Racism in the US and how our SO's can cope?

[lele]

I found the post as disturbing as the event  .you actually use the very same racism you are trying to decry here : How relevant was the racial make up of the protagonists in this story ? I can smell a racist miles away just by the way they describe people " oh this african-amercican/white guy went to blah blah blah ...."

What I care about is when:

 

1. White police stop me when I am driving a car at 17 years old, only because I have a dark-skinned ethnic indian person in the car with me. the only reason they can give when I pus them is because they say they were concerned I was being held up.

 

2. Black police refuse to do anything in this incident.

 

3. White police try to arrest one of my father's co-workers (who is a NY State parolle officer), with the only end result being that they thought he was the criminal chasing after a victim (although his badge was clearly visible...but his skin color, being quite dark, was also visible). Mind you, no one seems to relate about the fact that this same person went on the next day to commit a murder in the city.

 

It seems, I care about when the police, our people who are supposed to uphold our laws, act in any way possible to inflame the situation, most likely due to their own ignorance.

 

This makes me very sad.

 

I am so sad also for anyone who faces violence or hurt because of the color of their skin, their religion, or other things about them that they can not control (physical disability, etc.). But, there is a difference here. Rong is an innocent victim. I am an innocent victim. The person who did this, I even said, may have had some problems which effected her judgement. But the point of the matter is that it was a crime of hate, and that such, in a democratic or semi-representative government system, should be opposed as much as possible, by all people.

 

Why did the crowd not do something? Why did the police not do something? And what can be done? This is what makes me sad...that people really have so many problems and are missing out on so much information, that they are capable of making such decisions. I feel that our system has failed...and for that I feel as much responsible...

 

I agree with dan, things are headed the wrong way, and it is sad...

[lele]

Sorry to hear of this incident Jason.

 

I went to school in Boston for 7 years and it was (in the 70's) the most racially tense city in the nation. There were all kinds of race riots on campus. I dated a black girl at the time and she was constantly berated, spat on and assualted by other blacks for dating a white.  Thought it might have changed but doesn't seem to be. I've lived in several other areas of the country since and never seen the racism I experienced in Boston.

Thank you so much for your kinds words Paul!

 

I too am shocked to have experienced such a thing here, but in the same sense, I am not shocked anymore to experience something positive anywhere in the world, so why not something negative anywhere as well.

 

I am sorry that you had such a sad situation when you were a student here, and hope that we can do the best we can for as long as we are here. I will try to find some good stories from our experiences here over the next few months and relate them too.

 

You have always been very thoughtful and helpful, and I appreciate your taking your time to relate your stories and experiences.

Despite the negative effects that experience had on my it radically changed my outlook on race. I am extremely intolerant of racial slurs since. This has served me well since I later adopted a black daughter and an hispanic son.

Wonderful!!! I am glad that a good end result came from your terrible experiences....

[lele]

You're right- I didn't see that. That does suck. I also had a guy after 911 tell me that Bush was bu hao and Bin Laden was Hao, hao, hao. That was the same day I had my bag cut- it was a bad day.

Sorry about your bag being cut...

 

And for my own stance on this:

 

Bush shi bu hao. Bin Laden shi bu hao.

 

They were good friends (Bush's Dad and Bin Laden). They are both people who seem to think that killing others is acceptable.

 

I can understand why the person said that Bin Laden was hao, as when a person is repressed and only can hear one side (such as reading the US Media), they tend to react strongly the other way to establish balance. Yet, it is wrong. I am sorry that you had to experience this.

[Dan R]

aosnow,

 

Racism in China has been discussed at great length here at the Candle --- many times...  but these discussions pre-date your involvement here.  Suggest you go back and find the various posts.

 

While no one on this particular thread talked about being spat upon in China, I did specifly mention that there are racists in China as well ------ as did others.

Actually if you go back you will see that it was aosnow that was spit at.

 

Either he also has not read all the posts or regarded my comment about his post as perhaps not sufficient to be a comment on the spitting. It is true I did not comment on it directly but merely remarked on bigotry. I did think it was a nasty thing to have done. Actually it may be that with memories of watching the cultural revolution we may be less surprised from the Chinese than what we see in our country. There is more shock value in it being so recent and in a major American city. That doesn't make either event any more acceptable or repulsive.

