Hey guys! Sorry this is late... totally spaced on it last night. After our discussion in class and thinking about some of the stories that were shared it is obvious to me that racism is not dead. I have live in a suburb of Atlanta, GA since I was 3 years old and have also experienced many different acts of racism. One of my first experiences with racism was in Middle School. Around about 7th grade my white friends and black friends began to separate. By 8th grade there were two "gangs" in full effect at my middle school. Lunch time fights between the two groups were happening weekly. While this eventually fizzled out by 10th grade there was always some resentment between the two groups.
The high school that I attended from 9th to 11th grade was very old. It was so old in fact that segregation actually took place to those that attended that school during those times. It was pretty obvious because you could tell where the "White Only" bathrooms were located and the "Colors Only" bathrooms would have but were now turned into janitor closets.
My dad works in a city about 30 minutes north of the city I live in called Cumming. The KKK has a major headquarters there and does marches around the city every once in a while and could be seen from my dads old office. The county this is located in used to have a sign that read "Blacks not welcome here" for many many years. It was taken down sometime during my life time but I'm not sure when.
The bus system in Atlanta is called MARTA. The tram system made by MARTA goes all the way to a city about 15 min from my city from Atlanta but will never pass that point. The reason being is because many of the white people from the cities north of that point don't want the blacks from Atlanta traveling up to their cities and neighborhoods.
Racism is still in the south. I have only shared a few of the instances that have happened in my life. What do you think?? Do you disagree? Is racism dead or not? What experiences have you had in your life with racism?
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I don't think racism is dead nor do I think it will ever die, but when a small minority show an act of racism it all too often gets blown up by the media and others. While I don't support racism or inequality, I think the race card gets pulled too often.
Take the Trevon Martin incident for example. How many times have we heard that Trevon was killed because Zimmerman was racist? Zimmerman is not even caucasian, but parts of the country have pretty much taken sides making this a "black v white" incident when it doesn't need to be.
Racism is not dead. No matter where you go in the world there are segregations based on color. My mom is from Korea and she has told me stories about how people would make fun of her when she was young because she had freckles and curly hair, which is not common amongst Koreans. When I moved from Singapore to a town that is 97% white, kids would make fun of me for being Asian and call me names like "ching chow". I know I would not have received this reaction if I moved back to Hawaii, or even to California, where there are a lot of Asians. Anyone who looks different from the majority is going to stand out. I think that people have a hard time accepting people that are different from them, it is just part of human nature. And until that changes, which I don't think it will, there are going to be racist tendencies.
Is racism dead? No, not totally. I do however think that one major difference today is that it is looked down on by the majority. Racism now has become politically incorrect, no one will admit to being a racist (almost no one) but there are many instances were people still come across as racist or are accused of racism. That is a step forward I think, at least in some ways. I would rather see Fox news accused of racism because they didn't cover something Obama did than still have accepted segregation.
Racism is not dead. It may not be as severe as it used to be, but it exists in other forms. In a secret hateful way or a facetious way, it applies to everyone in our everyday lives.
I think that it is possible for racism to eventually fade away but it will take a long time and a lot of effort for everyone to stop seeing others for the color of their skin and instead for their existence as children of God.
I do not think that racism is completely dead. I feel like there will always be people who hold grudges against others. Even if it is not about a race people categorize and judge based on appearances all the time. I think that race is just an easier way for them to lump people together and an attempt to validate themselves.
I feel like racism could die but it would take a very long time and a huge effort on the part of everyone to put prejudices behind them. However, I feel like a lot of people have come along way in the fight against racism. I know a lot of people who have grandparents and even parents who hold racist views and but choose to look deeper and not accept those judgments.
Racism is definitely not dead. I believe it has improved with the years, but you can still see it today like the examples you gave. i was in Miami this summer in an area where there is a lot of African Americans. In most stores in that area African Americans are the cashiers, sales assistants etc. I noticed that every time I needed help, they would treat me bad. Confused by their treatment I ask around an African American friend and he said African American don't like white people, but they also dislike Latinos. so I believe racism is not only from white Americans to African Americans is vice-verse and also to other minorities.
Well I just made a long comment and it didn't post, so I'll make this quick. I grew up in San Diego and I was born and raised in diversity, so that was crazy to read that.
