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Are blacks in America victims of discrimination?

Do you think blacks in America victims of discrimination?

  • No. Absolutely not.

    Votes: 3 3.8%

  • Yes. No question about it.

    Votes: 47 59.5%

  • Only in isolated cases but given disproportionate media attention.

    Votes: 18 22.8%

  • Yes but its their fault by the black culture create fear, dislike and a negative image.

    Votes: 8 10.1%

  • I'm honestly not sure.

    Votes: 3 3.8%

  • I don't have a dog in that fight. I don't care.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    79
Smeagol

Smeagol

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This includes but is not necessarily limited to:


  • Employment opportunities; hiring, severity of disciplinary actions taken by employers toward their black employees, compensation, promotions.
  • Social acceptance; welcomed into friendships, family's acceptance of interracial romantic relationships with blacks vs. orientals for example.
  • Willingness to use black owned professional services; doctor, lawyer, real estate agent, accountant, etc.
  • Greater likelihood of being treated abusively by law enforcement.
  • Greater likelihood of being denied equal justice by the judicial system.
  • Unequal treatment in customer service situations if black ethnicity is known.

I'm in the unique position of being black while most of my friends happen to not only be white but also conservatives. In talking with my white friends, the general perspective they tend to have is racism toward blacks was once a very serious problem in America but it no longer exists except in the imaginations of some blacks as well as being aggressively practiced by black advocacy leaders like Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson and their all time favorite, Al Sharpton.

With the revelation of a police officer's pistol's ammunition emptied into the body of a teenager lying in a Chicago street along with other alleged incidents of unfair treatment of blacks, I thought I'd ask. Do you think blacks in America victims of discrimination?
 
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I was born and raised in a very white area. I know for absolutely sure racism exist. A couple of my friends own business and I know for a fact they intentionally avoid hiring minorities, or at least that is what they say.
 
Discrimination exists. In all shapes and sizes.

It's basically human nature.

That which is different from you is to be feared, or at least viewed with great caution. Stranger danger as it were.

There will always be discrimination. Always.
 
Discrimination of all people (color, weight, class, appearance, abilities, etc.) is alive and well.
 
Smeagol said:
This includes but is not necessarily limited to:


  • Employment opportunities; hiring, severity of disciplinary actions taken by employers toward their black employees, compensation, promotions.
  • Social acceptance; welcomed into friendships, family's acceptance of interracial romantic relationships with blacks vs. orientals for example.
  • Willingness to use black owned professional services; doctor, lawyer, real estate agent, accountant, etc.
  • Greater likelihood of being treated abusively by law enforcement.
  • Greater likelihood of being denied equal justice by the judicial system.
  • Unequal treatment in customer service situations if black ethnicity is known.

I'm in the unique position of being black while most of my friends happen to not only be white but also conservatives. In talking with my white friends, the general perspective they tend to have if racism toward blacks was once a very serious problem in America but it no longer exists except in the imaginations of some blacks as well as being aggressively practiced by black advocacy leaders like Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson and their all time favorite, Al Sharpton.

With the revelation of a police officer's pistol's ammunition emptied into the body of a teenager lying in a Chicago street along with other alleged incidents of unfair treatment of blacks, I thought I'd ask. Do you think blacks in America victims of discrimination?
Click to expand...

Racism, like other forms of bigotry, certainly exists. How do you explain having so many white and conservative friends or so few black and liberal friends? Self segregation, a preference for associating with like minded folks, now far exceeds any forced segregation, refusing to associate socially or professionally with "others".
 
Heinrich said:
No country comes close to racism in the USA. They even had a civil war over it for Pete's sake.
Click to expand...

I might offer evidence of a few conflicts in the ME and other regions as proof you might be a bit off on your estimate.
 
Smeagol said:
This includes but is not necessarily limited to:


  • Employment opportunities; hiring, severity of disciplinary actions taken by employers toward their black employees, compensation, promotions.
  • Social acceptance; welcomed into friendships, family's acceptance of interracial romantic relationships with blacks vs. orientals for example.
  • Willingness to use black owned professional services; doctor, lawyer, real estate agent, accountant, etc.
  • Greater likelihood of being treated abusively by law enforcement.
  • Greater likelihood of being denied equal justice by the judicial system.
  • Unequal treatment in customer service situations if black ethnicity is known.

