Your thoughts on "Whites Only" prom in GA?

I was raised in south Florida and have lived in many different states. While growing up, I probably had two black friends (because I had a common interest with them.. music for example). It wasn't until I went into the military that I had many friends with different racial backgrounds. We all worked together and lived in the same barracks so we became friends. So, I just think it's the plain fact that alot of different races have different cultures and interests so they tend to stay near whats familiar with to them. It's not because they don't like one another (well most).

I have also lived in Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina. I never really seen the racism that is associated with southern states. I DID see some in Hawaii (not so much in Honolulu but on the windward side of oahu). The locals didn't seem to like white folks too much. Perhaps it wasn't just white folks but just the military instead (I am not sure).

When I moved to New England is when I began to see racism the most. There are many white people here who use the N word liberally up here. So, I don't think it's just the South that has to forget the Civil War is over...

Best Regards,
Bill

PS:

Timmyq45:

"Dogs and sailors keep off the grass"

What the hell are you squids doing on someone's lawn in the first place!? JK buddy.

To be honest, I have seen alot of places (in North Carolina in particular) that will not let you come in if they know your military. Granted these are bars that probably have had one too many fights caused by drunken Sailors/Marines/etc. What is this called militarism?

 

In chronological order:

1) Vomiting
2) Urinating
3) Defecating
4) Sleeping

Next question!

 

Georgia School Votes “Cousins-Only” Prom

http://www.newshax.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=197

 

My sentiments were best exposed by cartoonist Johnny Hart last Thursday:

http://www.comics.com/creators/bc/archive/bc-20030502.html

 

By the statements given, sometimes you just have to call a duck a duck. Not name calling, just an accurate discription of the points given.

Some would not would have guessed the your were joking, since some of us have seen first hand where people are called the N word. Where some do agree with you points in the first post exactly.

It is sad that you had to say things you didn't mean to get a response, this board has people who would respond either way, that is education for you!

 

Duly noted but this post was not intended as a joke.

 

I find the whole concept of separate proms weird at best.

I guess the 'official' prom is sponsored by the school for all races and the other is a 'private party on private property' ...where only whites are invited.

When I was in Jr. High back in 1952-54, part of Gym Class was Social Dancing....Boy's Gym and Girl's Gym Classes at the same Period went to the one of the Gyms (Social Hall...lol) to dance to records. No race problems and I don't recall anyone ever making any comments about it....including parents.
Blacks, whites, hispanics, asians..... NO ONE CARED!!!!!
We tended to dance with people we knew or liked from other classes.
Of course, this was in the People's Republic of Berkeley, California, back in the early 50's.

 

small reply to Bill...

Just a brief reply to Bill. First, thank you for your comments. I think you are especially onto something. Racism, like most exclusionary cultural manifestations, are both an internal, personal issue and also a wider sociological issue.

My whole quest as a Christian theologian is to isolate conflict issues surrounding race, class, etc. and try to explain how they relate to the problem of sin. I'm not talking about sin in terms of moral transgression, like the skirting of principles ("don't lie").

Instead, I think the self-reliance (or "sin" as I call it) we demonstrate across cultures has a consequence that is exclusionary. IMHO, "race" is one of the default categories people resort to in isolating the "other" and excluding them from the benefits of a given culture.

Culture has to "cult"-ivate something. Every culture has to choose "who is in" and "who is out" of the benefits of cultivating that thing. Race, being one of the obvious features we cannot avoid in our human biology, is one way to structure a communal perception, and thus, practice cultural exclusion. This protects the self and one's assets that result from "cultivating" a culture.

I see it as an issue of self-reliance, fear, and unwillingness to make real space within the self for the "other."

Chris

 

It's a shock for Northerners to discover the conformity of "Southern Ways."

These private, separate-but equal proms are legal, yet so glaringly challenge the spirit of our changed laws as to take the breath away of those unfamiliar with the South.

I am reminded of why The South failed to develop as the rest of America has--the stark lack of immigration!

