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Great piece. One thing I find interesting is, as white guy, I've had very similar experiences when living in the US south. I would often be the only white g

Great piece. One thing I find interesting is, as white guy, I've had very similar experiences when living in the US south. I would often be the only white guy in a store or on the street in certain areas - and felt like I didn't belong or fit in, and was treated differently. I got used to it over time, but it was still there. I don't at all equate my experience to how difficult it can be in the US to be a black person - MOST of the places I go that aren't in certain parts of the south are mostly white (I think the US is something like 70% white?) - it's horrible the prejudices non-white, and especially black, can encounter in the US. I DO wonder if, whenever an area is mostly one race, that if someone is not of that race encounters the same kind of thing.

bduerst 10y ago
I had a similar experience in Beijing some years ago, where I was treated as "the rich white guy" or "movie star" (but surprisingly not in Shanghai). It was annoying because I was a poor grad student at the time and the expectation to open my wallet for everything was frustrating. It's nowhere near what the author of this story has had to live with on a normal basis though, so racial biases do manifest all over the place, but in different ways with different levels of prejudice.
- x2398dh1 10y ago
  > the expectation to open my wallet for everything was frustrating Sorry that you had to go to grad school and pay for things over in China, rather than get more things for free like you had expected...life is tough some times.
resolaibohp 10y ago
I live in a very non white neighborhood. I have been told on more than one occasion from different people on the street that I am a "stupid white person", "This cracker needs to get out of here", "this cracker doesn't belong in my park". Recently some black kids got on the commuter train and walked the aisles and said things like "Look at all these stuck up crackers" I have been treated strangely in non white neighborhoods.
x2398dh1 10y ago
I am a white guy, but lived in an area of the US that is over 80% black. I did not feel what you are describing at all, so I would say no - it's more about how you view yourself in that situation.
- gregrata 10y ago
  shrug I guess you could say the same thing to the original author (it's just in your head). If you lived in a place that is 80% black, at least in the south, and have not run into a black person that is not very racist towards white people, then I'm not sure what to tell you - this wasn't really a "feeling"; it's what people said and how they acted towards me vs others. I actually get WHY as how THEY are treated by some white people, not that it makes it ok.

bduerst 10y ago

I had a similar experience in Beijing some years ago, where I was treated as "the rich white guy" or "movie star" (but surprisingly not in Shanghai). It was annoying because I was a poor grad student at the time and the expectation to open my wallet for everything was frustrating. It's nowhere near what the author of this story has had to live with on a normal basis though, so racial biases do manifest all over the place, but in different ways with different levels of prejudice.

x2398dh1 10y ago
> the expectation to open my wallet for everything was frustrating Sorry that you had to go to grad school and pay for things over in China, rather than get more things for free like you had expected...life is tough some times.

resolaibohp 10y ago

I live in a very non white neighborhood. I have been told on more than one occasion from different people on the street that I am a "stupid white person", "This cracker needs to get out of here", "this cracker doesn't belong in my park". Recently some black kids got on the commuter train and walked the aisles and said things like "Look at all these stuck up crackers" I have been treated strangely in non white neighborhoods.

x2398dh1 10y ago

I am a white guy, but lived in an area of the US that is over 80% black. I did not feel what you are describing at all, so I would say no - it's more about how you view yourself in that situation.

gregrata 10y ago
shrug I guess you could say the same thing to the original author (it's just in your head). If you lived in a place that is 80% black, at least in the south, and have not run into a black person that is not very racist towards white people, then I'm not sure what to tell you - this wasn't really a "feeling"; it's what people said and how they acted towards me vs others. I actually get WHY as how THEY are treated by some white people, not that it makes it ok.