Saw this on another message board: I was talking race with a friend of mine who happens to be White. I told him that as a Black person we often enter situations distrusted and have to do so much more than the next person to establish trust simply because of the color of our skin. He replied to me "Do you know why lots of non-Blacks are hesitant around Black people? Because if they were you they would have burned this nation down by now and they don't know if today is the day that you will decide to do it" First time I was speechless in my adult life.
I don't think that's a common attitude among white people, but of course if there are white people who feel that, you can bet they would want to find a black person to tell them that's what they think.
I beg to differ with you; I think it is a common attitude. Fear of Black retribution is what drives a lot of racism, I think.
Yes, more than patient... ... and I agree with his observation... ... which to some degree was what the burning of Watts... ... and other cities has been all about.
I thought of this thread just now. I believe some of the African-American people finally got angry enough to burn the country down. It saddens me to see what is happening in some of the cities. But, I guess it was just a matter of time.
Like it's just a matter of time until people put a stop to it, once they get done burning their own areas.
We shall see. I never thought it would have lasted as long as it has. I guess there was a lot of pent up anger in some parts of the African-American community. Of course, there are some Whites protesting too.
It wont fly in well armed areas who wont sit idly by and watch the destruction of private property, no matter what color the offender. Certainly not around here. "You loot, we shoot" is not just a slogan.
Let me know when they try their BS in a small and well armed, rural town. Probably 80% of houses have at leave a shotgun and some look like armories. So you let me know, lots of luck, they will need it.
I remember the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The postal carriers wouldn’t deliver so the welfare recipients had to go to the post office for their check. The line was so long it took a helicopter to see it in its entirety.
I think why are a lot of non blacks are hesitant around black is because of the crime and violence that's seen within the black community. The murders , robberies, rapes, drugs, gangs e.t.c. that's constantly happening within the black community which is always in the media. The vast majority of people that are in jail are black even though they represent a small minority withing the population. Real criminals that have done some horrible stuff , why is that? Obviously the majority of blacks are not going to be low life criminals but the ones who are highlight the black community in a very negative light. Blacks have a major public relations crisis, the black community really needs help to tackle the cancer they have within their community. Although you may not like it. I believe this is the reason you're looking for.
What do you think it depends on? It doesn't make me comfortable when people I interact with are uncomfortable around me for no good reason... I prefer folks to just be themselves.
I think hesitation comes from a place of fear and I don't believe an emotional response can be labeled as racist. The person's unconscious mind signals to that they are in danger and this causes an automatic response. So it depends where hesitation comes from, if it comes from a place of genuine fear I don't believe it can be labeled as racist. I believe it could be argued that are some genuine reasons why certain people could fear interactions with blacks without being a racist .
I totally get where you're coming from and I think everyone wants straight up honest interactions with the world. It's the way the works should be, honest and open. I'm ashamed to admit the way I treat blacks has definitely changed recently. I'm definitely more hesitate around them, I'm not myself and I'm very careful. It wasn't always this way. I was open honest, respectful but I didn't walk on egg shells, wasn't afraid to disagree, or have a laugh and a joke . It's different now though. We are more divided then ever. Honestly I don't feel I can be myself anymore. It's so easy to say something totally innocent that's perceived and taken the wrong way. It's the fear of causing upset and the consequences are very real. Lost job , public humiliation, threats and violence, destroyed property/business e.t.c. It's wrong but there is genuine fear when interacting with minorities, litrally one mistake in the interaction and your life could be potentially be up in flames. This is the reason for my personal hesitation. For others it may be they witness a lot of crime from blacks. They may have been the victim. This could be the reason behind the fear. Would you say this is racism?
About the slavery, lynchings, rape, Jim Crow laws, home and church burnings/bombings, etc. that they have faced in the last 400 years.
Well that's silly. You can't be resentful and show anger towards other for that. The reason I say that is, it didn't actually happen to you and the people you're angry at didn't even do it. With that logic I should want to burn down, France , Germany , Italy and most of Scandinavia because they did pretty bad things to my ancestors. It's as if your motive is to hurts blacks and attempt to keep them mentally in chains.
