3 in 10 Americans Admit to Race Bias- But at least we're talking about it

by nvrgnbk 25 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  SixofNine

  It's much more complex than I would have ever thought.

  Somewhere in the midst of a heated discussion about the fairness of treatment of Blacks in the US, my oldest friend let out with "we did them a favor putting them on slave ships" (more heated discussion revealed that what he's getting at with that ridiculous statement is that American Blacks are doing better now than Africans).

  We calmed down a little, and as I was giving him a ride home, we got to "so, who ya gonna vote for?". Obama, was both of ours' reply.

  My friend (ex friend?) really would like to see the Black community thrive. He is also quite racist in many ways, both to Blacks and Hispanics.

  It makes me ponder if I really want to spend any more social time with him, after that comment. It's just such a cavalier and unjust way of looking at humanity.
• 

  Layla33

  Interesting...
• 

  restrangled

  I grew up on the southwest side of Chicago where there were race riots at our highschools. Police were in the hallways, and at times buses were over turned. Black kids were being bused in from terrible neighborhoods.

  Raised as a JW I was taught that humans are humans no matter what color....there was no difference between us....

  So....I had no race bias against blacks but mom and dad held their own racial bias that still holds to this day.

  My mom, anyone oriental, based on her brother fighting the Japanese in world war 2. She still has a problem. My father who is dead could not stand any Arabs. He had to deal with them in the business he was in during the 80's. It drove him nuts...

  My point being, I think MOST, not all Americans have gotten past the black bias. Personally, I would be proud to have a black man as President. Barak Obama is intelligent and articulate. I would love for him to represent us as Americans around the world versus the idot that has been in the last 8 years and embarrassed the hell out of most of us. (Mr. all hat and no cattle)

  r.
• 

  BizzyBee

  Remember President Clinton's One America in the 21st Century: The President's Initiative on Race, established in 1997? I don't either. I came across it accidentally. It was meant to be an on-going office that encouraged community dialogue about race relations across the nation. The commission wrote a few reports, held some town hall meetings for a year or two and then kind of fell into oblivion.

  We need to come up with something better or just accept the fact that race relations have progressed tremendously in the last 140 years, but the last 40, (ironically since the Civil Rights Act) have been less than stellar. I don't see that Obama is going to fix it, but maybe he will surprise us.
• 

  nvrgnbk

  Education and time

  True.

  The ability to laugh about our differences also helps.

  Dave Chappelle- Grape Drink

  http://youtube.com/watch?v=NuTjQLfU6Gk

  Very funny.

  WARNING: Strong language
• 

  ColdRedRain

  Growing up in a mostly white area of the country, I can tell you that some of the racism is a 2 way street. Most of the black people in the isolated pockets of diversity in my area are loud and prone to committing petty crime. In fact, yesterday, I almost got into a fight with a teenage gangbanger wannabe because he was bullying a 7 year old girl. It didn't come to blows, thankfully. A lot of white people do judge blacks based on the actions of a lot of these thugs. And in fact, when somebody tries not to act like those thugs, they get accused of "Selling Out". It's a vicious cycle. Listen to Bill Cosby to get the full meaning of what I'm saying. I'm not saying that all black people are like that, I'm just saying how being an uneducated, loud, violent thug is seen as a character value rather than something to be ashamed of by a majority of young blacks.

  I won't go on any further because it seems as though anybody who posts anything right of Stalin is going to get booted around here.
• 

  wildflowermeadow

  This is a clear example of racism in action.

  ColdRedRain thinks examples of a few black thuggish types has anything to do with a dialogue on black and white racism. It's as if I brought up meth heads in their run down trailer parks--how loud they were and how the police came out every weekend--applied it to The White Problem and How White People Are.

  I'd be nothing but a racist, right? A few blacks who identify with a certain (underclass or hip-hop) subculture aren't all blacks, even most blacks and don't have a d@mned thing to do with how black people are, just as a few white meth heads, skin heads, or whatever, have little to do with all white people and how white people are.
• 

  sammielee24

  7 out of 10 obviously don't have an issue with race - too bad people can't accept that. I don't personally know anyone who hates anyone else based on the colour of their skin. What I do hear and see is all cultures stereotyping each other continually but it doesn't mean its hateful. A lot of kids today don't even have a clue about the civil rights marches and issues because they don't see it - ditto for different countries. The glass seems to be more than half full so that's a good thing - sammieswife.
• 

  hillbilly

  At the same time, there is an overwhelming public openness to the idea of electing an African American to the presidency. In a Post-ABC News poll last month, nearly nine in 10 whites said they would be comfortable with a black president. (1)While fewer whites, about two-thirds, said they would be "entirely comfortable" with it, that was more than double the percentage of all adults who said they would be so at ease with someone entering office for the first time at age 72, which McCain (R-Ariz.) would do should he prevail in November.

  Even so,(2) just over half of whites in the new poll called Obama a "risky" choice for the White House, while two-thirds said McCain is a "safe" pick. Forty-three percent of whites said Obama has sufficient experience to serve effectively as president, and about two in 10 worry he would overrepresent the interests of African Americans.

  Paragraph (1)... we would rather see a black man than an old man elected president...should i take that as a dempgraphic preference of voters or what?

  (2) half of white americans polled say that Obama my be a riskey choice, 66% say McCain is a safe pick... results of 2 issues melded together?

  Yet the writer cites that 43% of Americans say Obama could cut it as president.

  The guy who wrote this has said very little. Bias is not racism... it's preference. I prefer Chevy over Dodge... whatever.

  Hill
• 

  snowbird

  It does no one any good to deny that we are all racially biased.

  Are we

  Yes, ma'am.

  Since bias means a leaning toward or a preference, I assert that we all prefer certain people over others.

  For instance, I'm Black - African-American - and I definitely prefer Blacks to any other group of people.

  Sylvia