BlogHer - Can your neighbourhood turn you into a racist? - Comments

As far as I'm concerned,

katrinka-chicago — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 07:40:23 -0500

As far as I'm concerned, California leads the way in sustaining hidden but powerful racism. Living there in recent years led to two whistle-blower firings when I simply refused to play the game and ignore the racism that hampered my work and threatened to under-serve my clients every single day. People of Color are NOT welcome in Cali but unlike in other places in the States, that attitude is hidden behind PC talk (Politically Correct speech).

It's like an enormous blast to the brain, over and over again.

Where I live doesn't dictate my thoughts on other races

inciquay — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:37:46 -0500

Hmmmm, I'll give it to Salustri for having the balls to write her piece while still living in the neighborhood and while trying to sell her place (obviously she's no saleswoman) but I don't know if that makes her stupid or naive. All of these problems she's described have happened in neighborhoods I've lived in that were predominantly White so what's the point? I live in downtown Toronto and I get White boys undressing me with their eyes or worse (*note to eleventwenty3!) but I don't judge them all by that incident.
The White kids that live in my building now, have recently taken to shooting paintball guns in our hallways and bringing the biggest pit bull I've ever seen to take up space in the stairwells while they smoke and laugh all night. My expletive laced tirades towards them are not because of race but because they are ignorant little piss-ants with no respect for our home. These aren't the traits of Black people, they're the traits of assholes, White, Black, or grizzly grey. Of course, the difference between me and Salustri, besides me not being a racist of course, is that my 'hood used to be the hotness before these troublemakers moved in. She moved into a shitty neighbourhood and then wants to cop and attitude about it? WTF?!
A good friend of mine, White, recently told me he's a crack head and now I don't trust his ass anywhere near my block. But again, it's not the Whiteness - he's a damn (admitted) crack head! See all these things happen to Black people living in White neighbourhoods too.
I'm with Aetna 100%, these racist thoughts and feelings didn't just happen. She's a grown assed woman who we're supposed to believe hasn't thought of race sine she was a little girl? Bullshit. congrats on bravery are seriously not in order.

My two, three and four cents....

eleventwenty3 — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 11:04:23 -0500

I am not familiar with this article, living Northern NJ, my whole life. However, I can't jump the disagreement rope just yet. I have lived on both sides of the tracks and let me tell you it's hard no matter where you live. As an African American woman growing up in an predominately white area, I felt that I had to prove myself. But I made it through, Now I live in a predominately African American area and I can't wait to move! As Blacks we have so very far to go. We are our own worst enemy. You can't go to the store without making sure someone knows you went, You can't send your kids to school without a action plan, you can't go to the bank without the bank tellers wonder "how'd she get that money?" You can't pass a bus stop without seeing someone on a cell phone with a $300 bill attached ( can we say "CAR PAYMENT"). As African Americans we should embrace each other better. This reproter was only reporting what she saw and experienced, Afican Americans put that stereotype in her head, because some black men do look at women and so do white men, but Black men seem to undress you and have sex with you all in one look. It's very uncomfortable. The reality show of it all, we wouldn't trade addresses with her, especially if she gave this rendition. I'd like, no I would love to see Supernanny or wife swap go to her neighborhood. Now that's reality.
Make Change!
eleventwenty3~ Body by Nature

A round of applause for racism...

Atena — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:28:30 -0500

I went to Salustri's blog and read the article. Unfortunately, it did not surprise me at all.

I am again disappointed at how many people are so quick to jump in and congratulate this woman on her "courage." Just because it's hard to say something doesn't mean it requires a chorus of congratulations. I'd be more inclined to congratulate her if she indicated that she's interested in becoming less racist. As far as I could tell, she was just interested in people leaving her alone so she wouldn't have to move. All of the back patting and lauding her courage reads to me like: "You've earned that racism! Good for you for owning it! I feel the same way, so we must be right! And we sure do have it hard!"

I apologize for the vitriol - I feel pretty justified about it, though. Can I get some props for that?

But seriously, I think it's a case of naivetÃ© wrapped in privilege and entitlement "How dare you steal from me? ME?" That's my read. I could be wrong.

I hope that Salustri comes away with some understanding that her racist thoughts and ideas didn't just magically appear after she moved to this neighborhood. This might be an opportunity for people to discuss racism as behavior, not as personality trait, since she's admitted it openly. That could be productive.

