I never thought that my town was all that diverse; after all, it was something I grew up with, something I was used to. So when I visited a town in California one summer with my mom, under the pretense of possibly moving there, imagine my shock when I saw the ethnicity of everyone there. Other than the family we were staying with, I didn't see a single person of color for the whole week I stayed there. And to be honest, the whole experience was extremely uncomfortable.
Looking at the statistics, the town seems reasonably diverse: roughly 72% white, 14% Asian, 8% African American, 4% Hispanic, and 2% other. We're ranked in the top 3% of racially diverse towns in the whole state. Our high school constantly talks about the fact that our school is diverse, with even the school website stating that our school "...boasts students from over 80 different countries speaking more than 50 languages." Looking back, I can't believe how naive I was to think the rest of the world was the same.
One of my friends went and visited Maine for the summer, spending time with her family. She had also brought along her boyfriend and his family along with them. And every time they went out in public, they were stared at. They were stared at by strangers, by friends, and even by some family members from time to time. They were stared at because my friend and her family are white, while her boyfriend and their family are Hispanic. She was shocked to see that the area around them was so...bleached, for lack of a better term. She was even more shocked later on while during her birthday party, her little cousin was afraid to approach the table that I was seated at, the table primarily filled with her friends from our high school. She was afraid to approach our table because she had never met an Asian person before.
I had always lived under the pretense that America was this huge, vast trail mix of cultures. I never thought of it as a melting pot, where everything became blurred and identical, but a mix that balanced each component out, that would enhance the other to bring out the best in it all. And yet that experience opened my eyes to reveal that everything wasn't what I thought it was.
Sad to say, but even in diverse communities, people of other races do still get stared at and make whatever the minority in the particular place uncomfortable. This country has a serious issue with equality. It can be uncomfortability, an invisibility game, rudeness, or blatant racism.
-Sonja :)
my small city in southern california is mostly white but there is a pretty big ammount of every other type of race. I do agree with the statement that america is a melting pot becase no one is just one race. keep in mind that most people who live in america are of many ethnic backrounds. I am first generation american and i kno for a fact that i am not full german, but i hang out with a group of friends who range from indian and black to white and asian. sometimes we are so mixed together we really do not know what we are and some look full white and are not.
~ <3 Breanne <3 ~
Was never a problem for me growing up. My cousins are mostly mix-raced, and alot of my friends growing up were of a different race or religion than myself. My first girl friend was half Latina. At my job this summer, I was the minority, being the only male there who was not an immigrant or minority.
That said, I find it shocking when I hear stories of racial insensitivity. I have a friend whose mother will not tolerate them dating outside their race. I here racist jokes from people in my community who I at one point respected directed at our new President Elect. It truthfully is shocking to me that there would still be racism in 2008, even in my hometown, a tight-nit community in a very blue state.
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
There have been at least two complete generations of children who have gone through schools where racial tolerance and sensitivity was a key component of the educational agenda and curricula. People of different races still seem to have a strong preference for being with their own kind and a distrust for people who are of different races. It was blatently obvious during this last election cycle.
Rather than trailmix our society seems to me to closely resemble a turd with most of the contents totally homoginized and blended but with a liberal sprinkling of undigested kernels of corn and a few undigested peanuts in it.
I heard a statistic on NPR the other day that 96% of African American voters voted for Obama. Now, this is based on exit polling, so it can't possibly be 100% accurate. While that may seem like a shocking number, historically, 90% of African American voters vote Democrat every year anyway, so it is impossible to say how much of that number was race and how much was that the Democrats appeal to the African American community.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
The 90% figure that has been occuring in Presidential Elections since the 1960s is basically a racist phenomena. It is the result of extremely disgusting and divisive racial politics which the Democrats have engaged in for decades. It pits one group against another and basically motivates them to vote on the basis of fear. When politics is played by pandering to a group on the basis of race it un-does everything that the educational system has tried to accomplish with respect to racial tolerance over the decades.
Whites are roughly 50% liberal and 50% conservative. Doesn't it strike you a little odd that all African American voters think the same with respect to politics? African Americans increasingly occupy every niche from rich to poor, and from professional to blue collar in our economy. It does not make sense that they all feel they will be best served by the liberal agenda.
that laying all the blame for racially charged rhetoric on the democrats is intellectually dishonest? Many of those who voted against the Civil Rights Acts were Republicans or Democrats who later defected to the Republican Party (Lyndon Johnson, on signing the Civil Rights Act commented that the Democrats had "lost the south for a generation" and conservative Newt Gringrich once said that it was the "liberal wing" of the Democratic Party that ended segregation) Southern conservative politicians spread viscious libel against civil rights activists.
More recently, Jessie Helms became infamous for launching racist attack ads. A Republican politician recently was quoted as saying America would be better off if Strom Thurmond had become president (Thurmond was a racist who defected from the Democratic party after the civil rights legislation of the Sixties) Racism still persists in the Republican party today, as some of the attacks against President Elect Obama have illustrated.
The point I am trying to make is that to lay the blame for "racist" politics on the Democrats is not in any way accurate, not that there are no cases of racially insensitive actions on behalf of the Democrats.
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
More Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act then Democrats.
And yes, Trent Lott made the statement as a nice gesture to a very old Man and even though nobody who was present believed that he seriously meant it he was harshly punished for it by the Republican Party.
Meanwhile, the Democrats continue to have a Senator in office who was a former Grand Kleagle of the KKK and they even had him as their Majority Leader for several years. I believe he made a speech not too long ago where he repeatedly used the "N" word.
