Topic #5. How does your geographical location effect racial/religious/cultural issues that you face
(Showing 16-30 of 32)
16. Geographic location
Fri, Sep 17, 1999 - 1:36 AM/EST
Lauren
There are some liberal-integrated communities near here, but there is also a black neighborhood, a hispanic neighborhood, a white neighborhood (this one), and further west, a Jewish neighborhood. That is pretty much the rundown from the lakefront to the suburbs. I guess we try to seek out integrated experiences and institutions as much as possible. I guess I usually think of this as a diverse community, even when it's not. Divisions in the city are often based on your street, not even your zip code.
I guess it's easy to fool oneself based on what you want things to be like.
We had a rude awakening this summer when white supremacist Benjamin Smith shot up this community. He went all around where I hang out and wounded and killed minority people. The day before the fourth of July we were sitting in our back yard and we heard what we thought were fireworks. They were shots as Smith shot down several orthodox Jews on their way to synagogue. It was sickening. The next day, I made my daughter lie down in the backseat as I drove her to her violin lesson. I cried as I told her about it, and still wonder if I should have. (I don't mention my boy as much because he's too little to get most of this, and frankly I don't want him to, not yet). I asked my husband to stay in the next day, but he wouldn't. I guess my geographic location is helpful in my consciousness of Jewish persecution, because I heard it. Neighbors went out with cell phones to watch for further threats, and now I call the police to make sure they're protecting that community during holy days, etc. And they are, too. I guess I never would have cared so much living in the all-white Pittsburgh suburb I grew up in, but segregation and prejudice are still manifest here all the time.
17. Antoinette...
Fri, Sep 17, 1999 - 2:43 AM/EST
Point well taken...I've really been thinking about this a lot lately, with seeing the small town Marion and thinking how it compared to the small town in Northern Michigan where my husband and I lived for a year. I've been thinking about how perhaps it isn't the South that's at fault at all, even though this is where I've placed most of the blame. But when I'm thinking of the South, I'm thinking of that small town in Mississippi where I grew up. And come to think of it, it wasn't any worse than living in that small town in MI for a year. People were cold and isolated us. We live in Seattle now and I feel freer, but I wonder if that's just because it's so much easier to be annonymous in the city. Still thinking on this.
18. anonynous in the city
Sat, Sep 18, 1999 - /EST
I agree very much cities are more anonymous.
It's also part of the mobile lifestyle - even to the extent of being away from your family. Suddenly nobody is defining you, partly because at some level no one cares. They don't have to care. You aren't going to be there for long - or they wont.
19. Location
Sat, Sep 18, 1999 - 5:31 PM/EST
I live in upstate New York and find the climate here to be hospitable to IR couples. It is surprising, really as this is really a rather conservative area. However, there is a large university here which draws people from all over the world and brings diversity to the city.
My fiance and I have been together now for almost two years. (I a WF he is a BM). Occasionally I am aware of the "look" but that is the exception, rather than the rule. I notice other IR couples and seem to see a lot of them here all mixes, ages, sexes, anything seems to go. There is a lot of IR dating among high schoolers. It seems to be "in" actually. I feel entirely comfortable going nearly anyplace in this area.
Of course, once you venture out of the city, it is a different story. The rural areas to the north of us are particularly scary!!! Lots of real live rednecks and the like. We avoid going places where we know we will be uncomfortable and so far, haven't had any problems.
Donna Lou
20. Different areas
Mon, Sep 20, 1999 - 11:50 PM/EST
Lauren
Generally my husband, who is Asian American, is a lot less intimidated about going different places than I am. I find that when we go somewhere with our kids, especially out of the Chicago area, I am vigilant and just like a mama bear waiting for someone to attack my kiddies. The idea of them being hurt just breaks my heart, but he says, "they'll have to get used to it some day, and find out how to deal with it." I suppose he's right, and Iknow that luckily, he can teach them.
He has been very brave, I think, in his new fishing hobby. He has driven out to Wyoming twice, (once with us) and we've been to rural Wisconsin and Michigan. Nothing happened in Michigan, but then, we were mostly with family. In Wisconsin, some people's teeth almost fell out of their mouths when they saw 'that white lady' eating with chopsticks in a Chinese storefront. Amazing!
When I'm travelling, I am so totally relieved to see black people it isn't funny. I know they're not going to give us any grief. Being married to someone non-white has certainly educated me in that regard!
The ugliest look I've ever gotten was at a mini-mart outside of Davenport, Iowa, on our trip to Wyoming this summer. This woman, who was white of course and I am too unrestrained to say, pretty low-class looking, curled her lip, dropped her jaw and just looked plain horrified and disgusted to see us together. She was flabberghasted. Luckily, the kids were in the car and didn't see it.
I also notice that kids birthday parties at places like Chuck E. Cheese are more or less segregated according to the area. Out in one far western suburb, only black people sat with blacks and whites with whites, etc. I was astonished. There was no mixing at all. Inoticed this in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when I visited my brother, too. There seems to be a lot of mixing around here, for all this area's shortcomings.
