Not everything has a "racial" undertone, dangit....

[HEMI6point1]

Recently I was asked where I would move to if money was not a problem and I had plenty of disposable income.

I told this person that it would be an easy choice for me. I would move nearly two counties north into a subdivision of a town that is sort of rural but not totally rural (You can still get cable internet, for example).

His response?

"Come on man, when I hear that someone wants to move to a place like that it means they want to get away from black people!"

Yeah, as if there are no minorities (which includes blacks) in this town that I referenced.

How about the actual reasons: All homes are on at least 1 acre of land, there is no HOA, and a house in this subdivision that goes for say 400K would probably cost close to 700K in a ritzy town that is nearby to my current location.

The guy said he was only joking, but really, are we so politically correct that everything said or written is just assumed to have a racial (or on some case sexist) undertone?

[TheHuckster]

Several years ago I was a manager at a firm, and there was a guy who simply didn't have the skills, talent, or intellect to really be a worthwhile employee. I couldn't fire him by myself (and doing so required a lot of red tape), and I spent a lot of time (far more than anyone else) mentoring him in a futile attempt to improve his work. In 6 months he showed no improvement at all while everyone else who started at his experience level improved vastly with far less mentoring.

At around 8 months he sent a major complaint accusing me and everyone else above him of singling him out due to his ethnicity. I hadn't even considered him ethnic, much less made bigoted actions upon him, and the big punchline is one of the managers he accused of bigotry was exactly the ethnicity he claimed to have.

Thankfully, thanks to that baseless accusation sent to exactly the wrong managers, he was finally given his pink slip. By that time I had really been pushing for his termination after showing my superiors his subpar productivity and that letter finally pushed them over the edge.

Fast forward nearly 10 years later and I have an acquaintance who has the misfortune of having him as a colleague. From how he's described the quality of his work, he hasn't improved at all and has blamed every challenge in his life on everyone around him who he claims persecuting his ethnicity.

Just because you're a certain ethnicity and you're getting flak on your job, doesn't mean the criticism is due to said ethnicity is what I'll say from this experience. If, throughout your entire career you've found major obstacles in one of the most progressive regions and progressive industries by everyone around you, chances are it has nothing to do with your skin color or where your ancestors were born.

[protege]

There are simply some people who will use "racism" as a crutch because they have no other excuse...and that particular crutch is *guaranteed* to get results. Think about it, nobody wants to be known as a "racist."

Those of us who live out on the suburbs of Pittsburgh get called "racist" on a daily basis. I'm sure that *some* people moved out there to get away from black people, but it's a very small minority.

I stay out there, because the taxes are lower. Schools are better, traffic (well, it still sucks balls) is slightly better, roads are better, etc. Er, did I mention that crime is much lower outside the city limits? I don't know about you, but I'd rather live in a neighborhood where you don't have to hear gunfire at night, and are less likely to be robbed while waiting for the bus.

No, we're all racists because we refuse to tolerate those things.

[TheHuckster]

There are simply some people who will use "racism" as a crutch because they have no other excuse...and that particular crutch is *guaranteed* to get results. Think about it, nobody wants to be known as a "racist."

Those of us who live out on the suburbs of Pittsburgh get called "racist" on a daily basis. I'm sure that *some* people moved out there to get away from black people, but it's a very small minority.

I stay out there, because the taxes are lower. Schools are better, traffic (well, it still sucks balls) is slightly better, roads are better, etc. Er, did I mention that crime is much lower outside the city limits? I don't know about you, but I'd rather live in a neighborhood where you don't have to hear gunfire at night, and are less likely to be robbed while waiting for the bus.

No, we're all racists because we refuse to tolerate those things.

What I find ironic is, thanks to better equality over the past few decades, the suburbs are becoming more diverse. I'm seeing more minorities moving to nicer neighborhoods outside of the inner city, and they're living there for exactly the same reasons as you are, and nobody gives a shit about it and welcome them with open arms.

So, the "race card" is not only incorrect, it's being downright disproven. I would even go as far as to say those who are throwing the race card are, themselves, racist for implying that only white people can move out of the inner city.

[MadMike]

Those of us who live out on the suburbs of Pittsburgh get called "racist" on a daily basis. I'm sure that *some* people moved out there to get away from black people, but it's a very small minority.

The same thing happens when someone mentions that they don't venture into Harrisburg anymore. I guess it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the sharp increase in crime in the city, or the fact that they recently jacked up the parking rates and increased the enforcement hours.

When someone tries to make it a racial thing when it isn't, I sometimes say, "I'm sorry, your race card has been declined."

[protege]

The same thing happens when someone mentions that they don't venture into Harrisburg anymore. I guess it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the sharp increase in crime in the city, or the fact that they recently jacked up the parking rates and increased the enforcement hours.

I've heard similar comments...and I've also been called a "fake Pittsburgher" simply because I don't go downtown unless I have to. There's very little down there, and parking is outrageous. Why exactly, would I bother driving all the way town there--through the construction fiasco on Route 51, pay through the nose...when I can simply stay out in the 'burbs, where we have the same stores and parking is free?

[Seshat]

It's not political correctness to have the undertone - political correctness is calling people out on the undertone.

Bad political correctness is calling people out on it falsely.

Having the undertone (genuinely) is bigotry.

[gremcint]

asked an african american classmate in highschool if he had change for a 5, he called me a racist.

[TheHuckster]

asked an african american classmate in highschool if he had change for a 5, he called me a racist.

Is it because Abraham Lincoln is on the 5? Or there's some stereotype that african americans tend to carry a lot of ones?

[Lace Neil Singer]

Lol, once at work a customer accused us of racism cuz we wouldn't let him cut the queue. I let my colleague, who is Asian, deal with him; he shut up pretty damn quick when he saw her. XD

[gremcint]

Is it because Abraham Lincoln is on the 5? Or there's some stereotype that african americans tend to carry a lot of ones?

He was just being an asshole and Lincoln aint on our 5 up here in snow land.

[TheHuckster]

He was just being an asshole and Lincoln aint on our 5 up here in snow land.

Ah, my bad. Forgot you were in Canada.

[HYHYBT]

Lincoln was an asshole? I never knew that.

[Gilhelmi]

Lincoln was an asshole? I never knew that.

I meet a truck driver (from the south) who went on a long rant about how much of an a**-hole President Lincoln was.

Took every bit of my strength not to laugh at him, too his face.