Do the Children of Southern Racists Inherit the Disorder?

Thank you. I experienced the same thing growing up. Sure, parents have a huge influence, but young people can still learn to think for themselves. Some of them, at least. RR is oversimplifying more than a bit, in my opinion. I did know a very large number of racist adults and their influenced children, however, but I grew up a bit earlier, when they still had "Whites Only" signs at our local public pool, bathrooms, and even water fountains, for example. There's something to what he says. He's just painting with an overly broad brush.

 

I have a vivid memory of going to a baseball game at the Astrodome, probably in 1965. We were walking from the car to the dome and there was a biracial couple, hand-in-hand a few steps ahead of us. My parents expressed surprised that they were a couple. They didn't say anything derogatory (can't say what they were thinking). It would probably not be a memory at all if they had ignored it.

 

UPDATED . .. I left out a key word. .

Rocket River

 

That was an important word.

 

If you view someone of another race as inferior and enforce that bias with actions and words.

Thinking someone is different is not racist . .. it is accurate
but taking that difference and using it to belittle, undermine, and hurt the person that is different. That is racism/Sexism/Homophobia/ZenoPhobia/etc

Rocket River

 

But many Black folks do... #madeup/slave/religion

 

In this civilized day and age racism is just a great distraction...

 

Slave states also had smaller populations, the electoral college keeps those relevant alongside very large cities which could otherwise swing national elections themselves and skew campaigning, regional and party representation. It provides intrinsic value to statehood that was relinquished, along with their autonomy or quasi-sovereignty, when they ratified the Constitution.

 

I've just read through this thread and very interesting. Here are a few of my thoughts.

I see Minnesota has been brought up a few times and as someone who has lived here for longer than I care to remember yes, there are racists in Minnesota. As much as Minnesota is the state of Mondale and Humphrey it is also the state of Michelle Bachmann. The big difference in Minnesota is largely the difference between the rural areas and the urban areas. My impression of rural Minnesota is that social attitudes aren't that much different than social attitudes in other rural parts of the country.

Regarding the differences between American blacks and African blacks Minnesota also happens to have one of the largest Somali and East African refugee populations in the World. In my neighborhood there are a lot more Somalis than there are people who were descended from slaves. Even though they are both the same race they do not consider themselves the same and there has been tensions between the African American community and Somalis. Race is almost nonexistant as a unifying factor when compared to the differences in culture, language and religion. I've heard from some that just because both groups are considered black by other races tends to exacerbate matters rather than give them common ground.

Back to the main topic while the legacy of racism is much more prevalent in the South it certainly exist in other parts of the country. I think it's prevalence has to do with a lot of factors with family being one of them. I brought this up in the case of the SAE chant that it seems to me that many are brought up with not so much an outright racism but more of a casual racism. I think in this time few people are out and out racist to the point where they won't deal publicaly with someone from another race or consider it impossible for those from another race to be as successful or intelligent as they are. What still seems to linger though is more private where they wouldn't want to associate with someone from another race and even if they consider individuals to be capable still harbor generalities about the race as a whole. If you look at Donald Sterling's comments here was someone who had no problem paying millions to black employees including hiring a black coach yet still said he wouldn't want to associate with them.

 

There is a "racist" gene. It's the same one that gives certain people white skin.

JK

Seriously- I think these things take time (too much time).

Whereas 50 years ago, such attitudes were more the norm (or at the very least tolerated), they are regarded as out the social norm now. Unfortunately - there will probably always be racism to some degree.