So, I went to Bethesda yesterday

[Anonymous]

You are all a riot! I grew up in Chicago and did not meet my first black person until I moved to Bethesda and went to Catholic School there! I had lunch at Austin Grill today, sitting outside I saw black people, asian people, middle eastern, latin and white people.... There were many many many many people of all races.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are all a riot! I grew up in Chicago and did not meet my first black person until I moved to Bethesda and went to Catholic School there! I had lunch at Austin Grill today, sitting outside I saw black people, asian people, middle eastern, latin and white people.... There were many many many many people of all races.

Exactly. OP is a troll and I doubt she ever even had lunch in Bethesda. It is impossible to spend a few hours in Bethesda and NOT come across a person of another nationality/race. Every other restaurant is ethnic for crying out loud!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I grew up in Bethesda, and I am black. Yes, I wished there was more diversity. Not so much WRT class, but WRT race. The community is multicultural, but still mostly white.

What is WRT?

[Anonymous]

WRT = with respect to

[Anonymous]

"-- if someone posted a comment like OP's using PG instead of Bethesda, and criticizing black parents for choosing to live in an undiverse neighborhood (much as a previous poster did re: anacostia), he/she would be blasted out of town. and i would argue that PG is far less "diverse" than bethesda, but that seems to be ok to OP"

How do you know OP is OK with the racial majority in PG County? I feel the same way she does about moving to an area with so many people of one race. No matter what that race may be.

The international diversity most of you are bringing up definitely counts but it's not nearly the same. So many countries (especially European ones) look down on dark skin the same way a lot in the US do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sort of off course, but I am here in Cape Cod and I haven't seen any black people in 5 days. Seriously. It is freaking me and my biracial child out.

Boo hoo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are all a riot! I grew up in Chicago and did not meet my first black person until I moved to Bethesda and went to Catholic School there! I had lunch at Austin Grill today, sitting outside I saw black people, asian people, middle eastern, latin and white people.... There were many many many many people of all races.

Exactly. OP is a troll and I doubt she ever even had lunch in Bethesda. It is impossible to spend a few hours in Bethesda and NOT come across a person of another nationality/race. Every other restaurant is ethnic for crying out loud!

I am not a troll, and I never said that I only saw white people. I saw one Asian man having lunch with colleges, and an Asian woman stop in for carry out. It was truly amazing to me how white it was there. This was probably the first time I had actually paid attention to the lack of racial diversity.

Today I spoke to a friend who moved away from Bethesda for this very reason. Her children were the only children of their particular race, and the children were bullied on a regular basis because they were "different". Sure, the school was a bit better, but her children's educations were suffering because of the constant ridicule. Her children were constantly told they were ugly, or looked weird, because they didn't look like all the other white kids. They are the sweetest kids, and no one ever wanted to play with them. Nice, huh?

Now, I have lived in an all black community in PG county. We aren't an AA family, and we stood out, but not one child picked on my children for being different. It was as if no one really noticed or cared that my children were "different". We moved because we were purchased our own home.

I wanted to address the other poster that said diversity wasn't a big deal for her that that she Just.Didn't.Care. She was raising her children to be color blind. Easier said than done. Everyone notices the differences, and if your children aren't exposed to different types of people, they never will be color blind. It's no different than saying "I'm not racist, I had a black roommate in college."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are all a riot! I grew up in Chicago and did not meet my first black person until I moved to Bethesda and went to Catholic School there! I had lunch at Austin Grill today, sitting outside I saw black people, asian people, middle eastern, latin and white people.... There were many many many many people of all races.

Exactly. OP is a troll and I doubt she ever even had lunch in Bethesda. It is impossible to spend a few hours in Bethesda and NOT come across a person of another nationality/race. Every other restaurant is ethnic for crying out loud!

I am not a troll, and I never said that I only saw white people. I saw one Asian man having lunch with colleges, and an Asian woman stop in for carry out. It was truly amazing to me how white it was there. This was probably the first time I had actually paid attention to the lack of racial diversity.

Today I spoke to a friend who moved away from Bethesda for this very reason. Her children were the only children of their particular race, and the children were bullied on a regular basis because they were "different". Sure, the school was a bit better, but her children's educations were suffering because of the constant ridicule. Her children were constantly told they were ugly, or looked weird, because they didn't look like all the other white kids. They are the sweetest kids, and no one ever wanted to play with them. Nice, huh?

Now, I have lived in an all black community in PG county. We aren't an AA family, and we stood out, but not one child picked on my children for being different. It was as if no one really noticed or cared that my children were "different". We moved because we were purchased our own home.