Most comments were directed at consoling the immediate victims..

 

"isn't it funny, not a single person commented on an American being spat upon in China. No one said it's just as wrong in Shanghai as it is in Boston. What does that say about "us"?

[ptcrusier333rph]

racism use as a tool to promote racism, does not matter what color you are or what background, beliefs, sex you are there will be someone not liking you.

the black woman you stated may been told it was the chinese fault, someone could had said to her it was latio, whites, hindu, etc

someone has to be blame for her problem except herself.

 

instead of running and hiding, you need to write a column about what happen, and how you feel. and you could have went to the police there and file a complaint, and spitting in somestates can be a act of a assualt due to HIV.

 

not saying it against you, how many good things happen before that, did a gentleman open the door for your wife, did a child comment on how petty your wife is, did a couple commit about how cute a couple you are?

 

all the time together here you let one person destroy your view of america. if you let that happen here, where you goin china if someone spat on youor your wife for you marrying you.

 

racism is allowed to happen because we run from it when face with it. black,white, green or blue we all are racist, it us inside that decide to show it or face it head on or run and denie it. we in the end make the choice.

you choose to take you wife out of harms way, and i would too, but if she follow me, i never hit a woman but to protect my wife and family i would, police be damn too. I can file hate crime paper too

 

robert

[Jeikun]

aosnow,

 

Racism in China has been discussed at great length here at the Candle --- many times...  but these discussions pre-date your involvement here.  Suggest you go back and find the various posts.

 

While no one on this particular thread talked about being spat upon in China, I did specifly mention that there are racists in China as well ------ as did others.

Didn't get spat on, but had a drunk Chinese guy poking me in the chest and telling me "My uncle was in Korean war!" "You America? You USA?" Goofy grin and thumbs up "OK USA!" (read this as as sarcastic as someone who doesn't really speak English and is drunk can sound while getting in your face) as well as asking my wife what was wrong with her, why she couldn't marry a nice Chinese guy...

 

He was a dildo yeah, but I don't blame the whole country Dumbasses know no borders.

[frank1538]

First, let me say how saddened I am that this happened to you and Yu Rong ¨C saddened not only because it happened to an individual who may be forever tainted in her view of the US, but also saddened because it continues to happen.

 

This is not a defense of a particular person¡¯s actions but just some observations about what was said so appropriately by others. I tend to view America as comprising the extremes both of tolerance and bigotry. I¡¯m not sure I can say that about other cultures. At one end of the spectrum, many people simply live and let live, recognizing that American is a multi-cultural society. Then there¡¯s the other end where one¡¯s values have to be foisted on everybody in order to be a true American.

 

I can¡¯t help but believe that both of these extremes come from the same source ¨C freedom of expression. In a country where one can say just about anything without governmental interference, it will invariably produce the extremes. In most instances, we don¡¯t have to confront the lunatic fringes. Sometimes, like in Yu Rong¡¯s situations, we come face to face, and I¡¯ll venture a guess that Yu Rong was more affected than most of us would have been. Coming from what is essentially a mono cultural society, I¡¯ll bet she was not accustomed to some loony spouting epithets at her that questioned her place in society.

 

As to the role of the police, I don¡¯t know how inflamed the situation was, but it certainly sounded like there could have been a need for some involvement on their part. Whether their inaction was racially influenced is a possibility, but I¡¯m not sure we¡¯ll ever know.

[Robert S.]

That kind of racist incident just does not happen here in Alabama any more and the police here don't make the kind of distinctions you discuss. If something like that had happened here I guarantee the outcome would have been different.

[tonado]

This incident reminds me of the 1992 LA riot.

 

http://www.isteve.com/2002_South-Central_L...ngeles_Riot.htm

[david_dawei]

aosnow,

 

Racism in China has been discussed at great length here at the Candle --- many times...  but these discussions pre-date your involvement here.  Suggest you go back and find the various posts.  

 

While no one on this particular thread talked about being spat upon in China, I did specifly mention that there are racists in China as well ------ as did others.

Actually if you go back you will see that it was aosnow that was spit at.

