Hate crime spike in Crown Heights?

lilbangladesh wrote: No I didn't. And if that was carelessly put, I apologize. It certainly wasn't my intention.

I'm well aware that blacks aren't always the aggressor in every situation. My best friend is a black truck driver and when he makes runs in the deep South, I get scared for him. God forbid his truck should break down in a bad area for him. Or in Martinsville, IN, for that matter, which he often has to pass through to get home.

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I think it's time to take a day off and get organized.

All right, I seem to have a talent for putting my foot in my mouth.

Can we agree that there are places in this country still, where it would be unsafe for a black truck driver to have his truck break down? I didn't mean to characterize all of the South as unsafe, but there are pockets.

Or lets talk about a pocket I *do* know about for sure: Martinsville, IN. They're famous for the fact that blacks and minorities are Not Welcome. Unfortunately, if you want to get from any point in the state down to Bloomington, all roads pass through Martinsville. My best friend's wife and kids are white. One time when the kids were small, he was driving them to Bloomington without his wife. The kids decided they had to pee Right Now, when they were passing through Martinsville.

"Can't you hold it for fifteen minutes? We're almost to Bloomington?"

"No, Daddy, we have to go NOW!"

So he had no choice but to stop in a diner in Martinsville, so they could go to the bathroom. You could have heard a pin drop in that diner when they saw a black man hustle four little white kids to the bathroom, all of them calling him "daddy". He thinks that the only reason why he got out alive was because he had the kids with him.

His wife told me the story and she was laughing. I said, "I don't think you appreciate the terror your husband went through."

I didn't bring up my best friend to say, "See, I'm not racist!" I brought him up to say, "Here is someone I dearly care about, who because of the color of his skin, may experience violence, and that concerns and worries me." And I do worry about him a lot.

Because of the convoluted history regarding race in this country, race is REALLY hard to talk about without being awkward or putting your foot in it somewhere.

I apologize to anyone I may have offended because no offense was meant.

That wasn't the part that didn't come off right! Funny story though.

filmlover44 wrote: That wasn't the part that didn't come off right! Funny story though.

Ok, I don't get it. What part didn't come off right? Keep in mind I've lived in NY almost my whole life and have never really been to the south.

caseopele wrote: [quote=filmlover44]That wasn't the part that didn't come off right! Funny story though.

Ok, I don't get it. What part didn't come off right? Keep in mind I've lived in NY almost my whole life and have never really been to the south.

i suspect that Sweet Tea and I saw two different things. It's not a big deal to me though, so let's forget about it.

hugs?

Sure, hugs all around! I still have no idea what's going on.

Yeah, we got off track somewhere. :oops:

Subject: Hate crimes

It's Dakotas way with entry challenges again.
My daughter went to Indiana University in Bloomington and I drove the route from Indianapolis to Bloomington many times stopping along the way. I never witnessed any of those "old south" attitudes and there were people of all colors along the way in that one hour drive from the airport. Not to say they don't happen. Bloomington's tag line is "Come out and Play with Us" because of the large gay population and I never heard of any altercations between the gay/straight population. I would think they would also tend to fall under people who could be harassed by the same people that would hate just because of color.
I'm sorry if your friend was treated unkindly by anyone anywhere, cause that's just not right.

lilbangladesh sure seems to be right about Martinsville:

http://tinyurl.com/36mkdr

Subject: hate crimes

Dakotas way again.
I stand corrected after reading these news stories, I guess.
I can't fathom how anyone could stand by the beliefs of the racists stated in those articles.

Oh, yeah, it's fine for minorities to drive THROUGH Martinsville.

Just REALLY unwise to stop.

The bad thing about Martinsville is because of their extreme views, it makes it hard for people in the surrounding areas. Like say, for high school sports. (You know, friendly intramural competition?) When Martinsville hosted a girls' basketball game against Indianapolis, they burned crosses on the outskirts of town so the mostly minority girls could see it as they came into town by bus. That's par for the course.

where is martinsville?

mr. met wrote: where is martinsville?

west of crown heights

good one

pitu wrote: [quote=mr. met]where is martinsville?

west of crown heights

mr. met wrote: good one

I'll be here all week.

Srsly, it's 740 miles west of Crown Heights, so at some level,
what does that have to do with the price of beans (or human life) on Franklin Ave?
We have "The Lounge" and "Brooklyn and Beyond" boards for non-neighborhood discussion. The great value of Brooklynian is the chance to talk to your neighbors about your neighborhood.

right. i just asked about it because other posters were talking about it.

pitu wrote: [quote=mr. met]where is martinsville?

west of crown heights
Is that anything like east of eden?