3 ms·

Europe often has a different manifestations of racial issues, in my experience. Some feel that racism there isn't so cloaked and ingrained in the culture, see [

Europe often has a different manifestations of racial issues, in my experience. Some feel that racism there isn't so cloaked and ingrained in the culture, see [1] for example. It was in Austria that I, a black guy, along with 2 white American guys, were stopped and interrogated by police in one of the large public parks. They peppered us with a whole bunch of questions of who we were, where were our papers, where were we coming from, where were we going, etc., before letting us leave. As a black dude, my instinct when released from the cops is to non-threateningly disengage as quickly as possible. But one of my white buddies asked the cops why they had stopped us. One cop told us point blank that there were a lot of black guys dealing heroin in the parks, and they wanted to make sure I wasn't up to no good. It's kind of darkly comical, but I'm pretty sure if you had snapped a photo of us at the moment, you'd have seen two white dudes with their jaws agape and who knows what my face looked like. I remember clearly feeling a mix of feelings. Sure, I felt some anger and annoyance at being hassled simply because I was black. I felt embarrassed for being the reason my buddies were also hassled. Mostly, I was just like, "wow, I can't believe they admitted that". In a small way, it was a vindication of all the times I had felt marginalized because of my race, but couldn't say for sure. And as racism is so hard to explain to non-minorities, I was kind of thankful my two friends were there to witness it. Quite frankly, their minds were blown. [1] http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/black-body-re-reading-james-baldwins-stranger-village http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/black-body-re-rea...

sampo 12y ago
A lot of European countries (UK and France being exceptions) have almost zero black population who are in the middle or upper class. Most of the small black population they have are recent, and sometimes illegal, immigrants from Africa.
notastartup 12y ago
I don't know what to say. You absolutely did not deserve that kind of treatment. It's very disappointing to hear even a big economy like Austria is this backwards in terms of races. I think even though this article highlights that racism transcends wealth and status I also feel like there's a strong voice,view from Americans in general of being aware and against racial prejudice where as in other countries there's not even such awareness, rather racial profiling is the norm. It's appalling.
- acjohnson55 12y ago
  Yeah, but it's weird. That awareness leads to a more humane society on the surface, which I think is a great thing. But the racism itself doesn't evaporate; it condenses into more subtle and coded forms. Racial issues continue to perpetuate a stark opportunity divide between minority groups and white folks, and as minorities, it's a constant struggle to convince society as a whole that there are real systemic problems unbalancing the playing field, requiring real systemic solutions to address them.
  - notastartup 12y ago
    you said it. it's hard out here for minorities. unless we are absolute best and stand out, we won't get treated as equals. sad, but i think this is why so many minorities are so driven to succeed, especially immigrants.

sampo 12y ago

A lot of European countries (UK and France being exceptions) have almost zero black population who are in the middle or upper class. Most of the small black population they have are recent, and sometimes illegal, immigrants from Africa.

notastartup 12y ago

I don't know what to say. You absolutely did not deserve that kind of treatment. It's very disappointing to hear even a big economy like Austria is this backwards in terms of races. I think even though this article highlights that racism transcends wealth and status I also feel like there's a strong voice,view from Americans in general of being aware and against racial prejudice where as in other countries there's not even such awareness, rather racial profiling is the norm. It's appalling.

acjohnson55 12y ago
Yeah, but it's weird. That awareness leads to a more humane society on the surface, which I think is a great thing. But the racism itself doesn't evaporate; it condenses into more subtle and coded forms. Racial issues continue to perpetuate a stark opportunity divide between minority groups and white folks, and as minorities, it's a constant struggle to convince society as a whole that there are real systemic problems unbalancing the playing field, requiring real systemic solutions to address them.
- notastartup 12y ago
  you said it. it's hard out here for minorities. unless we are absolute best and stand out, we won't get treated as equals. sad, but i think this is why so many minorities are so driven to succeed, especially immigrants.