I watched a TV show called 'Justified: City Primeval' - it's not very good, but something I found weird was how often the characters mentioned each other's race I'm from the UK, so maybe it was just badly written, or maybe Americans do actually talk like that.
this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2025
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Back in the 90s the focus was to be colorblind, ie to treat everyone the same. Now people are focusing on race again in a big way. It boggles my mind that people now think treating people differently based on race is somehow a good thing. That people should get preferential hiring based on race is probably the biggest WTF.
I recommend you check out "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander.
The basic getaway from the book is this: Segregationists didn't go anywhere, and since the time of Ronald Reagan, the ways the segregationists found to keep black people down are mostly related to the economy and law enforcement. The stereotype being attacked is now the "gang-bangers", those from "the hood". Not all black people... Just most of them.
From the 60s-70s, black people living in near industrial zones where they mostly worked were hit by mass unemployment due to their relocation. Rather than try to find a solution, propaganda stigmatising them was massively produced, the "war on drugs" was started to punish them for the only survival means that some found. Black people serve disproportionately long sentences, and are forever alienated when they get out, often unable to find jobs. Not only those who were imprisoned, but their families and communities suffer from this. This is not only true of drug-related crime; but sometimes things like misfiled taxes. The war on drugs was basically a pretext to over police and arbitrarily arrest black people, and dissuade them from forms of protest against their situation.
Now, compared to segregation, this is as big a net, but not such a tight one: This systems allows some black people to escape this system and get a situation equal to white people... But of you look at the bulk of the stats, many aren't better off than during segregation.
These were at first, right-wing policies bore by the Republican Party, but Bill Clinton ended up doubling down on them instead of opposing them, because he didn't want to appear "weak on crime", since then there has been no opposition to it in mainstream politics.
Colorblindness helps this system, because it keeps you from naming the oppressed group, and thus from seing the oppression. It makes it easier to swallow the idea that the millions in prison are no-good gang hooligans from the mysterious land of "hood", but that for the most part, black people are doing fine, because those who went to the same school as you or are among your coworkers are doing fine.
I feel like it started getting worse from 2016 on and since 2020 the world has become so weird
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Lol someone already posted this, was that you?
I'm gonna copy paste my reply again:
I don’t really see this, in my area at least. Other people’s experience will vary. I notice my white and black clasmates get along very well. Hate is not born, it’s taught. I think this “divide” is more in rural areas. I’m in Philly and it’s a very diverse city, racism between white and black kids are almost non-existent (or at least I never witnessed any actual racism between white kids and black kids beyond the kids being “edgy” with their “dark humor”). I mean like, I never heard a white kid said the N word with the hard R.
I did, however, notice a lot of kids making racist “jokes” against me (For context: I was born in PRC, and immigrated to the US). Like white kids and black kids would both make jokes like “Chinese language probably sounds like ‘Chng Chng’” and then they both laugh at the “joke” I’m just like wtf dude. Luckily, as you go up higher in the grade level, the less racist people seem to be.
For context, my high school was like (approximately): 30% White, 20% Black, maybe like 15% Latino, 30% Asian.
Now, the school was very shitty, there were bullying everywhere. But bullying usually wasn’t based on race.
And despite the racism that I personally have faced, I do have some Chinese-American classmates who were born here in the US, and they seem to get along with everyone else well, so I’m guessing I’m just not “Americanized” enough and its more like Xenophobia more than Racism/Sinopobia. I’m don’t use an “American” name so I guess that’s is one of the major reasons why I get targed for racism but others who look just like me don’t get targeted.
Now, to be clear, that’s not to say there aren’t racism between white people and black people. I’m not downplaying racism, I’m just saying I’m lucky to live in a place where the racism is very minimal. There are probably some racists in certain neighborhoods in Philly. I did see some trump flags when traveling around the city, so those people definitely exist. But my point is that its so rare and so socially unacceptable (at least in my city) that I’m having a hard time recalling when I personally witnessed any serious (as in a non-joke) racism between white people and black people happened (I mean, other than on those on the news).
But, outside of my city, especially the rural areas… I don’t have first hand experience, but those are probably not somewhere a racial minority would want to go to. And I personally would NEVER go to any republican dominated area.
Edit: In response to this part
And I feel like this is also influencing people overseas like here where especially younger people in cities adopt this American mindset and I’ve even seen some using the N-Word etc
If you hear kids saying the n word ending with the "a" its a friendly greeting similar to "homie". Even a white kid can say it if their black friends is okay with it. However, the "hard-r" the N word ending with the R is not acceptable.
Idk why kids do this, but I guess they are trying to "reclaim" the word. I personally never used any variation these words, because its just wrong, even if its trying to "reclaim" the word or whatever.
White Americans feel about black people and other minorities roughly how Germans feel about Muslims. And I have to say, Germans do not like Muslims.
The Germans refuse to admit they're treating Muslims the way they used to treat the Jews.
Mention of religion is also very uncommon in Germany. If someone isn't wearing something like a cross chain, a kippa or a hijab, their religion often goes completely unnoticed in daily German life. It's mostly irrelevant and ppl only discover it, if someone asks for halal/kosher options at a restaurant or so.
Are you sure? Because to my knowledge most Muslims in Germany are Middle Eastern and therefore quite easy to distinguish from the white Germans around them.
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I guess Germans feel about Muslims the same way that Muslims feel about homosexuals or atheists.
*Extremist Muslims.
Yanno, like extremist Christians.
In how many Christian countries can you get executed for being gay?
Uganda.
There are 6 Muslim countries that have clear laws that state gay men should be executed, but only 3 have actually done so (including Saudi Arabia, of course, because fuck Saudi Arabia in general).
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Some great videos on the subject:
Franz Fanon vs Identity Politics
That’s funny, I’m an American who literally argued with a German why Schwarze Pete (Black Pete) being a thing in the Netherlands, a country that heavily dealt in the slave trade, serving as a servant for Santa, and encouraging a form a black face… maybe a little racist?
Germans really like to analyze American politics, but mention nuclear power or Palestine and you see there’s a lot more in common than different.
I've never understood why Americans want to come over and tell us it's "racist" to dress up as a character that happens to look too much like an African in their eyes
For me the interest in American society comes from the feeling that America is the center of the earth. Not only is 99% of the content that I consume as a gen-z from America but I also grew up being told America is the best and most powerful country in the world.
America feels like the core of our Western society but the fact that it's still an entire ocean away I think is what makes many people curious about it more than other countries cause it's such a big deal and influence but we can't quite reach or control it which upsets some people cause they don't agree on certain things with the US but can't control it (hope that makes somewhat sense).
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