<p>I heard this too. I would expect such a large, Northeastern and relatively liberal city to be anything but racist. But I guess with such a large group of people, you're bound to find some racist folks. It's gotta be better than the South though.</p>
<p>it a different kind of racism than the south. in the south black and white people are pretty much of the same culture.</p>
<p>Maybe "segregated" is a more accurate term than "racist"?</p>
<p>I wouldn't say that any city in the Northeast like Boston is racist. The most racist cities are going to be the ones where there is only a small minority population. In the area where I live, there are virtually no black or Asian people, and I don't personally know any. It's hard for me to look at a black or Asian person and view them as an equal, simply because I'm not accustomed to seeing them. But just to make things clear, I'm by no means racist and I support equality for minorities.</p>
<p>I go to school in Boston, I grew up in a super gay community and went to an inner city school which was 40% black, so I consider myself to be pretty open-minded. I personally have never experienced any racism in Boston, although apparently there's some historical tension between blacks and irish immigrants which my roommate <em>swears</em> is still going on, but I don't really believe it.</p>
<p>I have experienced some homophobic remarks, but nothing extreme, no real blatant homophobia. I do think people could be slightly more conscientious about certain slurs and the use of "gay" as a synonym for stupid or bad.</p>
<p>I think it depends on who you surround yourself with. Also, I think it's less likely you'll have any problems with racism or ignorance when you're in a college setting. It certainly isn't something to really worry about when considering school in Boston.</p>
<p>I live near Boston... I don't think that Boston is racist at all. As others have mentioned, "segregated" is a better term. This is true for all cities- there are predominantly white neighborhoods, predominantly black neighborhoods... etc.
People from Boston are stereotyped as being cold, elitist, and reserved... but I don't think that this is necessarily true. Perhaps Bostonians do tend to keep to themselves, but that doesn't mean that they are unkind or cold. I personally think that this is an unfair stereotype, and I've barely noticed this type of behavior.
If the incidents that you were referring to WERE the Boston bus riots, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. That happened in the 70s, and the racial tension that existed during that time period certainly doesn't exist now. From my experience, Boston is a very tolerant city...
FINALLY, keep in mind that Boston is famous for being a "college town." There's GOING to be diversity.</p>
<p>All and all... Boston is NOT racist. The people ARE nice. I'm sure that if you decide to go to a Boston school, you'll find that you love the city. =)</p>
<p>I think South Boston has a reputation for being predominantly White, low class, gritty, and prejudiced. </p>
<p>But I'd have a hard time believing that Cambridge was racist or anything.</p>
<p>since you'll be in college in boston, you'll probably end up surrounded by a lot of people who aren't from boston at all anyway, and you most likely won't spend much time in the 'worse' neighborhoods. i live in a suburb of boston, but the more time i spend in the city proper, the more i love it. i think people tend to be pretty nice-- nicer than nyc in my experience, which has a much more...standoffish? vibe.</p>
<p>Boston</a> Brahmin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>
<p>==
Boston is probably one of the most liberal cities in the country (the only city I know that's more liberal is Berkeley where Nader beat Bush in 2000). There seems to be a stereotype with liberals being elitist but not necessarily racist.</p>
<p>nbachris, I don't think you described Southie very well, perhaps a little too harshly. South Boston was basically the projects for white people a long time ago, and while there are still areas of it that are poor, I really don't think its like that any more. A lot of Irish immigrants settled there, and so there were and still are a lot of white, Irish Catholics living there, but to call it "low class, gritty, and prejudiced" is a little extreme.</p>
<p>Boston does have a reputation for being racist (and it is one of the more segregated cities).</p>
<p>
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I like the connection to Mark Wahlberg's character
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Speaking of Wahlberg, he and his buddies were known to attack minorities. Wahlberg and some of his friends beat up an Asian guy (he was beaten so badly that he lost an eye).</p>
<p>
[quote]
The most racist cities are going to be the ones where there is only a small minority population.
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</p>
<p>Actually, racism is more prone to be found in places w/ significant minority presence (a few minorities dont pose any threat).</p>
<p>I have a no. of black friends who grew up in Boston went away to college and grad school and refuse to ever move back to Boston (they have found NYC and DC to be friendlier cities).</p>
<p>what part of boston did your friends live in?</p>