Recent college parties mocking black stereotypes spark outrage

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by 06pilot

People are a prodcut of their environment. Not a procduct of their color.

People's environments can not be separated from the larger context.

I have seen what being raised in the black ghetto (since ghetto isn't synonymous with black) can do for many whites. And poor whites have historically excelled faster than poor and even middle class blacks. Listening to rap music and wearing baggy clothes is just a matter of culture. Opportunities trump culture, though.

The biggest measure of how a person's environment matches with the larger societal context is to compare people of different races from the same environment. Research has indicated that poor whites receive more opportunities than poor blacks and middle class whites receive more opportunities than middle class blacks. This is on a societal level, which also accounts for whatever exceptions people may see fit to type about. Except it isn't called "race." People who discriminate will use any excuse BUT race--such as "he dresses better" or "speaks better." How is that really possible for millions of people who supposedly have the same "environment?"

You can also talk to millions of middle and upper class blacks and find that they are treated a certain way by their white neighbors (who accept them as long as there aren't too many black families in the neighborhood). Realtors intentionally keep a well documented "racial tipping point" and white neighbors make an effort to keep track of their black neighbors' activites. Their excuse is that they want to protect the neighborhood from "riff raff" and from reducing the property value. As if black is synonymous with deterioration regardless of the social class of the people involved. So is that about race or "environment?"

[ladygreek]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

You can also talk to millions of middle and upper class blacks and find that they are treated a certain way by their white neighbors (who accept them as long as there aren't too many black families in the neighborhood). Realtors intentionally keep a well documented "racial tipping point" and white neighbors make an effort to keep track of their black neighbors' activites. Their excuse is that they want to protect the neighborhood from "riff raff" and from reducing the property value. As if black is synonymous with deterioration regardless of the social class of the people involved. So is that about race or "environment?"

This reminds me of some friends of mine who are upper class. He is one of the original investors in Embassy Suites Hotels and she was the chair of the Kellogg Foundation Board of Directors among other major accomplishments. They are both Howard grads (he's an Omega and a trustee of HU,and she's an AKA) and well known in this community by all races for their philanthropic endeavors.

But they had me laughing at how many times their son would be stopped driving down their street (where the minimum value of a house was $1 million) to come home, because he was driving an expensive car. And invariably he was stopped, because the police thought he must have just stolen the car. It got to a point that even the White neighbors complained about it to the police chief.