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How bad is racism in the US?
Last week a white man and a black woman were seen kissing publicly in Hollywood. Somebody called the police and she was handcuffed under suspicion of prostitution. The man was her boyfriend, and like any other couple, they were showing affection in public, but because she is black, she was put under arrest.
The ironic part is that she is Daniele Watts, who played a slave called Coco in the movie Django Unchained.
Things have not changed much in the US have they?
15 Answers
- KaylaLv 57 years agoFavorite Answer
I heard about that story too, but I dont think racism actually played a role in that particular situation (forgot to mention that). But to answer your question on racism in America, yes, racism is still alive & well in this country & you could ask ANY distinctive looking minority group (blacks, mexicans, dark native americans,etc) & they will definately tell you that its still happening. Minorities face institutional racism/discrimination daily, they are racially profiled by cops, they are much more likely to get a severe prison sentence for petty crimes,( its even been statistically proven that whites who do the same crime as blacks & hispanics who are doing a life sentence get a much lesser sentence or a slap on a wrist), its has also been statistically proven that a person with a "white cultural name" is much more likely to get hired for a job then someone with a black name like "Nakia", "Rashod", "Tamika" etc (the media, which is pretty much controlled by whites, conditions society to think everything associated with black culture is "bad" or "ghetto" including the names). There was also a study that had showed that whites with a criminal record are way more likely to get a job than a black or hispanic with the same record. Yes, INSTITUTIONAL discrimination and racism against minorities is alive and well, and whoever doesnt think so is clearly not a minority. Whites are quick to accuse minorities of playing a ridiculous "card" whenever we voice our issues about race in this country. But ofcourse they have the privilege to brush it off and accuse us of play some silly card because they dont struggle with racism on a daily basis for the rest of their lives in this society and (even in the media) nor are they effected by it on the same level as a minority since they dont face the same kind of racial issues (if they face any at all) . Whites make up the majority of this country & has dominate control over 90% of the institutions, therefore they are the main ones with the power to be racist on a social, political and institutional level whereas minorities could only be racist on a social level. Whites idea of racism is "boohoo I got called a cracker today" or "Boohoo there is a BET and no WET" when 85% of the people on television are all white, which is why blacks got together to create a BET in the first place. Hispanics have their own networks and these people dont utter a word, but they are quick to attack networks like BET for no reason other than the fact that they feel "excluded" when nonwhites/minorities are excluded from most of the movies and shows in this country, hell their arent even many black, asian, mexican, dominican celebs in hollywood and yet the mass majority of the hollywood celebs are all white, and racism plays a huge role behind that
- JackbootLv 77 years ago
How bad is STUPIDITY in the US? If you know you live in a country with a fair amount of racists, why provoke them and put yourself through a completely avoidable situation of having to answer to a cop on the beat by showing your ID? (The cop was well within his right to demand to see ID - which the boyfriend finally did present.) Go smooch in private, behind close doors - especially if you're a racially-mixed couple!!!
If a couple is showing public displays of affection (PDAs) in a vehicle, and in a high-visibility area, expect some to be suspicious or simply annoyed - again, especially if it's a racially-mixed couple. Many times, provocateurs will receive a "reply" from those they provoke, even if only a "token" reply, such as a cop on the beat coming over and asking for ID. Expect it! Deal with it! Complaining that there are racists in America is trite, and everybody already KNOWS! (Everyone who is honest, that is.) Provoking racists won't make them go away!
Daniele Watts may have looks, but she is (sorry to say) a mental midget! To a certain degree, so is her boyfriend. But if the sex is good enough, I can understand him kowtowing to her intellectual mediocrity. Men do this all the time!
- 5 years ago
Racism is a Taught thing. No one is born racist. But in the US there is a lot of racism not only to Blacks but to Hispanics and Foreign people. In the Football team I was on I was the only Light-skinned guy on there and people Said racist stuff but I just ignored them and kept playing. Racism is everywhere you just gotta learn to ignore it
- PoohBearPenguinLv 77 years ago
I think this is less about racism, and more about how the police are losing control. I can't fully blame for that, either. During the last double-dip recession (thanks Bush!) police forces across the nation were cut to the bone. In some places you had cops trying to do the job of departments that used to be 3 and even 4 times as large. Salaries and benefits were cut, overtime was - and in some areas still is - mandatory. As a result, crime rates have skyrocketed meaning there's even more work for even fewer cops to handle.
To put it bluntly the cops we have now are underpaid, under appreciated, overworked, and burned out. They're like soldiers who snapped in Vietnam and started assuming everyone was a Viet Cong rebel which led to US troops burning entire villages (full of villagers) to the ground. Or, in this case, assuming that a Black woman kissing anyone must automatically be a prostitute.
Funding is slowly being restored and departments are hiring again but it's going to take years to restaff them back to pre-2006-2007 levels.
@Tigerlily - the story's on Yahoo and other sites, so unfortunately, it true.
- Anonymous7 years ago
Racism really is that bad. Since the civil rights era of the 60's, we've had many lawful changes in this country. But really peoples minds haven't changed much at all. Races are divided as they've always been.
- Anonymous7 years ago
There's more to the story than what you're telling. Someone did call the police. When the cop showed up, he asked the lady for her ID. She started arguing with the cop and refused to give her ID. Then SHE pulled the race card. Watch the video. Does it really seem racist?
Not only white people are racist. There are LOTS of racist minorities.
- Anonymous7 years ago
Bet you if she was a white woman kissing a white guy nobody would bat an eye. Racism is alive and well in the US. Oddly enough even the people who think they are open minded and all accepting can be offensive as well and they dont even realize it. Especially when they call us people of color (wtf?) or say things like "I dont see color." So what do you call us then? Treat us no differently than you would white people. You dont see people saying a white man mugged a woman. It's just a man mugged a woman. But if its a black man all of a sudden its a BLACK man or a HISPANIC man robbed a woman. We just gotta get that part out dont we? But if its a white pedo diddling kids we dont do that. We just call him a pedo. But a black pedo? We gotta emphasis that he's BLACK *screams to the rooftops* BLAAAACCKKK.
- Anonymous7 years ago
People are fighting like crazy over this, most assuming immediately that she did something wrong -- because that's what always happens when the person in question is a person of color. http://mommymeansit.com/daniele-watts-hollywood-ho...
- Anonymous7 years ago
It is very bad indeed, most Americans hold a very racist and xenophobic sentiment. Just look at how minorities out number whites in prison for the same crimes.