saviorself posted:

"I don't condone racism and racist comments. But after reading the threads about Paula Deen I must say that people who have never lived in a US city, which has a black ghetto, don't understand the problem. A white person who enters the ghetto puts their life at risk.

"I live near an east coast city that has a black ghetto. One evening DW was driving her car and accidently got lost and went into the ghetto. She saw a parked police car and asked the black officer for directions to get out of the ghetto.

"The officer said "You should not be here! Your life is in danger. Follow me and I will lead you back to a safe area." So DW followed the police car and about ten minutes later she was out of the ghetto.

"White people shouldn't get too uptight about white racism until they understand both sides of the story."

This is fascinating to me because it seems so much a story of WHITE PRIVILEGE, not of racism against whites.

A WHITE woman finds herself in a dangerous environment. The powers that be rush to her rescue to escort her carefully to safety. But let's consider for a minute -- I wonder how many women of color were raped in that neighborhood that night? I wonder how many women of color were beaten by their partners? I wonder how many kids of color were killed by other kids of color with guns? How many treacherous drug deals went down? Did the police seeing a woman of color -- not safely in a car but walking right on the streets -- jump to her rescue? Did they say, honey, we have to get you to safety?

Somehow I think not. That is why I am having trouble seeing this story as an example of "WHITE" racism. If the people of color in that neighborhood were safe, and only the white people were victimized, then there might be a point. But given the fact that the neighborhood is obviously not safe for ANYONE, then a society that leaves people of color to their fate there with a shrug, but anxiously escorts out any random whites who might stray in is -- yep -- racist -- the classic case in this society.

How did your wife not receive preferential treatment? And I am not saying you should not be grateful she did -- I would thank my lucky stars if that story happened to anyone I love.

But then ANYONE I love -- even those of any color.

It is a sad commentary that it took this to get your attention on to the problem of the danger of some of our city streets, but while we do have your attention, let me point out that whites, especially middle class or above whites are rarely the victims of that violence. The big problem in the ghettos is black on black crime. And if your response if 'Oh that. I don't care about that,' then there it is.

I'll bet that white people are by means the only targets in that neighborhood. A PARTIAL list would include:

women in saris
women in jihab
AA men who look wealthy
quite possibly Hispanics
men in turbans
ANYONE WEARING THE WRONG COLOR!



I guess to more broadly answer the question -- of course some people of color over-generalize about white people. Of course some people of color are bitter and angry at mistreatment -- and take it out on whites who are innocent or well-meaning. Geesh. On this board? Like no one here has ever over-generalized about "Mormons" or distrusted perfectly innocent Mormons because of genuinely hurtful behavior by other Mormons. As this is a human failing, I can't think why people of color would not be at least as prone to it as the rest of us, and there might even be some good reasons in history for them to a little more prone to it.

But finding some sort of institutionalized "anti-white" racism in the AA community? I'm not seeing it. I lived in Oakland, too, an experience I treasure. Was I sometimes treated harshly? Did some people refuse to even give me a chance? Yes. But I also met with many touching instances of people who had every right to distrust me generously giving me the benefit of the doubt and being kind to me. One AA family basically adopted me. They had me to New Year's dinner (I still remember the gumbo to this day). Their son worked on my old VW bug for a pittance. She even loaned me $20 when I was going through a hard time. They were willing to take a risk on a lily-white Mormon girl from Utah (and this was not that long after the priesthood ban had been lifted).

I think we have come along way, baby, but we are still on this road. There are, as they say, faults on both sides -- but I don't see that whites have much to whine about. If they can base their low opinion on one incident in one ghetto, in which whites were the protected party, wow. How about getting out more and meeting more people in more varied situations? Meet people of color across incomes, at cafes, in classes, at community events. Guess what. They are individuals. It is hard to stereotype their attitude toward anything -- whites included -- because of that. Who they are depends on their education, their experiences, their god-give talents and weakness -- just as it does with -- anyone. I know many, many AAs who are beaucoup uncomfortable with ghetto culture and would rather be in a discussion of Anne of Green Gables than Jay Z. I know AAs who find that pretentious and unreal.

I also find that like all the rest of us, they need to feel safe in a relationship before they can relax and be honest. If they think you are going to judge them or reject them, they are going to find a billion ways to protect themselves from that hurtful experience, just like you do, so yeah, you might need to do some "reaching out" -- proving AA are human -- and just like everyone else.

