Quote:
Who hasn't heard what life is like in Alabama?
I'm sure you are not so naive as to not know that Alabama is one of the most racist states in the world.
You can base it on personal experience or knowledge if you want but the history as well as what's going on NOW can't be erased or denied.Do you watch that news?
|
neicy81,
Aren’t the freedoms we enjoy as Americans great? Hold on for a moment while I remove my “I’m a Georgia Voter” sticker from today’s primary elections from my shirt…there. The same freedom of speech that you enjoy to rip my family’s cherished home state, the home of my wife, the home of my beloved alma mater Auburn University, the state where I will one day be proudly buried, in such assine fashion is the same freedom that allows me to say that your comments are some of the most prejudiced and stereotypical I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading on GC. How have your inflammatory comments helped heal the wounds of 300 years of racial division? I join Bama_Alumna in roundly condemning your degrading comments of Alabama and by extension my family and everyone who ever lived there.
For someone who once lived in the state you sure have a bitterness and hatred I’ve rarely seen. Despite my opinion of how you went about it, you do raise some very valid issues that deserve a calm, reasoned discussion among adults. Does Alabama have problems with racism now? Has Alabama historically had tremendous struggles with race relations? You better believe it. Now neicy81, please name me a state that doesn’t have ANY problems with racism. Not less, but none. I’m still waiting. Alabama still struggles with the same tensions and issues that have created division within our country for centuries. Does Alabama have more problems than Kansas or Utah or Illinois even? Probably. Are there people both white AND black that still nurture hatred toward the other? Yes, I’ve seen it in both its ugly forms. But for you to come out and spout your garbage about Alabama as if everything in the entire state is based on race, that there are angry mobs waiting to pounce at the state line, that as a white person my entire goal in life is to keep minorities down is outrageous and offensive to me. But that’s why I am so glad we live in America and have the freedom to say what we think. Your right to free speech doesn’t negate my right to stand up and say I firmly believe you are wrong. I oppose what you are saying with every fiber of my being, but if I had to die tonight to defend your right to say it, I would, just as millions of other Americans and yes, Alabamians would.
As noted earlier, I am a white male, a proud member of a IFC fraternity and an Auburn alum. I will be the first to acknowledge that the Greek system at Auburn and the University of Alabama is still largely divided along racial lines. Are we moving towards a more integrated system? Most certainly. During my time as an active I saw changes that I personally didn’t think would occur just a few years earlier. For the first time my senior year, Greek Week was integrated. My fraternity was paired with historically black Omega Psi Phi. Going into Greek Week I didn’t know a single brother of Omega Psi Phi, there just were not any brothers that I encountered on a day to day basis in my classes, etc for me to get to know. You know what? I found them to be great guys. Funny, competitive and proud of their fraternity and its ideals. My eyes were opened a little wider into the world of historically black sororities and fraternities and that has helped me understand their point of view that much better, hopefully they feel the same about my fraternity. It was a growth experience for us all. A step forward. Second, for the first time, my chapter had a black rushee and you know what, he was welcomed just the same as any of our other rushees. Many rushees did not receive bids, he was one of them. Did we fail to extend a bid to him simply because he was black? No. He was not extended a bid because he kept hitting on a Brother’s long time girlfriend even after being warned. His response, “he’s not my brother.” Is that the attitude you would want in your chapter? Among your brothers/sisters? Others were rejected for grades, inappropriate actions (i.e. disrespect of women), etc… the reasons people get dropped every day during Rush. I don’t know the young black lady who rushed at UA. However I do know that women are cut every day of Rush in every Greek system for reasons that have nothing to do with race. The insinuation by some on GC and in the media that she was cut from every sorority simply because she was black is sickening to me and I for one am tired of it. I’m tired of reading about it from out of state journalists who have no idea what rush is like, how competitive it is, how your class standing (fresh, soph, jr, sr) affects your chances of receiving a bid (take a look at some of the Rush board questions on this very subject), who only consider race as the issue and the entire state as being the poster child for white bigots. Was it an issue in some individual sister’s voting? I’d be willing to bet so. But did her race decide her fate before she ever signed up to go though rush? I for one have my serious doubts.
Folks from outside Alabama, please learn from our mistakes, and they are many. We are constantly under a microscope from our past sins, but don’t forget to take a look in the mirror, you may see racism where you live too and I hope you act positively to end it. Neicy, some event(s) have obviously soured you on Alabama and I probably could not relate to the wrongs you have received; I hope after your studies are complete (and I sincerely wish you the best), you will return to Alabama to help end some of the conditions you so oppose.