I recently watched a lecture regarding racism in the United States and a good portion of the lecture was about white priviledge.  I was wondering how many people are aware of these issues in the US.  Also, is there anything that can be done besides being aware?
120491
yes they get priviledges.\n\nBlacks are incarcerated at a rate that is more than 6 times that of whites for the same crime. In total, between 1980 and 1999, the incarceration rate for Blacks more than tripled from 1156 per 100,000, to 3,620 per 100,000. This is more than 4 times the rate of incarceration of Blacks in South Africa during the apartheid era.The rate of imprisonment for Black women is more than 8 times that of white women for the same crime.The Black male homicide rate is 7 times the white male rate. Black women are 18 times more likely to be raped than white women. The death penalty has been imposed in 682 capital cases since 1995. The U.S. attorney recommended the death penalty in 183 of them-of those cases 26% involved white defendants, 74% "minority." Blacks make up 40% of the death row population. Black men are get jail time 3 times greater than that of white for the same crime.Blacks account for 30% of people with AIDS in America. 54% of children under age 13 with AIDS are Black. HIV/AIDS is the number 1 cause of death for Blacks aged 25 to 44.\nIn recent years, the estimated incidence of HIV/AIDS has declined for every race except Blacks. In 1997, four times as many Latinos and eight times as many Blacks as whites contracted AIDS. Whites with HIV are far more likely to receive advanced drug therapy-a trend that slowed the white death rate from AIDS by 28% from 1995 to 1996, but by only 10% for Blacks. Blacks account for 57% of new infections of HIV and by the year 2005, African Americans will account for 60% of AIDS cases.Whites are two-thirds more likely to receive kidney transplants than others.The Justice Department estimates that one out of every 21 Black men can expect to be murdered, a death rate double that of U. S. soldiers in World War II. A young Black male in America is more likely to die from gun fire than was any soldier in Vietnam.White males with a high-school diploma are just as likely to have a job, and tend to earn just as much as Black males with college degrees. Light-skinned Blacks have a 50% better chance of getting a job than dark-skinned Blacks. Blacks are rejected twice as often for small business loans than whites of comparable credit.
320828
I am 100% with you. Do not believe anything fish ball is answering in this question. He doesn't even know the laws much less voice an educated opinion.  \n\nThe problem in the US is racism pure and simple. There is no quota or harassment if you come from France, Germany or England. Why? because people from these countries are usually white and for the most part, have money.  The only reason there are blacks in the US is because they were bought as slaves.  But if any of your forefathers ever thought that they would eventually get freedom and become citizens, heck they wouldn't even have bought them to begin with. The current problem with the illegal immigrants is the color of the Mexicanos. Look at the Canadian frontier.  You just push a button to cross there. Why do we allow so many illegal Canadians here? Because they are white...pure and simple. \n\nIf you marry a US citizen, you can become a citizen too.  However, if you divorce during the first three years of marriage your citizenship can get revoked.  Why? cause they don't want any more dark color skins in the country. Bushy simple.
331278
I can only speak for the white people that I know and from that I don't feel most white people hate blacks. If they did, blacks would not be in the positions many successful blacks find themselves in today. Does racism exist - absolutely, but that is a knife which surely cuts both ways.\n\nAgain this is from my perspective but I feel the difficulty many blacks have achieving in this country can be attributed to the following reasons:\n\n1) There is a small percentage of blacks, specifically young black males, which are responsible for a disproportionate percentage of crime in the country (particularly violent crime). I have heard but can not recall the sourse that attributes 75% of murder in the country to black youths. If that is correct, that would mean that roughly 3% of the population is comitting 75% of the murders. Reduce the murder rate attributed to young blacks in half and it is still an outrageous statistic.\n\n2) An extremely high percentage ( 60+ % ) rate of unwed black females giving birth into a system which will perpetuate their children into almost certain poverty and dependence on an ever increasingly resentful society.\n\n3) A significant portion of the black culture which appears to be incapable of fully integrating into a system which has proven time and time again that its rewards are directly proportional to the effort put into achieving within the system.\n\n4) An apparent broad based inability to accept that not all actions taken against blacks are because of skin color. Sandra McKinney is yet another recent prime example. Had a white person, congressional member or not, struck a white house cop in today's climate, that person would be under the jail, not appearing on 200 media outlets for a week playing the race card. \n\nI have to admit, it was refreshing that not a single member of the Congressional Black Caucus participated in her defense in any manner.