How would you have felt if....

[Dj Pat]

It's 6.am in the morning, your on your way to work.
You switch over from the red to the brown @ belmont ave.
You sit down, ( mind you ) your the only black person on the train and there's a seat next to you that's empty, no garbage or anything in it, just an empty seat.
You notice that the train is getting pack with people going to work allso, but there all white.
The train get's pack with people, there's still a seat next to and and you notice people are raceing for them and yet, the one next to you is still empty.
You get up because your stop is next, after 6 stop's your's is next and you notice the people that was still standing are raceing to fill your old seat and the seat that was next to you.
So I turn around and said that I dont bite, you could have sat down 6 stop's ago yet you choose to wait till I get up and leave!?!?
She gave me this real funny look as if she knew that she was wronge. And the reason is that ive been going thru this with the same people for the last 2yr's.
Kind of make you look at people as they look at
You, and im not trying to be like them.
Dj Pat

[Mah'chew]

I have exactly the same problem, sometimes it feels like I might be imagining it, but at other times it really hits home.

I have learnt to deal with it now and even crack a smile now and again, after all their ignorance is my double seat :D

[ June 17, 2003, 11:26 PM: Message edited by: Mathius ]

[liL Ray]

Originally posted by Blue:
It's 6.am in the morning, your on your way to work.
You switch over from the red to the brown @ belmont ave.
You sit down, ( mind you ) your the only black person on the train and there's a seat next to you that's empty, no garbage or anything in it, just an empty seat.
You notice that the train is getting pack with people going to work allso, but there all white.
The train get's pack with people, there's still a seat next to and and you notice people are raceing for them and yet, the one next to you is still empty.
You get up because your stop is next, after 6 stop's your's is next and you notice the people that was still standing are raceing to fill your old seat and the seat that was next to you.
So I turn around and said that I dont bite, you could have sat down 6 stop's ago yet you choose to wait till I get up and leave!?!?
She gave me this real funny look as if she knew that she was wronge. And the reason is that ive been going thru this with the same people for the last 2yr's.
Kind of make you look at people as they look at
You, and im not trying to be like them.
Dj Pat WoW!!.....this is still happening....props to you for saying something....more props to you if you realize it is not you with the problem.

[Martin Red]

Perhaps all these people are feeling guilty for not giving Rosa Parks and other black people a seat for years.

It is strange in this day and age.

[ June 18, 2003, 07:12 AM: Message edited by: Martin Red ]

[imported_Gman]

Pat, is just your mind playing tricks on ya . Here's another example:

You walk down the aisle of a grocery store. Some white women who have left their purse in their carts quickly move back to their cart. Some even grab the purse out of the cart. Again your mind playin tricks on ya bro. :D

-G

[beaniboy67]

I am from Scotland and there is not many black people here in this country.When i hear things like this it makes my skin crawl to think that people would act like that.I probably could not begin to understand how this makes you feel or how you deal with it but all respect to you for standing up and saying how you felt.Where i live i would probably find it very intresting to sit next to a black person and conversate.Whether it be about the weather,the journey,work,whatever.This is probably because i come from a white community and find it intresting meeting people from other walks of life or other racial backgrounds.Many people do not think in this way and until they do horrible things like this will probably keep happening.I read many things on this board concerning race and how people are affected by judgements and ideas.I will never understand fully why these things happen but by coming on here i have certainly learned a lot more.

All i no is my family brought me up to respect anyone until they do something wrong to you.i could probably explain how i feel on these issues by the song

Ebony and Ivory.!! smile.gif

[imported_Gman]

Originally posted by Martin Red:
Perhaps all these people are feeling guilty for not giving Rosa Parks and other black people a seat for years.