21. Continued from another post
Thu, Sep 30, 1999 - 10:37 PM/EST
smoothtap
Please lets continue the discussion about religion here.
Steven I won’t get mad or offended if you explain your position on this Christianity vs. slavery issue. I don't understand your anger toward Christianity coming from the masters. I get the feeling that you are of some other religion and that you may be looking for converts, I just wanted to tell you what I was thinking. For me as a black man I just don’t care enough about where it came from, only the truth that I’ve found in it. As for the oppressed gaining views from the oppressor that pov may seem to be gone but it’s still here. The oppressors do control how the oppressed think in America except now it’s the “have-nots” that are being told what to think. We call it advertising, mass media, and news. Just look where they advertise malt liquor, how neighborhoods are zoned and what type of establishments they allow in certain neighborhoods. I’ll bet you will find more liquor stores in the hood than in a suburb.
22. smoothtap...
Fri, Oct 1, 1999 - 2:40 AM/EST
" I just don’t care enough about where it came from, only the truth that I’ve found in it"--I couldn't agree with you more.
B
23. the relationship between geographical location and the effect upon racial/religious/cultural issues
Fri, Oct 1, 1999 - 1:08 PM/EST
james
Antoinette, your story about the waitress has inevitably played out in my life and is particularly relevant to the issue of interracial relationships. I have had various such relationships of significant duration, and what I have encountered from the "outside world" has correlated with the true quality of my relationship with the woman involved. I am a black male who has lived in the Bay Area for 28 years, and perhaps I am fortunate in that I have encoutered relatively little overt or covert hostility or insensitivity as a consequence of being part of an interracial couple. The woman with whom I am now involved is white and very "fair" while I am very dark, so we don't easily "slip under the radar!" We have traveled together extensively, primarily in Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona, and our experiences have been consistently pleasant. I attribute that to the fact that we love and respect ourselves, we love, like, and repect each other, and we have a love of life, all of which I believe is communicated to those we encounter. I am not a pollyanna, and certainly there are places and establishments we would be disinclined to frequent; but these are places I would avoid even if I was in an intraracial relationship! The principle of karma is ubiquitous!
24. How does geographical location effect racial/religious/cultural issues?
Fri, Oct 1, 1999 - 1:54 PM/EST
james
Having lived in the northeast(Connecticut), southeast(North Carolina), midwest(Illinois), Rocky Mountain(Colorado), and now the west coast(California), it is very apparent that geography is an element in racial, religious, and cultural attitudes. There is no region of the United States that is more eurocentric than the northeast. The veneration of historical and cultural ties to Europe is reflected in everything from the formal education system, to the architecture, to the naming of streets and buildings. In many ways the Asian and Latino influence is almost nonexistent. By contrast, one of the most refreshing elements of the west coast is the relative prominence of the Asian and Latino cultural influence. I believe this is one of the primary reasons many of the so-called "blue-bloods" of the northeast are often uncomfortable and rejecting of virtually anything relating to the west coast; it is also a key element in the fact that far more people move from east to west than from west to east. While the western United States is certainly no racial, religious, or cultural nirvana, its more diverse cultural influences tend to create less intolerance for those who are nonwhite and "nontraditional." The issue of multiracial individuals and how they "identify" ethnically first gained prominence in the western U.S. While we have often thought of race as a black/white issue, the western United States, and particularly California is forcing a change in that paradigm.
25. consider South Africa
Fri, Oct 1, 1999 - 9:17 PM/EST
National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of South Africa
STATEMENT TO THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of South Africa on
behalf of all the Baha’is we represent, is grateful for this
opportunity to share with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
an understanding of the position and activities of the Baha’i
Community in South Africa during the apartheid years.
To understand the nature of the response of the Baha’is to
apartheid, it is necessary to understand the character of the
Baha’i community, the overall aims and objectives of the Baha’i
Faith, its modus operandi, and the global context in which it
operates.
The Baha’i Faith, which is the most recent of the independent
world religions, originated in Iran in 1844. Today the Baha’i
Faith enjoys a world-wide following in excess of six million
people, representing more than 2100 indigenous tribes, races and
ethnic groups residing in more than 120 000 localities, in more
than 200 countries and independent territories around the world.
In South Africa, Baha’is reside in some 900 communities.
Although records indicate that the first Baha’is to reside in
South Africa arrived in 1911, there was little significant growth
until the 1950s. During the mid 1950s a number of Baha’i
families came to this country from the United States, Canada,
Germany, New Zealand and England to settle and to introduce the
Baha’i Faith to South Africans.
26. part 2
Fri, Oct 1, 1999 - 9:18 PM/EST
The hallmark of the Baha’i community is its diversity - a
characteristic which is highly prized and actively pursued. The
essential teachings of the Baha’i Faith focus on unity - of God,
of Religion and of humanity. The pivot around which all other
Baha’i teachings revolve is that of the oneness of the human
race. We believe that this is an essential reality of creation.
Its acceptance and application by the generality of the peoples
of the world is not only attainable in this age but is the sole
basis for sustainable peace and security of humanity - the very
Kingdom of God on earth as promised by all the Divine Revelations
of the past.