I'm in the unique position of being black while most of my friends happen to not only be white but also conservatives. In talking with my white friends, the general perspective they tend to have is racism toward blacks was once a very serious problem in America but it no longer exists except in the imaginations of some blacks as well as being aggressively practiced by black advocacy leaders like Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson and their all time favorite, Al Sharpton.

With the revelation of a police officer's pistol's ammunition emptied into the body of a teenager lying in a Chicago street along with other alleged incidents of unfair treatment of blacks, I thought I'd ask. Do you think blacks in America victims of discrimination?
Click to expand...

A year ago, I would have answered differently. Today, my answer is, Yes, no question about it. I think it's epidemic in our inner cities. Law enforcement is afraid of young black youth...shopkeepers judge people of color by their appearance as to their likelihood to steal and or make trouble...and dozens of other ways we profile those who are a threat.

Makes me very sad.
 
Heinrich said:
No country comes close to racism in the USA. They even had a civil war over it for Pete's sake.
Click to expand...

Are you honestly arguing that the USA has a more racist history than say Germany or South Africa?
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Racism, like other forms of bigotry, certainly exists. How do you explain having so many white and conservative friends or so few black and liberal friends? Self segregation, a preference for associating with like minded folks, now far exceeds any forced segregation, refusing to associate socially or professionally with "others".
Click to expand...

How do you explain having so many white and conservative friends or so few black and liberal friends? Self segregation, a preference for associating with like minded folks, now far exceeds any forced segregation,

The black population of America is only about 15%, about 30% in my city. Possibly a coincidence but also possibly the fact that I don't discriminate. LOL. Actually, I attend a racially diverse church and met most of my friends in faith circles to be honest. This also explains the high number of socially conservative friends.
 
I lived in Oakland, California for many years in a very integrated neighborhood, and had neighbors and friends who were black, successful, and projected no hostility onto me for being white. I also had countless encounters in public with black people who acted in an extraordinarily hostile fashion because I was white.

In talking to those I knew, their experiences were fairly similar where they met those who were white who projected hostility and those who didn't.

I never really asked any of the hostile ones about their own situation, but I would bet my bottom dollar that they would reply that black people are definitely discriminated against.

Racism is not a one way street and should never be a one way street. Those who only see one side of the equation and not the other are part of the problem instead of part of the solution.
 
MaggieD said:
A year ago, I would have answered differently. Today, my answer is, Yes, no question about it. I think it's epidemic in our inner cities. Law enforcement is afraid of young black youth...shopkeepers judge people of color by their appearance as to their likelihood to steal and or make trouble...and dozens of other ways we profile those who are a threat.

Makes me very sad.
Click to expand...

Appreciate your honesty. I'll be honest too and say I think at least part of the horrific incidents we're seen of police brutality toward blacks is less about hate and more about fear. However, I'll get in Bible thumper mode and say the Bible, which I believe it truth, makes a direct connection between love and the absence of fear. 1 John 4:18 This would mean these officers might not hate the people their abuse but that don't love the communities they serve either.
 
Smeagol said:
This includes but is not necessarily limited to:


  • Employment opportunities; hiring, severity of disciplinary actions taken by employers toward their black employees, compensation, promotions.
  • Social acceptance; welcomed into friendships, family's acceptance of interracial romantic relationships with blacks vs. orientals for example.
  • Willingness to use black owned professional services; doctor, lawyer, real estate agent, accountant, etc.
  • Greater likelihood of being treated abusively by law enforcement.
  • Greater likelihood of being denied equal justice by the judicial system.
  • Unequal treatment in customer service situations if black ethnicity is known.

I'm in the unique position of being black while most of my friends happen to not only be white but also conservatives. In talking with my white friends, the general perspective they tend to have is racism toward blacks was once a very serious problem in America but it no longer exists except in the imaginations of some blacks as well as being aggressively practiced by black advocacy leaders like Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson and their all time favorite, Al Sharpton.

With the revelation of a police officer's pistol's ammunition emptied into the body of a teenager lying in a Chicago street along with other alleged incidents of unfair treatment of blacks, I thought I'd ask. Do you think blacks in America victims of discrimination?
Click to expand...

I think it is a sign of how far we have come as a nation that your list is what passes for discrimination and racism nowadays. The progress that has been made in race relations in my lifetime is nothing short of staggering. Does some still exist? Sure. Discrimination will always exist. But in fifty years we have gone from hangings, open segregation, and white only drinking fountains to the spectacle of privileged blacks on exclusive college campuses going on a hunger strike to protest someone shouting the 'N' word. Some of what remains to be accomplished falls exclusively on black people themselves.
 
