Well, we've been here now since August and my husband and I agree that this is pretty much the most racist place we've ever seen.
The racism is so obvious in people, it's sad.
A man I casually chatted with the other day while our children were playing on the same playground exhibited some prime racist statements; he was telling me about "how much better" the city of Indianapolis is for families (WTF! there's NOTHING in Indianapolis! ..Except of course, lots of WHITE people!), and about "how safe" it is there (meaning; lots of white people)and how there is so much more to do downtown Indianapolis than there is downtown Cincinnati for families (nevermind all of the great Christmas festivities on Fountain Square! They don't count because there are black people present I guess).
He then proceeded to tell me that whatever I do, not to live in the city limits of Cincinnati; that there is conflict between the police and City Council, that there aren't enough police officers to fight crime there appropriately, etc. and so forth, and that I'll definitley be better off living in a suburb or in "any town in Northern Kentucky" because each city has it's own police force, own EMT's, own fire squads, etc. (of and there are only white people!) . He also made some sort of comment about how entitled blacks think they are and that whenever "they" have a problem "they" automatically blame it on the fact they are in fact black and are being discriminated against.
I quickly got myself away from this jerk.
My husband says that the white folks at his place of employement always refer to whomever it is they are referring to not just by his or her name, but they preface their statement with "you know that black (guy/gal) named ______...." WTF? What does the somebody's skin colour or ethnic background have to do with how you identify them? Seriously, something wicked this way comes!
But it gets even more severe. There was a patient who needed to be released. She had nothing but the clothes on her back, seeing as she was admitted as an emergent case in a fire. No house keys, no car etc. Her one relative could not come to pick her up that night, but could do so the following morning. So the social worker was going to release her anyways and send her to the homeless shelter for the night! Outlandish! Luckily for the patient, another staff member intervened, pointing out the fact that this woman was not homeless, she had a home she just didn't have transportation until the morning. 100% chance if this patient had been white the social worker would NEVER have thought to send her to the homeless shelter for the night! But she was black...when probed as to why on earth this would be an appropriate decision, the social worker replied that she "does this all of the time," . Whoa!
I wasn't here for the riots 5 years ago, but apparenlty that set off a serious case of "white flight" from the city limits. Apparenlty now Cincinnati has the lowest home ownership rate of any city in the country (yikes! I hope we don't become another Flint in 10 more years!), and the crime rate per 100,000 people has consistently gone up every year since the riots. The total number of murders is also on the rise, from 40 in the year 2000 up to 79 total murders in 2005.
Luckily for us, the city has set up a lot of programs to help people become homeowners. Let's pray that this year goes well for us, becoming homeowners in the City where Pigs Fly!
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14 comments:
I'm not going tosay that the people you were talkingto weren't racist. But what your taking as racist might just be part of the local dialect. I'm not racist but when I'm referring to a person who is black I might still say "that black guy that works at the post office" or something like that because it may be the easiest way to identify someone that the person I am talking to may not know. It doesn't mean I am racist for saying that though.
Wow, that's another part of the country you're living in, omg!. People don't talk like that here, move to Minnesota asap! LOL! I'd never identify someone by their race, I prefer to use their name. Call me strange, I guess!
yeah Dragonfly, it's just that the incident referred to was amongst an intimant group of staff members...there was totally no reason to identify each other by race!!!
Anyhoo that story was coming from my hubby...and he doesn't label someone racist etc. unless it's a serious situation.
Sorry I can't spell...intimate not intimant!
Oh and Salilah, yes I know Minnisota is great, my hubby Dervish (Life In Exile) hails from there.
rockin' hejabi...you've been tagged! See my blog for instructions. : )
Peace, Salihah
don't worry i can't spell either. If i had a dolalr for everytime i run my comments through a spell checker before i post them ;)
"So the social worker was going to release her anyways and send her to the homeless shelter for the night! Outlandish"
You know Los Angeles Hospitals are being SUED now for doing this sort of shit to patients (dropping them off wherever).
Very illegal
I read a portion of this blog entry at the Cincinnati Beacon and I thought I'd come over and say hi and welcome to Cincinnati.
Yeah, racism here can be a pretty bad but there a lot of good folks as well. This will happen and happen often so tell your husband to speak up next time. Things won't change until people see that outside Cincinnati, things like this aren't normal.
Good luck.
Hey there. here via the Erase Racism Carnival. I grew up in Cincinnati and still have people there. I know exactly what you are sayingin this post and have experienced some myself. I feel bad that my hometown is becoming such a crazy place... t any rate, hope you're able to avoid the insanity as much as possible.
aishhaalitch ya ex-guttariyya?
welcome back to the good ole USA
feel sad that this bullshit goes on and that the daft don't even recognize it as blatant smoldering racism.
and too many people from up north think all the racism'z down south. WAKE UP! it's EVERYWHERE in the whole freakin' country.
Salaam 'Alaikum
I visited some family in the general area you're in and was told that it wasn't safe for me to leave the house to go to the mall, on a walk, etc. alone b/c "well, they just burned a cross on that Black family's lawn last weekend, no telling what they'll do to you."
But as Lucky Fatima points out, you don't escape it anywhere... only the way it is expressed.
Welcome, Angryblack, luckyfatima, and S!
Wow, I'm honored to be selected as part of the blog carnival!
Lucky- you *ARE* lucky to be in Dubai! Shlonich? Shlok barich ya habibti? :)...Alhumdulillah, zayn here in KY although I'm aching for Qatar.
WOW S. I am stupefied that there is still cross burning happening...you'd think that it would only be in Mississippi...I guess it's *worse* here than there..at least down south they're aware they are racist and they tone it down at least in public, but folks around Cincy are sadly not even aware that their own views are in fact racist! They think they are legitimately calling things like they are when they say black people are bad employees bc they are always late and are lazy on the job etc. and so forth.
this all boils down to home training , racism is and always will exist if a black man doesnt say yessir or nosir he is considered unruly yet his white counterpart has norespect for life,liberty, or human rights yet they feel that nothing is wrong with theyre subliminal racist agenda {population control}
Doing research on Racism in Cincinnati and found your blog very eye-opening. As a non-typical black male, I am astonished how racism is played down when they find out that I am a business owner and can control their economic well being. I am also told that I am so articulate and well spoken - like that is a compliment. But as I do more research, I found out it is because the average white America does not hold an advanced degree and has limited exposure to other cultures. As a transplant to Cincinnati, I feel your struggles. Keep your head up.
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