<p>Who doesn’t love the Mosaic? I love my Canadian side of the family. Much less uptight than a lot of people a little bit farther south.</p>
<p>Perhaps instead of comparing the U.S. to other countries, it might help international students to hear a bit about what kind of racism does exist in the U.S., and how it tends to manifest itself.
In my opinion, as an white male American from the South who grew up in the 60’s and 70’s, there is much less racism in this country, including in the South, than there was even a few decades ago. If your impression of race relations in the U.S. is based on movies from thirty years ago, you will have a false impression. Especially in urban areas, there is much more racial diversity in many settings, and interracial couples are fairly common. There is relatively little institutional racism (i.e., limits on jobs and educational opportunity). All that being said, there is still a substantial amount of more subtle racism, and you will find some areas and communities where the racial divide is greater. Many Americans are still not that familiar with people from other countries, so you may find a fair amount of stereotyping. I think there may be more bias against Muslims and Arabs than a few decades ago, and probably less against some other groups. In general, I don’t think that international students in most academic settings are going to find that the U.S. is a morass of racism.</p>
<p>1of42, nice try there, but Canada’s Governor-General is NOT an elected position, she or he is hand-picked by the Prime Minister, who has always been a white male (except for a brief stint by a disgraced woman).</p>
<p>You can’t measure a place’s racism based on how racially diverse it is. If you have 100 ethnic groups living in 100 segregated neighborhoods that doesn’t make your city the least racist, although it may be the most multicultural. The best test of a society’s racial integration is how common and accepted interracial marriages are, because it shows that people can reach across skin pigmentation barriers and see others for what type of person they are.</p>
<p>I am in high school and I am Half Brazilian and Half Italian… </p>
<p>I have a question about racism to all the americans (because i am thinking to apply for colleges there)but to be honest I am scared </p>
<p>I am not black, but i am not white, (I know a lot of people are probably laughing but well i guess i have to ask) i am miw colors i guess do you think people will think i am mexican and i will have problems. </p>
<p>I do have good scored in school i am not scared of not getting accept but of the people</p>
<p>i’m not american, but i’d recommend you just to go a bit through this thread, check out what has been said and calm down…</p>
<p>The other thing to think about is that culturally, the United States is pretty much multiple countries. You might get a different experience in New York than Washington or California or Alabama.</p>
<p>I am not an American either, but I agree with Son of Opie.
Your experience will vary depending on part of US you go.</p>
<p>And depending on the specific town or college, you might have a better experience in Alabama than in New York.
I would add that it’s my impression that international students probably face fewer problems than home-grown American minorities do, with the possible exception now of Muslims.</p>
<p>How about the mid-west…Illinois in particular?</p>
<p>Doesn’t seem that bad from where I am in St. Louis, although Illinois outside of Chicago isn’t real diverse…</p>
<p>Hi eb44,</p>
<p>In America there is something called the “one-drop rule”. This means that if you are a mixture of black and white, then you are automatically Black, no matter how light your skin color is. If they can see that you have “African” ancestry in you, then you will be considered as Black as anyone else.</p>
<p>Not that having a drop of “black blood” is a bad thing, but you will get racism from both Whites (i.e. for non-North Americans, the “pure” Whites) and Blacks (i.e. for non-North Americans, mixed black/whites). You will be expected to act and dress a certain way, be anti-intellectual, and disrespectful to authority. To clarify, being Black doesn’t make you this way, but both White and (most) Black people have this expectation that you will be like that, due to racism.</p>
<p>You might be able to get away from the stereotypes by maintaining a foreign accent and foreign way of culture and dress, but if you ever plan on assimilating, being of mixed “African”/“European” race will inevitably lead to racism. That is, you’d better stop listening to rock and start listening to hip-hop, and you’d better learn how to speak with an African-American accent and not a General American one, otherwise both Blacks and Whites will see you as being “too White” (whether or not more than 50% of your ancestors are of “European” race).</p>
<p>Is that how it is in Virginia?</p>
<p>Does that rule apply to mix of Asian/White, too? </p>
<p>Only then you’re viewed as full Asian by Whites, but Asians will see you as White? And you’d be expected to get all studious and be good at math and sciences…?</p>
<p>First, there’s no place in the world where racism and discrimination doesn’t exist. How you deal is the important matter. If you just listen to what is being said to you, believe me, they (racists) will only get encouraged. Make your stand.</p>
<p>If no body has your back, you gotta move your back---msn.com</p>
<p>Son of Opie, you must be delusional if you don’t realize that this is the truth all over America.</p>
<p>In St. Louis, can you tell a Black person’s voice from a White person’s? If you can, then racial division still exists.</p>
<p>Go to Brazil and tell people that Barack Obama is Black, and you will be laughed at.</p>
<p>America is the only country where a White woman can have a Black child, but a Black woman can’t have a White child.</p>
<p>boho_girl, Asian/White mixes don’t follow the one-drop rule. They can fully assimilate into American society, and at worse be called “exotic-looking” but “normal”.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=vicente]
1of42, nice try there, but Canada’s Governor-General is NOT an elected position, she or he is hand-picked by the Prime Minister, who has always been a white male (except for a brief stint by a disgraced woman).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>First, I never said she was elected. Second, since the post was obviously a joke, nitpicking it was and is a waste of your time.</p>
<p>How do you recognize one person from another over the phone as compared to another? Because they sound different.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=vicente]
Asian/White mixes don’t follow the one-drop rule. They can fully assimilate into American society, and at worse be called “exotic-looking” but “normal”.
[/quote]
Even if it’s Indian/Caucasian mix in whch child has a darker skin (than regular “white”)? As long as you don’t have African traces (no matter how dark you are, like being Hispanic or southeast Asian), you don’t encounter racism much?</p>
<p>Yeah, Im from India…but everyone really thinks I look Hispanic/Spanish…would that count??</p>
<p>1of42, sarcasm doesn’t work well over the Internet.</p>
<p>SonofOpie, I am talking about the voices of strangers.</p>