Racial Tension in SC Still High. FL Too.
Posted: Tue, 29 Sep 2015 00:30:05
I have been to Florida several times a year for several decades. Before the murders at the Emanuel AME Church, I never felt uncomfortable strolling around "most parts" of the South. Even during the whole Travon Martin shooting aftermath. Obviously, there are tough neighborhoods in every state. Can't use those as the benchmark. Most places are... or at least had been... pretty friendly.
I don't know how often you guys get down south, but I just came back from Florida and racial tensions are still really high in the Southern states. There is no way I could possibly tell you the hateful and crazy stuff that happened to me on the streets of St. Pete FL without Rick deleting my thread. Holy crap! The crazy part was, twice I was at the same restaurant. I did what I could to just ignore it or defuse it, but at least two of the encounters, I was afraid it was going to escalate from verbal to physical.
I just lost a loved one and simply didn't have it in me to drive all the way to VA from Florida. I stopped for a full day in Florence SC, got a hotel and just relaxed a bit. Man, I was feeling pretty nervous. All the stores and businesses we visited, we were threated excellent. At the hotel, same thing. Great customer service. The woman working there knew we slept in and missed breakfast, so she offered to make us a breakfast.
That said, people crawling the streets were giving us horrible looks. A few people yelled racial slurs. One old guy sped up and tried to hit me with his car while I was walking through a parking lot. I yelled at him after I dodged out of the way, between a few other cars. Now that I think of it, I'm glad I declined breakfast. After how the rest of the day went, I almost wonder if there would have been some extra special seasoning in breakfast... if you know what I mean.
Damn glad I carry. I don't know if the feelings are the same here in VA, but the folks in the Black community are just doing a better job of hiding it or what, but I sure as hell plan on being on my toes a bit more. Even while I'm here in VA.
Be safe out there folks.
I don't know how often you guys get down south, but I just came back from Florida and racial tensions are still really high in the Southern states. There is no way I could possibly tell you the hateful and crazy stuff that happened to me on the streets of St. Pete FL without Rick deleting my thread. Holy crap! The crazy part was, twice I was at the same restaurant. I did what I could to just ignore it or defuse it, but at least two of the encounters, I was afraid it was going to escalate from verbal to physical.
I just lost a loved one and simply didn't have it in me to drive all the way to VA from Florida. I stopped for a full day in Florence SC, got a hotel and just relaxed a bit. Man, I was feeling pretty nervous. All the stores and businesses we visited, we were threated excellent. At the hotel, same thing. Great customer service. The woman working there knew we slept in and missed breakfast, so she offered to make us a breakfast.
That said, people crawling the streets were giving us horrible looks. A few people yelled racial slurs. One old guy sped up and tried to hit me with his car while I was walking through a parking lot. I yelled at him after I dodged out of the way, between a few other cars. Now that I think of it, I'm glad I declined breakfast. After how the rest of the day went, I almost wonder if there would have been some extra special seasoning in breakfast... if you know what I mean.
Damn glad I carry. I don't know if the feelings are the same here in VA, but the folks in the Black community are just doing a better job of hiding it or what, but I sure as hell plan on being on my toes a bit more. Even while I'm here in VA.
Be safe out there folks.