Comments here and in the original thread are very interesting. And it underscores what I've seen over and over. The pendulum never hits a happy center. It always swings violently from one side to the other.

When I was growing up, we were whipped with belts. Teachers could wail on us as well. Those people would all be sued and do serious prison time for the same things today. Do I want those days back? No. But I recently heard a teacher relate a story of how "Johnny" ran at her to stab her with scissors and how she reacted to him with that "oh Johnny, you are choosing to not have treat time". I can't help thinking Johnny might be one who could greatly benefit a good, sound spanking. All I know is that I was not allowed to disrespect a teacher. I tried it once and was paddled. It never happened again. Ever.

Same with racism. The pendulum has swung from the horrible treatment of blacks in the 60s to the outrageous reverse discrimination we see today. It's idiotic beyond belief how the reversal has whites feeling we should be ashamed for being white. And the best way to discredit someone today is to accuse them of the unpardonable sin of racism. Dean is an example. Or some cop. Or someone nearer us. Oh my gosh, someone used the "N" WORD?? How will we ever recover!! How did the word "N" become the worst possible word? People who use the "F" word casually are downright afraid of the "N" word. Blacks and whites alike have managed to make it en vogue to decry the use of such a horrible word. What about kike, heb, wop, etc. This site won't let you type out "N" but wop is just fine. Hmmmmmm. All stupid words, to be sure. But, that old pendulum swing again......

I, too, hope for a day where we can really and truly live in a color agnostic world. With the racism directed from blacks to whites and being accepted as the social norm, I don't see that world very likely any time soon.

Who are the most racist people in America today? Dean perhaps? Not by a mile. Al Sharpton, J. Jackson, and their minions. And some of those spoken of in the previous thread.

You have it wrong Anagrammy. You, too, are bought into that premise that whites are basically wrong. And that it's your job to pay for the past sins of racist people. You "understand" why blacks are so horribly racist against whites? Really? Wow. I sure don't. I didn't do anything to them. Nor did my parents. Nor did theirs. None in my family ever owned slaves. Did any have racist ideas? Perhaps. But I don't. And I can honestly say I go about my life trying to do right to anyone because they are human beings. Color doesn't matter to me. But it seems to matter a great deal to many of the blacks who hate me when they see my skin.

Im sick of a culture that has swung the pendulum to the point of being so ridiculous as to throw out sense and reason. Im sick of the "black" movies whose premise is that I ought to be ashamed to be white because people 40 years ago were mistreated. Im sick of the idea we can't live in harmony because of some litmus test of racism developed by radicals who are racist themselves.

Even my company, to whom Im very loyal, has bought in and has a latino network, a gay network, an asian network. I can only wonder how I'd be viewed if I tried to start a white network. Why would I? I don't need other whites, I need other people. White, black, asian. Hell, the more the merrier! Im not the one segregating. I sincerely wish we could bake a change. I fall back on the idea that, I may not be able to change the world, but I can try and make a difference in my little corner of it.

I don't have any easy answers, just venting a bit.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2013 01:40PM by Admin.

Your opinions fly in the face of every social scientist's findings.

White privilege doesn't mean that white people are evil, and that wanting us white people to recongize our privilege is racism against whites.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2013 07:54PM by tapirsaddle.

And I'm not "afraid of the N-Word," I respect it.

"Fuck" may hurt some people's delicate sensibilities, but it doesn't carry the same emotional and historical baggage that racial epithets have.

"Fuck" isn't a label someone is given before burned on a cross or beaten to death because of the color of their skin.

In order to use the "N-Word" a context has to be set that either removes or acknowledges that baggage.

"Fuck" doesn't instantly attack an entire group of people and only that people.

Well I agree with most of what you said. I swear I want to move to a country that doesn't have this horrible racial undercurrent. Now don't read that to mean I want to go live where only whites live, that is NOT what I mean. I will live in Somalia or India or whatever non-white country, as long as there isn't this bitter, racial discord bubbling beneath the surface.

*I realize the countries I named possibly have racial issues, I was just throwing out names.

When you are the dominant race, like being the dominant religion, you don't see what people see who are on the outside looking in.

That is the whole point. We live/expect white privilege and we (whites) are unaware that other people don't experience the same world the way we do.

