Use of the N-Word and Racism at Clemson
- Thread starter EZTiger1997
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When we learn to worship together and integrate worship styles and become a community of believers together, we can alleviate much of this mess.
Not as different as you would think. I’m half black but I literally don’t look black at all. Heard hard r’s for a total of maybe 5-10 times my 4 years at Clemson hanging with different friends of friends. I was last at Clemson 2016 btw.
It does, but Southern culture is different. Not more or less racist, but different. No one in CA gives a shit about the Civil War. Whites and Blacks don't live as closely together as they do in the South. It's different. I never implied better. Don't look for slights where they are not.
The most overt racists I personally saw/interacted with at Clemson were from Philly and Jersey.
Because the point needs to be belabored. Racism needs to be discussed. You need to discuss it with people of your race of and of the other race.
I never will forget, this guy I hardly knew in one of my classes, approached me after class and just out of the blue tells me how much he hates n*******. My jaw about hit the ground. I said something like “what.” This is his response,”Yes sir, I was raised to be a racist, my daddy raised me that way. They ain’t like us.”
This was a profound moment in my life because 1. I was so young and “green.” 2. I had never, at least to my knowledge, been that close to a pure racist.
He truly meant every word he said and said it with pride. I can truly say I’ve never been around someone like him to this day, and I hope I never do again.
Kind of an aside but when I was at Clemson David Duke visited the Strom Thurman center (was brand new) when he was running for prez in 1988. A bunch of people came out to see what would happen. Bunch of students there all throwing insults at him. I don't remember there being many (if any) David Duke supporters.
Like cutiger97, I travel quite a bit. Could you please provide an explanation of all the rioting and protests in large non-southern cities? I find your narrative of the widespread racism in the deep south vs. the rest of the country an oversimplification if not possibly outright exaggerated based on past stereotypes.
The most racist people I've ever met in my life are from Ohio and it's not even close.
I graduated from Clemson in 1997.
And yes, there was certainly a "group culture" on the campus during that time regarding race. But, people generally did get along.
The mid 90s, though, was a dark time at Clemson mainly due to sexual assault allegations made against football players and the fallout from those cases. I'm sure that situation had something to do with the fragmentation that existed in the student population at the time.
The only time I remember hearing anyone use "that word" was on the day of the O.J. Simpson verdict. I was walking to an English Lit class that afternoon immediately after the verdict. I was walking from the Shoeboxes to Jordan Hall, I think that's where my English Lit class was. On that walk I heard it uttered about four or five times, usually in association with the O.J. verdict being mentioned as a travesty of justice.
My girlfriend at the time happened to be black. We would get stared at a little longer than normal when we would hang out on campus, and off-campus. But, nothing too overly weird beyond that. I remember one night on the way back from a movie, we kissed for about 15 minutes in the yard of John C. Calhoun's house.. I told her that John C. was probably doing back flips in his grave...
We laughed. She was a great person. A Chem E major and one of the smartest people I've ever met. And very pretty.
I hope that she is doing well today.
And yes, there was certainly a "group culture" on the campus during that time regarding race. But, people generally did get along.
The mid 90s, though, was a dark time at Clemson mainly due to sexual assault allegations made against football players and the fallout from those cases. I'm sure that situation had something to do with the fragmentation that existed in the student population at the time.
The only time I remember hearing anyone use "that word" was on the day of the O.J. Simpson verdict. I was walking to an English Lit class that afternoon immediately after the verdict. I was walking from the Shoeboxes to Jordan Hall, I think that's where my English Lit class was. On that walk I heard it uttered about four or five times, usually in association with the O.J. verdict being mentioned as a travesty of justice.
My girlfriend at the time happened to be black. We would get stared at a little longer than normal when we would hang out on campus, and off-campus. But, nothing too overly weird beyond that. I remember one night on the way back from a movie, we kissed for about 15 minutes in the yard of John C. Calhoun's house.. I told her that John C. was probably doing back flips in his grave...
We laughed. She was a great person. A Chem E major and one of the smartest people I've ever met. And very pretty.
I hope that she is doing well today.
I wasn’t looking for a slight. Things can be easily misinterpreted on a forum like this and I’ve had people telling me how bad the south is my whole life. “Back in New York this is how do things, etc., etc.”
As far as the civil war, it is a huge part of our history in S.C. and not in California. But I understand your point. I do think it is very important to acknowledge the past here if you want to understand why some things are the way they are.
Being from Ohio, living here now, but married to a South Carolinian, I think a big difference is that there are not monuments and buildings everywhere dedicated to the Confederacy in the North. That's a pretty big one.
Also, the racism in the South tends to be of the "keep people in their place" variety. It's way more institutionalized in the South.
There are definitely tons of racists in both places, the way it manifests is just different.
--Mr. DT
Also, the racism in the South tends to be of the "keep people in their place" variety. It's way more institutionalized in the South.
There are definitely tons of racists in both places, the way it manifests is just different.
