To WP: What Can Black People Do to Improve Race Relations in this Country?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

maril332 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop throwing their trash from Popeye's in my frontyard, which has happened at two homes in different neighborhoods.

For example.

+1

I don't appreciate my dog choking on your chicken bones or my child having to play around your filth. And it REALLY burns my ass to have to pick up your garbage from my flowerbeds/sidewalk. Have some respect for your neighbors and yourself, and remove that big old chip from your shoulder.

I have certainly seen black people, white people, and every other race and ethnicity littering. Then you mention popeyes as a reference to blacks and fried chicken. Troll?

Nope, not a troll. I have certainly seen people of all races littering. But in my urban neighborhood it is black people every time. I know because I see them eating the crap on my block so I know where it came from. It's honestly not the specific food (although yeah, I've pulled more chicken bones from my dog's mouth than I can count at this point), it's the lack of respect for their own homes, their neighbors, their community. It comes across to me as a big fuck you, and people who don't respect themselves do vaguely frighten me a bit, because in the back of my mind I think they musst have no respect for anyone. And they certainly don't help to dispel stereotypes by embodying the worst of them to a T.

ignorance personified, now it is my job to make your bad thoughts about me go away.
I could live in a hood with 100 cambodian people, chances are 5 if them will be bad news.
WTF does that have to do with the other 95?.

Since they are not the majority, everything. That is, if you don't personally know or interact with cambodian people except when you have to deal with the aftermath of what those 5 people have done. Then they all are bad news in your mind.

yes because that person us stupid

Such is reality. Stereotypes come from somewhere and if you don't know anyone else representative of that group, you might start thinking badly about all of them.

I am the PP. I have many black neighbors who are very nice and respectful and with whom I get along very well. They also think the 5 bad apples are a disgrace. And they will admit that the bad apples poison the environment for everyone. Is it fair? No. But it happens, and it's not racist to make a note of it. The 5 bad apples do negatively affect relations. It's just a simple fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop trying to separate yourselves from the rest of society.

You mean like being priced out of neighborhoods you've lived in for generations (ex: gentrification) and having to move somewhere more affordable? In case you didn't know it, you live where you can afford to live. Do whites separate themselves when they move out to Vienna, Ashburn and similar places?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing - I wish blacks would SERIOUSLY start addressing the issue of black-on-black violence. I live in what many would consider to be the 'hood - and I feel as though every week I pass a church where there is a funeral for a youth. When I check news reports, these deaths are barely mentioned. It's disgusting. But, the only solution will come from within the black community.

You have to understand that black on black violence has nothing to do with race. It is about low income and poorly educated people living next to each other. That is, people kill people who live close to them...because they are there. So the idea of "back on black" violence is really odd to me. But to say that it needs to stop is strange, does that mean blacks should be violent towards other races? I think what you are trying to say is that violence has to simmer down. Yes, that is true, but many many other social problems need to go away too.

If it is a poverty issue, why don't we see the major violence in poor rural areas that we do in inner cities?

I'd say it's more of a cultural issue.

I would agree.

In other parts, where people are much more impoverished than African-Americans, there is much less crime. You can't keep using poverty as a reason.

Like Mexico? or Moscow? Crime and poverty but no black people

But isn't crime in those places driven by corruption and greed/money? I guess urban violence here is somewhat the same in that a lot of it is turf and gangs involved in drug activities. But a lot of it is also about respect and reputation aside from money issues.

population + Americans' unique affinity for guns

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

maril332 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop throwing their trash from Popeye's in my frontyard, which has happened at two homes in different neighborhoods.

For example.

+1

I don't appreciate my dog choking on your chicken bones or my child having to play around your filth. And it REALLY burns my ass to have to pick up your garbage from my flowerbeds/sidewalk. Have some respect for your neighbors and yourself, and remove that big old chip from your shoulder.

I have certainly seen black people, white people, and every other race and ethnicity littering. Then you mention popeyes as a reference to blacks and fried chicken. Troll?

Nope, not a troll. I have certainly seen people of all races littering. But in my urban neighborhood it is black people every time. I know because I see them eating the crap on my block so I know where it came from. It's honestly not the specific food (although yeah, I've pulled more chicken bones from my dog's mouth than I can count at this point), it's the lack of respect for their own homes, their neighbors, their community. It comes across to me as a big fuck you, and people who don't respect themselves do vaguely frighten me a bit, because in the back of my mind I think they musst have no respect for anyone. And they certainly don't help to dispel stereotypes by embodying the worst of them to a T.