\n\n5) Hold on to your hat for this one - I feel the single biggest reason blacks aren't as succuessful as everyone would want them to be is an inabilty to move forward despite the tragedy of slavery. \n\nThere absolutely has to come a time when that era in their history is remembered but not used as a crutch or devisive tool as it clearly still is today. \n\nThere IS NOT another single society on the planet that has not taken slaves, or conversely, has not been taken as slaves primarily as a result of war. It does not make slavery right.  It just makes it attributable to being a fact of history like the 1,000's of other atrocities committed by people upon one another. It makes slavery a fact of history experienced by every single race, society, culture, and country that ever existed prior to 1900.\n\nMy ancestory is Irish. I will not get into greta detail about the well documented torturous behavior the people living on what is now as Ireland have endured since seemingly the beginning of mankind. \n\nDo I fault, the Scandinavians, the Romans, the British. Each of these groups have taken slaves, ruthlessly murdered men, women and children and looted everything of value they could manage to carry and some they couldn't like the land itself. These are all well documented facts. But most importantly to me is that they are facts which did not happen to me, my parents, or grandparents just as no black person living today can claim. \n\nI accept this is how people of different origins treated each other during that period in history. Nothing more, nothing less. Just actions in the context of world history.\n\nThere must be some point in time when blacks living in the US accept their history in a similar fashion or they will never fully allow themselves to intergrate into the society. \n\nPick your magic number. Whether its 150 years, 500 years, or 5,000 years, it will disappear into history as all other horriffic tragedies have.  Only they can decide when it disappears in their history. \n\nJust as a point of reference, between 1841 and
388074
Any one who thinks whites don't get discriminated against is VERY VERY ignorant! Any white person who has grown up as a minority in there area has felt discrimination as bad as any one else. The truth is that discrimination happens to all races. Just because we (yes, I'm white) are the (slowly declining) majority, minorities think that it's just a free ride or something. I get really tired of hearing all the sob stories about how "your ancestors" did this to "my ancestors". I personally haven't lynched, enslaved, stolen land from, or denied anyone, and if discrimination is going to get any better, all races need to focus on ways to better future instead of holding on to the grudges of a bunch of dead guys. The past is the past....I intend on moving forward!
459784
That is so admirable that you were able to persevere in that situation.  I would like to thank you for fighting racism in the most productive way possible.\n\nI am white, but I too have experienced racism.  My best friend is black, and many people assumed that we were dating.  There were many people who would not talk to me or even look at me- mostly black women and white men.\n\nAnother time, I asked my neighbor (black) to turn down his music because we could not hear the TV in our own apartment.  One of the guys came out and called me a "white c*nt" and said that if he were listening to country I would not mind the music and several other mean and disrespectful things.  He had me cornered and I was not able to get away.  As soon as I got into my apartment and locked the door, I started crying.  I cried a little because of fear, a little out of anger, but mostly because of the extreme display of how much hatred one person can show to another with the smallest provocation.\n\nRacism is an ugly thing.  I think that it weakens our country more than terrorism ever could.  It's like a virus from the inside whereas terrorism is like an attack from the outside.  I long for the day when we all call ourselves Americans instead of black, white, or whatever.
589850
Let me set the record straight. You are talking about a minority of blacks and whites. I grew up with blacks and my brother and I ate at their home and they ate at ours. Due to both families being religious, if a parent from either race caught us being bad, the spanking on our rears was color blind. I believe you call this tough love.\nSure there are problems between the races; but it should not be placed merely on blacks and whites. Guess what, the girl who went to my first prom was black. But, she and I never bothered to think about color, because we were babies together.\nSure there was slavery; but I was not born during that era. My family came to America in the early 1900's. Communism uses the events of the past to pacify the masses to invoke anarchy and communism. As Americans we need to work towards the future and not be traumatized by the past.\nOh, I have a high education, I don't accuse anyone of anything.
55228
Good question, I noticed you said "some" white folks, thanks for specifing that. Not all us white people are a$$holes. I am sorry one of my "white" counterparts has done this to you or someone you know. It may stem from the INDIVIDUALS insecureness. However, I have been outcasted because I am white, and I haven't done anything wrong to anyone. Hell, I am married to someone of a different race, so why do black,brown,yellow,orange,red,green and or purple people instantley label all white people as racist slave owning hillbilly trailer trash? Same reason whites do it to other races, all races are racist, try this out, live in a homogenious (one race) country like I do, and then you will know what true racism is.