Here's another example. When I walk past the guys hanging on the corner, they are S U P E R polite to me. They all move out of the way and if one of them doesn't another hipster will yank him out of the way, saying, "Fool, you are blocking the lady's path--excuse him, Ma'am." I thought to myself, "Well, they are dressed ridiculously with the pants falling down at all, but they sure are polite, so that's good."

I learned in my racism class that UNKNOWN TO ME, I am the most dangerous creature to a young black man. I am an older white woman, who if disrespected in any way, could tell my powerful white husband. In ye bad old days, this could have resulted in an arrest on trumped up charges or even a death.

I am the modern equivalent of the plantation mistress.

Many of you do not like the fact that we "inherit" sociological roles as our society moves toward integration. By integration, I mean that in the future we will all be tan and ultimately race will be distinguishable only in third world countries. It will disappear in urban population centers. You can see that coming.

I find it interesting to discover my own blindness and uncomfortable to realize my own prejudices. When my neighbors let their toddler boy pee on the side of a building on their way to church, I am appalled. I am also irrationally pleased that their little girl is dressed up like she's on her way to Toddlers and Tiaras. Why am I even noticing? Why do I care? What business is it of mine?

It is a wave of judginess of people behaving "properly" IMO. As if my opinion of what behavior is appropriate for other people's culture matters. LOL!

I was talking with my neighbor from Ethiopia about skirts. Men wearing skirts in the South Pacific for example and how did skirts become a girl thing? He said, "So ladies can squat and urinate on the ground without men seeing them take down their pants."

"What about public toilets?" I asked. He laughed -- he said only in hotels in the big cities. The whole country is a big public toilet. He said nobody would think of urinating in the actual cement public toilet or taking a child anywhere near it because they are never cleaned. Even animals avoid them.

Kinda brings my judginess into perspective.


Ana

Back then only uncivilised barbarians wore anything like pants. Roman soldiers did wear capri leggings underneath their tunics in cold weather. Men wore dresses and hose well into the sixteenth century. Many styles of clothing commonly worn by women today were originally worn by men -- high heels, wedges, lace, skirts, platforms, thigh high boots, ankle boots, culottes, tunics, etc. Just goes to show you how things can change.

At one time not so long ago racism was an ordinary and accepted part of life. If you grew up before 1960 it was normal. That's why so many older people have trouble abandoning it.

The only thing that I've ever seen that ever depicts what we call racism as it is commonly understood against white people is the 1995 film "White Man's Burden" with John Travolta and Harry Belafonte:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OntWGW3Ek5w

Anagrammy- I enjoy reading your posts and I respect your experiences and beliefs. I just want to add my own. I've been the minority race, in the other thread I made a comment about my experiences being the minority in an AA city. I got a taste of what it's like, and it is humiliating and demeaning to be treated that way. However, I was treated that way by the police, not as much by the AA population. They just dismissed me and didn't choose to include me, which is fine. I eventually made some amazing friends and that's how it should be. I don't expect to waltz in to an AA city and be accepted because I'm white. That's a disgusting attitude.

Also my experiences are very different from yours. The older generation of AA sometimes will treat whites as you said, BUT my generation and younger most assuredly do NOT. In Baltimore for example if my white, tiny self is walking down Park Heights Ave and a group of AA men my age or younger are standing in a group they absolutely don't rush to get out of my way and treat me like some white dignitary. In fact many times they'll purposely stand so that I can't get by, forcing me to ask them to move.

That class sounds like a hell of a stereotype they're teaching. White older ladies are not the most dangerous creature to todays AA younger generation. Another AA young male is. Whoever teaches that class needs to step into the new generation cause they're not in this one.

Again this is majority and minority issues. Anywhere that one group is the minority, they will be treated differently. Is that right? No. Is that something we should accept? No. But should we pander to the minority, while we tear down the majority? The world is not equal and this current strive to equalize everything is absurd. Like Kurt Vonnegut's story,"Harrison Bergeron", how far is society going to take this?



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2013 12:26PM by charpop705.

Please forgive me for pointing this out but your comments about white people no longer needing to feel ashamed to be white are almost word-for-word what (supposedly) former KKK member David Duke said during the 1980s and 1990s.

"I can only wonder how I'd be viewed if I tried to start a white network."

I'm laughing my ass off. A white network? How many more do you need?

Smart comment, thingsI think.

A fish does not know the definition of "water."

