Detroit News CyberSurveys

Zip:

Does segregation hurt whites?

Do you believe segregation hurts whites? Tell us why or why not.

Yes	46%	This poll has closed but your feedback is still welcome
No	53%	This poll has closed but your feedback is still welcome

Add your comments on this topic by clicking here

Posted: Mon. Jan. 14, 2002 at 12 :08 PM
From: Ken Abud
City: Holland, MI
E-mail: pmpsell@chartermi.net
Subject: segregation_whites
Comments: The most obvious reason is that children never do learn to get along with blacks. They learn it is OK to live as a segregated community and so the cycle of separation self-perpetuates. I grew up in Detroit, lived through and lost a family business in the riots, and learned early on what hate can do. But it's really hard to hate when you know and like blacks, or any ethinc minority once you get to know them. It's really not an issue of race so much as it is an issue of economics. A black family, moving into a $200,000 house is not going to bring the neighborhood down, as is the white perception. What brings it down is white flight, the sell-at-any-cost mentality that does, indeed, kill the real estate values of a neighborhood. The culture that scares the whites is what is typically found in the poorer neighborhoods. Unfortunately, the idea of that culture carries in many whites' heads, and is projected onto all blacks, whatever their particular economic strata. So, all blacks lose, since they are perceived by many whites (the ones who run from the neighborhood)to being all the the same, bringing a culture not liked (drug, violence, gangsta rap)into and destroying their children and neighborhood.

Posted: Mon. Jan. 14, 2002 at 11 :32 AM
From: Dave Allen
City: Southgate, MI
Subject: segregation_whites
Comments: Believe it or not, segregation hurts everybody. The Detroit metropolitan area is a glaring example of this fact. Our region has all the elements to make Detroit (and the surrounding area) one of the most prosperous, liveable cities in America. The region has lots of jobs, it has lots of people, and it has tons of capital to invest. The problem is, all those benefits are divided on racial and geographic lines. This segregation causes us to invest our money unevenly-- we spend money improving certain areas of the region, but we invest nothing in the city. The product of this segregation is prosperous suburbs, but a city that has a 30% poverty rate. If segregation didn't exist, money and capital would be spread more evenly across the region. Detroit would be a more liveable city, making it more attractive to outsiders and businesses which could potentially locate here. Our region is actually losing money and jobs because our city isn't attractive, and segregation is the cause of that. If you don't think segregation hurts all of us, stop for a moment and think what our region could be if it was more liveable. You'll realize that segregation is indeed hurting whites as it is blacks. We all lose.

Posted: Mon. Jan. 14, 2002 at 11 :30 AM
From: Wali El-Amin
City: Burton, MI
E-mail: wali_us@yahoo.com
Subject: segregation_whites
Comments: Yes, segregation hurt white, and black people in ways they can not imagine. How can you grow, when you cut off your growth, and development? God has created us so we can grow,and learn from each other.If we do not really get to know one another how can we live is this world, and have real growth, and development? Can you imagine how far we could have been in human development, and in the sciences, if there hadn't been any racism, and segregation.When we truly desegregate we will be a much better and stronger nation.

Posted: Mon. Jan. 14, 2002 at 11 :24 AM
From: drake phifer
City: southfield, MI
E-mail: phiferd@hotmail.com
Subject: segregation_whites
Comments: Segregation hurts everyone. Just as no man is an island on to himself, so is no one racial group. It can easily be surmised that the likes of Peducah, Kentucky and Columbine, Colorado shootings are the fruits living of insulated lily-white enviornments. The emphasis on exclusion, superiorty, and competition are all blocks to optimum growth for individuals, and as it follows, naturally, impediments for all racial groups. Whites are certainly hurt by segregation, because they do not see the total spectrum of life of other cultures beyond what they view on television, and with this limited information, made broad stroke assumptions that, in the end, have a deleterious effect on all of us, including them, themselves.

Posted: Mon. Jan. 14, 2002 at 10 :51 AM
From: ray newman
City: columbus, oh
Subject: segregation_whites
Comments: No, I do not believe it hurts whites. To put it bluntly, if I want to raise my family in a safer neighborhood, where there are less drugs, where cars dont drive by at midnight with music blaring, and where there are not billboards for schlitz malt liquor, its my prerogative. Just the way I look at it, my children's safety is more important than being politically correct. If someone sees it differently, I wonder about their ability as a parent.

Posted: Mon. Jan. 14, 2002 at 10 :19 AM
From: janet anderson
City: detroit, mi
Subject: segregation_whites
Comments: america is defined by the diversity of people and experiences here. it's what makes our economy grow and our extraordinary personal freedoms possible. if you don't interact with people who are different from you, then you are missing out on what makes our culture so unique, and worse, you are not equipped to meet your civic duty here. too many people lack a grasp that they have obligations to meet in order to keep things so good here (voting, volunteering, being informed about issues), and segregation diminishes the ability to do this well. that's why we have the messed up metropolitan area we have: too much narrow-mindedness.

Posted: Mon. Jan. 14, 2002 at 9 :42 AM
From: Milada Jones
City: Ferndale, MI
Subject: segregation_whites
Comments: Segregation does harm some whites because it keeps them from going places like downtown Detroit and Greek town because they've been told that it's not "safe". They may not think so, but they're really missing out when they allow fear to dictate the places they go. Whites may not think so but they are missing out on life enriching experiences by only being with people who are exactly like them.

Posted: Mon. Jan. 14, 2002 at 9 :41 AM
From: Roger B. Dowd
City: Trenton, MI
E-mail: rogerbdowd@hotmail.com
Subject: segregation_whites
Comments: No, it does not hurt whites. Unless the white population perceives that being deprived of a deversified living experience is a detriment, segregation will not be harmful. As of the present time, most white folks would prefer to live apart from blacks and right or wrong, this continues to be the state of race relations in our society.

Posted: Mon. Jan. 14, 2002 at 9 :26 AM
From: Erik Berry
City: Inkster, MI
E-mail: eberry12@hotmail.com
Subject: segregation_whites
Comments: I think that it hurts both whites and blacks because it only fosters the current state of race relations. A lot of people, both black and white, have pre-conceived notions about the other race that are generally false. The only way to learn the truth is to get to know the other side. You might be surprised to find out that we have more similarities than differences. We just sometimes look at the same things differently. But understanding the others perspective is the key.

Posted: Sun. Jan. 13, 2002 at 11:04 PM
From: John Kusch
City: Westland, MI
E-mail: jtkusch@yahoo.com
Subject: segregation_whites
Comments: United States is supposed to be a mixing bowl for all races and nationalities. White people have spent needless money or gone into debt just to maintain segregation. If integration would have been allowed to take it's natural course, the standard of living would be higher for all of us.