[PM_Mama00]

Originally posted by Sistermadly
But why? How? I guess that's what I'm trying to get to. There is ample historical record that shows that people have acted like this in the past. Regardless of the progress that has been made -- progress that I'm not trying to downplay, by the way -- it's relatively easy to make the historical case that there have been, are, and probably always will be people who decide to express their racism in a more explicit and perhaps violent way. It's not as if it's happening in a vacuum, or that it's an isolated incident. Do people just not see it? Do they choose not to see it? Or do they see it, and because it's not happening to them, they don't remember it?

(I'm not throwing idle accusations at you or anyone else, AGDee - I'd really like to know the answers).

We don't see it in this area because you can't see something that is not there.

ANY time a violent act happens in this area people are shocked. The most serious crime that happens most often in Downriver is probably like theft or something.

Before I went to college race issues never crossed my mind. I went to a school with few African Americans and they were friends with everybody. I never heard racial comments or anything like that. So yes coming from my town, it wasn't that we chose not to see it. It wasn't there.

Coming to college and a being in a way diverse atmosphere, the only thing I see is segregation, but not in a bad way. Many of the African Americans hang out with themselves, and same goes for the Arabs, Muslims, Indians. The only race I see in multi-cultural "hangout" groups is white. And this is a school that is about an even percentage of white and Arab students. I'm not sure what percentage is African American but I know it's a larger one.