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Kyuki
Sweden1867 Posts
I think the instincts and prejudice you're talking about is not related to the fact that they were black, but rather that you live in a "ghetto" neighborhood and it was late. With that in mind, knowing shit can hit the fan, regardless of color of the people, if they look somewhat "scary" you'd done the same thing. If you lived in a area that was free from any type of violence you'd naturally wouldnt consider anything bad happening when facing a similar situation. | ||
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CursOr
United States6335 Posts
Don't be worried. There is giving people a fair shake, and there is not being stupid. If you felt threatened, don't be stupid. In any event it's 2 people. And all it takes is someone to say something stupid and then it gets crazy real fast. Never try to man up vs 2 unless you're Chuck Norris or they are real pusses. | ||
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Turbovolver
Australia2435 Posts
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omg.deus
Korea (South)150 Posts
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Sephy90
United States1785 Posts
On June 05 2010 16:07 ArvickHero wrote: I'm going to suppose that these black men were dressed in a ghetto fashion also? Your reaction is understandable if they were, I would have a certain aversion and suspicion if they were dressed in such a manner. Which brings me to think, why do people even dress like that :l yup i think it has to do with the clothing, if you saw 2 black men with a nice shirt, a tie, some dress pants and shiny shoes, you'd brush it off or you would stare at them even more given this is a "ghetto" neighborhood you're in and these fellas are in some nice clothing | ||
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itzme_petey
United States1400 Posts
On June 05 2010 16:19 Jumperer wrote: While i hate posts that just have a youtube video. I really want to thank jumperer for posting the vid. The overwhelming majority support my actions and do not think I am a racist. I feel that my perception of my neighborhood (mainly minorities) is contrasted by the normality of a white neighborhood. Is my neighborhood even that ghetto? Or is it because there are alot of minorities that makes it ghetto. The two black males that walked towards my gf and I, they appeared ghetto only because they had on clothing I deemed as ghetto. One guy wore jeans and a wifebeater and the other shorts and a t-shirt (over sized and old). If those same clothes appeared on a college student in Austin, Tx (my usual residence), I wouldnt think the clothes are too ghetto (even if they were on a black student). I think the media, my own fears, and insecurities formed the idea that poor/ghetto = dangerous. The only thing those two black men were guilty of were being 1. Poor 2. Black 3. Walking together. However, if given a second chance, I would still follow my instincts and walk the other way. Its funny how I can justify my actions by telling myself that... in a corporate world situation I would treat a black person the same as a white person. However, in the regular world, if the black guy had "ghetto" clothes on and was poor, then he would be dangerous and threaten my livelihood. Whereas if a white guy had ghetto clothes and was poor, he would probably be only a beggar. I'm not afraid of whether or not I am the type of racist that shouts out offensive things out of my car or whatever. I am not that type of person. However, I am afraid that I might be the type of person that discriminates subconsciously and therefore adds to the systematic racism that still exists today. | ||
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Vivi57
United States6599 Posts
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eMbrace
United States1300 Posts
You do no believe one race is inferior to another, you simply recognize that certain races in your area often come from certain environments and carry stereotypical traits as a result. If you were raised in a different country/city, you'd have different stereotypes to help get you through day to day life. | ||
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Mooncat
Germany1228 Posts
Maybe you'd have reacted the same way if they had been white, maybe not. Probably a question you should ask yourself. Whatever the case may be, you reacted correctly imho. And even if you reacted the way you did because they were black it doesn't necessarily have to be racist. Maybe your subconsciousness was recalling all the incidents involving black people that you know from TV, movies, etc. and thus you draw the impromptu conclusion: black guys in a bad neighborhood = better get my girlfriend to safety and avoid them. | ||
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PH
United States6173 Posts
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KingofHearts
Japan562 Posts
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InFdude
Bulgaria619 Posts
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KinosJourney2
Sweden1811 Posts
Calling this racism is just dumb, it's more common sense then anything. | ||
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ggrrg
Bulgaria2716 Posts
+ Show Spoiler + anecdote that's more or less related to the problem in the OP: A few years ago I spent a year studying in the US. The last 3 weeks of my stay I wanted to make a trip through several states just to see as much as possible from the country. Being freaking cheap as humanly possible, I always booked the cheapest motels I could find along the way. This is how I ended up in some freaking ghetto next to New York. The motel resembled a jail by being surrounded by a spiked steel fence and having only one entrace. The reception itself had only one window the size of a small desk with steel bars in front of it. To enter the recpetion one had to go through two locked doors. For a small amount of time I was locked between the two doors so the owner could take a look at me upon letting me to the reception room, where he still was behind a wall of glass (quite possible bullet proof) and steel bars. After checking in (30 minutes after my arrival) I was offered fucking "Coke" in the courtyard by some Hispanic dude that continued his search for customers after I refused his offer. I had to walk 20 minutes to the train station in order to take the train to Manhattan. On my way there, I witnessed a brawl... I also saw that there was a police station nearby and felt somewhat safe until I saw that in front of it there was a monument saying "dedicated to those that have fallen in service". Along the way, for some reasong nearly everybody looked grim. There were mainy blacks, which I didn't mind for the most part, but there were a few of them that just sent me shivers down my spine, not only because they were dressed with that ghetto fashion gangster clothes but because they stared at every single person that passed by as if they were looking for their next prey. I made