I hope y'all understand that fear of older white women is an example of an obsolete group dynamic which persists into a generation where it no longer applies, right?

But let's be honest. I may not have an old white powerful husband who can punish a young buck who I imagine has offended me, but if I made a complaint to a policeman and my story conflicted with that of a young black male, who do you think the cops would believe?

If I understand my crime shows correctly, they would refer to me as a "citizen" and to the young black guy as a "perp."

Correct me if I am wrong because I am learning every day that I am wrong about a lot of things. Love having my eyes opened by those in the know!

Anagrammy

I understood, I just don't think that is occurring in that particular way/situation.

You are ridiculous if you don't think it works that way. If you don't acknowledge what Ana is saying you are just another ostrich with your head in the sand.

Umm..ok. I understand perfectly well how a belief can be instilled onto a generation that hasn't itself experienced it. However, I do not think that is occurring with the younger AA in the way she described. There is no fear of whites, subconsciously or whatever you want to call it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2013 12:19PM by charpop705.

WTF, are you for real? What are you talking about? and what the hell is a black ghetto? and White people that need to be rescued?
and

<"White people shouldn't get too uptight about white racism until they understand both sides of the story.">

really? Please explain

Could it POSSIBLY be true that an AA Black police officer in the ghetto understands that a white woman driving her car there at night is in danger? The cop didn't simply give her verbal directions on how to get out of the ghetto. He told her to follow him and he led her out of the ghetto with his marked police car. I am forever grateful for that act of kindness.

This incident does indeed point out that there is black racism against whites. Who would understand that better than a cop in the ghetto?

On an Internet BB it is easy for a white person to anonymously say there is no black racism . Try putting your money where your mouth is. Any white person who doesn't believe me should visit a black ghetto at night. Good luck to you if you are stupid enough to try that.

You are so off-base on this it frightens me.

In Baltimore there has been a recent outbreak of black on white crime. Anyone can google this. A white girl was accosted and beaten almost to death on a bus in Charm City, by a huge group of AA teens. They were shouting racial slurs at her the entire time. But according to Tim Wise and the elites, this was NOT racism. Why? Because no matter that AA teens beat this girl's face in and screamed,"this is what you get white bitch", because whites hold all the power and are "in charge" this was not a racist attack.

There are many more instances like this occurring there, but all are swept under the rug, not reported on nationally and the race of the perpetrators is usually not disclosed. You only find out after seeing the videos etc...

It is dangerous to exclude an entire race from the definition of racism. It allows them to perpetrate horrific behavior, yet not be held to the same accountably.

DH's truck was spray painted and vandalized last year. Someone wrote the N word all over it.(we're not black) The cop said this was a hate crime and raced to our house.

Instead of providing anecdotal accounts, why not provide some statistics with sources? You say there's been a recent "outbreak" of black on white crime. Aside from the loaded language, can you back that up?

What's the percentage increase? When did the outbreak start?

Prior to the outbreak, what was the percentage of black on white crime in Baltimore? What is it now?

Thanks..

I don't think any race should be excluded from being called on its racism.

However in saviorself's wife's case I don't think it had as much to do with race as the fact that she was in a high crime area.

Not every black on white or white on black or purple on yellow crime is because of race. There are plenty of other factors.

Jesus.

I don't think my language was loaded. In fact I used much of the same language that the articles I read used.

I've read plenty of statistics that do show much more black on white crime than white on black. But how fair is that in a predominately AA city? I also didn't look into who backed the study, if they had an undisclosed agenda etc..So I can't say that those statistics were "good". However, what I need are hate crimes perpetrated on whites by blacks and since blacks can't be charged with a hate crime, I'm not sure how I would acquire that.

If you feel you want to provide those, to prove me wrong, feel free. I'm just providing an account from things that are occurring in that area, that have made many whites afraid to go into that city.

Wow. The language isn't loaded simply because it's the same language used in the articles you're quoting. There's so much wrong with that sentence I don't know where to start.

You continue to perpetuate the myth of the violent black youth but can't provide statistics to back it up.

You acknowledge that the setting for your anecdote is a city that is predominantly african american, but you fail to acknowledge that a significant portion of that population has been displaced from the Washington D.C. metro area against their will (whether you care to look into this or not, I doubt you will). When such a large percentage of a population is living below the poverty line there will be an increase in crime. Period.

