[auakl]

Neicy,

Looks like we’re going to have to agree to disagree in large part on this one. It’s sad that we couldn’t have a calm discussion about a serious subject. But since you made a nice list (hey, you’re organized, I’ll give you that )

#1. With all due respect I could less about you being a proud alumna(lol), your wife, and your school. The point is that Alabama is still one of the most racist states.

I am proud of who I am and where I came from and whether you could care less doesn’t mean a thing to me, but thanks for reminding me how special the folks who do are to me. I hope you too can look back at your experiences and family and say that they have made you a better person overall. I give you a tip of the hat for catching the ‘alumna’ error, excuse me, proud alumnus – I won’t begin on your grammatical errors though (lol), good thing we’re all human and make mistakes. On a serious note, you harp on the idea that Alabama is one of the most racist states as your personal experience seems to have borne out. I will fully acknowledge that Alabama probably has more than its fair share of racist individuals, key word here is individuals, so if you want to call Alabama one of the most racist states, then I won’t argue with you on that point. I just object to your apparent characterizations of the state as a whole as such whether that was your intention or not. Again, we can agree to disagree.
On a related note, while I don’t think you can statistically track and plot on a map racism, you can track segregation which I would regard as an indication of general racial attitudes; please feel free to disagree, I don’t claim to be an expert on anything especially race relations, demographics, statistics or psychology. Please take a look at the following table that appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on May 9, 2001 of America’s most segregated cities generated from the 2000 census: http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/may01/SEG09G2.asp
Notice that the three most segregated cities according to this study (rankings will certainly vary by study) are Detroit, Milwaukee and New York City. The first Southern city comes in at #10, Miami. Surprised? I sure was, and yes, medium sized Southern cities were included in the rankings. What does that prove? To you, probably nothing. But I see it as an indication that racism, prejudice and stereotyping knows no geographic boundaries, thanks for giving us a demonstration from the wonderful city of Chicago, one of my favorite cities for sports and museums...and number 6 on the above list.

#2.How do you know the African American woman wasn't rejected because of her race?Were you there?Did you personally reject her?Or did you call one of the members and just took their good hearty word?Gosh I guess in 2002 it's so hard to believe that good old American Flag totin white sorority members would reject anyone based on race.

You asked, how do I know that the African American woman wasn't rejected because of her race? I don’t, never said I did. In fact I wrote that I thought it was likely that some individual sisters had voted against her because she was black. I really don’t see where you are coming from on this point. My argument is I don’t think she failed to receive a bid solely because she is black. I feel there were other factors in play beside race, an argument you seem to reject. I guess I would ask you a slightly refined version of the questions you asked me: How do you know the African American woman was rejected because of her race?Were you there?Did you personally witness people rejecting her?Or did you call her and just took her good hearty word? Again, it looks like we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

#3 Please don't get give me that crap about me saying the whole state is racist. I said it is one of the most racist states.I guess it's hard for you to see that behind your Blublockers.Alabama is more racist than Illinois whether you can admit to it or not.Have fun hiding behind your Blublockers!

Wow! I guess I’m going to have to run out and buy me a pair of these BluBlockers to hide behind. I didn’t even know they existed until you mentioned them. This is the most ridiculous statement that I think you’ve written yet. I might not be having fun hiding behind my Blublockers, but I’m laughing now. For someone who hates stereotypes so much, you sure seem to hurl a lot of stereotypical statements. I guess I’ll have to trade in my New Balance shoes, khaki pants and sunglasses on a leash huh? Too bad I’ve never worn that “frat boy” outfit either. I’m sorry, back to the real issue at hand. I see that you are correct in stating that you said earlier that Alabama is one of the most racist states. I don’t think anyone here disagrees with your assessment that Alabama ranks right up there in number of racist people. Good grief, I even went out of my way to point out earlier that I believe Illinois probably (I haven’t spent enough time outside Chicago to get an informed opinion of the rest of the state, have you?) does not have as great a percentage of racist individuals as Alabama; see I didn’t even need to take off my BluBlockers for that. Yes, you never said the entire state was racist, however your comments, choice of words and tone were such that they seemed to condemn the people of the entire state, whether that was your intent or not, that was how I read it.

I hope those of you who have never been to Alabama take the chance to visit sometime and form your own opinion, not an opinion generated from the media or the experiences of a handful of people like neicy. I hope you will find a warm and friendly state that love visitors to come to our state parks, play our world renowned championship golf courses (in Alabama??? Yup, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail - http://www.rtjgolf.com/) and visit our historic sites including the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail (http://www.nps.gov/semo/) Yes, you will undoubtedly encounter folks you wouldn’t want to invite to dinner in your home, I’ve met these same folks everywhere I’ve been. But I firmly believe that you will find more good people than bad if you just take the time to sit down with them. I would like you to form your opinion based on your experiences, not from portrayals that may or may not be representative of the state as a whole.

I applaud those who recognize that racism, stereotypes and prejudices exist everywhere and are working to end it.

I wish the MCGLO the best and hope they make a positive impact on UA’s campus.

MysticCat81, I loved your comment about our right to say something stupid and to be rebuked for such, could not have said it better myself!

Swamp Thang, while we might not of always had the same interests and same ways of doing things (how boring would that be???), the brothers of the AU chapter of Omega Psi Phi I had the privilege of knowing were awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed being around them, I’m glad to hear that alumni such as yourself are staying involved. Keep guiding and molding upstanding young men.

Neicy, a final word and then I shall end this dialogue from my perspective, I wish you the best and hope you find somewhere positive to channel your emotions, with as much energy and passion you seem to have you could make a real difference somewhere.