Racism as I said in my other post is the actual belief that someone is lesser than you in some way and is incapable to operate in the intellect or skill you do. Often times racism is a coverall for education, experience, intellect, or income disparity. I do believe that races are of different economic opportunities due to their societal and familiar influences and the education levels and aspirations of the people they associate with. For that I am ashamed with the opportunities recent immigrants or poor blacks or poor whites receive. As we said in class there is a different expectation for a white person from Tooele than there is from a white person from Harvard. This has nothing to do with race, but has more to do with culture. More should be done in this country to lift people out of slumful ways and teach good culture, no matter the location or color. The difference being in parts of cities where different cultures operate and different intellects and work ethics divide the city, if there is any sort of racial divide, it is often claimed it is racism, and sadly we miss the real cause of disparity. In my view racism operates throughout the country, but is often misstated as the cause, when it is sometimes the scapegoat. The unaspiring white person may hate the rich white guy as much as the poor black guy, but the difference is that the white guy can't blame race, so he may choose to place his frustrations elsewhere.
Although it is a false stereotype to assume that all blacks are bad if they come from the city in Atlanta. I would also presume that there are many blacks that live in some of the nice Northern suburbs who have become industrious and are just as adamant that those MARTA bus lines don't come into their town. I think again, racism is real, but the lines of racism, the real underlying reason for segregation is often, economical, intellectual, experiential; more than color based.
I don't think we will ever be entirely rid of racism. Racism exists because some people feel a need to "know" they are better than someone else, and racism is an easy way for people to maintain that. So long as there are people who look different, or who act different, or who lead different lifestyles, there will be those who use those differences to reinforce their own belief in their personal superiority.
That being said, I do think it's important for us as a society to begin distinguishing between this kind of malicious racism, and the unintentional "racism" that is inherent to the diverse culture we have here in America.
Dan Johns...
I have always kinda thought that, in my own little bubble racism was basically dead. I grew up in an area that was basically all white though, there were probably a handful (maybe 5 or 6) black students at my high school; and my experience at BYU obviously hasn't varied too much from that. I've come to the conclusion that I must just be naive, due to the settings in which I have predominantly lived.
However, as a result of our recent class discussions, reading, and other experiences that I have had with people from= the south, I have come to the conclusion that racism is certainly not dead, in many parts of the country. In some ways, racial sentiments will likely never die.
Wow. Racism is still very alive now, as it was in the 50's. I do believe that there has been some change due to the media, civil rights movements, etc. Although improvements have been made prejudice still exist. I had a conversation with a friend(caucasian) who wants to date my friend who's a latina, but something that he mention was that at the end of the day he will eventually marry a Caucasian because he doesn't see himself with anything else but other ethic girls are fun to date. However I do believe that racism is taught. The way our elders judge people and view them as completely affects us. Its the job of the individual to break from the racist views they were in taught. It's our job to break the stereotypes and be better.
I don't think racism is dead. However I do think we've come a long way and I believe we can keep improving. I think if everyone truly understood that we are all children of our Heavenly Father we would have fewer problems in this world. A few weeks ago in church a comment was made that we should look at everyone has if they had a sign around their neck that says "make me feel important." Since I heard that I have honestly tried to make every person feel important. It's obviously hard to do and takes effort, but I have noticed a huge difference in my life. If everyone were to truly apply and implement this we would see drastic changes. If we want racism to end, we have to be the change we want to see.
Racism is by no means dead or even close too. I think that it is especially prevalent in the South, and that often people out here in places like Utah don't really get to experience it. Based on our class discussions, we can see that it is especially prominent in places that are culturally diverse.
I definitely believe that racism isn't dead. Georgia is the deep south, but our family spent 6 years in Texas. Though it may not be as extreme in some cases, many of the people their are very racist and feel that they are better than other races. My mom was a school teacher of a class made up of entirely black children. She taught for those six years we lived in Texas. The kids would frequently talk about race and how they were "different". This broke my moms heart. They always called her "ma'am" like we hear in all the classic movies where a black person is addressing a Caucasian. Though policy changes need to address this continuing problem, especially in the south, racism also has to be a change from within the hearts of those who feel animosity towards those of a different race.
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