Is race really an issue right now?

[SisterofJared]

I have heard it suggested here that race is a real sensitive issue just now.

I live in the Seattle area, and I am not seeing that at all here.

I am wondering if where you live, race is much of an issue?

I tend to only think the media was trying to portray it as an issue, while Americans aren't feeling it.

I don't perceive it as an issue here and now.... I've noticed a few other posters from Washington and wonder if they agree or disagree with me. And also what people thing about their own areas.

Sister of Jared

[MarginOfError]

If you're living in a racially homogeneous area, then race really isn't likely to be much of a thought. In areas where there is racial heterogeneity, it's a much bigger deal.

In my opinion, the issue isn't really race any more, but socio-economic status. Minorities are disproportionately affected by poverty, have disproportionate access to education, housing, etc. The fact remains that non-caucasians tend to face more and tougher challenges than caucasians.

However, I do not believe that this persists because of racism. I think these issues are a relic of a racist America. Over time we have been able to put a big dent into racism, and I firmly believe racial discrimination is dying (not necessarily dead, but on its way out). We still have a long way to go before we really obtain equality, however (by equality I mean that socio-economic status, education, etc are proportionately distributed across the races).

[pam]

Right now I think the biggest obstacle is stereotypes. You see this time and again. After 9/11 it seemed all Muslims were considered evil. After a shooting here in SLC at Trolley Square by someone from Bosnia...the Bosnian community fell under attack. I worked for a manager who thought all Mexicans were thiefs.

Until we can get away from the stereotypes, racism will never be completely eradicated.

[DigitalShadow]

I live in Utah. I haven't noticed any racism here, but then again I haven't noticed any minorities either. I'm half Mexican and I think I'm the closest thing to a 'minority' in the company I work for.

I do think that there is more racial tension lately because of the election, but I don't think there is more racism. Racists who already existed before the election simply became more vocal and maybe even violent. At least that's what I gather from browsing forums and checking out the news from time to time.

[pam]

I don't notice racism as much as a whole as I used to. It's mainly in individuals comments etc.

Kind of a funny story but not really. I was at work one day and was working with another girl. I noticed a black man at one of the gas pumps. Man, he was gorgeous. I said so to the girl working with me. She turned to me and said "Um but Pam, he's black." That just totally floored me as I had not heard a comment like that in years. I wasn't even thinking of him as any thing other than a very good looking man.

So while I think racism still exists...I think it is becoming more and more isolated.

I grew up in a High School where I was a minority so I grew up with people from many backgrounds and races. I never felt much of a tension there because of the diversity. I may have been one of the lucky ones I don't know.

I still think racism exists but I think we are moving towards the positive in making it less and less noticeable.

[MarginOfError]

So what you're saying, pam, is that you've never felt discriminated against for the color of your gumdrops?

[pam]

Only the stereotype that when people look at me they immediately want to bite my head off. I mean they don't even give me a chance.

[MarginOfError]

Well, would you rather they started at your head or at your feet?

[pam]

lol Okay back to the subject of the thread.

[KeithLBrown]

Speaking as a Black man, I personally feel that in certain areas of the country racism has always been and continues to be an issue. I do not think that it is as large an issue as it was during the Civil Rights Movement (1955 - 1968), but there are some places in this country that I would not be particularly welcomed simply because I am a Black man.

I remember an incident when I was in the Navy. We were in Mississippi. Two of my shipmates decided to go to the bayous to have dinner together. One was White and one was Black. At the restaurant that they went to they were told that the White guy would be served, but they would not serve the Black guy. How sad to think that this type of behavior still exists, but in reality it does. During my 20 years of military service I also served with people who never had the experience of being around Black people and so they only had one opinion of Blacks to go by and that is what they had been taught. In that case I don't think that racism was the real issue, but rather it was "ignorance" or the lack of knowledge.

May I also say that a lot of the problems that I see in the world today is not so much that Whites are against Blacks, but in some cases Blacks are against other Blacks. Why? I think that some of it is out of jealousy. There are some people, rather we want to admit it or not, that literally hate to see anybody doing better than themselves. Again, sad, but true.

May I add as a final note that I was extremely proud of this great nation and how the outcome of the election was handled. It did not turn into a race issue, although, being a realist, it could very well have. I believe for the most part, race is not so much an issue as it once was, but stereotyping on the other hand is. Too many people are quick to throw a group of people into a category and judge that whole group of people according to the actions of a few.

At 50 years of age, I still dream of the day that Dr. Martin Luther King preached about -- when man will no longer be judged by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. When that day comes, I believe that once and for all, we will put the issue of racism to bed. May God speed the day!