people marching about black on black crime? Yes, I get that the police are held to a higher standard or should be than the average person. But people still can't ignore the criminal activity and lack of agency. I can assure you this is what the "silent majority" thinks. Why would most people want to support a movement that in their eyes represents violence and crime? |
Anonymous
And you still won't ask Why? That's the problem. By not caring about the fact that an entire system has created a hopeless and depressed situation for a segment of a population, you're showing that the people don't matter to you. Its just another excuse to further cast off an entire group of people as inherently violent. And, oh by the way -ever think that what you're looking at is the percentage of people arrested for crime and not the percentage that's committing it? If over-policing is one of the problems, look at why Blacks are actually arrested more than Whites. Its a proven fact that White people commit just as much crime as Black people, wherever you live. But taking statistics without the perspective of the entire population of the area is just disingenuous and a way to fit the narrative that you've created. |
Anonymous
Whitman in MoCo is whiter than Langley in Fairfax. TJ is more Asian than Langley and Whitman are white. DC has more parents who send their kids to private schools to avoid economic diversity. |
Anonymous
Where do I even begin??? |
Anonymous
You don’t understand what “Deep South” means - Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia. Not the DC region. NoVa had both Union and Confederate troops stationed there throughout the Civil War. Maryland was part of the Union but still a border state with slavery. The Eastern Shore of Maryland was full of planters who were Confederate sympathizers. |
Anonymous
Pretty sure there were blacks heavily involved in pushing for school desegregation and integration, and that many blacks were seeking both integration and opportunity when they started moving to then-mostly white PG. They didn’t know it would trigger such white flight. To be sure, some of the loudest voices for diversity in the DC area are whites in middle and upper middle class neighborhoods that are very diverse. They complain constantly about other areas that aren’t as diverse. Either they really, really love diversity or perhaps they don’t like it as much as they claim and actually want to dilute the diversity in their own communities to boost the average HHIs and school test scores. |
Anonymous
| Frome what I read, most of those people in the DMV area are racists. |
Anonymous
You must not have been raised in Maryland, Virginia or DC. I went to public schools in Bowie--Prince Georges County and clearly remember singing Dixie in elementary school. In fact our music teacher had us pretty regularly singing Dixie. Maryland was tobacco row. A lot of tobacco was raised in Maryland on the western shore. DC, Virginia and Maryland are deep south. I lived in south Carolina for several years. The worst racism I've ever experienced has been in Maryland and that was recently. I also lived in Virginia pretty close to DC. The Civil War was commonly called "The War of Northern Aggression" by local Virginians that we met. |
Anonymous
Cite? |
Anonymous
You have a very whitewashed view of the history of Maryland, Virginia and DC. I say this as a white person. |