I see regular white folk walking down Killingsworth all the time. A lot of PCC instructors, or folks going to the library. Black people who are going to do harm don't care about us white folk. They care about other gangs. If you're a white guy that gets shot down by a black dude in N. Portland I'd venture to guess its a stray bullett.
But what if they give me a funny look? Why, a few times I've even been heckled as "white dude". Should I piss my pants and run away as if I'm in a racist gas station in Scio, or should I just mind my own business and think it's no big deal?
More trouble than it's worth, IMO. Plus, if the dude was black and had a white grandkid, he'd have been tased, beaten, and placed immediately in jail. Of course, his grandkid would be racist, since he's from Texas, so it would proably be the grandkid who put him behind bars for good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Washington Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who became the first African-American Mayor of Chicago, serving from 1983 until his death in 1987. In the February 22, 1983, Democratic mayoral primary, community organizers registered more than 100,000 new African American, Latino and poor and independent white voters, while the white vote was split between the incumbent mayor Jane Byrne and future mayor Richard M. Daley, son of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. Washington won with 37% of the vote, versus 33% for Byrne and 30% for Daley. Although winning the Democratic primary is normally tantamount to election in heavily Democratic Chicago, after his primary victory Washington found that his Republican opponent, former state legislator Bernard Epton (earlier considered a nominal stand-in), was supported by many white Democrats and ward organizations, including the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, Alderman Edward "Fast Eddie" Vrdolyak.[32] Epton's campaign referred to, among other things, Washington's conviction for failure to file income tax returns. (He had paid the taxes, but had not filed a return.) However, Washington appealed to his constituency in his mayoral political campaign, and stressed such things as reforming the Chicago patronage system and the need for a jobs program in a tight economy. In the April 12, 1983, mayoral general election, Washington defeated Epton by 3.7%, 51.7% to 48.0%, to become mayor of Chicago. http://chicagodemocracy.org/Electio...neral,crdd_1977_general_election,il_chi_mayor 1977 (typical mayoral election type results) Bilandic ( D ) 77%, Bloc ( R ) 21%
If it was up to me, I'd mind my own business and brush it off as no big deal. It wasn't up to me though. It was an executive decision to not hang out in the town for very long. I lived for 3 years off Killingsworth and Omaha in a time with much worse gang activity than now. Don't talk smack and you'll be fine.
Why would I talk smack? I've been going there once a month for 10 years now to volunteer. Doesn't mean I haven't received my share of stares, though.
I'm not saying you, I'm just saying in general. People stare all the time in different setting. I'm sure its not cause you're white. That area is way different than it was even just 5 years ago. A mix of hipsters and trouble making teenagers.
So the numerous times I've been heckled as the "white dude" in that area by people I don't even know is not because I'm white, but some stares in Scio, where nobody said a word, is a sign of racism? Anyhow, just pointing out your double standard. I'm sure in both instances, at least one of the people staring/heckling is a racist. Racists are everywhere, and they aren't all white guys.
Someone yelled out "hey, white dude" at you? If unprovoked I'd say thats not the norm. There's racists everywhere. My original point was there is every bit as much all out racism in rural Portland as anywhere else. The Aryan Nations have a compound out in Yacolt, about an hour outside Portland. I've never heard of any anti-white groups in the inner city. All I'm saying, is I'd feel much more safe as a white guy walking down the street on Killingsworth, than a black guy pumping his gas in Scio, or some other rural area.
Statistically, you're wrong, and by a long shot. Unless the Scio guys have laser beams attached to their heads, and kill when they stare. Although you did live on N Killingsworth, and not NE Killingsworth. 20 blocks is a world of difference.
Give me some stats of black on white hate crime in the Portland area compared to white on black in rural Oregon.
Find your own stats. Nationally, it's not even close. If there is some Scio white on black crime wave, I'd like to know about it.
lol using census figures. Our hispanic population is predominantly illegal and therefore goes mostly unreported, as do most of their relatives when they can avoid it. Many of the rest report as white, which is encouraged by census takers. You also used the incorrect number for "white". The 91.3 includes hispanics who for personal reasons choose to call themselves white rather than hispanic. The figure for non-hispanic whites is 87.3. Since even Portland's numbers aren't dramatically different, i'm not sure what point you're chasing. Deschutes county and Clackamas county have pretty similar racial makeups. My point, which has been proven umpteen million times in a wide variety of studies and experiments, is that when you pack a bunch of people (or most any mammal) tightly together in a confined space they will turn on each other. Crime and violence rises, stress-related illnesses escalate, fear and greed rule and compassion and courage are non-existent. Give them a bit of elbow room and magically everyone gets along much better. Most racism is born from fear, and big cities breed fear. A black family whose car breaks down in La Pine or Prineville will likely not only find themselves being offered a ride to the autoshop but probably a free tow and a meal from the family that stopped to help. A black family whose car breaks down in SE Portland will likely be honked at and yelled at and find their car impounded and held for a ransom they cannot afford, ultimately losing their car for good. They will not be offered help or even a lift.
Your "case" is how you'd feel if you were a black guy in Scio, OR. You would feel unsafe. Every crime statistic says otherwise, at least in terms of race on race crime. LOL
There are crime statistics to specifically say that black people would not feel unsafe in Scio, OR? What crime does feeling unsafe fall under to get it reported?
There are none. Black on white hate crimes happen hourly in Portland but are never officially charged as hate crimes. It's a "PC" thing. White on black hate crimes in rural Oregon are negligible or non-existent. My brother was robbed by blacks "because he was white" around 3pm one day walking from the bus stop outside of Shag's Arena (10 bonus points to the first person who knows who Shag was) on 15th and NE Killingsworth a few blocks to our cousin's house at 15th and Ainsworth. This was in 1976. One of my best friends lived in St. Johns in the 80's and 90's when it was basically a white neighborhood encircled by a black ghetto. Walking to the corner store wasn't something white people did twice. I don't know what it's like nowadays, but I doubt it's become an example of love between the races. I used to ride the TriMet system a lot when I worked in Portland but I wouldn't ever consider getting on a MAX unarmed, and have been hassled by racists on it enough in the past that I'd probably just never ride it again period. The park next to Lloyd Center is a good place to hang if you want to be harrassed or maybe killed for being white. Aside from aryan-nation types, all gangs hate whites. If you're measuring racial hatred, blacks hatred of whites is the biggest number on the chart. It is taught in our schools and reinforced by our government so I guess it's to be expected. The Kingston Trio sums it up best:[video=youtube;dwrO8sn8HkQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwrO8sn8HkQ[/video]
.....still waiting on these statistics. Hate crimes on blacks vs. whites in rural areas compared to urban areas.
1976? Really? Your going back 35 years? My parents were born in raised in St. Johns. Tough area without a doubt. Have a little hair on your chest and you should be fine.