I wanted to address the other poster that said diversity wasn't a big deal for her that that she Just.Didn't.Care. She was raising her children to be color blind. Easier said than done. Everyone notices the differences, and if your children aren't exposed to different types of people, they never will be color blind. It's no different than saying "I'm not racist, I had a black roommate in college."

Stereotyping is forming a general view from very limited experience. But I think this is what you are doing, not the people in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are all a riot! I grew up in Chicago and did not meet my first black person until I moved to Bethesda and went to Catholic School there! I had lunch at Austin Grill today, sitting outside I saw black people, asian people, middle eastern, latin and white people.... There were many many many many people of all races.

Exactly. OP is a troll and I doubt she ever even had lunch in Bethesda. It is impossible to spend a few hours in Bethesda and NOT come across a person of another nationality/race. Every other restaurant is ethnic for crying out loud!

I am not a troll, and I never said that I only saw white people. I saw one Asian man having lunch with colleges, and an Asian woman stop in for carry out. It was truly amazing to me how white it was there. This was probably the first time I had actually paid attention to the lack of racial diversity.

Today I spoke to a friend who moved away from Bethesda for this very reason. Her children were the only children of their particular race, and the children were bullied on a regular basis because they were "different". Sure, the school was a bit better, but her children's educations were suffering because of the constant ridicule. Her children were constantly told they were ugly, or looked weird, because they didn't look like all the other white kids. They are the sweetest kids, and no one ever wanted to play with them. Nice, huh?

Now, I have lived in an all black community in PG county. We aren't an AA family, and we stood out, but not one child picked on my children for being different. It was as if no one really noticed or cared that my children were "different". We moved because we were purchased our own home.

I wanted to address the other poster that said diversity wasn't a big deal for her that that she Just.Didn't.Care. She was raising her children to be color blind. Easier said than done. Everyone notices the differences, and if your children aren't exposed to different types of people, they never will be color blind. It's no different than saying "I'm not racist, I had a black roommate in college."

Stereotyping is forming a general view from very limited experience. But I think this is what you are doing, not the people in Bethesda.

I call bullshit from the OP. I am in Bethesda a few times a week and see all races. And lots of all races. It is by far all white.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are all a riot! I grew up in Chicago and did not meet my first black person until I moved to Bethesda and went to Catholic School there! I had lunch at Austin Grill today, sitting outside I saw black people, asian people, middle eastern, latin and white people.... There were many many many many people of all races.

Exactly. OP is a troll and I doubt she ever even had lunch in Bethesda. It is impossible to spend a few hours in Bethesda and NOT come across a person of another nationality/race. Every other restaurant is ethnic for crying out loud!

I am not a troll, and I never said that I only saw white people. I saw one Asian man having lunch with colleges, and an Asian woman stop in for carry out. It was truly amazing to me how white it was there. This was probably the first time I had actually paid attention to the lack of racial diversity.

Today I spoke to a friend who moved away from Bethesda for this very reason. Her children were the only children of their particular race, and the children were bullied on a regular basis because they were "different". Sure, the school was a bit better, but her children's educations were suffering because of the constant ridicule. Her children were constantly told they were ugly, or looked weird, because they didn't look like all the other white kids. They are the sweetest kids, and no one ever wanted to play with them. Nice, huh?

Now, I have lived in an all black community in PG county. We aren't an AA family, and we stood out, but not one child picked on my children for being different. It was as if no one really noticed or cared that my children were "different". We moved because we were purchased our own home.

I wanted to address the other poster that said diversity wasn't a big deal for her that that she Just.Didn't.Care. She was raising her children to be color blind. Easier said than done. Everyone notices the differences, and if your children aren't exposed to different types of people, they never will be color blind. It's no different than saying "I'm not racist, I had a black roommate in college."

Stereotyping is forming a general view from very limited experience. But I think this is what you are doing, not the people in Bethesda.

I call bullshit from the OP. I am in Bethesda a few times a week and see all races. And lots of all races. It is by far all white.

Freudian?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are all a riot! I grew up in Chicago and did not meet my first black person until I moved to Bethesda and went to Catholic School there! I had lunch at Austin Grill today, sitting outside I saw black people, asian people, middle eastern, latin and white people.... There were many many many many people of all races.

Exactly. OP is a troll and I doubt she ever even had lunch in Bethesda. It is impossible to spend a few hours in Bethesda and NOT come across a person of another nationality/race. Every other restaurant is ethnic for crying out loud!