It sounds like you have a money problem and not a negro problem. Perhaps you should spend less time seeking out stereotypes and more time making money so you don't have to live in such a trashy neighborhood. You must not be too hot yourself if you are living in the hood. Fix yourself and then worry about what you can tell others to do.

Hardly the hood. Just urban. Some of choose not to live in a white bubble our whole lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let go of the notion that AA's cannot be racist.

Stop with the "white privilege" crap. A poor white kid doesn't have as much "privilege" as a rich AA kid or any kid whose parent's are well educated.

Stop hating whites for the color of their skin. None of us choses our skin color and no one white or black should be hated or made to feel ashamed of their genetics.

Stop blaming the white community for failures in certain segments of the AA community.

Work to stem the problem of teen pregnancy and unwed motherhood in the AA community. Challenge AA males to take responsibility for their children.

1. I don't believe black people can be racist. Being racist implies having a certain level of power to hinder the success of those you hate. In the US, blacks don't have this power. Now, I do believe we can be prejudiced. There is a difference.

2. Who says blacks hate whites for their skin color? Has anyone ever told you this?

3. Teen pregnancy and out of wedlock births is indeed a problem. It's a problem in all communities. But, I will say to you that you shouldn't assume that a single black mother means there is no father around. There are many unwed black families where the mother looks like a single mother on paper. I do agree that black fathers need to step up and do a LOT better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like to be judged less. I feel like with AA women (rarely with men) that I am constantly being judged. My every word is being analyzed to see if I am racist. Did she buy that fried chicken for th team because we are black? Did she really just touch my child's head? Did she really just say "girlfriend" she would never do that with white chicks.

Stop telling me I don't understand, I know I don't understand anymore than I understand raising a girl (which I have also never done). I am sure there are things you don't understand, I don't point them out ever.

I feel like I am on egg shells.

I have many good friends that don't act that way and accept me for who I am.

But I feel like the interview process is tortuous.

This sounds like it's more your issue than AA women. You need to work on being more secure in your decisions and less worried about what someone is thinking/saying. In actuality, you have no idea if your perceptions are real or imagined.

[Anonymous]

Who said black people can't be racist? Lots of black people don't like white people and they freely admit it. Threads like these probably don't help the case of why they shouldn't assume that whites are always thinking the worst and wanting to control their mannerisms, behaviors, and thought processes.

Some blacks seem to have the impression that white people feel that is black peoples jobs to make whites feel more comfortable- from their hairstyles (keep it relaxed), to their emotions(you are not allowed to get angry unless a white person feels you should be angry), etc.

Where would blacks get these kinds of ideas? Why on earth would they think that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing - I wish blacks would SERIOUSLY start addressing the issue of black-on-black violence. I live in what many would consider to be the 'hood - and I feel as though every week I pass a church where there is a funeral for a youth. When I check news reports, these deaths are barely mentioned. It's disgusting. But, the only solution will come from within the black community.

Ok why don't you call white people killing white people white
White on white crime??
It is just crime !!!!!!!
Communities most affected by it need to adress it, but please don't act as of it some special kind of crime when both the victim and perpetrator are black.

Well, if a white kid dies (like that 16-year-old girl from McLean recently) it makes the national news. If it's a 16yo black kid from NE where I live, it barely gets a notice. When was the last time you saw a young black kids "street" death make the national news?

Rarely. And on another message board, someone had an excellent comment regarding black-on-black violence.

In many instances, white people like to throw this up as if it's out of concern. If that is so, why is the concentration more on the black PERPS and not the black VICTIMS of this violence? The emphasis is more on black people being violent and not black people being victims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

maril332 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop throwing their trash from Popeye's in my frontyard, which has happened at two homes in different neighborhoods.

For example.

+1

I don't appreciate my dog choking on your chicken bones or my child having to play around your filth. And it REALLY burns my ass to have to pick up your garbage from my flowerbeds/sidewalk. Have some respect for your neighbors and yourself, and remove that big old chip from your shoulder.

I have certainly seen black people, white people, and every other race and ethnicity littering. Then you mention popeyes as a reference to blacks and fried chicken. Troll?

I'm the PP who mentioned Popeyes (and this is my first follow-up, so it appears other people deal with this as well).

The contexts of these two incidents were especially maddening.

