What is with the RACISM within various immigrant cultures? "I won't vote for a black man"

I live in Los Angeles. I just got the shock of my life
while visiting the corner market just now...
The clerk, a young Syrian in his twenties, and I were
chatting- he has been a citizen for four years and
always plays the BEST music in the store when
he is working. I asked him if he planned to watch
the Obama broadcast tonight. He went off on a tirade
about the terrible things that would happen if a "black" person
were elected as our president. In short, that the black
people in this country were going to come after the rest of us.

He is also against McCain and said he simply wasn't going to
vote. I told him it was his duty as a citizen to vote. He said
if he did vote, he would vote against the "black" man.
I told him to stay home.

Here in Los Angeles, the racism is really disturbing to me.
We have more gang members than any city in the
United States.
Armenian gangs, Latino gangs, African American gangs,
Skinhead gangs, Vietnamese gangs- you name it, we got it.

They all hate each other and routinely beat, shoot and
harass each other.

Trouble is, the racism isn't simply a "gang" thing, it is
CULTURAL. The hatred of the "other" is taught at home.
As I witnessed tonight in my young Syrian friend.

You know, I always thought immigration was a GOOD thing.
These days I'm not so sure.

Not when the people coming here foster such hate towards
people who are not "like them."

I think it is a slap in the face for those who fought for
equality through out our history as a nation.

I don't welcome immigrants who bring more racism to
our country.

We've had plenty with out them.

Sorry, I just had to vent.

BHN

where people are born, and the culture they are raised in..just like here. They learn to hate a certain people for wrongs real or imagined. Then there are the real battles over the piece of the pie. Everyone thinks someone else is going to take it from them, because there isn't enough to go around.

is that Americans are somehow uniquely racist. In fact, racism is a world-wide phenomenon. In America, the races are thrown together much more than in most countries, so that leads to more open conflict sometimes, but it also leads to people overcoming their prejudices in time. It is only to be expected that immigrants will bring their biases with them. It has always been that way.

Japan is obsessive about heritage ... and families that, way back in history, were relegated to the menial (dirty) occupations are still regarded as 'lower class.' Folks with Chinese or Korean ancestry are also regarded as 'lower class.' And gaijin ... westerners ... really never find equal acceptance. In Viet Nam, the ethnic Chinese were treated similarly to the Jews of Eastern Europe in the 19th century. The tribal people (from the Hmong to the Montanard) were treated as 'other' ... and only the ethnically 'pure' Vietnamese were regarded as upper class. (Some of that was the result of colonialism, of course.) Latin America is rife with discrimination towards indigenous people with a continued colonial bias in favor of Spanish family lineage.

nt

AND they vote conservative too. People are people no matter where they come from.

are too lazy and unmotivated to vote. The gang members are too busy being full-time wastes of oxygen.

On edit: OOPS, this came out wrong. Gang members >>>> too lazy, unmotivated
Recent immigrants >>>> not yet voters

What I mean is, I think it is present in all cultures. Some just tolerate it more than others. For many years racism was not only tolerated in the U.S. it was the norm. Other countries are where we were 50-100 years ago as far as race relations. When those people immigrate to the U.S. they bring those feelings with them.

I work with kids and I see it on a daily basis.
It sickens me, the things they say and do to one another.

There is so much hatred in this country right now.
Makes me want to move to a cave and become a recluse.
Just me and my fur people- and my kid of course.

BHN

...but abhor the thought of civil rights for homosexuals. As in shared partner health insurance, marriage, death benefits, etcetera.

What's good for the goose ain't good for the idiot gander sometimes.

Not all mind you but enough to make me gag.

there are homosexuals that are just as racist, too.

it's weird, isn't it?

I live in a very racially mixed neighborhood, which I love, but sometimes my jaw drops at things I've heard the different minorities say about each other.

I think it comes down to the same types of people in any race, ethnicity, religion or culture, who must bring people down in order to feel any kind of self-worth. Accepting a common struggle would be admitting they're part of an underclass.

The objectification of human beings -- treating others or ourselves as a means to an end instead of an end in ourselves -- is the fundamental ethical flaw. We are not commodities. Our labor is NOT a commodity. We are ALL unique and special ... all part of the human family. We are OF nature not ABOVE nature -- OF the earth not above the earth.

When we can get that through our thick skulls, we'll have finally made some progress.

Anarcho-Syndicalist commune where I live. We take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week, but all the decisions of that officer
have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs.

;) :hi: