More Evidence of Southern Hospitality

So I came across an article, in the AJC, regarding the growing Hispanic population in Gwinnett County (an Atlanta suburb.) A sick hobby of mine is browsing http://www.ajc.com/ and reading the reader comments...especially the "Vent" section. It's pure comedy for a moderately-liberal-Black-yankee like me ;) I sometimes get caught up and write these long rants. Today is one of those days, the comments turned to how this is the second time moving was necessary...the first being when "the Blacks" came. Here's my rant:

Interesting comments. Can't say that I'm surprised by any of it. Yes, I'm a "Yankee" who chose to live here. But, I remain surprised at the level of bigotry and ignorance some of you have.

I grew up in a majority white--but fairly diverse--surburb outside DC. I knew several Black families that owned--and maintained--nice homes. When I lived in Maryland, my child attended a private school which was nearly 100% Black. Parents were very involved and the students tested well and were good kids.

Reading these comments leads you to believe these things aren't possible. But, I know several Blacks, in and out of Atlanta, that tell me differently. I AM one of those Black people and find your comments highly offensive! Is it that you haven't left your front stoop? Or are you that blind?

White folks did not invent morality or "goodness." Let's hypothetically agree that Blacks/Hispanics/Others are somehow morally corrupt or less than Whites. Well how do you, as good ole Christian boys, explain that? Did God somehow corrupt an entire race of people? I mean you claim Blacks do most of the violent crimes (more on that later) and that we are stupid and low level, so how do you explain that? How do you explain Blacks who don't fit those stereotypes? I will agree Blacks are disproportionately represented in our prison systems and that we are falling behind in many categories like education and income. It's not crazy to expect that poverty leads to crime. No matter the race, that is the truth. You can go to the trailer parks of Wisconsin and find a higher crime rate than other areas in the same town. It's the same with Atlanta and America overall. Poverty leads to crime.

I love how nonchalantly a few of you write off slavery. It's time to get over it? What am I getting over?The fact that I am a CREATED race? Remember the story of how your ___ immigrated to America? Doesn't that give you pride? When learning the story of MY heritage, I didn't exactly feel pride. As a child, that's a lot to wrap your head around. I asked myself, what can I take pride in? Thankfully, my mother, education and maturity taught me to value that history and I allowed it to empower me. But that's a tall order and we're dealing with generational issues of low self-image and feeling very un-empowered.

Slavery forced Africans to let go of their history, family, language, religions and culture. In one fail swoop, my heritage was wiped away and there was no turning back. There was no way to solve the damage done and now we must all deal with it. How are we going to deal with it? As this article shows, minorities are not going anywhere. Where will you run to? The moon?

Names were replaced and chains (tangible and not) were placed on us. After slavery, there were over 100 years of legalized chains which prevented Blacks from having equal rights. Take any group, ANY GROUP, from its home, force a new EVERYTHING on them, enslave them for hundreds of years and what can you expect when you release them? Especially when society continues to say they are less and expects less from them? Those Africans didn't have $20 in their pockets or the freedom to start anything. They were prohibited from READING! And this was less than 100 years ago! Yet, their descendants should somehow measure equally to Whites? And slavery doesn't hold any weight today? Give me a break!! Slavery is alive in kicking in ALL of us. As witnessed by you pompous folks who think you are too good to be around minorities and see all in one way.

RE: Crime Stats. I will not deny that Blacks are disproportionately represented in the prison system. As I said, poverty can do that. However, you should be more careful with your sweeping allegations and how you word things. Studies have shown minorities and/or those with older vehicles have much higher pull, arrest, and conviction rates. Cops, whether on purpose or not, see "suspect" with certain people more than others. That does NOT mean certain groups COMMIT crimes more than others. Also, and maybe this comes from living in GA, but you need to remember Blacks are only 12% of this country! And some areas have little to none. It's not even possible to blame Blacks for committing MOST crimes. Check out what the FEDERAL GOV has to say about it http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cvus/current/cv0540.pdf.

Also it's important to note that most crimes are not interracial. Again check out the FED's stats, MOST crimes committed against you are done by your own http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cvus/current/cv0542.pdf

Your fear and white flight are mostly unfounded. Yes, Blacks are ARRESTED and CONVICTED at higher rates for some violent crimes. But it is impossible to say we commit more. How can you quantify that? Rape is the most common violent crime. It is also mostly unreported. Based on the demographics of this country, I'm all but certain your assumptions are incorrect. But this is a silly game and we shouldn't even go there...why should we have to prove ourselves? Can we not get acceptance based on being human? Or are we still stuck in slavery? It's either one or the other.

The real issues are poverty and education. Until everyone has access to good schools and a decent quality of life, we will have citizens (of every color) who are more likely to commit crime, use drugs and become disconnected from their communities. How can you expect people to care about YOUR community? You make it so clear that they are beneath you and that this is somehow your pristine territory, so again where's the motivation to change their "ghetto ways" or whatever you call them? It's time to realize we live in ONE community.