It is strange in this day and age. http://deephousepage.com/smilies/lach.gif

[RX]

next time, kick your feet up in the seat next to you, pull out financial times and read and doze until your stop...you may even wanna call out a faint "thanks for the seat, guys"...

stay strong, bruh... graemlins/remybussi.gif

[Dj Pat]

Originally posted by Gman:
Pat, is just your mind playing tricks on ya . Here's another example:

You walk down the aisle of a grocery store. Some white women who have left their purse in their carts quickly move back to their cart. Some even grab the purse out of the cart. Again your mind playin tricks on ya bro. :D

-G icon_rofl.gif icon_rofl.gif icon_rofl.gif

[GROOVE VICTIM]

I say, fuggem!!!!!!!!!!

[Dj Pat]

Originally posted by Ms Rickey X:
next time, kick your feet up in the seat next to you, pull out financial times and read and doze until your stop...you may even wanna call out a faint "thanks for the seat, guys"...

stay strong, bruh... graemlins/remybussi.gif Thank's RX.
I still went thru that this morning, but then I shouldnt have took it so personal, it's there lost on being and knowing other human's.
Thank you all, graemlins/respekt.gif !
Dj Pat

[bigg donn a.k.a bigg donn]

You have to remeber that we live in the most racist city in the U.S.A!!! graemlins/mecry.gif Dr.King said that!!

[Huey P. Freeman]

I say **** em. The same thing happens to me on the metra. I catch the train in Northbrook into downtown and no one ever sits next to me. I love it I can relax, read my paper and listen to mixes on my headphones in peace.

[Jamie 3:26]

I lived in Naperville.I have almost gotten into fights with some of the white guys.I didn't use to have to worry about folks sitting next to me,unless they were desperate.

I used to be the only "real" brother on the trains.I would be the only brother on the car at times.Then to add me having a big ass fro,it intimidated them.

I had my own seat,when I was not riding with my wife,so I would sit across the seat and love it.I would smile at them and everything.

Let them be ignorant.Have a lil fun with it.Make a sign that says:This seat for rent.Ha!

[däp]

sorry to hear about your experience. one of the reason's i didn't move to the north side (of chi). some years ago i was planning to purchase a condo. when the owner realized i was black, he suddenly wanted 1/2 up front! the reality is he didn't believe i could qualify for a loan even though i was prequalified for way more than the value of the spot. walked away. found a better spot in hyde park, on the lake, for less.

f*ck 'em. i don't want to live in a place where i'm not welcomed. in this day and age, we don't have to live in non-black suburbia to get a better standard of living. there was a real nice peice on 60 minutes this week about atalanta. brothers are living very nicely out there.

chicago is still one of the most segregated cities in the country. not very progressive, racially speaking.

i'd put my damn feet up and open the paper "Black Enterprise"! out.

[ June 18, 2003, 11:35 AM: Message edited by: torin ]

[nev m]

The lady probably smelt anyway! If I'd been there I'd of certainly sat there (you'd have been thinkin' why does the nutter always sit by me!)

Seriously though it's there problem. I read that book by Studs Terkel that featured heavily on Chi town, and at some length about public transport. It's when you're in a close proximity to people, all jammed together you see what they're really like on the inside.

When somones giving me "the dirties" I can't resist keeping a fixed smile on my face, and staring right through them. They'll learn, and if they don't f**k 'em, and their bubble.

Keep smiling, and next time put your bag on the seat so they have to ask if they want a seat (make sure they say please too!)

[MusicFilter]

I'm one of the few brothers you see coming downtown on the Metra, but I experience this sometimes and I've always experienced this on the CTA.

I'm not menacing lookin'or anything like that, I'm usually G'd up in a well tailored suit.

Stevie Wonder's song from Hotter than July comes to mind, it's called "Cash in your Face". Listen and tell me if you are feelin' me?

It will never change, some people still think they are better than us.