Gardener said:
I lived in Oakland, California for many years in a very integrated neighborhood, and had neighbors and friends who were black, successful, and projected no hostility onto me for being white. I also had countless encounters in public with black people who acted in an extraordinarily hostile fashion because I was white.

In talking to those I knew, their experiences were fairly similar where they met those who were white who projected hostility and those who didn't.

I never really asked any of the hostile ones about their own situation, but I would bet my bottom dollar that they would reply that black people are definitely discriminated against.

Racism is not a one way street and should never be a one way street. Those who only see one side of the equation and not the other are part of the problem instead of part of the solution.
Click to expand...

So sorry about the way you were treated.

I fully agree with what you said, part of why I'd love to see more whites embrace black history as their own just like black embrace the holiday we celebrate today, European settlers to the New World as their own.
 
Heinrich said:
Racism is endemic in the United States.
Click to expand...
As bad as in Spain?

World and European champions on the football pitch, but blighted by "endemic" racism in the stands.

For the second week in a row, Spain is facing up to allegations of racist abusive chanting from supporters inside its football stadiums.
Click to expand...
 
Not enough choices to vote. I've seen discrimination both ways. This includes giving preferential treatment to unqualified blacks. Democrats are pushing this crap because they have nothing else to run on. They are all in the bag for big money. Look at how Obama stacked his cabinet. Wall Streeters, anti labor ceo's etc. Pushing the secret and anti labor TPP. That hillary phoney won't be any different.
 
MaggieD said:
A year ago, I would have answered differently. Today, my answer is, Yes, no question about it. I think it's epidemic in our inner cities. Law enforcement is afraid of young black youth...shopkeepers judge people of color by their appearance as to their likelihood to steal and or make trouble...and dozens of other ways we profile those who are a threat.

Makes me very sad.
Click to expand...

And I've been in those inner cities where storekeepers were harrassed by black youths.
 
demsoc70 said:
And I've been in those inner cities where storekeepers were harrassed by black youths.
Click to expand...

Of COURSE you have. And I've been in suburban stores where storekeepers were harassed by WHITE YOUTHS.
 
Josie said:
Discrimination of all people (color, weight, class, appearance, abilities, etc.) is alive and well.
Click to expand...

We ALL discriminate in everything we do. but, I suppose we're talking about racial.
 
Smeagol said:
This includes but is not necessarily limited to:


  • Employment opportunities; hiring, severity of disciplinary actions taken by employers toward their black employees, compensation, promotions.
  • Social acceptance; welcomed into friendships, family's acceptance of interracial romantic relationships with blacks vs. orientals for example.
  • Willingness to use black owned professional services; doctor, lawyer, real estate agent, accountant, etc.
  • Greater likelihood of being treated abusively by law enforcement.
  • Greater likelihood of being denied equal justice by the judicial system.
  • Unequal treatment in customer service situations if black ethnicity is known.

I'm in the unique position of being black while most of my friends happen to not only be white but also conservatives. In talking with my white friends, the general perspective they tend to have is racism toward blacks was once a very serious problem in America but it no longer exists except in the imaginations of some blacks as well as being aggressively practiced by black advocacy leaders like Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson and their all time favorite, Al Sharpton.

With the revelation of a police officer's pistol's ammunition emptied into the body of a teenager lying in a Chicago street along with other alleged incidents of unfair treatment of blacks, I thought I'd ask. Do you think blacks in America victims of discrimination?
Click to expand...

A large number of the African American community seem not to have learned to handle their freedom. The numbers show that quite clearly. While indigenous Blacks do more or less worst those recently immigrated from Africa fare better. This does not mean that there is no discrimination. There is discrimination in all directions in every society. But the African Americans have not succeeded in fashioning a viable and widely productive culture and therefore they do not on average do very well.
 
Why do you think that is?
joG said:
A large number of the African American community seem not to have learned to handle their freedom. The numbers show that quite clearly. While indigenous Blacks do more or less worst those recently immigrated from Africa fare better. This does not mean that there is no discrimination. There is discrimination in all directions in every society. But the African Americans have not succeeded in fashioning a viable and widely productive culture and therefore they do not on average do very well.
Click to expand...
 
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