More Racism Against Minorities

[Hoovie]

This stuff is really strange to me... Amazing what some people can get away with without being ousted.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/155075154...ylist_id=86856

[Jermyn Davidson]

I grew up in the DC area, lived 5 minutes from the S.E. border for my first 12 years and was there 3 - 4 times per week until I left home because my Dad's church was in N.E. DC, an area known as Deanwood. It was a bad neighborhood in the 80's and 90's, but the city is seeing better days now as far as crime and education.

What Barry is saying is NOT something that hasn't been said before in the context of asian-owned businesses in a city that historically has had a predominately black population for decades.

The perception= Federal immigrant programs help people start businesses in areas where they don't live to capitalize on a population they don't care for or respect.

The perception= No one advocates racism against Asians in DC and they are not facing prejudice and racial hatred just because they are Asian. The Asians who make money off of the residents want nothing to do with the residents and it has been that way for a long, long time.

The perception= Banks have been and continue to be more willing to invest in outsiders coming into the city than helping the people in the city to invest in themselves and their community.

The persecption= Most of the Asian business owners in DC won't hire DC residents, and do nothing to attempt to assimilate into the city. They make money off of the residents but that's it.


Of course there are rebuttals to what I have posted.

Being from the area, with my family still there, and with former Mayor Marion Barry doing A LOT to help Apostolic churches (others as well), I wanted to shed a little more light on the local economic frustration that has plagued that area for years.


The residents of DC enjoy little to no ownership of their city, and the local business aspect is a major sore spot for many Washingtonians. If these outsider business owners were Haitian or Lithuanian, the resentment would still be there.

The fact that "Lee Kim" can get help starting a business in "Marcus Johnson'" backyard but "Marcus Johnson" can't get the same kind of help while he and his family have been there all their lives-- 4 to 5 generations back, and for some even further back, this is what frustrates many Washingontonians.


For many, it's easier to pin the racism tag on "whatever" issue, not realizing that when they do, they de-legitimize their legitimate concerns.

[aegsm76]

JD - the problem is that no "brother" would want to invest in a store there. Why? Because within a short period of time he would either be bankrupt or dead. The "code" would dictate that it was ok to steal from him, his prices were too high and he was just trying to rip off a fellow brother.
Also, he would never be able to go to the police if someone stole from him, because he would be going against the "code". He would have to handle it himself and it would not be possible.
It is easier for an outsider, such as the Asians to come in, because they are not expected to follow the "code".

[aegsm76]

Additionally, there is a certain perception that Asians may operate outside the law, if they need to. So play games with them at your own risk.
This is all my perception, not from living in this area, but from my years in a multi-cultural environment.
I would be interested to hear JD's opinion of my comments.

[CC1]

It is probably just the cocaine talking! The very fact that the residents of DC would elect Marion Berry to anything shows their intellect. They deserve what they get when they are so moronic.

On this subject this week someone who has just gone through training at an autmobile manufacturer was telling me about his experience with racism. He was paired with a Vietnemese American who is a former soldier in the U.S. Army. The black guys in the training group called him "Ching Chang". They asked him if he spoke chinese. They asked why asian people drive so bad. You get the idea. I wonder if the asian guy or a white guy had asked the black folks why blacks like fried chicken and watermelon so much if they would have found that acceptable? Amazing how racism is only a one way street it seems when it comes to most black folks.

[Jermyn Davidson]

Originally Posted by aegsm76

(1) JD - the problem is that no "brother" would want to invest in a store there. Why? Because within a short period of time he would either be bankrupt or dead. (2) The "code" would dictate that it was ok to steal from him, his prices were too high and he was just trying to rip off a fellow brother.
(3)Also, he would never be able to go to the police if someone stole from him, because he would be going against the "code". He would have to handle it himself and it would not be possible.
(4) It is easier for an outsider, such as the Asians to come in, because they are not expected to follow the "code".

(1) Often, blacks who live in DC want to invest in DC, in spite of the risk of bankruptcy or crime.

(2) The code you are refering to is a sad reminder of a bad situation started by racism, but morphed into something much more destructive. Self-destruction is worst than racism.

(3) In order to go to the police, there has to be confidence in the local law enforcement department to rightly in the first place. The mistrust of local law enforcement by the residents of predominant black areas is not a new phenomenon, has a sad history, and is something that has to be overcome by the residents and the local law enforcement agencies. They both share a piece in that pie.

(4) I am reminded of another sad reality that I experienced growing up where and when I did. In a strange way, I saw that there were some blacks that definitely showed more respect to other non-blacks-- more respect for their persons, their property, just treated them better. Yet another example of a bad situation started by racism, but morphed into something far more self-destructive for the black community.

[Jermyn Davidson]

Originally Posted by aegsm76

Additionally, there is a certain perception that Asians may operate outside the law, if they need to. So play games with them at your own risk.
This is all my perception, not from living in this area, but from my years in a multi-cultural environment.
I would be interested to hear JD's opinion of my comments.

I've never heard anything about this before

Again, most blacks would be cool with anyone in their community if they would attempt to be a part of that community. The Asian-owned businesses in DC do not attempt to become part of the community.

[Jermyn Davidson]

Originally Posted by CC1

It is probably just the cocaine talking! The very fact that the residents of DC would elect Marion Berry to anything shows their intellect. They deserve what they get when they are so moronic.

On this subject this week someone who has just gone through training at an autmobile manufacturer was telling me about his experience with racism. He was paired with a Vietnemese American who is a former soldier in the U.S. Army. The black guys in the training group called him "Ching Chang". They asked him if he spoke chinese. They asked why asian people drive so bad. You get the idea. I wonder if the asian guy or a white guy had asked the black folks why blacks like fried chicken and watermelon so much if they would have found that acceptable? Amazing how racism is only a one way street it seems when it comes to most black folks.

The residents of DC are not as moronic as much as they are loyal to a person who was loyal to their city. Barry brough jobs to DC, started youth programs for the city youth, wiped away back taxes for churches, and started programs that provided housing for the elderly. He has an EXCELLENT reputation with many of the life-long DC residents.


As for the rest of your remarks, whites don't make racial jokes against asian? There is a whole species of weed affectionately called "jap-grass" in Alabama. It is called that because no matter what you do, short of a nuclear bomb, that stuff keeps coming back. Of course I found it offensive, and I am not even asian.


The problem Barry is addressing and what you think is an issue of racism are both situations more complex than the racism label can adequately address-- even if race is a part of the equation.

[Jermyn Davidson]

aegsm,
Don't I owe you a response on another thread from a while ago?

I haven't forgot that I owe you, just forgot the thread.

[Hoovie]

Amazing. Jermyn, are you really saying because of qualifying circumstance that Barry's remarks are not racist? I believe the Aisians could give very solid reasons why they don't live in DC. But whether they do or not, they have the same protections under the law as anyone else. This is not China.