I can relate to Silentbuddha’s posts. I also grew up in crime infested areas. My three sibling and myself were raised by a single mother, that had to work multiple shifts to make ends meet. We were taught how to behave with police (more so my older brothers). We were also taught that we had to be two to three times better than our white counterparts in whatever we were set out to do in life. This was not to make us feel sorry for ourselves, it was to prepare us for the reality we had to face in life.
I now live in better area and feel I’m pretty well off. However, I still worry about my son when he goes out. Living this way day in and day out, you get use to it, but it would be nice to not have to.
My son’s white college roommate has expressed how there is a difference in how he and his friends are treated compared to his black friends.
My cousin’s wife is white, she expressed how she worries about her husband when he leaves the house in ways that she don’t have to for her brother.
I know these are just some opinions but I believe it’s hard to see things through the eyes of another and that until you, your loved one, or someone close to you has experience it, can you truly understand.
I don’t think one side is all right or wrong. I don’t feel like white people should have to apologize for their ancestors...just understanding that it still affects some is helpful. I know that some black people make it bad for others (as it happens in other races), but I prefer not to be treated differently because of it. I’ve worked hard, taught my children to be upstanding citizens, so we avoid it a lot, however it still happens from time to time.
