sportsfangirl

There was another topic/thread on racism, but as a lurker, I saw that it had gotten quite off-topic

This is something that I think will make a good discussion, and not an argument (please keep that in mind).

When I say segregation, I mean that in Philadelphia/Pennsylvania, where I live, it is generally segregated: The black people have their neighborhoods, as to the hispanics, Italians, and Whites, and just about every nationality. In the so-called 'hood' the schools don't have as many updated computers, books, or materials as the suburbs.
The same goes for the libraries: the computers are unreliable, the books old etc, but in the suburbs things are better.
Now, seriously, I'm not beating up on the suburbs, and if my information is wrong, I will seriously be happy if someone corrects me.
It isn't just these things that I've named, and though I've just stated some things in Philadelphia, do you also believe that the U.S has not come very far segregation-wise?
I don't think it has.
I'll express more of my views as this thread goes on, and I hope that we can all have a decent chat, respecting each other's views, even if we have to agree to disagree.

clone

I just take the mindset that....

Well it's the freakin' 21st century...

We [Not... you know... us... but society] needs to get over it...

How that happens... who knows.

Papri

This is a really interesting topic - I know in the UK, officials have recently talked about the "ghettoisation" of some communities and how there are too many areas that are specifically white/Asian/Muslim/black etc and that it hinders integration. I say this: yes, it can be dangerous to have such rampant segregation and separation of communities - but on the other hand, as long as all communities are getting equal facilities, council/state benefits and a decent standard of living it's not as terrible as people make out. Immigrants are always going to move to where there are some of their "own people" - hence, Polish immigrants tend to move to where there is already a sizable Polish community (I'm talking about the UK here, where there's been an increase in Eastern European immigrants in recent years). Similarly, Muslim immigrants from South Asian countries are probably gonna want to live near a mosque/somewhere that sells halal meat. The same thing is occuring in Spain where British ex-pats go and move there but barely learn the language because they're in such a British-dominated area. I'm not saying it's an ideal situation, and I strongly believe that mutual integration is vital to minimising tensions between communities - but at the same time, I think certain officials here make it seem worse than it really is.

Indian Summer

I don't think there's so much forcible segregation as internal. People, especially immigrants, like to stick close to those who understand their life and culture, so it makes sense that a Portuguese-American family would want to live among other Portuguese-American families and so on. Segregation obviously exists in neighborhoods, but it's in more of a clique-ish form.

GhostWriter

I'd say that yes, segregation does still exist. The difference is that now, we have the choice of living where we want to live, going to the stores we want to go to, and things like that. It's more of a, "Well, we have the choice, but we feel more comfortable with this group as opposed to that group. How ever, if we need something form over there, it's nice that we can go get it without any hassle" type of thing.

Jacob1983

Of course, there is segregation still present in America. However, it's a different type of segregation. I would say it's more of a culture thing or a comfort zone. People are going to be more comfortable around people in which they can relate to and with people who share the same culture.

Jerry D

I think that segregation still exists to a limited degree, but I think a lot of it has to do with economics. The Houston Texas suburbs that I’ve lived in have been somewhat racially diverse, but still, many poor minorities live in the cities, while many wealthier Caucasians live in the suburbs.

diamondroad17

I'm taking a sociology class this summer, Ethnics and Social Relations, and from what I learned this is not true at all. Immigrants like to stick together because not because they're clique-ish, it's because of their socioeconomic background and because their language. Second generations or third generations immigrants who have moved up the socioeconomic ladder tend to disperse and integrate.

Segregation is not internal. There are still discriminatory practices that promote segregation. I read about real-estate agents steering a white family toward white neighborhoods and black families toward general black neighborhoods.

Indian Summer

Uh, that's what I meant by cliqueish, lol. It's those similarities that attract immigrant families to one another. As an immigrant, I'd have a pretty good idea, lol.

I think what you're failing to take into account with the real estate agent example is that those neighborhoods are already predominantly white or predominantly black when the agent steps in. It's not necessarily discriminatory- many white families would rather live among white families and many black families among black families. It's the real estate agent's job to target the neighborhoods they feel clients would be most likely to enjoy living in.

breakdown<3

Yeah, segregation def still exists, the only difference from then and now is that now it is not forced. Racism also def exits, that's just a given. But we're not talking about racism here so yeah.