Re: Black People
 

Just to be clear, I am a white middle-aged male. I am also one of those "colorblind" people. I find that it frees me up for a more important task, spotting idiots.

As for your theory, I have to disagree. The Middle Easterners (or Muslims) that are, or support, terrorists are by far a minority. Same applies to Hispanics and illegal aliens. As a matter of fact, I don't think you can even compare an illegal alien to a person who is bent on mass murder.

My own theory is that it is a generational phasing. Elder people will still hold onto their views while younger people will progress society and eventually we won't even be discussing things like race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.

Look at the Super Bowl as an example. There was a minor story and mention that it was the first time two black coaches met in the Super Bowl. This follows many firsts regarding blacks and others like the first black baseball player, the first black sports team manager, etc. Pretty soon there will be a first female US President. When all the firsts are done we will stop talking about it and it will no longer be an issue. It will take time and generations.

Re: Black People
 

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People don't have a finite amount of prejudice. It doesn't run out and they don't have to reallocate it. That's a silly idea.

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collectively we do. when the racists die they are not replaced 100%.

Re: Black People
 

[ QUOTE ]
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People don't have a finite amount of prejudice. It doesn't run out and they don't have to reallocate it. That's a silly idea.

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collectively we do. when the racists die they are not replaced 100%.

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Prejudice is unmeasurable and not conserved. What I mean is that for someone to have more prejudice against blacks, they don't need to have less prejudice against something else to compensate. If they have less prejudice against blacks than they did before, it doesn't need to have gone somewhere else.

Re: Black People
 

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I believe that the acceptance of black people has been accelerated by the fact that white people's prejudice are now focused on Middle Easterners (because of terrorism) and Hispanics (because of illegal aliens).

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I guess I'll buck the trend so far and say that I think there's something to this. People who are inclined to think along racial lines (i.e. racists) usually have a sort of caste system in their heads. And yes, lately Muslims and hispanics have been working their way down the ladder in the eyes of the ignorant.

Another poster said that racism isn't zero-sum, which is true, strictly speaking. However, nor are racist attitudes towards one group completely independent from attitudes towards other groups.

Somewhere right now in America, some fool is saying to his friends: "Say what you want about the blacks, but at least they're not blowing up buildings."

Somewhere right now, there's a racist white guy commiserating with a racist black guy on the bar stool next to him about those damn hispanics that are taking everybody's jobs.

Writ large, these attitudes and interactions have an effect, and it's an effect that is probably beneficial to black Americans at the moment. To keep with the caste system metaphor, there's only ever room for one Untouchable class at a time. (Except in Germany.)

Re: Black People
 

The way I see it, racism (or at least prejudice) is a natural human trait. If you are not from my tribe I'm suspicious of you. It's a defense mechanism. The fact that David even noticed the percentage of Blacks in town, tells you something. It was obviously an issue with him.

If you are around people you are comfortable with, then race isn't a real big issue. But when they are strangers it is. Las Vegas is a tourist town. People expect to see a lot of different people there. People expect to see a lot of races in the city of Chicago too. But if there is a Black picnic in a leafy white suburban park, the cops will be called. The same people that work with, and are even friends with plenty of black people will freak out when Black strangers are in their neighborhood.

For all you folks that claim that you are not racist, do a little thought experiment. Pretend you just got on the el and you are the only white person on the train, everyone is Black and you don't know them. How would you feel? Would you feel different if they were all Arab or Mexican? Can you honestly say you wouldn't feel more comfortable on a traincar full of strangers your own race?

So, back to the OP. As Blacks as a community gained more rights and affluence they were seen more on TV, able to travel more and visit places like Las Vegas. White America become more used to seeing them in places like Las Vegas. That's all what happened. Human Beings are perfectly capable of disliking more than one group of people.

Re: Black People
 

I think the difference between this idea and the way I feel is that I feel we won't understand the true effects of these current hatreds for several years. Most prejudices are ones your family teaches you as you're being raised. These random hatreds that are being developed won't be taught to future generations until they are born. Maybe we should do everything in our power to prevent it?

Re: Black People
 

"The fact that David even noticed the percentage of Blacks in town, tells you something. It was obviously an issue with him."

This forum does not allow stupid statements. I would also notice if 40% percent of the Bellagio was redheads. And I'm quite sure that all the black regulars at the Bellagio noticed the same thing I did.

Re: Black People
 

Personally I have much more automatic prejudices against Mexicans. On the other hand I [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] black people.

Re: Black People
 

To find out how colorblind you really are imagine the following scenario:

You have a chance to move all black people back to Africa, let's say to Liberia or any other african country of your choice. Everyone of them would have instant amnesia and forget that they have ever been to the US and nobody would ever find out that you did it. Would you do it?

I'd say if you make a poll amongst white americans, the outcome would be a landslide. It wouldn't even be close.

Re: Black People
 

We're only "colorblind" when we need to be, which is anytime you're own "personal" image is out in the open for "public" display. It's very "PC" to be tolerant, even accepting, but behind closed doors and in the comfort of friends true feelings will come out.

Also, we need to take into consideration the world of sports is very racially diverse, even biased in support of "black people". So it's not much of a suprise that you'll see a higher level of tolerance in sports settings. Even the most avid white sports fan must be at least accepting fof "black people" else he'll find himself without a team to root for in some cases.

What many people forget is that our country has always been racially diverse and as such racially charged. Slavery ended not even 200 years ago and our country isn't even 300 years old. As a culture we are still very infantile and each new thing is something that must be incorporated into the American psyche. First it was no more slaves and free "black folk"..then it was women could vote..then "blacks" could vote..then it was terrorism and coming to grips with things the rest of the world has endured for centuries. All this while, ever since the first immigrant set foot on this land, there has been a mix of races - white - black - yellow - red. And within these we've had difference groups bringing their own prejudices against each other..Germans against the Irish against the French, etc. It will be many, many generations until we can even begin to say we are beginning to become "colorblind" as a society...woman still trail men in many areas they shouldn't and yet men and women have been around together ever since we first showed up on this rock.