(no subject)

[shadowkat]

Before I try to sleep again. Doing a lot of hacking so putting it off.

1) I've no clue what is happening with British Royal Family at the moment.
Nor care. Except that Twitter keeps talking about mishaps of their publicity campaign, and that Kate appears to be missing in action. The difficulty with the internet is you can't avoid news you don't care about.

2.) As a result of brain fog...I've forgotten what I was going to say...

Comments

[brittdreams]

Estrangement is hard but he has seen firsthand what that would be like given the experiences of his mother...

Things so rarely feel to me like they're getting better, but that might be my own lens on the world.

[shadowkat]

I just remember when they were so much worse? The 1970s and 80s were not the best. I mean, all you have to do is watch some of the old television shows and films from that time period? Also the workplace and schools were more segregated in the 20th Century than they are now. The big difference is we have more access to misinformation now, than we did then? So it seems like things are the same or worse? But there are things happening in our culture that would not have happened back then. Hamilton - would not have been on Broadway in the 1980s or 90s, or before. We'd not have had Black Panther or Get Out in theaters. And we certainly wouldn't have had the number of same-sex couples in commercials. (They wouldn't let them hold hands or kiss in the 20th Century onscreen.) And that's kind of a big deal. Technology and streaming in a way has changed all of that. Also, Gen X, Gen Z and millenials are more "woke" or aware or open minded than the previous ones. So that, gives me hope at least.

[brittdreams]

Ah, maybe it's an age thing since I wasn't watching tv or films in the 70s and 80s, or even most of the 90s for that matter.

That said, schools segregation has been increasing for the past couple of decades ("Wikipedia has a quick summary". It's of course tied to housing segregation and redlining, but also the creation of new school districts by breaking off from larger ones. And we'll have to agree to disagree about Hamilton on Broadway being a net positive.

[shadowkat]

It may be? Just going by my own experience?

In the 1970s, it was a given that schools were segregated in places as far North as West Chester, PA. I remember when they were desegregated in 1978, and I was bused an hour or so away to another school. It was the first time I was with Non-White People in school (that's how bad it was), and I loved the Diversity (possibly the best experience I had in elementary was the desegregation). Then when we moved to Johnson County, Kansas in 1981, there were maybe five people of color at my school? I walked separately with two of them - one was Japanese-American, the other Indian-American. (Note Indian, not Native American). I didn't see any others in the school - it was about a school of less than 1000? We pretty much knew everyone. Or saw them. There were no Blacks in the neighborhood or school district at that time. But there are now. They've since redistricted it, and Blacks have moved into the area. I know this because of my brother - who's best friend still lives in the area, and the recent posts about my high school showing people of color speaking out about racism in the school. (There's still blatant racism, but it's marginally better than it was - when we were completely segregated.)

In College? There were maybe twenty-thirty POC in my college class, possibly a little more, I remember wishing for more diversity and how we fought for that. Now, there about 45% of the population. Then? maybe 5-10%? Also the professors? More diverse than it was then. In 1980s, we had maybe two? Now it's roughly half. Which is impressive - if you know what it once was.

Noticed this also with Congress and the Legislature. In the 20th Century, we would never have had a Black President, let alone a Female Vice President, or one who was a POC, with Kamala Harris' background. That would NOT have happened. We couldn't get any Woman VP in the 20th, and each time one ran - we knew the ticket would lose.

Commercials? There were no POC in commercials in the 20th Century, or rarely. No same-sex couples. Trans? They didn't talk about it at all. The media didn't show it. I knew because of friends.

Workplace? I work in a government agency in a liberal progressive state, and not until 2015, did it become widely diverse. Now the ratio in my department is about 50%/50% or 60%/40% Minority to White. In 2007-2010, it was 20%/80%. Same with management. In 2007, it was heavily white, with one Black manager (my boss). In 2020 - it's 50/50. Also predominately more female managers of color. Still toxic, just less racist and less toxic than before.

So, it has gotten marginally better. Nowhere where I want it to be. But still better.

[brittdreams]

I'm not here to dispute your personal experiences but I will say that they are not the same as mine. I was the only Black kid in class or one of 2-3 for my entire childhood. Undergrad and grad school were no different. I am typically one of the only Black women in my workplace, and that's been true everywhere I have worked full-time except McDonald's.

[shadowkat]

Thanks for sharing.

It may be industry, environment, and state related? I mean we aren't living in the same place or working in the same industry? And each one is different?

Because admittedly there's a huge difference between say working in New York City and Rochester, NY. Or working in Boston, and in Mobile, Alabama. Or working for a private college and a huge state university?

This is another thing that I'm not sure it's a good idea to generalize about - because so much is based on where, locality, etc. But I think we all want to? (shrugs) I know, I fell into that trap - in generalizing - and thinking that my experience was broader than I thought. I have a co-worker who was shocked by the racism she encountered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, she grew up in NYC and hadn't really encountered it to that extent. (She's a Black woman). Meanwhile my mother remembers when there were separate fountains for Whites and for Blacks - she grew up in Missouri and has always experienced segregation - she sees it in South Carolina.

It's as if we're all living in different countries - I think sometimes. But we think we're living in the same one.