You'd like to be able to attribute that increase to racism against white people which could not be further from the mark. I challenge you to look up the instances of black on black crime that never makes the news. I'd also challenge you, if you're so inclined to make this silly case of yours, to compare the percentage increase of black on black crime in baltimore to black on white crime in baltimore. If the percentage increases in both areas correlate then you'll have hard evidence in front of you that you are simply grasping at straws.

You want to be able to say that black neighborhoods are dangerous because black people live there and they don't like white people. The truth is that poor neighborhoods are dangerous because they're poor. It just so happens in this country that minorities tend to live below the poverty line.

You'd like to pretend that because minorities have equal rights that this somehow means they have equal opportunities. That's ridiculous. They don't.

All the black scholarship funds in the world can't compensate for the continued dominance of white americans in the workplace.

You may not like to admit it, but white people in this country continue to support an economic system that is imbalanced and unfair.

For every $10 in circulation, white people control $9.98. We want to pretend that the $0.02 left over is more than enough for everyone else to scrape a living off of.

Get real, Charpop. Your gated community is just another symptom of a bigger problem that you're not willing to see. It's just easier for you to make-believe that black folks are racist, not desperate.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2013 12:30PM by kolobian.

I don't even know what to say to you. Please read all of my comments in both threads. I am really just at a loss for words.

Please don't tell me what I like to think or what I do think. You have no idea what you're talking about. You chose my comments to lash out at for whatever reason, when others said some pretty off the wall things.

As for the language issue, I did not mean that the language wasn't loaded because it was in a magazine. I meant if you felt it was loaded, that I had no intentions behind that. I'm really surprised at how much your post bothered me. I'm the one who said I lived in the ghetto and was never harmed by the AA population. I said it's a bs stereotype that whites are scared to go into those areas or that whites will be victimized/harmed if they do. I was just trying to show why SOME whites are scared. They read these news articles and become terrified. But I don't care what race you are, if you beat the crap out of someone simply because that person is a different race, that is racism.

I'm not going to go through and rebuke your silly list that you made up of what I like to think. Take care.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2013 01:03PM by charpop705.

When my schizophrenic (white) son moved into a hotel in downtown Oakland, he went out one night late looking to buy some cigarettes.

He walked two blocks in the wrong direction toward the black ghetto area and got the scare of his life when the homeboys standing on a street corner hassled him away telling him to "go back to your own neighborhood, stupid white boy."

He's a man in his forties but he told me he almost wet his pants he was so scared. The last thing he remembered is one said, "We doin' you a solid, man!"

Like any animal, we need to know where we are safe and at what times of day or night the predators are out. It has always been this way.


Ana

The propaganda agents that control our thoughts want us to hate other races.

Not white on black but race on race, class on class.

There are some really nasty white people out there but they are the ones running the show.

I think most people are good.

I have gone into the poorest districts of my city, alone, and knocking on doors and have not been afraid. Once, I was the Republican nominee for mayor and a call came in late on election night from someone in the projects asking for a ride. No-one was willing to do it, so I did. As I was looking for the address I was approached by someone selling drugs. But I had absolutely no fear.

"Even though I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death..."
BTW, the missionary son of a famous mormon got mugged in that project.

Excusing it and forcing arbitrary politcal correctness is also wrong.

How to see this problem clearly is to listen to the facts and take skin color out of the equation. If individuals are being denigrated or exalted purely do to race, then call it what it is "bigoty and racism."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2013 08:16AM by Cheryl.

Cheryl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Excusing it and forcing arbitrary politcal
> correctness is also wrong.
>
> How to see this problem clearing is to listen to
> the facts and take skin color out of the equation.
> If individuals are being denigrated or exalted
> purely do to race, then call it what it is "bigoty
> and racism."

Well said!!

Frankly, I am tired of race being used as a tool for gain.

Paula Deen has a right to her own opinion. If you disagree with her, great! But what she says in the privacy of her home, away from her job, that is her private life and thoughts and they should not be strung out over the media.

I am not saying that I share the same opinions as Paula, however, the door swings both ways. Having many latino/chicano, black, and asian friends growing up and through adulthood. I remember specifically all the racial comments made (outbursts) towards "white" people by these friends and their family members while I was in the room. Moreover, I have heard plently of offensive words used to describe white ppl on t.v. such as cracker or white bread.

Enough already. If we ain't going to enforce the rules equally to all ppl, then one's hypocricy is their own undoing, regardless of their ethnic origin.

