02-03-2015, 05:40 AM

There is absolutely nothing indirect about Bostonians. This is a term much more applicable to the south. In fact, 'impolite' is the most frequently used term by outsiders. I believe that 'manners' are culture-specific and subjective, but this notion that 'polite' anything exists in Boston sounds to me like a load of horse doo doo since nothing else is ever considered polite. So now Boston is 'polite' in its racism? And again, how is this manifested that sets Boston apart from people with biases in any other part of the country or the world? People ARE biased, and that is generalizable to people everywhere. We make judgments about everything, and anybody who thinks they don't needs to do some serious self examination. What varies is the extent to which we make these judgements, the experiences we base them on, and how well we know ourselves. What also varies is how we let these judgements affect how we treat people, especially for those in authority. Bostonians are not more morally upright than anyone, but we are certainly not more racist either. The advantage with native Bostonians is that we generally say what we think and we generally wear our colors, an advantage that is not available in less direct regions of the country where people do not speak strong opinions and where they are more reserved. Those cultures are where you see 'polite' bigotry of all kinds because it's more important for people to be considered polite than most other things. In fact, a black person coming from such a culture into Boston may feel he is being targeted for his race, when he doesn't get the usual plastic niceness or indirectness he is accustomed to. In Boston, outside the young professional culture which has distinct similarities everywhere, everyone gets treated the same; directly and brashly. I've spent significant time living in the south and other regions, and I'm from Boston. I know there are significant regional differences in the way we all live, some I consider negative but generally it boils down to we live where we are comfortable based on what we're used to., unless we are willing, in many cases, to do some serious readjusting of our norms and perceptions. Most people choose to remain who they are with minor adjustments based on local customs. In some cases people decide they don't like the level of adjustment required to be able to enjoy living in given areas. I made that decision in the south for a variety of reasons. But I also recognize that it's not all 'on the south' it's on me as I want to be in a place where I feel at home and comfortable. Perception vs reality.
There are a host of possibilities why someone would 'perceive' an area is racist that have more to do with the level of personal security and self awareness of the people doing the perceiving, than they do with reality. It is also dependent on the EXPECTATIONS of the people doing the perceiving based on what they are used to. If you're expecting something that you're not getting, you are likely going to attribute that to a host of personal things including race. And if you're in the mode of being a perpetual victim then each negative instance where you don't get what you want, or receive your expected results will probably be blamed on your race due to your refusal to consider other possibilities, including your OWN behavior. That said, I'm all ears to see some substantive EVIDENCE that suggests the Boston area is particularly more 'racist' than other areas. Indeed, the Boston area has produced some of the most liberal politicians and some of the most liberal policies in the nation. If there is anything here I would say that the Northeast in general are good propagators of the soft bigotry of low expectations.

I know what I read and I've already addressed the perception issue. The arguments being made are unsupported by substantive facts and defy logic. And whether they called specific people racist or not is not relevant if you're categorizing the entire region as racist. In any conversation about race this practice would be called bigotry. I've been in many situations where I've perceived bigotry and prejudice based on who I am. I know what perceptions are. But I also know it's incumbent on me to be able to draw factual lines to such feelings and that it doesn't put me in a position to describe an entire region is bigoted without pointing to factual data that would support those assumptions. There are negative aspects to the culture in this area (and most other areas) that can be generalized and supported by data, but racist just ain't one of them. Boston is a place where animosity of all kinds has existed in various forms due, in large part, to the number of different people who have been crammed into one region. I'm not buying the notion that racial animosity is any more pronounced than anything else or more than any other region.