[MusicFilter]

Originally posted by torin:
sorry to hear about your experience. one of the reason's i didn't move to the north side (of chi). some years ago i was planning to purchase a condo. when the owner realized i was black, he suddenly wanted 1/2 up front! the reality is he didn't believe i could qualify for a loan even though i was prequalified for way more than the value of the spot. walked away. found a better spot in hyde park, on the lake, for less.

f*ck 'em. i don't want to live in a place where i'm not welcomed. in this day and age, we don't have to live in non-black suburbia to get a better standard of living. there was a real nice peice on 60 minutes this week about atalanta. brothers are living very nicely out there.

chicago is still one of the most segregated cities in the country. not very progressive, racially speaking.

i'd put my damn feet up and open the paper on their asses "Black Enterprise"! out. Listen to Stevie Wonder's "Cash in your Face" it still rings true today. mad1.gif

[blackwax]

that sucks what the F**k is wrong with people

[Bill Blake]

I love it when no one sits next to me...more room for myself! **** em!

[däp]

i think f^ck 'em is the general concensus. graemlins/grinyes.gif

[ June 18, 2003, 01:12 PM: Message edited by: torin ]

[mdpm99]

Originally posted by Mathius:
I have exactly the same problem, sometimes it feels like I might be imagining it, but at other times it really hits home.

I have learnt to deal with it now and even crack a smile now and again, after all their ignorance is my double seat :D Greetings Mathius:

Brilliant!

graemlins/thumbsup.gif

d

[jsd540]

Originally posted by Gman:
Pat, is just your mind playing tricks on ya . Here's another example:

You walk down the aisle of a grocery store. Some white women who have left their purse in their carts quickly move back to their cart. Some even grab the purse out of the cart. Again your mind playin tricks on ya bro. :D

-G icon_rofl.gif I get that all the time, still cracks me up...

[mdpm99]

AFRICAN AMERICANS


A very humorous and revealing story is told about a group of white
people who were fed up with African Americans, so they joined together
and wished themselves away. They passed through a deep dark tunnel and
emerged in sort of a twilight zone where there is an America without
black people. At first these white people breathe a sigh of relief. At
last, they said. No more crime, drugs, violence and welfare. All of the
blacks have gone! Then suddenly, reality set in. The "NEW AMERICA" is not America at all-only a barren land.

1. There are very few crops that have flourished because the nation was
built on a slave-supported system.

2. There are no cities with tall skyscrapers because Alexander Mils, a
black man, invented the elevator, and without it one finds great difficulty reaching higher floors.

3. There are few if any cars because Richard Spikes, a black man, invented the automatic gear shift, Joseph Gambol, also black, invented the Super Charge System for Internal Combustion Engines, and Garrett A. Morgan, a black man, invented the traffic signals.

4. Furthermore, one could not use the rapid transit system because it's procurer was the electric trolley, which was invented by another black man, Albert R. Robinson.

5. Even if there were streets on which cars and a rapid transit system could operate, they were cluttered with paper because an African American, Charles Brooks, invented the street sweeper.

6. There were few if any newspapers, magazines and books because John Love invented the pencil sharpener, William Purveys invented the fountain pen, Lee Barrage invented the Type Writing Machine and W. A. Love invented the Advanced Printing Press. They were all, you guessed it, Black.

7. Even if Americans could write their letters, articles and books, they would not have been transported by mail because William Barry invented the Postmarking and Canceling Machine, William Purveys invented the Hand Stamp and Philip Downing invented the Letter Drop.

8. The lawns were brown and wilted because Joseph Smith invented the Lawn Sprinkler and John Burr the Lawn Mower.

9. When they entered their homes, they found them to be poorly ventilated and poorly heated. You see, Frederick Jones invented the Air Conditioner and Alice Parker the Heating Furnace. Their homes were also dim. But of course, Lewis Later invented the Electric Lamp, Michael Harvey invented the lantern and Granville T. Woods invented the Automatic Cut off Switch. Their homes were also filthy because Thomas W. Steward invented the Mop &Lloyd P. Ray the Dust Pan.

10. Their children met them at the door-barefooted, shabby, motley and unkempt. But what could one expect? Jan E. Matzelinger invented the Shoe Lasting Machine, Walter Sammons invented the Comb, Sarah Boone invented the Ironing Board and George T. Samon invented the Clothes Dryer.

