Which led to more questions as his wifes name is Mary....

Amen, sister!

"Racial disparities remain even among homeowners of the same income level. Middle-income minority homeowners faced a greater disparity than other income levels. 27.8% of the refinance loans received by middle-income African-American homeowners were from subprime lenders as were 19.4% of the refinances to middle-income Latino homeowners. In contrast, only 7.6% of the refinance loans to white homeowners were from subprime lenders."
http://www.acorn.org/fileadmin/Commu...equal_2004.pdf

The communities are made that way by the lending industry. There is institutional racism here. An interesting term to Google that I had not met before coming to the US is redlining.

This is everywhere - black universities, black churches, black social clubs etc. If segregation hadn't been such a huge issue and allowed to be legal, these seperations wouldn't exist and therefore race wouldn't be such a huge issue.

There is also the way the government handles race. I couldn't help laughing (better than getting cross sometimes) at how stupid a jury notice was that told you to fill in your race but it wasn't going to be used to influence jury selection! So why do you HAVE to fill it in? I know they say it is so a jury of your peers is chosen but that shows that your race is used! Also, many states insisted for a long time that blood type/color was listed on birth certificates. Just one drop of black blood and you were listed as black, even if you passed as white. Even when segregation stopped, having such a point listed on your birth certificate seperates citizens every step of their life.

Books are written about this subject, I'll be brief on my personal views:

Overt racism is probably hard to find, passive racism probably very easy to find.

I think class is a much bigger issue than race in this country. When people talk about racial disparities, they're generally referring to issues that have economics at their heart, not race.

I think racism is a much bigger issue for certain minorities than others (Asians vs. black, for example). My (Korean) wife is mostly subject to only positive stereotypes (except that whole "submissive Asian female" bullshit). These are equally irritating but easier to deal with obviously. Racism for or against the fast growing Hispanic minority is an extremely complicated issue, I'll dodge it for now.

Multiculturalism and affirmative action have done more to drive wedges between races in this country than the Klan, IMO. Read some Dinesh D'Souza or Thomas Sowell sometime to get more on this viewpoint.

The US is hugely diverse and has much larger minority populations than any country I can think of. Trying to compare it to other countries is simply not possible. Race is probably less of an issue in the UK because the minority population is much smaller.

I think far too many politicians, celebrities, media figures, universities etc "play the race card" far too often. It's a good way to get votes, a good way to play up your PC credentials and a good way to seem politically aware on an issue that people will find it very hard to argue with.

Lastly, if I want to get a reliably misinformed, stereotyped and overly simplified view of the US, or maybe just some good ol' US-bashing, I'll read the Guardian.

That's funny! When I want some reliably misinformed, stereotyped and overly simplified view of the US, or maybe just some good ol' US-breast-beating, I read Hiro11's posts.

Funniest thing I've read this year

I can see a reason for jury selection to include asking about potential jurors race. By doing so, it removes the initial problem of a white majority jury sitting on a trial about a non-Caucasian defendant.

The film "Twelve Angry Men" probably summed up the problems of the 50s whereby non-Caucasian defendants couldn't possibly receive a fair trial from the outset.


NC Penguin

I'd like to take this opportunity to be completely honest. I live in a Southern state and spend a considerable amount of time around blended families. Children are just bundles of hair and flesh and poo. If you love and nurture them properly, they will flourish. Over-thinking these things is not the answer. There are no ideal circumstances..... doing your best is the most that anybody could ever ask for.

ROFLMFAO literally!!!

It was GOOD, wasn't it !!

I don't disagree with you but it should state something along that fact rather than state that your reply is not used in anyway but insist on you listing it.

I think the reason why I found it not right was because this question is asked everywhere - schools, colleges, job applications etc. Everything else, except jury selection and immigration forms, so far have been voluntary to fill in and all give the same reasons for asking the question. Even though many are voluntary they still ask the question. Why? Just so they can get statistics on people. I had all 3 of my children in the UK and they all went to school there for a short while. Not once was I ever asked what race my children were. I hate being asked, just as I hate being asked what religion we are. It stinks of segregation in another form.

Very well said.
I am sure racisim exists, and always will...among the ignorrant and uneducated predominantly; however I also think that certain ethnic 'leaders' (Jessee Jackson, Al Sharpton, Queasy Infume) have a vested intrest (personal power) in making things seem worse than they are, and keeping their 'own' followers motivated.

My personal belief is that perhaps the black community should look at their own actions and ask themselves if perhaps they are in part responsible for the stereotyps generated. Except we know that any who actually do ask this are branded as Uncle Tom's (Alan Keys, Bill Cosby...)
Perhaps

You're entire posting was very well-put, Hiro11, but especially that last paragraph. The Guardian is a joke---intellectually at the same level as FoxNews is here, in terms of journalistic bias, but with highbrow underpinings that Fox News obviously lacks (not to mention, of course, a completely different idiological slant). You will find more insight and accuracy in American cultural analysis in People Magazine than you ever would find in the Guardian.

Hello!

Did you join BE especially so you could post these pearls of wisdom?