--Orson

 

Since John Bear didn't post to his thread, you must be a regular, and applied for a new sign on, so we dont know who you are.... is that being a "real" american - can't stand up and say your belief, unless under a hidden hood or a new sign on?

I am sad there are people who feel like you do.

 

The purported Talmud quotes are an 102-year-old urban legend started by an antisemitic priest. They have been comprehensively refuted, but the reference still crops up regularly on various forums. A rebuttal can be found here:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Cyprus/8815/

I'm ignoring the rest of this troller's garbage, as I'm sure the moderators will step in soon enough.


Cheers,

 

...as indeed they did. Nice work, folks! (For those who might be wondering: An anonymous troller came in and posted a weird antisemitic rant in support of "Aryans." What can I say; the kids must be getting out of school.)


Cheers,

 

Wow - this is a big day, I have never seen the administrators step in before, but I think it was warranted!!!!! I love this board!

 

Whatever it was, I am not sorry I missed it, and am glad that it's gone.

Tony

 

Typical Southern white backlash that was a bit more agressive than necessary.

As an outsider, I can see the disagreement with the common writing off of Southern heritage and its symbols as inherently racist.

Slavery was a fact of life for 87 years in the United Sates yet its flag is okay. Every Atlantic coast state had slavery, yet they do not share in the communal guilt. Should anyone want a list of racist actions or policies of the US government over the last 227 years, it would not be a big challenge.

Confederate symbols have been adopted by overt racists, as has the Bible. What conclusions can we draw?

As any Southerner would tell you the Civil War was about the right of states to secede. One, but not the only cause of secession was slavery. Some slave states fought for the Union. Some Southerners fought for the Union and some Northerners fought for the Confederacy. The vast majority of Southerners did not even own slaves.

Southerners see a proud heritage with more than 100,000 of their direct ancestors killed in fighting a war against what they perceived as injustice. The writing off of this heritage as nothing but simple racism must be troubling.

Okay, I've probably said too much.

 

I saw it before it was removed; absolutely vile shit. Glad it's gone. Thanks, Tom, for the explanation of what it was--otherwise there'd be a wee bit of inconcinnity for anyone reading this thread.

 

Me too, that was the reason for my post, which now seems a bit strange - just before my posting is where it used to be, so is where the discussion started.

 

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Forcing people to conduct themselves in certain ways with certain population groups is not the answer either. But it might be the best solution available?

Is this issue any different than Miss Black America or Black Entertainment Television?

Any time a majority group wants to create a private group the action is labeled with a less-than-flattering title.

 

Actually, I'm vaguely familiar with typical Southern white backlash and pretty sure this wasn't it. The comments to the effect of "they have our segregated events, so why can't we have ours" sounded vaguely realistic (I've actually heard that argument a few times), but the rant instantly lost credibility as a Southern thing when the troller used the word "Aryans" (a word that even racist Southerners generally avoid--nobody loves Hitler) and brought up antisemitism (a form of racism that is actually pretty rare down here). Besides, there would have been no reason for a typical white Southern backlasher to mention John Bear out of the blue. My guess is that this was either one of the AED trollers with a new comedy routine, or an American History X reject with unaccredited degree issues.


Cheers,

 

Okay, nobody asked me, but: I tend to think of Miss Black America as a benign but obsolete relic of a time when African-American women couldn't participate fairly in the general Miss America pageant, and expect it will either integrate (if it hasn't already done so) or fade away on its own over time. Black Entertainment Television, on the other hand, is not at all discriminatory--it features both blacks and whites, and is meant primarily to appeal to cultural "blackness" (e.g., urban music, films associated with African-American culture, that sort of thing), much as a channel might appeal to hispanic (Telemundo) or British (BBC America) culture. White Entertainment Television would be silly because there's no such thing as "white" culture; inasmuch as there is a general American "white" culture, it includes both whites and those of other ethnicities.


Cheers,