Prejudice against whites is not the same as prejudice against blacks

[JoePhilly]

39. This white guy follows you ... I have 3 examples from my own life.

First the examples.

Ex 1: When I was growing up in Philly, I played a lot of basketball. At my high school, the majority of guys who played basketball were the black guys. So during gym, even though I was one of the better players, many of the black guys would not pick me for their team. The way it went was like this ... the first two guys to make a foul shot got to pick their team. If you didn't get picked, you sat out, and you tried to build a 3rd team to play the "winners" ... the winners held the court. There came a point where if I wanted to play in that fist game, then I needed to be the first person standing at the foul line when gym started, and then I had to make that foul shot. If you made the shot you could pick anyone you wanted. The system was stacked against me. I had to work harder than many of the others, just cause I was white. After a while, I was accepted, and more of the black guys would pick me.

Ex 2: To get to and from high school, I rode the Philly subway. And then after the subway, I rode a bus the rest of the way. That Bus stop was in a black neighborhood, and so I was usually the only white person there. And it was not unusual, on the way home, for black teens to confront me at that bus stop. Threaten me. Had more than one fight. I had to worry about this every single day.

Now ... as a white guy ... those 2 stories are the WORST examples of racism that I ever encountered that were directed towards me.

Ex 3: I went to graduate school at Texas Tech. One weekend shortly after I arrived a bunch of us went to a lake that was about 3 hours out side Lubbock. On the way we stopped in some gas station convince store. At that point I liked Texas because everyone smiled at you. In Philly, on the subway, you do not make eye contact. But in Lubbobk, everyone seems to be smiling at you. So we are in the store, and I'm walking down an aisle. And walking towards me is an older black man. Maybe 30. I've gotten used to saying "Hi" to everyone I pass ... and so I say "hi" ... the black man averts his eyes, looks down and says "hi" ... its clear to me that I just scared him. The guys at the counter who work at the store joke with everyone who comes up to pay. But not the black guy. The go silent. So does he. They take his money. He takes his stuff and quickly leaves.

I have to believe that the older black man I saw that day had to put up with that nonsense every day of his life.