Rampant Racism in America

White Racism in America's Police Departments Is So Much Worse Than Most Americans Understand

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What in the world is going on, lately. It's crazy!
 
I was in Philadelphia a few weeks ago. I went to an exhibition for work at the convention centre. Almost all of the people attending the exhibition were white rather than black (fairly international audience). When the convention was over a lot of people came in to take down the exhibits, and they were almost all black. When I went out into the streets and walked around, you could see all the people with suits or anyone that looked most likely to be wealthy or in an important job, was nearly all white. And in lower-paid jobs like serving in a counter in a shop, people were mostly black. Also, people hanging out in the streets begging, and lounging about, looking like they were unemployed, tended to be black.

Overall, it felt like a kind of (non-physical) segregation is going on related to wealth/prospects. More so than in Europe.

I saw some exceptions on both counts, but not that many.

I'm not sure how many other places are really like this in the US. I've noticed this less when I've been to other places in the US.

It doesn't feel right, and after all this time. Maybe they need universal and free education in the US, and more attempt to make education standards more uniform?
 
I also was on a train between Philadelphia and New York and overheard an argument/discussion. As far as I could make out, the argument, between one black man, one white woman and the train conductor was about the black man bringing his bicycle on the train which might have been against the rules. However he felt that he couldn't realistically manage to commute from his house to his job without doing so.

But you could somehow feel this undercurrent of racial tension going on, and unsurprisingly, the discussion moved its way on to the fact that he was being a black man persecuted, and the guy had an undercurrent of tension and anger, sort of half joking about it all, but only half.
 
@Jamie in Chile It's not an illusion, it's real. I'm an anglo-bred white chick, who lived in on the "east side" of Saginaw for 10 years, sang blues & jazz for a living in the area, and felt accepted... I was the minority. And a little scared, at first. But I was who I felt I needed to be then... open & honest about who I was and what I LOVED to sing. I was terrified that folks I performed for would see this pasty white chick singing what may've been classified as "black" songs... but I got cheers, hugs, & I made so many friends. :) I dunno what I worried about. I got the same sh*t in high school when I performed so-called "black" literature in forensics competitions (Dramatic Interp.) -- I asked & argued how any literature is different than another, regarding race... total bullsh*t! --- My folks (both retired public high school teachers), when they met, went to civil rights marches.... I have always been moved by this, these stories, these songs... SO strongly moved....

Sorry, I've been drinking (obviously)... didn't mean to go off.... but this racist sh*t really torques my b*tch-switch. :mad:
 
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To be honest, racism in America began long before the country even existed, when Europeans discovered the existence of the Western Hemisphere, and saw the native peoples as less than human, at best, savage, uncultured, un-Christianized creatures ripe for religious conversion and exploitation as slaves, and at worst a pestilence and an inconvenience to be removed so the Europeans could seize the lands and natural resources and all the riches they could find unimpeded. Then once they did that, they discovered that Africa also had peoples they considered less than human who could be exploited as slaves. And that kind of racist thinking has unfortunately been institutionalized and pervasive in American life and culture ever since. The descendants of the Native Americans still face the kind of racism that their ancestors endured, a similar racism that the descendants of the Africans who were forcibly brought to the Western Hemisphere also experience.
 
Jamie in Chile said:
Overall, it felt like a kind of (non-physical) segregation is going on related to wealth/prospects. More so than in Europe.
Click to expand...

You're very observant - this is what it's like all over America. Even more noticeable in larger population centers. It's how this country is and has always been, only it used to be more obviously violent rather than insidious. People continue to make excuses for instances of obvious violence, though, as we see with all these disgusting police shootings.

It doesn't feel right, and after all this time. Maybe they need universal and free education in the US, and more attempt to make education standards more uniform?
Click to expand...

That would be nice! Unfortunately what you're describing would require completely restructuring every aspect of US society, which is literally built from the inside out to uphold this type of inequality while simultaneously making excuses for it. That's how a select few people maintain unquestioned power. Most US institutions and laws are direct descendants of efforts by the government to maintain racial and class inequality so the same people could benefit and stay in power.

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I find this article informative:

Case file in Philando Castile shooting to be made public; family intends to sue

After seeing the dashcam video of the shooting myself, I personally find it very hard to understand how 10 out of 12 jurors (note: according to the article, those were not identical with the 10 out of 12 non-black jury members) also saw that and came to the conclusion that the shooting was justified.
 

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