--Mr. DT
Dude. There’s widespread racism in the Northeast, the Midwest (especially MN/WI,) California.....I’ve lived in GA my whole life and some of the most racist people I’ve ever known were from NY/MA/NJ
I am aware that there is widespread racism everywhere
But you can't admit it's probably more popular in the south? Seriously?
Atlanta
I saw it at Clemson. I physically fought fraternity brothers of mine because they didn't want to let any black kids in. It shocked me then and it still does
I moved to Denver 2 years ago and boy, when you get out of the south, you realize just how prevalent it is in the southern culture
Fraternity guys are assholes. I was in a fraternity so I can say that. Are you in a fraternity in Denver?
I just moved back from Denver and can't honestly say that the only difference in that regard I noticed was there were just less black people in general and when you went into the sticks, there wouldn't be Confederate flags in anyone's yards like here haha
Although I will say that while I was in the Navy, the only person I ever heard use the N-word was a redneck from rural Colorado.
I’m saying you were hanging around a bunch of dumb fraternity guys in Clemson. You clearly aren’t in Denver. Those arent two good comparisons. I’m sure there are some racist assholes in Denver as well. Ever seen Blackkklansman?
When I first got to college, I wasn't used to things being as mono-chrome (or, really, di-chromatic, but I believe only 5% of students were black in the mid-2000s) as they were there because where I grew up was really diverse. But I don't think Clemson is unique in that regard.
I don't think I ever personally encountered any overt racism. The only things I thought were awkward were walking through the crowd of people tailgating for the Hank Jr. concert my freshman year before the UGa game with my black friend and there being Confederate battle flags all over the place, and then at basketball games people would get all excited for the white walk-ons but not the black ones. I was told second hand that a guy on the baseball team who went on to play in the pros stopped seeing a girl I knew because he didn't like that she had slept with a black guy on the team (who also went on to play in the pros). The way it was told to me, he was less upset that she slept with somebody else than that he was black. He was from Wisconsin, though.I was also told second hand that one of the sororities would immediately take anybody "ethnic" out of consideration during rush. To be honest, though, she was just really promiscuous.
I don't think I ever personally encountered any overt racism. The only things I thought were awkward were walking through the crowd of people tailgating for the Hank Jr. concert my freshman year before the UGa game with my black friend and there being Confederate battle flags all over the place, and then at basketball games people would get all excited for the white walk-ons but not the black ones. I was told second hand that a guy on the baseball team who went on to play in the pros stopped seeing a girl I knew because he didn't like that she had slept with a black guy on the team (who also went on to play in the pros). The way it was told to me, he was less upset that she slept with somebody else than that he was black. He was from Wisconsin, though.I was also told second hand that one of the sororities would immediately take anybody "ethnic" out of consideration during rush. To be honest, though, she was just really promiscuous.
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I think you need to get out more. The most racist people I’ve ever met were from Michigan/Ohio. I work in the welding industry, so very blue collar, and pretty much everyone I meet from the Midwest is a huge racist. I’m 33, white, born and raised in SC and it shocked me how bad it was
The narrative isn’t always true
That is a terrible book, by the way. Although, there are some good examples of that concept in this thread.
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Please just make this all stop. Can we consolidate this into one thread? Hell pushpin it. All of these repetitive posts are just that
I don't think the OP was repetitive, just some of the responses. I, as a current Clemson student, find it interesting to hear former student's experiences with this issue in the distant, and not so distant, past.
Took me a while to understand the flag deal from a black persons perspective. I grew up loving southern history and heritage and remember visiting Vicksburg Mississippi and touring the battleground. I took great pride in the stars and bars and loved the great strategy of general Lee, Jackson and the rest. It wasn’t until a roommate of mine at the citadel explained how offensive it was to him.
It still means great things to me, but understanding how offensive it was to him and others I wouldn’t fly it today.
I finally decided that it was one of those things where it probably mattered more what it meant to somebody else than what it meant to me. It comes down to being sensitive.
I wish I had recorded some of the conversations that were had in my fraternity when it came to taking a potential black pledge. I graduated in 2013 for perspective.
I have family from my wife's side living in California that are all Japanese. All of them were born in the United States. My uncle fought in Vietnam and is very successful. His wife before retirement held the highest federal position possible in the field of information management. Daily they are struggling and being told to go back to China with the kung flu.
again, I never said it doesn't happen elsewhere. In fact, I said it happens all over the country. That's sad to hear
I know, if you knew them it would be even sadder because they are some of the nicest people you could ever meet. The bottom line is that it's everywhere, as you stated.
I have a serious question. I hear a lot of times that it is okay for blacks to use the "N" word. Does that feeling change with age? Do older blacks feel it is okay? I know personally a lot of feelings about various things change with age.
Oh, and I went to a military college in New York and I honestly don't remember a racist situation ever happening near me or that I ever heard of there.
Oh, and I went to a military college in New York and I honestly don't remember a racist situation ever happening near me or that I ever heard of there.
I am guessing from listening to the talking heads that racism doesn’t count against Asians, whites, Jews, Indians, Irish and Italians. Sorry