89282
I can honestly tell you that thet root of racism is directly related...at least in the U.S to series of events that most of us don't ralize are there because we don't MAKE THE TIME to inform ourselves. racism, war and poverty are a direct result of U.S interventions thru out the world in order to intimidate people w/ ideals that might pose a threat to THE U.S GOVERMENT...NOT THE PEOPLE OF THE U.S., BUT THE GOVERNMENT...this has been going on for at least the last 50 years. \nthe secret gov't spreads racism by means of terror.\nthis is a list of countries that the U.S has invaded since the 1950's  till today.\nIRAN, cambodia, VIETNAM, GUATEMALA, CHILE, EL SALVADOR, CUBA, EGYPT, IRAQ, AFGANISTAN,LAOS,PANAMA, BOLIVIA...the list goes on and on.\nthe U.S secret gov't is responsible for more than 5 millions of deaths and atrocities thru out this counries.\nRACISM exists because we allow the people that are supposed to represent us to do as they wILL. WE HAVE THE POWER TO END RACISM BUT WE CAN ONLY DO IT BY BECOMING CONSCIOUS AND CREATING SOLIDARITY THRU OUT THE WORLD.THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER, WE HAVE THE POWER TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD FOR ALL. BUT WE MUST SPEAK OUT AND BECOME INVOLVED AND FIND DIFFERENT SOURCES OF ALTERNATIVE INFORMATION.
15732
It is true we r all created equal but many ppl seem not 2 care.\nRacism has been around since the begining of time. We can't help that; but in a sense "people" don't learn til it happens to them.\nI knew a girl who said nasty things bout me because of where i lived. a few days after the same was said to her cause of her skin colour. Only then did she learn.\n\nIf America is know as the land of the free, why r ppl still "enslaved"!\n\nWe must 'do onto others as we would have them do onto us'.
391224
people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton remain in the public's line of sight by capitalizing on racial discord.\n\nI for one despise racism: this is why the so-called "Reverends" earn my disgust, they believe prejudicial  behavior is exclusive to whites, while perpetuating the double standard.\n\nWhat is this double standard that I speak of?\n\nThat it's impossible for blacks and other minorities to be racists.  Ever hear Chris Rock damn whitey and call him cracker for two hours during one of his acts?\n\n\nI personally am tired of being blamed for all the world's ills because I'm a white heterosexual-male that believes in God.
93343
too many of us to count. (I am white, I came to US about 10 years ago, even though my ancestors had nothing to do with it I did get asked that question because of the color of my skin, which sounds pretty racist to me)
591865
I think that the biggest problem America has had  to overcome as a nation is racism, which is basically fear of someone different from you. And from struggling with that problem and then conquering it we have learned to be more accepting, we have learned so much about different cultures, and we have become a better nation full of diversity and open minds.  \n\nUnfortunately, I know that there are still some people out there who still can't let go of their fear and still hold on to racism and that is truly sad. \n\nI hope I helped:)
305745
Unfortunately, there are many narrow minded, intolerant, racist people in the south and everywhere else in the US. I do think that racism is a little more common in the south. I for one am a southerner and it makes me sick to hear nasty misconceptions about people just because they are a different race, different religion, or live a different lifestyle. I wish more people had a "live and let live" attitude. We'd all be better off.
507635
Jeff A, take off your pointed hood and open your eyes.\nLet's look at it from a bigger picture and ask ourselves a couple of questions.\nWhat percentage of the Global population living under the poverty line is black, asian, colored?\nNo matter how you look at it, there is a corelation between the color of skin and prevalence of poverty.\nNow, slavery and colonialism have various debilitating effects. These effects take a lot of time to heal. Every civilization in the past has at one time or the other had slaves from other conquered cultures e.g Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Nevetheless, in none of these cases has the proportion of slaves to citizens come close to the prevalence of the United States. At the height of slavery in the US, there was 1 african slave for every 4 citizen.\nIn the case of previous civilizations, the negative effects of slavery have been greatly healed by the passage of time. It has been barely a century since slavery was abolished in the US, and just a copule of decades since civil right reforms were implemented in the south. It is over optimistic, to the point of naivette, to assume that societal and racial relations in the US would be normalized after only a copule of decades.\nThis brings to mind a skit in an episode of "Family Guy" where a colonial white man removes the shackles from his african slave and says "Okay, its over now. We're cool, right?".\nIt is understandable that minorities unconsciously feel slighted about the past and wish to strike back. In roman history, an army of escaped and former slaves led the Thracean Spartacus led a bloody revolt against the Roman populace.\nIn modern US society, It is sometimes taken as a subconscious mental victory that it is politically incorrect for a white person to say "Ni99er" while black people can refer to each other that way. These irrelevant mental victories help to heal racial problems in the society.\nBeing born and raised for the first 20 years of my life in a West African country, I have the advantage of being able to look at the US society from an outsiders perspective.\nFor anyone who says that the current US society is racially fair, I ask them to research the average family income for a black, hispanic, asian then caucasian family. Numbers dont lie, but ultimately, time heals all wounds (hopefully).
