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djean111

(14,255 posts)

42. I moved (transferred) from Illinois to North Carolina, in the mid-eighties.

Sat Apr 4, 2015, 06:27 AM

Apr 2015

Only worked there for two years; my company was closing the office there, so I was first out the door, to Tampa.
I became friendly with a black woman who worked in an accounting group I supported as system manager for their application and hardware. This was seen as odd, in my little group of born-in-NC, college-educated guys.

I was the first woman, and first "Yankee" in the group. Joke told to me the first day - why does South Carolina have more black people (they actually used the N-word) and North Carolina have more Yankees? Because South Carolina got to pick first.
Welcome to North Carolina. Was told, seriously, that two great job-openings I applied for in another group would not go to a woman or a Yankee, so don't get my hopes up. (Was offered both jobs. )

Anyway, racism was so obvious, and I asked her why she moved to NC from Chicago. She said that "the North" was just as racist and sexist as the South - they were just a lot sneakier about it.

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The Dumb South: What to make of regional difference [View all] gollygee Apr 2015 OP

Kick and rec for a very thoughtful essay. F4lconF16 Apr 2015 #1

Marking for later. n/t ms liberty Apr 2015 #2

Racism does happen in the Northeast. kcr Apr 2015 #3

I've lived in the Deep South Aerows Apr 2015 #5

I lived in the South for many years myself kcr Apr 2015 #6

Oh my Aerows Apr 2015 #10

No, I only go by what you post kcr Apr 2015 #14

Do you think that Aerows Apr 2015 #15

What does visiting other places have to do with it? kcr Apr 2015 #23

Racism is a problem Nationally..... Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #28

I understand it is a problem everywhere kcr Apr 2015 #30

One of the things I heard in the Midwest was, "We treat our's real good here".... Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #31

Right, most people know a racist or two at the least. kcr Apr 2015 #35

I the South you have a different situation... Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #36

In the South you have a different situation. Exactly my point. kcr Apr 2015 #37

The "just as bad" crowd tends to pull a Bush Administration tactic too.... Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #41

I've seen it here in Tennessee -- the hyper-defensive denial. cheapdate Apr 2015 #38

And in places like Oklahoma, the target of racists is more often Native Americans. nt tblue37 Apr 2015 #34

The SPLC puts out a map of hate in America regularly..... Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #40

California also has 8 times the population of Alabama, 38.8 million vs 4.85 million.... Bluenorthwest Apr 2015 #55

Maybe the other states have more because they like to shop. Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #59

Of course, you're not accounting for population, are you? Mariana Apr 2015 #57

That, and being a member of a hate group isn't a point of pride quite as much.... Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #58

Is Maryland in the South? That's where the headquarters of the Aryan Brotherhood is for the Ghost in the Machine Apr 2015 #44

Why does it matter where the headquarters for the Aryan Brothers is? kcr Apr 2015 #49

Ho hum. cwydro Apr 2015 #54

There's plenty of racism here in Michigan gollygee Apr 2015 #7

Yep, I know. kcr Apr 2015 #9

Yeah, racism in the NE is nothing like the south. That's why the first open KKK march was in Maine. Revanchist Apr 2015 #8

Yeah. Racism in the NE is nothing like it is in the South kcr Apr 2015 #13

Unless it erodes your idea Aerows Apr 2015 #16

Let me add that three black men were lynched in Duluth, MN in 1920. Jackpine Radical Apr 2015 #19

Okay. So if someone else is being a jerk kcr Apr 2015 #21

Oh, fer Chrissake, Jackpine Radical Apr 2015 #25

You're responding to me in a thread where I'm engaging a certain type of denial, though. kcr Apr 2015 #27

Wow you got browbeaten here. I agree with your point 100% - I have Laura PourMeADrink Apr 2015 #47

If you want to drive people further into their pathology, there is an easy way to do it. Jackpine Radical Apr 2015 #60

Let's not forget Illinois Nazis.... Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2015 #29

What's written on the photo is SheilaT Apr 2015 #33

The Maine KKK was formed to fight Catholicism more than anything. m-lekktor Apr 2015 #45

In Maine the focus was on Jews and Catholics, especially immigrants-- rather than blacks. Gormy Cuss Apr 2015 #50

I was born in the South.... CherokeeDem Apr 2015 #20

Yes. It is much more open. That is a significant difference. kcr Apr 2015 #24

Once again... CherokeeDem Apr 2015 #51

I like and rec'd this because I was born and raised, until age 13 - raven mad Apr 2015 #4

Racism is all over the US, homophobia is all over the US. And sometimes it occurs in RKP5637 Apr 2015 #11

I thought Randy Newman explained all that in his album, "Good Old Boys" . . . Journeyman Apr 2015 #12

Yep, that pretty much summed up my thoughts. It's not just racism. Warpy Apr 2015 #39

"outside the cities and in some neighborhoods" Maeve Apr 2015 #52

Exactly right. lumberjack_jeff Apr 2015 #17

I actually did learn something new for once in this thread, though. kcr Apr 2015 #32

I think that a lot of Americans LuvNewcastle Apr 2015 #18

+1 gollygee Apr 2015 #46

Racism everywhere the_sly_pig Apr 2015 #22

Stop and Frisk says more about the north's racism than anything else. Calista241 Apr 2015 #26

I moved (transferred) from Illinois to North Carolina, in the mid-eighties. djean111 Apr 2015 #42

The difference is the political structure of the South backs the racists. NutmegYankee Apr 2015 #43

"the place is mega white in diversity ..." dawg Apr 2015 #56

I grew up in a very racial mill town in NC Lee-Lee Apr 2015 #48

Have lived in MA, VA and CA abelenkpe Apr 2015 #53

I have a couple of thoughts on the seeming intractability of the South. True Blue Door Apr 2015 #61