 

Either he also has not read all the posts or regarded my comment about his post as perhaps not sufficient to be a comment on the spitting. It is true I did not comment on it directly but merely remarked on bigotry. I did think it was a nasty thing to have done. Actually it may be that with memories of watching the cultural revolution we may be less surprised from the Chinese than what we see in our country. There is more shock value in it being so recent and in a major American city. That doesn't make either event any more acceptable or repulsive.

Most comments were directed at consoling the immediate victims..

 

"isn't it funny, not a single person commented on an American being spat upon in China. No one said it's just as wrong in Shanghai as it is in Boston. What does that say about "us"?

The candle will burn from both tends.. but we tend to only light one side...

[Guest aosnow]

sometimes we light the middle.

[Dan R]

This incident reminds me of the 1992 LA riot.

 

http://www.isteve.com/2002_South-Central_L...ngeles_Riot.htm

Not exactly the L.A. riots. I was in the middle of that and it wasn't anything like what the news portrayed. The biggest problem was the police were called off the streets and gangs and petty theives were left to reign. I saw young men break windows at the Sears auto center and take the goods. Then the crowd waiting at the bus stop charged them, took the goods and placed them back. Over the next couple days I saw incidents like this while the police stayed at the stations and finally the national guard were sent in. I was teaching ESL at the time and my lesson was showing what a small percent of the city it took to make a big problem. Including thieves involved the highest estimate was 10,000 involved in a city of 11 million = less than 1/10th of 1 percent. In a city of 12,000 that's only 12 people.

 

The news ran the most shocking pictures for 4 days with no new ones. Makes me wonder what is really going on today in the China demonstrations.

[James]

For all the sociology and psychology we might try to do, and trying to figure out ways to "raise awareness" and prevent things like this from happening, I think we all know that there will always be a few assholes. And there's no reason really to try to guess what a rough go of it that woman might have been having to make her do something like spit at a stranger who did her no harm. She's just an asshole.

China has them too, like every other country. The difference is that in China they seem less likely to be physically confrontational. I would guess that to be because people in China know that the penalties can be ... shall we say, fairly harsh ... should one end up getting arrested.

[david_dawei]

For all the sociology and psychology we might try to do, and trying to figure out ways to "raise awareness" and prevent things like this from happening, I think we all know that there will always be a few assholes.  And there's no reason really to try to guess what a rough go of it that woman might have been having to make her do something like spit at a stranger who did her no harm. She's just an asshole.

China has them too, like every other country.  The difference is that in China they seem less likely to be physically confrontational.  I would guess that to be because people in China know that the penalties can be ... shall we say, fairly harsh ... should one end up getting arrested.

Mel Brooks was well aware of this issue..

 

In the movie Space Balls, the joke builts up to "I'm surrounded by a$$holes"...

 

But I gotta disagree with the less physical confrontation in China.

 

First, they yell and scream better than anyone I saw.. and this is just to try and get 10 cents (USD) lower on a price.

 

Second, they respect their countrymen as their brother, sister, aunt, uncle, in a way the US will never pull of... so they are less likely to strike their 'brother'...

 

Thirdly, the laws in that country seemed so lax to me at times that one would think that the police are annoyed to be called to anything, unless directed from above.

 

I meet a few police men.. average joe who seem to be uninterested in 'upholding the law' as we are so passionate about in the US.. they just want to do their job, drink their tea, and help you. (these are the ones I meet).

 

All manners of laws are constantly broken in a steady stream of controlled chaos, if you've driven in any traffic there, you know what I mean.

 

The police encourage the continuous movement of traffic, at the expense of the law since they realized something fundamental : THERE'S JUST TOO MANY PEOPLE IN CHINA TO GET UPTIGHT ABOUT A FEW LAWS.

 

I found that I could committ hundreds of law violations that in the US would land me in trouble quickly. This brought a profound thought: This is a type of freedom that is not easy to define.. In the US, I could never do this or that, but in China, I can do it almost at will. I saw so many experiences of people doing 'whatever they wanted' in such a way that I cannot in the US... I wondered why we worry about all this talk of freedom. It was clear to me that this is also a relative term..

[James]

The freedom I like in China is the freedom from having to have a car. I love public transportation. Living in Tennessee (down here with Trigg and the sheep) I pretty much have to drive everywhere.

 

Anyway, what I meant was, it doesn't seem like Chinese are very likely to start a fight with a foreigner. The most I have experienced is a few comments.