Race and prejudice in America

OK, I lied. One more post; that's it. Fenian, you condemned the Long Beach events after you were called on it. Initially your only interest was using this thread to push your agenda.

 

I live in Long Beach, California. I don't live in the south. My image of race and prejudice is probably different than someone who lives near something called a "white tree" and where nooses hang. Long Beach is, at least according to Wikipedia, the most culturally diverse large city in the country. Prejudice doesn't *just* equate to white on black here. It's all encompassing. White, black, latino, asian, pacific islander. I see it. I hear it. I don't know what goes on in the rest of the country. I know what goes on here. It sounds like to you and others, race and prejudice means white on black. I don't doubt it for a second. It doesn't necessarily mean that in southern california.

 

criticism taken and accepted

 

Hey, I know I get blasted for saying these things, but how can you defend the South when there is a public school that has a "white people tree" and the school administration knew about it? And I don't want to hear that it is only a few. I'm sure there are some wonderful people that live in Patterson, NJ, Aliquippa, PA or East Side Richmond, VA but guess what? It's still hell on Earth.

Sure there are widening gaps between the races, but good God. This is the most overt present-day racism I have read about, and it is coming from a school! A school is a place where you are supposed to teach the correct things to children.

I live south of the Mason-Dixon, and I still think this is insane.

 

See, there you go, making a perfectly fine point, well-reasoned, and you STILL have to get in the swipe, "it soulds like to you and others, race and prejudice means white on black." Why, because I posted a story that provides evidence of that? So every time I use the word racism, do I have to bring three incidents each of white on black, black on white, black on latino, latino on asian, asian on black? The argument you're making is weak at best, irresponsibly small-minded at worst. Just because your example is true doesn't make my example false. And just because you came up with instances of black-on-white hate crimes, that doesn't have any bearing whatsoever on my views of racism. Quit going for the easy conclusion, we're all adults, let's act like we graduated from high school and can use our brains.

 

What a twisted fucking story.

If this kid was truly smart enough to go to school anywhere, then he should have been smart enough to get involved with conspiring to beat someone up. A kid that smart should be the voice of reason. He was not, and since he was involved in the assault -- at least, that's what I gather from the second story -- he deserves to be in jail, no matter how reprehensible the provocation for that act. Then, it seems fairly simple to believe he'd be acquitted on appeal given the makeup of the jury. So even if he deserves to be in jail, he won't stay there, which in some strange way feels just because of the tree/noose thing.

 

If this were in another municipality, would this young man be in jail to begin with? One truly wonders.

 

Long Beach is a great, cultural city. Been gone 16 years, sure, but grew up there and it's the reason I embrace humanity.

 

Yeah talk about burying the lede. It was so buried, that it wasn't even in the story. I had no idea what was going on or why it was happening.

 

Well I'm sure the white tree is sweating more than the black tree. [/DustyBaker]

 

It's obvious why they convicted the black kid.

He was a BIG POWERFULLY BUILT BLACK that was standing up for his community - and they can't take it.

 

Thanks, White Chocolate.