OT - Disturbing racially motivated locker room assault

I went from being the only white family on our block in Chicago metro to northern Michigan where there was one black student in my grade and he had been adopted by a white family. I live now in the 'black neighborhood' (traditionally) in Denver and have had a group of friends from MS when I lived in vail. To me, there are different aspects of racism. In norther MI it was racism borne of ignorance and with only white folks around, a lot of ignorant comments and stupid things said and phrases like 'N-word City' used to describe Detroit and Chicago. The MS (and Texas) crew used to drop N-Bombs intentionally to get a rise out of me and were much more spiteful in their language and expression. And I have also traveled pretty extensively to the South and lived in ATL during the 96 Olympics and from my observations, segregation in the south is accepted and preferred by both communities. It's just a different world there and while racism is everywhere still, there is something almost eerie about traveling into the rural south and feeling like it's still 1964. What an awful story but clearly still a thing that happens. But hate has to be taught - my son wasn't born hating anyone and even at almost 10yrs old now, has more disdain - jokingly - for buckeye fans than any other group of people and even there, we talk about respect and mutual admiration for the rivalry.

I have lived in Birmingham Alabama for over 20 years and I have never seen a race based incident in sports, much less anything else. This kind of stuff is isolated and the school administration will expel these kids, no question.

I grew up in Michigan and on the East Coast, my parents were civil rights workers who went south with the Freedom Riders; I grew up marching with them in NY and DC. And I ended up in Tallahassee, Florida. I know that Jim Crow dominated in the south, but my study of history has come to show me how much racism--especially redlining--existed everywhere, creating a situation where most of the country's most segregated cities today, starting with Chi, Milwaukee, and Philly, lie in the north. It's especially the persistent poverty of black people, as much as attitudes that keep this shit in place. And this really grows out of the least-known part of our history, where for 100 years after slavery black people suffered continued subjugation in near-slavery conditions instead of being able to exercise their supposed new freedoms. (All of this set the patterns for the for-profit criminal justice system we have today.) Not trying to accuse anyone of anything, because I am no different, but what I have come to see is that although many of my northern friends are all for integration, outraged by southern ugly (of which there is plenty), many of them have just one or two black acquaintances and live in what is effectively segregated conditions, too. My evidence is only anecdotal, but I and my family have ended up with many more black friends, in an integrated neighborhood and day to day conditions, than we ever had living anywhere in the north--from NYC to Ann Arbor to San Francisco. The modern Klan comes from Indiana; it was there, recently, that high school sports fans shouted for a mostly hispanic football team to "go home." Michigan has its militias, etc. In short, we all have a long way to go and this thing is damned complex. I still believe that things are getting better, though, and that we are becoming a culture of many cultures that will eventually sweep a lot of this away.

Mississippi is part of America too. "Rednecks" are Americans too (and many face the challenges of poverty and poor educational options we tend to ascribe to urban minorities). Maybe we ought to be sympathetic to the victim and do some soul searching of our own ("there but for the grace of God go I") rather than use this a a chance to morally preen about how much better we are than those nasty Southerners?

only white people can be racist.  

By the way, I can say that all I want because I'm half Mexican and if you call me out then you are being racist.   

A lot of those southern teams seem way more than 50%+ African American. 

I've noticed this in the past but its been bothering me a lot more lately.  A lot of these southern teams seem overwhelmingly black, but the entire coaching will be white and of course the crowd is overwhelmingly white.  I feel like its very rare to see black fans in the stands or student section.  And then you hear stories about how horribly racist the student body is (Exhibit A: Missouri 2015) and you wonder what is going on there.

I know Michigan's football and basketball teams are predominantly black.  But there seems to be a difference between Big 10 teams and those southern schools.  I tend to believe ALL student athletes are exploited but I think its worse for black kids, especially at SEC schools (I also like to think that kids at Big 10 institutions get a better education than most but I could be wrong).  Maybe that's just the liberal Yankee in me. 

Also - does anyone else think its a little weird when certain white coaches recruit strictly all black dudes?  Is that weird?  I mean, I guess there's nothing wrong with it but I think its weird.  I think too much.

Can we all just admit this is terrible and could happen anywhere?  I'll knock the South as much as anyone, but people doing racially inappropriate things, especially kids, is sort of universal.

This report is a poignant and disconcerting reminder of another despicable occurrence from about a year ago in Idaho. Despite the unfathomable level of racism and cruelty, I don't recall it garnering a lot of media coverage, possibly d/t so much attention on the Baylor transgressions.

Idaho High School Football Players Accused of Raping Disabled Teammate: Lawsuit

It gets too cold for most of the players to come up here to play football. At least that is what they are told by SEC coaches' negative recruiting pitch for why to not go up north to play football. 

We live in Evanston which is racially and economically mixed. It's probably close to 50/50, but if you look more closely, there are many latinos, eastern european immigrants, muslims, and sikhs that round out the diverse population. My son is starting to look at colleges and one of his criteria is diversity. I've had to tell him that he will not get the kind of diversity he's used to at Evanston Township High School. His friends are mostly of color, but there is self-segregation as the kids move through grade and middle school. But I think they learn to respect each others' differences. My son is somewhat shocked if I ever say anything even remotely biased. I certainly don't know how to fix the race problem, but being next to each other in every day circumstances day in and day out helps. It's difficult not to have biases; but it shouldn't be that hard not to have this kind of hate.  

What about the "disturbing" attacks that happened after the recent Temple football game ?  Groups of "teens" attacked students, and several white students received beatings.  Guess who the "teens" were.   Don't mention one story witout the other.     

I remember as a tween in the nineties people saying: this will all die out once the real racists age out of power/die. Now I'm wondering if that was 100% delusion particular to my all white part of New England, or if it really is another surge whereby it's "fashionable" for (some) people in high school today, most obvious with fans cheering or players hazing in us/them scenarios. Some initial comments from school officials in this case make it clear they were NOT prepared for this to go national.

UC Berkeley wants, or some students want, 'no white people zones'?  Just people of color are allowed?

This country seems to be in a mess. 

happened to this kid, but thousands of kids all across this nation we're bullied or worse today.  Kids are targeted for being black, white, fat, weird, skinny, special-needs, loners...you name it.  As a white kid who spent two years in a predominantly black high school i can promise you I knew nothing but intimidation or just plain being ignored.  The later of the two was a "good" day. You won't hear about this in the news though. This is not meant to belittle what this kid went through...its inexcusable and my heart goes out to him.  With that being said, I'd take my chances as a black kid in a white school as opposed to the opposite.