597062
Oh boy. This is a question most intelligent people try to avoid. Not me. And I guess that says something for me.\nHaving grown up and been an active participant in the civil rights demostrations and activities of the 60s, I have observed one very problematic concept that was adopted, early on. Black men and women of that era feel into and adopted the concept of a seperate identity and observance of customs of their original countries. There is nothing wrong with this except in a fight to be absorbed and accepted into American culture it has become impossible for Whites and other races to accept them since any moves to do so will be rejected.\nMany of the injustices done to Black Americans by those who pervert our way of life were, of course, wrong and horrible.\nIf you look at the European style of life and society you see that this hasn't happened, mainly because the injection of those of color in their societies happened over a very long period of time and gradually. We on the other hand forced the issue and moved ahead, perhaps, too fast.\nNow, something worse has happened. White Americans are adopting the culture of African Americans in a big way which makes the problem worse because they are recognizing the differences.\nThere is no easy answer and I am glad you didn't ask how we can fix it because, I have no answer to that question.
367265
I have to admit, I was angry when I read the first few sentences.  Then, I realized what you were trying to say and how your concept has some truth, to a degree, but the incorrect approach.  Most Americans stand behind the Constitution and feel strongly about freedom.  We MAY practice our freedoms and enjoy being open about how we feel -- and here's the kicker -- AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T INFRINGE ON OTHERS.  Freedom to express racism is not something for which a culture should strive.  The freedom to accept one another, to practice our different cultures, for acceptance of all races is the goal for which Americans should strive.  The practice of racism, to me, is the practice of the ignorant.  A person's attitude, responsibilities, self-accountability is taught and develops as they mature.  If a person is taught to be racist -- no matter their own race -- then it spreads generation by generation.  I believe that who a person truly is inside has little to do with the color of their skin.  Do they care about other people?  Are they unselfish and accomodating?  Do they stand behind what they claim to believe?  Are they responsible and accountable?  These things have nothing to do with race itself, rather what they truly believe, whether it is learned at home or elsewhere.\n\nYour idea that since many people are racist we should be more open about it is counterproductive to our society.  Negativity, finger-pointing, and not being accountable for oneself breed feelings of hatred and add to chaos and rioting.  Instead of dwelling on the differences in our inherited or imigrated cultures, we should embrace each other as members of the HUMAN race.  This is what America is supposed to be about.  We should be teaching our children that the negative aspects of human behavior do not derive from race -- they derive from a person's individual character.  Instead of focusing on our differences, we should note our commonalities as people -- as animals of higher intellect striving toward peace.
631773
Okay...im black as you can tell. eh..hemm. But I think there is alot of pre judging out there. Very ignorant statements like teh one by SLICK 77 is it? Shows that there is still racism out there.  The fact is there are tendancies in all races  but to say that that is  the only color to do them is absurd. I find most racists are people who either havent grown up around other races or have grown up around them and got hurt by the situations. You also have teh ones who havent amounted to to much in society's eyes and they turn to the opposite race and say things that you would think hmmm....."are they looking in the mirror". I am married to a white man......and we both still have some pre judgements about each other "alil bit". but we have 3 bi racial childen been together 10 years met at a amusement  park (working there) He grew up in a mostly white town about 10.000 people(has used teh word nigger) when his girlfriend was liking a black guy(so again there is teh hater situation) hate can really bring the racism out in you. Think about it. Its a coping mechanism. a BIG FAT EXCUSE to make your self feel better. Because other wise you would have to say 'Oh..i am NOT smart of enough..or cute enough.....or have a good job....or enough money..I could go on and on. This subject is soooo complex. I know the struggle that blacks have went thru but SOME HOODRATS and REDNECKS/HILLBILLIES need to look at it how it is.  Take responsibility for YOUR own actions.My husband and i have grown over years he has never called me a nigger . if he heard that now he would whoop up on somebody Sooooooo... to answer your question yes its still here but I believe its all from ignorance and people can grow out of it and from it. we both never thought of being with each other but ...we met at work and it grew from there................racists=HURT PEOPLE......WHEW!