In 1994 I went to North Carolina for my sister in law's wedding. I distinctly remember her one black friend sitting in the back, shunned by most of the other guests. I was stunned by the reaction of the southern baptist preacher to this situation - there was some, uh, discussion about his attending the wedding. You'd think a man o' God would be. . .
For further treat I went to dinner at my wife's estranged father's house and was treated to a long diatribe by her grandmother about "those people" and what a problem they must be in San Francisco.
I certainly met a lot of nice North Carolinians and certainly the majority of my wife's family is blissfully free of such tripe.
And maybe this kind of behavior is dying out with an older generation. But geez. 1960 wasn't that long ago, and most of the people who were perfectly happy with what was then the status quo are still alive (and voting) . Real live lynchings, shootings and all the rest were within living memory.
I didn't think there were cabs in Charlotte.... Being from North Carolina, I think it's typical and its not typical. I would probably not be surprised by some crazy white person saying some like that to me. I have certainly heard white people say horrifying things about African Americans and generally avoid conversations with white strangers for this reason. On the other hand, this one sounds more paranoid and hateful than normal. And of course, there are lots of reasonable, principled people there who feel strongly about these issues. I could always invoke the "he sounded like he was from South Carolina" defense, which Tarheels frequently use to separate themselves from their secession prone neighbors. But, yeah, I would say it's real and scary. It wasn't so long ago that Jesse Helms defeated Harvey Gantt with an add about a black man stealing white working people's jobs. I'm mean really, this happened in the late eighties.
If you stood around a greyhound station in your hometown, how many offensive or crazy things do you think you would hear? But you don't do it that often.
I've lived in South Carolina, and I saw racism, tolerance, segregation, and integration. There are some awful things in its history that have echoes today. There are also wonderful things about its culture and people.
After South Carolina, I moved to Michigan. I couldn't believe the offhand comments about southern racism when there were active Nazi broadcasts on shortwave radio coming from the area. There are armed, secessionist Nazi camps in the upper peninsula. But the problem is conveniently neoconfederates down in South Carolina.
You think Chicagoland doesn't have truckloads of batshit crazy racist jerks?
You think my Irish catholic relatives around Boston don't swap offensive jokes and harbor racist resentment? You think Kerry's hometown didn't hurt him with blacks in the last election.
Let's talk about the ongoing migration of black professionals back to cities like Atlanta, Charlotte, and even Charleston.
That's pretty typical for the bus station in Philly, where I was born and raised.
Here in the skank of a Red State (let's just call it the Anus of the Confederacy) it's typical just about everywhere except when you tell those mouth-breathers you won't put up with their hilljack bullshit and you have a gun or two to back yourself up.
This here be bush country... racist, homophobe, inbred, and stupid. It's been getting better over the twenty years I've been here, however. The really bad ones are diluting their gene pool and dying off. We still have a long way to go.
we sensible people in the south are trapped in an awkward bit of circumstancial branding (quite
often)
while i agree that it is unfair to cast blame only on southerners for racism and ridiculously ignorant behavior... i must say that the south does have a special responsibility to modern-day civil rights (that is not usually carried out in the fullest). i too, am wary of white people in the south, until i get to know them... racists lack security so they have to be like the masses and this makes finding them very tough... they are prevalent in their silence; watchful and covert.
i'd love to shake this south carolinian's hand for making me look like such an ass. i am from north carolina and now live in wilmington... we have 2 monuments on main streets that were erected by the daughter's of confederate soldiers club. while i understand honoring the memory of your dead relatives, i also can't help but be suspicious of a group that has decided to focus on such a controversial period. it'd be different if their dedication to narrowing the gap between races in the south was obvious, but i don't know if i see this group moving in that direction.
anyway, no, we are not all that way but it is very creepy how the silent aversions in the south add weight to the air, making it extremely stifling.
sorry to be a johnny-come-lately here, i accidentally came upon this ancient entry while scouring the internet. i enjoyed all of your comments and i hope that one day these racists will filter out - i'm sick of hearing their shit.
He sounds like a head case. The paranoia about the button should be the tipoff.
ash
['It doesn't sound like a typical interaction to me.']
Posted by ash | Link to this comment | 11-17-04 5:09 PM
You mean there isn't a hidden button in all Charlotte cabs?
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 11-17-04 5:12 PM
In 1994 I went to North Carolina for my sister in law's wedding. I distinctly remember her one black friend sitting in the back, shunned by most of the other guests. I was stunned by the reaction of the southern baptist preacher to this situation - there was some, uh, discussion about his attending the wedding. You'd think a man o' God would be. . .
For further treat I went to dinner at my wife's estranged father's house and was treated to a long diatribe by her grandmother about "those people" and what a problem they must be in San Francisco.