Trent Lott's statement was nothing compared to the totally hateful advertisements that were run in Texas in the 2000 election which implied that George Bush approved of dragging black people to death behind pickups and would allow those crimes to go unpunished when in fact as Governor he pushed for the death penalty for the perpetrators of that crime.
Who in the Democratic Party was punished for those hateful and devisive ads like we Republicans punished Trent Lott?
Was it Republicans or Democrats who savaged Colin Powell, Clarence Thomas and most recently Condolezza Rice with disgusting racial disparagements?
More Democrats were Southern.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
And yes, Trent Lott made the statement as a nice gesture to a very old Man and even though nobody who was present believed that he seriously meant it he was harshly punished for it by the Republican Party.
Lott was punished? Really? That would be why no republican ran against him in his state's primaries, and Bush still refers to him as a "good friend"
Meanwhile, the Democrats continue to have a Senator in office who was a former Grand Kleagle of the KKK and they even had him as their Majority Leader for several years. I believe he made a speech not too long ago where he repeatedly used the "N" word.
So, Lott was just "being nice" to an old man, but the Democrats are wrong for "being nice" to another old man? Lott is aloud to make the "mistake" of saying a pro-segregationalist should have been president, but Byrd isn't aloud to have made a mistake in his youth and renounced it? (by the way, he was never a grand Kleagle, although he did in fact join the KKK in his youth)
As I said in my previous post, there are racists among both parties. At least Byrd had the decency to denounce the Klan back in the Sixties. The same cannot be said for many Republicans.
Trent Lott's statement was nothing compared to the totally hateful advertisements that were run in Texas in the 2000 election which implied that George Bush approved of dragging black people to death behind pickups and would allow those crimes to go unpunished when in fact as Governor he pushed for the death penalty for the perpetrators of that crime.
Those ads dealt with hate crimes legislation which Bush had been against. Gee... using a man's record against him. How horribly racist. They did not imply that he was pro-lynching or would allow the crimes to go unpunished. They simply attacked him for not supporting the legislation. (the reason he gave, if I recall, was that it covered acts against homosexuals. Which begs the question, is he pro-homosexual lynching?)
Who in the Democratic Party was punished for those hateful and devisive ads like we Republicans punished Trent Lott?
Who in the Republican party was punished for the hateful and devisive ads used by Jesse Helms? Who in the Republican Pary was punished for the hateful and devisive "Call me" ads used against Harold Ford? When Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gringrich refered to Spanish as ""the language of living in the ghetto," was he punished? When the first President Bush used the "Willie Horton ads" -ads which provoked the specter of the "scary black man"- was he punished? When conservative radio and tv hosts gp on racist tirads, are they punished? Who in the GOP has been punished for racist ads used against Senator Obama? When GOP officials circulated racist images of Obama or sent emails mocking his heritage, were they punished?
Was it Republicans or Democrats who savaged Colin Powell, Clarence Thomas and most recently Condolezza Rice with disgusting racial disparagements?
Please, show me an example of a Democratic official calling Colin Powell, Clarence Thomas, or Condolezza Rice any racist term.
However, if you want racism against General Powell, look into Rush Limbaugh's recent rant about Powell's endoresment of Senator Obama
Lastly, as to your initial claim (more republicans.. ect) it is actually not true. A higher percentage of Republicans voted for the bill, not a higher number. Southern Democrats at the time did not support the bill. It was a coalition of Northern Democrats, a handful of brave Southern Democrats, and a few notable Republicans who pushed the legislation through. Alot of Southern Democrats defected after the passage of this legislation.
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
part of a "liberal" agenda are programs/laws designed to help racial minorities. Things like affirmative action and anti-discrimination laws benefit minorities, so it does make sense that they feel best served by a liberal agenda. There is more to politics than just money.
I was looking at it from a historical perspective, but you have a good point as to why certain minority groups vote certain ways
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
These liberal policies are essentially racist policies that pit groups against each other and cause some groups to be more equal under the law than others.
Thankyou for making the point for me.
You are so right... policies to aliviate some of the problems facing inner city youths are so racist! Please.
Instead of whining about the mean ol' Democrats taking minority votes, the GOP should do some real soul searching as to why minorities tend to vote democratic.
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
If a person is for gay rights, it is because they hate straight people. If they support legislation which benefits the handicaped, it is because they are trying to divide people...
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
You can't be more or less equal, only superior or inferior. Do you mean anti-discrimination laws are racist?
is that like most Republicans, he cannot possibly understand the idea of minorities not supporting the party. So, instead of doing something like actually sitting down to figure out why the GOP party line doesn't appeal to minorities he blames the Democrats for "racist" tactics. It reminds me of a Biblical quote "don't point to the splinter in your neighbors eye without removing the log in your own." When it comes to race relations, the Republicans have quite alot to get out of their eye before they look elsewhere.
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire
Anti-discrimination laws are fine. I have no problem with a level playing field.
It is when they cross the line to being reverse discrimination laws that they are essentially racist. Quotas that require employers to hire on the basis of skin color rather than qualifications are an example. Contract set asides are another where people are given unfair competitive advantage on the basis of minority status rather than low bid are another. Affirmative action that allows less qualified kids of minority status to displace more qualified kids of less favored races are another. Asians really get the short end of this stick.
I understand perfectly why Republicans are less successful at appealing to minorities than Democrats. The whole notion of racial group politics is anathema to us. We believe people should be judged individually based on their merits and the quality of their character rather than the color of their skin. We will never be as good at racial pandering as the Democrats and human nature is to vote for "free" stuff.