11. Finally, they were resigned to at least have dinner amidst all of this turmoil. But here again, the food had spoiled because another Black Man, John Standard invented the refrigerator. Now, isn't that something? What would this Country be like without the contributions of Blacks, as African-Americans? Martin Luther King, Jr., "by the time we leave for work, Americans have depended on the inventions from the minds of Blacks."

Black history includes more than just slavery, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey & W.E.B. Dubois.

[Mack-Williams]

The only time I experience this is when I go shopping for clothes in some stores. I have to run down somebody for help while they be running to the white folks or they be stalking me like I am going to steal something.

[jsd540]

Originally posted by bigg donn:
You have to remeber that we live in the most racist city in the U.S.A!!! graemlins/mecry.gif Dr.King said that!! I don't know about that, I bet the problem is pretty evenly distributed. The US is one of the most racist societies ( hope I spelled that rite )

[Jamie 3:26]

Naw,Chicago is VERY segregated.It always has been.We are experiencing the second phase of gentrification now.They are dipersing the people of the projects wherever they can.Some folks do not even have a place to go.Tha tis prime real estate and the new selling point is:"Walk to work.."

Any area that is 10-20 mins. away from the downtown area is being transformed.So when these new properties go up,the propety taxes also go up for the local residents.They can't make their tax payements,the land is snatched from them.

I am tired of folks who didn't give a flying Phuck,come into hoods and want to kick everyone out and treat them like it's their fault they live in terrible conditions.

I get tired of seeing folks look at me like I am a damn alien.I get tired of being suspect,when I have a damn job.If I did not have a job,then those ladies should grab their purse.

Trust me,ain't much changed in Chicago.Some folks will not admit to it,but I am actually surprised there has not been any kind of event that just set folks off here.

[MusicFilter]

Originally posted by JAMIE 3:26:
Naw,Chicago is VERY segregated.It always has been.We are experiencing the second phase of gentrification now.They are dipersing the people of the projects wherever they can.Some folks do not even have a place to go.Tha tis prime real estate and the new selling point is:"Walk to work.."

Any area that is 10-20 mins. away from the downtown area is being transformed.So when these new properties go up,the propety taxes also go up for the local residents.They can't make their tax payements,the land is snatched from them.

I am tired of folks who didn't give a flying Phuck,come into hoods and want to kick everyone out and treat them like it's their fault they live in terrible conditions.

I get tired of seeing folks look at me like I am a damn alien.I get tired of being suspect,when I have a damn job.If I did not have a job,then those ladies should grab their purse.

Trust me,ain't much changed in Chicago.Some folks will not admit to it,but I am actually surprised there has not been any kind of event that just set folks off here. I'm surprised nothin' has jumped of too Jamie.
Daley is doing all he can to make this city into New York and I hate it. They are trying to get us out of the immediate city and out to the suburbs because suburbians are tired of the commute, so they are moving back into the city.

I'll always live on the South Side around "my people" because I know where they are coming from. The north side is my place for recreation and shopping, but I wouldn't want to live there.

[kev]

Walking down the street the other day. White couple in front of me holding hands. Their pace was pretty slow. I was catching up to them. Dude turns around and sees me. They keep walking at their normal pace. Black man walking on same side of street towards us. Couple walks to other side of street (their pace picks up suddenly as they're crossing the street). No cars driving on either side of road at the time. What do you all think about this? I was pretty heated about it.

Like KRS-1 once said, "Can we really have justice on stolen land?"