I certainly met a lot of nice North Carolinians and certainly the majority of my wife's family is blissfully free of such tripe.
And maybe this kind of behavior is dying out with an older generation. But geez. 1960 wasn't that long ago, and most of the people who were perfectly happy with what was then the status quo are still alive (and voting) . Real live lynchings, shootings and all the rest were within living memory.
This stuff doesn't die easily. . .
Posted by Hal | Link to this comment | 11-17-04 6:39 PM
I didn't think there were cabs in Charlotte.... Being from North Carolina, I think it's typical and its not typical. I would probably not be surprised by some crazy white person saying some like that to me. I have certainly heard white people say horrifying things about African Americans and generally avoid conversations with white strangers for this reason. On the other hand, this one sounds more paranoid and hateful than normal. And of course, there are lots of reasonable, principled people there who feel strongly about these issues. I could always invoke the "he sounded like he was from South Carolina" defense, which Tarheels frequently use to separate themselves from their secession prone neighbors. But, yeah, I would say it's real and scary. It wasn't so long ago that Jesse Helms defeated Harvey Gantt with an add about a black man stealing white working people's jobs. I'm mean really, this happened in the late eighties.
Posted by Claudia | Link to this comment | 11-17-04 9:48 PM
1990.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 11-18-04 1:00 AM
OK, this one always makes me see red.
If you stood around a greyhound station in your hometown, how many offensive or crazy things do you think you would hear? But you don't do it that often.
I've lived in South Carolina, and I saw racism, tolerance, segregation, and integration. There are some awful things in its history that have echoes today. There are also wonderful things about its culture and people.
After South Carolina, I moved to Michigan. I couldn't believe the offhand comments about southern racism when there were active Nazi broadcasts on shortwave radio coming from the area. There are armed, secessionist Nazi camps in the upper peninsula. But the problem is conveniently neoconfederates down in South Carolina.
You think Chicagoland doesn't have truckloads of batshit crazy racist jerks?
You think my Irish catholic relatives around Boston don't swap offensive jokes and harbor racist resentment? You think Kerry's hometown didn't hurt him with blacks in the last election.
Let's talk about the ongoing migration of black professionals back to cities like Atlanta, Charlotte, and even Charleston.
Aahh. All done.
Posted by cw | Link to this comment | 11-18-04 8:39 AM
A skinhead once offered me a blowjob in a Greyhound Bus Station men's room.
Posted by Iron Lungfish | Link to this comment | 11-18-04 9:11 AM
Thanks cw, those are good points. I should get out and meet more Northern crazies.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 11-18-04 9:15 AM
That's pretty typical for the bus station in Philly, where I was born and raised.
Here in the skank of a Red State (let's just call it the Anus of the Confederacy) it's typical just about everywhere except when you tell those mouth-breathers you won't put up with their hilljack bullshit and you have a gun or two to back yourself up.
This here be bush country... racist, homophobe, inbred, and stupid. It's been getting better over the twenty years I've been here, however. The really bad ones are diluting their gene pool and dying off. We still have a long way to go.
Posted by fuzzy | Link to this comment | 11-18-04 8:49 PM
If Humpty had boasted "I once got busy in a Greyhound Bus Station Mensroom", that certainly would have changed the whole meaning, wouldn't it?
But then I don't know how the line reads in the original Aramaic . . .
Posted by Mitch Mills | Link to this comment | 11-19-04 6:09 AM
thanks, hal.
we sensible people in the south are trapped in an awkward bit of circumstancial branding (quite
often)
while i agree that it is unfair to cast blame only on southerners for racism and ridiculously ignorant behavior... i must say that the south does have a special responsibility to modern-day civil rights (that is not usually carried out in the fullest). i too, am wary of white people in the south, until i get to know them... racists lack security so they have to be like the masses and this makes finding them very tough... they are prevalent in their silence; watchful and covert.
i'd love to shake this south carolinian's hand for making me look like such an ass. i am from north carolina and now live in wilmington... we have 2 monuments on main streets that were erected by the daughter's of confederate soldiers club. while i understand honoring the memory of your dead relatives, i also can't help but be suspicious of a group that has decided to focus on such a controversial period. it'd be different if their dedication to narrowing the gap between races in the south was obvious, but i don't know if i see this group moving in that direction.
anyway, no, we are not all that way but it is very creepy how the silent aversions in the south add weight to the air, making it extremely stifling.
sorry to be a johnny-come-lately here, i accidentally came upon this ancient entry while scouring the internet. i enjoyed all of your comments and i hope that one day these racists will filter out - i'm sick of hearing their shit.
Posted by Ruthie | Link to this comment | 07-15-05 5:33 PM