The first time, I was sitting on my front porch and a group of black teens walked by, looked at me, and then threw their Popeyes box in my yard, laughed, and kept strolling.

The second time, I was in my kitchen and heard voices really close to my house, so I looked out the window, and there were 2 black teenage boys sitting on a decorative bench that is right up against my house, very far from the sidewalk. That already felt like a violation, so I started putting on some shoes to go out and "make small talk," but they were already walking away when I opened my door. But then, sure as shit, I noticed they had left their Popeyes trash under the bench.

The first incident occurred in a majority-black (but upper-middle-class) neighborhood. The second occurred in an almost 100 percent white neighborhood, so what's their excuse? I'm sure their parents are at least middle-class, the local public schools are fine/good, there's no local pressure on them to act out. And yet they still fucking do, and it enrages me.

You are talking about TEENS. Many teens are MAJOR assholes. Why are you judging black people off of the actions of asshole teens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aspire to be more like Colin or Condi. And less like Kanye or Beyonce.

Why? Both Kanye and Beyonce are incredibly successful. And Beyonce has only been with one man, her husband who she married before having a child. She's also a great businesswoman. What's not to aspire to, if some so choose?

Think PP may be trying to encourage academic and traditional career success over that of a career in entertainment. Perhaps like encouraging white folks to be more like an educated and accomplished white politician than a Justin Bieber or Madonna type entertainer.

Encourage children to be politicians?

[Anonymous]

I disagree with number 3. I am school-based, and while I've seen both Hispanics and blacks wear pants that sag, I've yet to see whites do it. And it's mainly been black teens. We have even had volunteers - successful black males - step in as mentors and give the history on sagging (which is really quite gross), and yet, the students will not change their "style." Many laugh.

It's cool to have relatives in jail, according to many, and while you're reading this from a white woman posting, these words came from my principal, who's a black male with brothers in the penal system.

I've seen black males chastise other black males in public for sagging. And in my experiences, while I've seen more and more minorities enter the teaching profession, these men and women are in a different socio-economic class and have kids in schools that are either private or high functioning. So just as whites practice "white flight," my colleagues clearly have removed themselves from a certain population. In my opinion, bright flight is more applicable now.

So I believe it's about class/socio-economics first, but in this country, low socio-economic level - at least in populated urban environments - translates into black and Hispanic. And being poor and ignorant is indeed becoming a "culture." I live it every single day, and it's ugly and sad.







1. What does appear more educated mean?
2. Are you saying that every black person you've encountered has spoken in a loud voice in public? Have you never been in settings where other races are loud in public?
3. Teens are the ones who usually follow that clothing trend and other races participate in the practice. Do you usually judge a race of people based off their teens?
4. It is not my job to smile and make you more comfortable. It is, rather, your insecurity that needs to be improved upon.

[Anonymous]

I don't believe black people can be racist. Being racist implies having a certain level of power to hinder the success of those you hate. In the US, blacks don't have this power. Now, I do believe we can be prejudiced. There is a difference.

Honey, you need to get a better understanding of the term "racist" because "having a certain level of power to hinder the success of those you hate" is no where in the definition. What you "think" has no bearing on the actual definition which is
" The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who said black people can't be racist? Lots of black people don't like white people and they freely admit it. Threads like these probably don't help the case of why they shouldn't assume that whites are always thinking the worst and wanting to control their mannerisms, behaviors, and thought processes.

Some blacks seem to have the impression that white people feel that is black peoples jobs to make whites feel more comfortable- from their hairstyles (keep it relaxed), to their emotions(you are not allowed to get angry unless a white person feels you should be angry), etc.

Where would blacks get these kinds of ideas? Why on earth would they think that?

The definition of racism has always been tied to POWER. The reason why racism is so horrible is because it affects the success of minorities. Blacks don't have the power in the US to be racist. We can, however, be prejudiced.

I agree with your second point. Since their first interactions with black people, it seems like (some) white people have wanted to control how we act/think/dress/speak/etc. No longer having that ability leaves many uncomfortable and it's now somehow my responsibility (as a black woman) to calm their fears. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop trying to separate yourselves from the rest of society.

You mean like being priced out of neighborhoods you've lived in for generations (ex: gentrification) and having to move somewhere more affordable? In case you didn't know it, you live where you can afford to live. Do whites separate themselves when they move out to Vienna, Ashburn and similar places?

I wasn't referring to geography.

[Anonymous]

The definition of racism has always been tied to POWER

Get yourself a DICTIONARY.