[Nege]

Originally posted by Blue:
It's 6.am in the morning, your on your way to work.
You switch over from the red to the brown @ belmont ave.
You sit down, ( mind you ) your the only black person on the train and there's a seat next to you that's empty, no garbage or anything in it, just an empty seat.
You notice that the train is getting pack with people going to work allso, but there all white.
The train get's pack with people, there's still a seat next to and and you notice people are raceing for them and yet, the one next to you is still empty.
You get up because your stop is next, after 6 stop's your's is next and you notice the people that was still standing are raceing to fill your old seat and the seat that was next to you.
So I turn around and said that I dont bite, you could have sat down 6 stop's ago yet you choose to wait till I get up and leave!?!?
She gave me this real funny look as if she knew that she was wronge. And the reason is that ive been going thru this with the same people for the last 2yr's.
Kind of make you look at people as they look at
You, and im not trying to be like them.
Dj Pat I am accustomed to this,
I usually have a bag or something with me.So I don't let it bother me and I put the bag in the empty seat next to me,
Sometimes, if you ocuppy the seat next to you with something ,as if to spite you, the same people ask you to move it so that they can sit.
i do absolutely nothing and let them stand.
after all thats what they wanted.........
now lets talk about hailing cabs at 4 in the morning.....................

[jsd540]

Originally posted by JAMIE 3:26:
I am tired of folks who didn't give a flying Phuck,come into hoods and want to kick everyone out and treat them like it's their fault they live in terrible conditions.

Oh boy I can't tell you how many people I have had this discussion with. My own father blamed his own people for the conditions of the neighborhood. The fact of the matter is that the neigborhood is always the last place to get any services.

Walk into any Project and you will find one maintenance person for 5 buildings. This does not happen below 96 th st. in NY, I wonder why ?

[Moksha]

I rarely see this happen in NYC...I think that New Yorkers have learned how to live together in tight quarters...though the tourists sometimes get nervous about anybody who's not white.

However, there are still those times when I see the seat next to the black guy being the last one to be filled. It's always very depressing to see how far society is from fairness. :(

On another note: the seat next to me on the bus always seems to be the last one filled. I don't smell, and I like to think that I look relatively respectable. In the morning, I don't look very friendly (it takes me a few hours of being awake to stop hating the world)...but I don't look very scary. Old people in Astoria are very nervous.

[jsd540]

Originally posted by Orion:
I rarely see this happen in NYC... :(

It is not as open as it used to be but it is still very much alive. :(

[RX]

chicago's segregation is not a problem...it keeps many, many cultures in tact and i am extremely grateful for it...the problem is a state of mind that still lingers from the old south and 40 years and a great, fantastic city is not gonna change it...plus, the area in which dj pat rode the el is known for its suburban immigrants...

chicago is NOT the most racist city...try detroit, where it's so damn racist that...that...well, let me just say "try detroit"...

how about my current city, harper woods, where there's a sever case of white flight even though the property value is shooting through the stars...

lay off of chi - it's a great city...

[liL Ray]

Originally posted by jsd540:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Orion:
I rarely see this happen in NYC... :(

It is not as open as it used to be but it is still very much alive. :( </font>[/QUOTE]Agreed...here in NY we will quickly cuss out a dumb fvck for this kind of behavior. I remember being in Chicago years ago and I cussed out some jackass who happen to be white for some dumbshit(not racial, just dumbshit) and most of the blackfolks looked at me like "we don't do stuff like that here"...I will always remember that...it was baffling to me and a little disturbing.

[Jamie 3:26]

Originally posted by Ms Rickey X:
chicago's segregation is not a problem...it keeps many, many cultures in tact and i am extremely grateful for it...the problem is a state of mind that still lingers from the old south and 40 years and a great, fantastic city is not gonna change it...plus, the area in which dj pat rode the el is known for its suburban immigrants...

chicago is NOT the most racist city...try detroit, where it's so damn racist that...that...well, let me just say "try detroit"...

how about my current city, harper woods, where there's a sever case of white flight even though the property value is shooting through the stars...

lay off of chi - it's a great city... Rickey you did touch on some good points,but we all know that things are changing.I guess I am experiencing gentrification for the first time as an adult and it's wierd to say the least.