the mistake to come back from New York past midnight and honestly that 20 minute walk back to the shitty motel was insanely terrifying. The whole setting was just like in a bad horror movie. Little lights on the streets, only shabby buildings along the way, just a few people on the streets (all of the black) and with exception of one guy, everybody else did stare at me as if I were a freaking alien. I don't think I've ever felt so paranoid like that night (that comes from somebody that used to live in a rather bad neighbourhood in a poor ex-communist country). I really had the feeling that somebody will jump at me at any given moment. The next day, I did cancel my reservation at this motel and moved to another town near New York. + Show Spoiler + the following has no relation to the OP: It turned out that it was populated mainly/only by Hispanics, which however was not a problem at all. It felt like the people here were far more positive than the people in the other ghetto. They didn't have those grim faces but for the most part a rather happy expressions. Also nobody tried to look or behave cool and most importantly nobody did stare at me. Also when I asked them something like which bus I should take to New York or how I can reach my motel they would smile at me and try to answer and help me. I should note though that many of them could barely speak any English, but I was impressed how nice they were: 1. The bus driver didn't know any English so I could not understand what ticket I should by, so one of the passangers helped me. 2. In New York, on the line for the bus to go back to the motel, I had forgotten which bus I should take, so I asked the woman in front of me in the line. She said something in Spanish and then went away, which seemed quite odd to me. But 5 minutes later she came back with another women that was in the front of the line and said: "This woman can speak English". With her help I was able to catch the right bus. 3. When I got off the bus I didn't remember in which direction I should walk to the motel, so I asked one of the passangers if he knew my motel. His English was so bad that he could not accuratelly explain the way I should go, so he offered me to walk with me until we could see the motel. On the way, he made an effort to speak English and told me about the festival that they had this week in the town and we actually had a nice conversation. Since I experienced a similar situation to yours and acted in a similar way, I totally believe that you are not being racist. At night in such a setting, with all the possible dangers, it doesn't matter if it is two black, white, yellow, green or purple people, it is always scary. | ||
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Liquid`Nazgul
22427 Posts
Racism in most cases is bad but in some cases good. If 20 big black guys scare you more than 20 white grannies then that's racism based on common sense. And there's nothing wrong with that. | ||
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Sadistx
Zimbabwe5568 Posts
On June 05 2010 20:18 Liquid`Nazgul wrote: I like how people first try to see if something is understandable/acceptable and then assume once this is the case that it should never be called racism, as some sort of self protection so they never have to live with the thought of being partially racist. Racism in most cases is bad but in some cases good. If 20 big black guys scare you more than 20 white grannies then that's racism based on common sense. And there's nothing wrong with that. You should look up what racism actually means, as should everyone in this thread. Stereotyping people by the color of their skin, based on the available data isn't racism. It's something akin to racial profiling, but that still won't be racism. I get college crime alerts for my area and 90% of the time, the suspects are black. Should I be more afraid of black people or any other type in my area? Black. Is it racism? No. It's a rational expected value assessment. | ||
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Squallcloud
France466 Posts
On June 05 2010 20:18 Liquid`Nazgul wrote: I like how people first try to see if something is understandable/acceptable and then assume once this is the case that it should never be called racism, as some sort of self protection so they never have to live with the thought of being partially racist. Racism in most cases is bad but in some cases good. If 20 big black guys scare you more than 20 white grannies then that's racism based on common sense. And there's nothing wrong with that. Good point, i guess we're all racist then since we act sometimes differently with different people of different races for good or wrong reasons. edit : i looked the wiki definition of racism Racism is the belief that race is a primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race Does it mean that as long as you don't think there's a superior race you're not racist? Hell whatever stay away from suspicious ghetto guys that's all  | ||
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Liquid`Nazgul
22427 Posts
On June 05 2010 20:33 Sadistx wrote: You should look up what racism actually means, as should everyone in this thread. Stereotyping people by the color of their skin, based on the available data isn't racism. It's something akin to racial profiling, but that still won't be racism. I get college crime alerts for my area and 90% of the time, the suspects are black. Should I be more afraid of black people or any other type in my area? Black. Is it racism? No. It's a rational expected value assessment. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually (but not always) involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. | ||
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Sadistx
Zimbabwe5568 Posts
a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually (but not always) involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. Propensity to commit crime doesn't fall under cultural or individual achievement. Saying "black people are more likely to commit a crime in this specific area under these specific circumstances (ghetto at night)" doesn't necessarily mean you subscribe to the belief black people aren't able to achieve anything and are thus more likely to commit crimes. If you go to a 3rd world country where crime rates are higher, should you be more cautious? Yes. Does that mean you're racist towards the ethnic groups in that country? No. | ||
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NobleDog
United States65 Posts
On June 05 2010 18:14 cursor wrote: I take it you're not African American yourself, no? And... love the post about "As a man, it's often better to choose the "fight" option..." Ya, you do that bro, start mad doggin 2 guys by yourself at night in the ghetto. Fantastic strat. Jesse Jackson voiced the exact same sentiments as the OP. There is always the need to be practical and come to a decision even in the face of unknown quantities. | ||
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