Reply to How can someone be born and raised in the DC area yet still be racist?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would say one would have had plenty of positive and negative interactions with people of all shades, creeds, races in this region.

Honest question, how can someone still have such views when the area is so diverse?

[/quote]

Unfortunate realization: virtually 99% of all crime in DC is committed by youngish black males. I returned here after college fully woke  and somewhat strident about it, but over the last many years, I've reached the point where I can't reconcile the progressive dogma with the realty of DC's crime statistics. And I really have no patience left for street criminals and shooters.

I don't think noticing this makes me racist, but I'm sure others disagree.[/quote]

I always wonder where yall live. I am 50, black, have lived in DC (the city, not the DMV) for almost 20 years and have never been a victim of a crime of any kind -- never mugged, no car break-ins, no home break-ins, nothing. But to hear other people tell it, they are living in an apocalyptic war zone. [/quote]

White upper class culture has a low tolerance level for perceived discomfort. White people have been socialized to expect a life without road blocks. So if a white person even witnesses a crime, they freak out and plot moving to the suburbs where they believe they will be safer. There was a thread a couple months ago asking why people moved to suburbs. I was surprised how many people said they moved because of "crime". This drives opposition to affordable housing, transportation equity and desegregating schools. Also white people know how to work the system and reap rewards from it. [/quote]

It has nothing to do with crime for me. I haven’t had issues in that area nor have any in my social circle. For me it’s things like,
The attitudes toward work I see in coworkers and people I encounter in the service industry (for instance, grocery store workers and takeout counter attendants)
The antisocial and even dangerous behavior of people on public transit and in parks, playgrounds 
The illegal blasting of music which glorifies violence, sexual promiscuity, sexism, materialism, and crime
Oversexualization of young people (even pre preteens) who are encouraged to twerk and expected to become parents before finishing high school
Anti-education attitudes and fixation on get rich quick schemes like basketball and rap
Instead of saving and investing, blindly giving more than they can afford to pastors who live lavish kingly lifestyles and are never held accountable by their own supporters
The way stores in their neighborhoods always look like tornado zones because nobody picks up after themselves or shows consideration for others

I don’t understand these things. All of this is within the community’s power to change, but they don’t. It’s a thought crime to even acknowledge it. Before I moved to DC I thought people like Charles Murray and Moynihan and other culture of poverty spox were racist. But it’s hard to argue with them if you look around DC. 
[/quote]

This post is spot on. I've spent a lot of time contemplating as to whether I am a racist and decided ultimately no. It's the[b] culture [/b]depicted above that I do not like and cannot stand, want absolutely nothing to do with. Just the majority of people who are in that culture happen to be black so I can understand why they might conflate my dislike/disapproval as being because of their skin color. However I know multiple professional black people not associated with that culture and have a lot of respect with no negative feelings or bias or anything towards them at all so therefore it my negative feelings must not be due to skin color itself. I've posted this before and got flamed but it's the culture not the skin color that's offensive to me. [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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