[RX]

Originally posted by liL Ray:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by jsd540:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Orion:
I rarely see this happen in NYC... :(

It is not as open as it used to be but it is still very much alive. :( </font>[/QUOTE]Agreed...here in NY we will quickly cuss out a dumb fvck for this kind of behavior. I remember being in Chicago years ago and I cussed out some jackass who happen to be white for some dumbshit(not racial, just dumbshit) and most of the blackfolks looked at me like "we don't do stuff like that here"...I will always remember that...it was baffling to me and a little disturbing. </font>[/QUOTE]where in the HECK were you, dawg?
remember one thing: black folk in chi come from all over, so you cannot just say "blackfolks from chi" and us accept that...after all, southsiders eat harold's and westsiders eat coleman's and that sets us apart right there... ;)

[däp]

Originally posted by Ms Rickey X:
lay off of chi - it's a great city... great aesthetically. lot's of stuff to do especially if you've got loot. but segregated.

[MYOR]

Originally posted by Blue:
You get up because your stop is next, after 6 stop's your's is next and you notice the people that was still standing are raceing to fill your old seat and the seat that was next to you.
So I turn around and said that I dont bite, you could have sat down 6 stop's ago yet you choose to wait till I get up and leave!?!?
She gave me this real funny look as if she knew that she was wronge. And the reason is that ive been going thru this with the same people for the last 2yr's.
Kind of make you look at people as they look at
You, and im not trying to be like them.
Dj Pat [/QB]That was the best thing you could have done. graemlins/remybussi.gif You basically called them dumb ignorant jerk in a nice way... graemlins/thumbsup.gif And most likely made them realize how graemlins/stupid.gif they were.

[Dj Pat]

Personaly, i think that the only thing that change in chicago "is" the new building's.
Ive been here all my life, born and raised.
And to this day, the justice system in chicago still have victim's that's comeing out the woodwork's allmost every other month.
The police still stop you just to look in your pocket's and ask the age old question.."what are you doing around here"?
When white people are turning over car's it's called a disturbance, but if it's black it's an all out riot!
There more suburban white kid's on prozack than anything, but the only thing you hear on the new's all the time is a black child being killed by a drive bye. And the reason i say this is because the two story's are togather tragic, yet the chicago press feed on the "poor black child in the ghetto" when the two story's have equal price of provocative shame to them.
I love my city because it's my home, i just hate my neighbor's at time!
Dj Pat.

[SENSE MGMT]

Well I doubt it's a racist thing because it probably wasn't intentional. Probably prejudice because they were doing it subconcously as you said the lady gave a look like she knew it was wrong. Sometimes people are just insecure in themselves where they weren't brave enough to take that leap and sit next to you because the precedent had already been set a couple minute into it where noone took the seat. Humans are insecure creatures and you can't blame them for not being comfortable (As it was you were the only black person and stuck out therefore making them uncomfortable though at no fault of yours or theirs), just help them realise. ignorance and hate are 2 different things.

[Alanda Marquette from DiscoLadyLand]

When I encounter people like that, I either hold on to my purse when they get too close to me or hold my nose and make faces like they have a bad body odor graemlins/rofl.gif You would be amazed the confused look you'll get from that stupid person.

[Gojay]

Originally posted by DiscoLady:
When I encounter people like that, I either hold on to my purse when they get too close to me or hold my nose and make faces like they have a bad body odor graemlins/rofl.gif You would be amazed the confused look you'll get from that stupid person. graemlins/lol.gif

Thats a good ! I'm going try that one day.


speaking of which,I saw a young black man give up his seat to an older white lady and I wondered if she would do the same for him?

PEACE,
GOJAY

[So easy a protic can do it (QUAD)]

Originally posted by Jamie Lennox:
I love it when no one sits next to me...more room for myself! **** em! DITTO!!! 'SPECIALLY WHEN I'M IN THOSE EVIL "I DON'T WANNA BE SAT NEXT TO IN THE MORNIN" MODES, THEN I WILL SPREAD MY LEGS AS IF I WAS THE FATTEST PERSON ON THE BUS OR TRAIN. I LOST 50 LBS RECENTLY BUT HAVIN LONG LEGS GIVES ONE THAT ATVANTAGE WHERE EVERYONE ELSE COMING,WILL CONTINUE TOWARD'S THE BACK.