tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10032287.post4822787518886517686..comments2023-09-08T00:47:50.511-07:00Comments on Naked Reflections: My Reluctant Confession of Racial PrejudiceStevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02549770321948541384noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10032287.post-27311873621342653342007-12-09T13:41:00.000-08:002007-12-09T13:41:00.000-08:00Tom, I'm sorry to say it, but I believe that you'r...Tom, I'm sorry to say it, but I believe that you're right on all counts, except the part about my "outstanding character." :-) Interestingly, my wife, who came here from Thailand six years ago, has a very poor opinion of black people in general based on what she's seen since she's been here. I try to persuade her that she can't judge all black people by the ones of whom she's formed such a negative impression, and she, like me, acknowledges this intellectually. But she's seen so many black people around her behave in crude and downright ugly ways that she, like me, has become quite prejudiced against toward black people in general emotionally, or at least toward those who have grown up here as opposed to those who came here from other countries and cultures.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02549770321948541384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10032287.post-47405249069469003622007-12-08T21:21:00.000-08:002007-12-08T21:21:00.000-08:00Hey, Steve, another thing:You are likely to ride t...Hey, Steve, another thing:<BR/><BR/>You are likely to ride the light rail around our shared metropolis, as I do, from time to time.<BR/><BR/>I don't think that anybody who rides the light rail a bunch of times can fail to gain the impression that the black people are ruder, hog more space, louder and mistreat their children more often in proportion to the white riders.<BR/><BR/>It's not Politically Correct to say so, but impossible not to observe.<BR/><BR/>This doesn't mean black people are more prone toward being evil; it merely means there are sociological reasons for the disparity.<BR/><BR/>I would say that you are aware of disparities in behavior between the black and white groups and this has affected your reactions relating to people you don't yet know. I would say that this is normal, understandable and typical.<BR/><BR/>It is a kind of thing we all have to work on, however, otherwise society is stuck forever in a Catch 22: Equality among the races goes unachieved for many reasons, including the fact that we whites aren't treating black people as well as we do others of our race.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13718601770472939313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10032287.post-17288910164164893482007-12-04T14:12:00.000-08:002007-12-04T14:12:00.000-08:00I think before anybody buys you a white hood for C...I think before anybody buys you a white hood for Christmas, we should examine this closely.<BR/><BR/>Everyone has certain elements of prejudice. For example, I love mushrooms, but won't eat wild ones found in the woods. Why? Because my ignorance of species of mushrooms leaves me open to being fatally poisoned. [This example, btw, came from Mr. Banks, my high school sociology teacher who was also black.]<BR/><BR/>It is not prejudice, however, to notice, as you might, that a tough-looking twenty-year-old male you pass on the street is more of a danger to you than a frail eighty-year-old woman.<BR/><BR/>A <A HREF="http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/p05.pdf" REL="nofollow">current government document</A> gives us this statistic: As of 12/13/05, "About 8.1% of black males age 25 to 29 were in State or Federal prison, compared to 2.6% of Hispanic males and 1.1% of white males in the same age group."<BR/><BR/>The disproportion of blacks, compared to whites, in prison is much improved since 35 years ago when you and I were in high school, but it is still alarming. Certainly prejudice on the part of law enforcement and juries adds to black imprisonment, but it is also an element of greater impoverishment, and a cultural thing.<BR/><BR/>Much as we whites are crazy, black culture has its own, unique and very troubling antisocial aspects.<BR/><BR/>I think that Martin Luther King's point was that we should judge people as individuals, not as classes of people. AND, that we should get TO KNOW people as individuals and not as stereotypes. You can't get to know people you bump into for a minute on the street, so we all must forgive ourselves for falling back on the current stereotypes.<BR/><BR/>America is still only part of the distance in working its way through its racial problems, equalizing access and opportunities for all groups of people. I think we're doing great, but we still have a distance to go.<BR/><BR/>I judge you to have OUTSTANDING character. Please give yourself a break.<BR/><BR/>-- tomAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13718601770472939313noreply@blogger.com