General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: White DUers: Tell Your Stories [View all]UnFettered
(79 posts)I really dont post much here only read, but I do have a few experiences in this nature.
I was a white kid that went to a majority African American school. There I met some of the most welcoming and nicest people I have ever met. I have on the other hand unfortunately also met some of the cruelest. There were many many times I felt singled out and even attacked because I was different. There were many fights and times I got suspended just for trying to defend myself. I went home with everything from a bruised ego to a broken tailbone. I was so miserable it ultimately caused me to drop out of school in the eleventh grade to just go get my GED.
Where I live in the Deep South navigating different prejudices and racial issues is everyday life. Racial makeups of different areas very greatly from all white, African American and then mixed areas. There are unfortunately people on both sides of the fence that are stuck in the stone age and single out those that are different.
I was dropping off a friend one night after a football game at his house. This particular friend was black and lived in a majority African American area. Very shortly after I dropped him off I was pulled over by a cop. This police officer asked why I was in that area and said I had no business there being white. He kept saying the only reason I have to be there was to buy drugs. I am only 17 at the time I end up handcuffed in the back of his car. He is then in turn tearing everything out of my truck looking for drugs that are not there. When he cant find anything him visibly frustrated un cuffed me and leaves. In the mean time I am left to put everything back in my vehicle that was just thrown on the side of the road. All for just bringing somebody home.
I can honestly type for hours about these kinds of situations theres no shortage. I do think my experience is more of a irregularity given the racial make up of the area I grew up. I think minoritys overwhelmingly deal with these type of situations ever single day.
I do believe it that most people harbor some levels of prejudice. Now whether they are honest to there self about it is one thing. It is engrained in our human nature to a certain degree. So there will always be bad apples in every group. The thing I see the most Is misunderstanding of people and different cultures and a lack of communication and dialogue. I think that once people talk and have a understanding of each other its eases there fear and tensions.