I am not a troll, and I never said that I only saw white people. I saw one Asian man having lunch with colleges, and an Asian woman stop in for carry out. It was truly amazing to me how white it was there. This was probably the first time I had actually paid attention to the lack of racial diversity.

Today I spoke to a friend who moved away from Bethesda for this very reason. Her children were the only children of their particular race, and the children were bullied on a regular basis because they were "different". Sure, the school was a bit better, but her children's educations were suffering because of the constant ridicule. Her children were constantly told they were ugly, or looked weird, because they didn't look like all the other white kids. They are the sweetest kids, and no one ever wanted to play with them. Nice, huh?

Now, I have lived in an all black community in PG county. We aren't an AA family, and we stood out, but not one child picked on my children for being different. It was as if no one really noticed or cared that my children were "different". We moved because we were purchased our own home.

I wanted to address the other poster that said diversity wasn't a big deal for her that that she Just.Didn't.Care. She was raising her children to be color blind. Easier said than done. Everyone notices the differences, and if your children aren't exposed to different types of people, they never will be color blind. It's no different than saying "I'm not racist, I had a black roommate in college."

Stereotyping is forming a general view from very limited experience. But I think this is what you are doing, not the people in Bethesda.

I call bullshit from the OP. I am in Bethesda a few times a week and see all races. And lots of all races. It is by far all white.

Amen to the post in bold! And amen to the last post, assuming you meant to say NOT all white.

[Anonymous]

Ooops! I did mean NOT all white!

[Anonymous]

I am AA, live in DC and I go to Bethesda all the time and have never felt that it totally lacked diversity. It may not be as diverse as DC, but it is far more diverse than where we previously lived in California. We lived near an affluent town that had been founded as part of white flight from LA and people there worked hard to keep others out. I am sure if you look into the history of Chevy Chase and Bethesda you may find a similar pattern of folks moving there to get away from blacks and probably Jews. But this is ancient history. I also agree that folks should live wherever they feel comfortable.

However, it makes my skin crawl when people say they want to raise their kids in a color blind society because that statement totally negates the shared experiences, values, attitudes and beliefs of whole groups of people. The Gates fiasco underscores how different groups of people can view a situation because of their cultural perspective.

I personally want to raise my kids to be culturally competent - to know and understand the cultural touchstones of people that are different from them. I also see it as a competitive advantage for kids to be able to navigate these differences. I grew up in DC in the 70s and on our block we had a Jewish family, a Vietnamese family, a Catholic family, black, white and mixed families. I am certain that knowing these different families helped me in many, many ways. And one is learning how not to sterotype or be so quick to judge without getting to know people and what matters to them first. Developing personal relationships is the only way we get over our hangups around race and differences. Having a black President isn't going to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am AA, live in DC and I go to Bethesda all the time and have never felt that it totally lacked diversity. It may not be as diverse as DC, but it is far more diverse than where we previously lived in California. We lived near an affluent town that had been founded as part of white flight from LA and people there worked hard to keep others out. I am sure if you look into the history of Chevy Chase and Bethesda you may find a similar pattern of folks moving there to get away from blacks and probably Jews. But this is ancient history. I also agree that folks should live wherever they feel comfortable.

However, it makes my skin crawl when people say they want to raise their kids in a color blind society because that statement totally negates the shared experiences, values, attitudes and beliefs of whole groups of people. The Gates fiasco underscores how different groups of people can view a situation because of their cultural perspective.

I personally want to raise my kids to be culturally competent - to know and understand the cultural touchstones of people that are different from them. I also see it as a competitive advantage for kids to be able to navigate these differences. I grew up in DC in the 70s and on our block we had a Jewish family, a Vietnamese family, a Catholic family, black, white and mixed families. I am certain that knowing these different families helped me in many, many ways. And one is learning how not to sterotype or be so quick to judge without getting to know people and what matters to them first. Developing personal relationships is the only way we get over our hangups around race and differences. Having a black President isn't going to do it.

This is a great post. Except i don't agree with the last sentence. Having a black President alone won't do it, but it is in and of itself HUGE, HUGE, HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yea, OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

I'm guessing that OP is the same poster who started the recent "AA mom here with a question" thread. In that post she also used her little kid as a "victim". And she also had a bland header followed by incendiary content. (In case you missed it, in that other thread she claimed that white parents whose kids didn't get into their 1st choice private were thinking that the AA kids in the same private didn't deserve it). Totally manipulative.

It wears thin fast. I'm off to another thread where I can talk to people who actually want a discussion.