Paula is a wonderful chef and that is what I watch her for, I don't watch her for her political stance or her views on religion. She has done a lot of good as far as chartible contributions and providing others with employment. Her comments were ugly, not something I would care to say in any setting, but how is that different when the shoe on the other foot and you all know what I am talking about. How many times in your lives have you told a racial joke, or poked fun of others physical charactoristics? The hypocracy is too thick to cut.

The feigned outage of the elites is repulsive. They're tripping over each other to be the most disgusted and most appalled by Deen's language.

Was she wrong for saying it? Yes, it was an ignorant, stupid word to use. Should she be fired and her career destroyed? Not in my opinion. It's so obvious she's a sacrificial lamb so to speak. She will be eliminated to "prove" how much the left is not racist.

Possibly the Media who insist on calling Black Americans ‘African Americans’ are partly to blame for the continuing hostility of one race towards another. Why can’t all Americans be called simply Americans? Why this insistence on saying this group is different to that group? Why not go the whole hog & call white Americans ‘Euro Americans? Surely those who use such expressions are actually encouraging segregation & racism?
My Brother in law (black) hails from Jamaica & has been happily married to my sister (white) for 20 plus years. He doesn’t care if you use the N word, he really doesn’t but he hates being called an ‘Afro-Caribbean’ why? Because he sees himself as Jamaican, He was born there, his parents & grand parents were born there & he knows nothing, nor does he want to know anything, about Africa. Tell him he’s an Afro Caribbean & he will tell you in no uncertain manner, “I am not, I’m a Jamaican & proud of it”

It's always the whites who are racist and never the other way around. Where the hell is OUR White History Month, White Entertainment TV, Whites only beauty pageants? And I'm sorry, but I am really against interracial marriage. I see this shit around me and I want to puke.

Why the hell do you think American history only starts 500 years ago, when it's been inhabited for over 30,000 years?

THAT NOT WHITE ENOUGH FOR YOU???

This is a joke, right?

Really, man? White history is taught pretty much the entire school year and white people STILL dominate TV entertainment and enforce stereotypes on the token minorities.
You don't approve of interracial marriage? Then don't marry out of your race.

Give me a fucking break.

If I were an african american father I would absolutely teach my children to have a guarded awareness of white people and white culture. Flame me all you want, but white people (me included) are not victims in any sense of the word.

You want to complain about a well-to-do white woman not feeling safe in the ghetto? That's not the fault of black folks. That's the fault of our economy being a sophisticated game of musical chairs that white people have always controlled.

It's hard enough playing musical chairs when everyone's playing fair. Imagine playing it when several of the players made up a rule that they don't have to get up when the music plays so they're always guaranteed a seat. Then imagine having to stand on the sidelines and watch the game being played, only to be allowed to join after most of the chairs had been taken?

Now you and your friends are all fighting each other for the 2 or 3 seats left open. Don't be surprised when pushing and shoving and punching follow. And don't be surprised that anyone who gets in the middle of the melee while the music is playing might not "feel safe."

Sheesh.

And yet the same. The difference is that your 'ethnicity' is very much determined on your accent and our ability to pronounce your name, and much less focus on skincolor. And it's discrimination towards 'immigrants' and not 'blacks' that is the hot issue. A brown-skinned man that speaks swedish like a native and have a swedish name will recieve much less suspicion and prejudice than a white man with a name and an accent that suggests he's not from sweden, or scandinavia or west europe or north america or in short anywhere rich. 'Immigrants' have so been confused with poverty and accent that even kids of totally swedish ancestry that grow up in the usually poor neighbourhoods were many immigrants live, and therefore speaks like them, is sort of identified as one.

I got to this topic late because I have been camping, but I wanted to comment about something Charpop705 said in the previous thread about how it's perceived that AA's can't be racist because they aren't the ones with all the power.

Every once in a while, the counselor at my school will express the opinion that she can't say the n-word, or even a similar sounding word like "nggardly" (which means 'miserly or stingy' and etymologically has nothing to do with the n-word) without serious consequences, but AA's can call each other it without any problem. However, they can call her a "cracker" without any consequence.

Anyway, here's a humorous take on it from Tim Minchin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVN_0qvuhhw

(the whole song is good, but the part in particular is at 2:40)

*I had to spell that word without an "i" to get past the censors.