Baha’is firmly believe that this kingdom will take the form of a
global society in which all the races, creeds and classes of the
world are united as a single family. The building of this global
society is not a mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an
expression of a vague and pious hope. It moves beyond a re
awakening of the spirit of brotherhood and goodwill among men,
and the fostering of harmonious cooperation among individual
peoples and cultures. This pursuit calls for an organic change
in the structure of our present day society, a change such as the
world has not yet experienced.
And it is towards this goal that the Baha’i Faith has been
working globally since its inception over 153 years ago - and in
South Africa since the 1950s. Our actions were and remain based
on an unshakable acceptance of the spiritual nature of the
individual and thereby the community and that " religion is the
greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world
and for the peaceful contentment of all that dwell therein".
27. part 2
Fri, Oct 1, 1999 - 9:20 PM/EST
The hallmark of the Baha’i community is its diversity - a
characteristic which is highly prized and actively pursued. The
essential teachings of the Baha’i Faith focus on unity - of God,
of Religion and of humanity. The pivot around which all other
Baha’i teachings revolve is that of the oneness of the human
race. We believe that this is an essential reality of creation.
Its acceptance and application by the generality of the peoples
of the world is not only attainable in this age but is the sole
basis for sustainable peace and security of humanity - the very
Kingdom of God on earth as promised by all the Divine Revelations
of the past.
Baha’is firmly believe that this kingdom will take the form of a
global society in which all the races, creeds and classes of the
world are united as a single family. The building of this global
society is not a mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an
expression of a vague and pious hope. It moves beyond a re
awakening of the spirit of brotherhood and goodwill among men,
and the fostering of harmonious cooperation among individual
peoples and cultures. This pursuit calls for an organic change
in the structure of our present day society, a change such as the
world has not yet experienced.
28. part 3
Fri, Oct 1, 1999 - 9:22 PM/EST
And it is towards this goal that the Baha’i Faith has been
working globally since its inception over 153 years ago - and in
South Africa since the 1950s. Our actions were and remain based
on an unshakable acceptance of the spiritual nature of the
individual and thereby the community and that " religion is the
greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world
and for the peaceful contentment of all that dwell therein".
True to this teaching, our approach has been and remains to build
communities which strive to put into daily practice fundamental
spiritual aspirations such as love, honesty, moderation,
humility, hospitality, justice, morality, trustworthiness and -
above all - unity, thereby influencing change from the ground up.
Without the infusion of these values into society, no community,
however economically prosperous or intellectually empowered or
technologically advanced, can endure.
Abhorring all forms of prejudice and rejecting any system of
segregation, the Baha’i Faith was introduced on a one to one
basis and the community quietly grew during the apartheid years,
without publicity. Despite the nature of the politics of that
time, we presented our teachings on unity and the oneness of
humankind to prominent individuals in politics, commerce and
academia and leaders of thought including State Presidents.
Approaches to individuals and prominent persons were pursued in
order to offer to South Africa a pathway to peace and justice for
all its citizens.
During the apartheid years, both individual Baha’is and our
administrative institutions were continually watched by the
security police. The surveillance and investigation by the
police was due to the racially integrated nature of the Baha’i
community and its activities. However, it would appear that our
numbers were too small and our activities too peaceful to be
perceived as a real threat to the Government of the day.
29. part 4
Fri, Oct 1, 1999 - 9:24 PM/EST
Our activities did not include opposition to the previous
Government for involvement in partisan politics and opposition to
government are explicitly prohibited by the sacred Texts of our
Faith as revealed by Baha’u’llah, the Prophet-Founder of our
Faith, even though that Government be suspicious of and ill
disposed to the aims and activities of the Baha’is as was the
case in this country.
During the time when the previous Government prohibited
integration within our communities, rather than divide into
separate administrative structures for each population group, we
opted to limit membership of the Baha’i Administration to the
black adherents who were and remain in the majority of our
membership and thereby placed the entire Baha’i community under
the stewardship of its black membership. Happily, such policies
were eased and we were able once again to have racially
integrated administrative bodies which were and are
democratically elected by and from the entire body of adult
adherents of the Baha’i Faith.
30. part 5
Fri, Oct 1, 1999 - 9:25 PM/EST
In the nearly five decades since the Baha’i Faith was established
in South Africa, through strict adherence to the principles of
our Prophet-Founder we have forged ahead and made a modest
beginning toward realising our vision of unity for South Africa
by creating a model which can be studied and scrutinised and from
which we believe valuable lessons can be learnt. The systematic
development of our human resources was and is a result of great
emphasis on spiritual, moral and ethical aspects of individual
and the community life, These include the sanctity of the family
unit, the importance of rendering service to the community in
pursuit of a craft or a profession which contributes towards
prosperity and lend momentum to the elimination of extremes of
poverty and wealth, and the obligation to educate ones children.
The fundamental belief in the equality of men and women, stemming from our teachings on the oneness of humankind has meant that women in the Baha’i community have always taken an active role in all aspects of the work of the Faith, including national leadership positions.
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