[JPKab]

Take a walk through half of Baltimore, friend, and you will discover that you will get the shit kicked out of you for being white. Murdered? Hopefully not, but I can assure you that, while the old, racist, static power structures of the USA are oppressive towards non-whites, power is not a static thing. It shifts depending on where you are. When you are taking said walk in Baltimore, and become surrounded by people who don't like you because of your skin color, you don't have power anymore. They do. I know this first hand. When I was 16, I took a short cut through a neighborhood that I shouldn't have. I was chased, cornered, and beaten by 5 young men. They were black, and they were yelling white slurs as they beat me and then branded the back of my neck with a lighter. I still have that little smiley on the back of my neck to this day. They didn't rob me by the way. NONE of my money was taken. They didn't even touch my wallet. They didn't want a white person in their neighborhood. Your theory holds up because you, clearly, have never lived in a majority black neighborhood in your entire life. It's obvious by your stupid statement. And no, I'm not a racist. Most of the black folks I grew up with would never have tolerated such a thing. They would have stopped it if they had seen it, but they weren't there.

[sown]

He was wrong a couple of sentences but I think what OP is getting at is that the government has not and will not engage in a systematic apparatus of prejudice like Jim Crow laws, the radio-active half life of which stay with us for a long time.

So what about the rest of what he said?

> It's obvious by your stupid statement

There's no need for name calling. It's the lowest form of debate.

[anthonyb]

And now imagine the entire country was like that half of Baltimore? How would you feel then? You can at least avoid that area - they can't.

[ctdonath]

The entire country ISN'T like that half of Baltimore.

Most of the country doesn't give a shit what color you are so long as you don't start with a presumptive "you're a fucking racist!" attitude.

[ceol]

>Take a walk through half of Baltimore, friend, and you will discover that you will get the shit kicked out of you for being white.

Hey there! I'm a white guy who has taken walks through Baltimore before— in fact, all of Baltimore. What you're talking about isn't at all systemic like the shit the OP has to deal with. Yes, white people are victims of racially-motivated crimes. In fact, some of them are event prosecuted as hate crimes! But it's not systemic, so comparing it to white-on-black racism isn't fair.

[bryanl]

I've taken walks through Baltimore. Unfortunately an oppressed people will lash out at those who they think are oppressing them. You could have never performed any ill acts to those black men who beat you, but to them, you represent the reason why they think they can't get ahead. It's not right, but it is a reality.

Also, please don't support your views with the, "I have black friends" excuse. It doesn't help your cause.