Atena

Assumptions, Biases & Irrational Fantasies

My Life As a Radical Whore/Madonna

Can your neighbourhood turn you into a racist?

lainad — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:54:41 -0500

In May, a community newspaper in Florida printed an essay by journalist Cathy Salustri which was originally conceived as an entry on her blog, Just Keep Swimming. Salustri, who lives in Bartlett Park, a predominately black neighbourhood, wrote that because of her experiences â€“ property being stolen, black men leering at her on the street, the perceived amount of people without employment - she feared that she was becoming a racist.

The article was published in the Gulfport Gabber after an article about gentrification in Bartlett Park had run, and Salustri approached the editor with the idea to re-publish the essay. Due to the response to the article, in which Salustri (whom despite befriending a few of her black neighbours, didnâ€™t tell them about the blog entry being published in their community newspaper), was vilified by some, celebrated by others. The St. Petersburg Times published an article about Stalusi last Thursday, conjuring up a dialogue that many wished would have disappeared a month ago.

Fisher-Lee, Salustri's neighbor, hadn't read the story until a St. Petersburg Times reporter brought it to her attention.

She sat on her sofa, eyes widening with each paragraph.

"My Lord, " she said.

And then.

"Oh my goodness."

And then.

"She didn't."

Fisher-Lee couldn't get past the second page.

"I'm just surprised by what I'm reading, " she said. "It's almost like lifting the veil on the way she sees things. Maybe I haven't listened to her enough. Maybe I haven't encouraged her enough to not feel that way."

When Fisher-Lee moved to Bartlett Park, Salustri was the first person she met. They both loved dogs, and Salustri owns a Dalmatian named Madison. "She and I became fast friends, " she said.

Fisher-Lee doesn't think Salustri is a racist. Just melodramatic. The things that have happened to Salustri have happened to her, too, she said.

But "I don't feel slighted, " she said. "There are things that go on in every neighborhood."

While Salustri has apparently been applauded for being â€˜courageousâ€™ in her admission, her admission is problematic, even though I suspect that she only had good intentions in mind in re-publishing a personal blog entry. The first thought that furrowed my brows was her generalizations about the black people in her neighbourhood which apparently transpired in to a general observation about all black people, based on her experiences of living in an area where not only was she warned beforehand about the high crime rates but as a journalist, her lack of objectiveness about her neighbours in the low-income, high-crime area seems a bit immature and unprofessional.

What was also problematic was her reaction to people in her neighbourhood. The stereotype of the fearsome black male who preys on vulnerable white women, as though it had never occurred to her that perhaps these men were also intimidating other women in the neighbourhood. There is a sense that, despite knowing beforehand that she would be a minority in the neighbourhood, she thought that she would not be subjected to the same circumstances that other people had experienced, such as her items stolen, feeling intimidated and fearsome about the crime rate â€“ or perhaps she is just incredibly naÃ¯ve?

I also question the editor at the Gulfport Gabber who agreed to publish the essay. On one hand, it is an honest account of perhaps how a lot of people formulate their opinions on race: They judge and generalize people from other cultural backgrounds based on their personal experiences( not factoring in social, economic differences and institutional and structural discrimination) and have problems shedding their subjective viewpoint. On the other hand, the essay alludes to the belief that people who harbour racist thoughts do so because something bad has happened to them, justifying their beliefs and in some cases, subsequent behaviour towards others. Therefore, it is the â€œotherâ€™sâ€ fault â€“ not really theirs â€“ if â€˜those peopleâ€™ would only behave the way I perceive I do, then I wouldnâ€™t feel this way.
St. Petersburg Times media columnist Eric Deggans invited Salustri to the monthly gathering of the Tampa Bay Association of Black Journalists, where despite a warm reception it was debatable whether Salustri could be persuaded to change her point of view:

"I come and see all of you as journalists first," Salustri told the table of black journalists from the Times, Tampa Tribune and two public relations firms. "But if I saw you on my street, I don't know if I would. ... I'm beginning to lose the ability to see anything that is not black and white."

To her credit, Salustri said she isn't proud of her newfound racism. And she's not as much concerned about her own attitudes as she is about the positive comments she has received since the article was published.

"I was surprised [that] most of my white friends weren't bothered by what I wrote," she said. "I think what I feel is more of a problem for black people than the freaky racists walking around."

After the meeting, Salustri wrote that she was disappointed and was concerned that they were not as angry as she thought they should be, alluding that perhaps they were somehow okay with her struggle with racist thoughts. While personally I can't totally hate on her because she is admitting an internal stuggle that many people would never admit, I can't help but wonder: Will this woman ever get it?