Have you ever been to St. Louis, Missouri, and did you find racial tensions there particularly high, pre-"Ferguson".

My dad was the project manager for something called FLAIR when he was a manager/engineer at Boeing. It stood for Fleet Location and Information Reporting. It was basically GPS before its time. This was in the 70’s. It was a device to track the location of police cars and police individuals.He spent a lot of time in St. Louis as it had the highest crime rate in the country.

My sisters and I had to sit through so many dry runs of presentations he was preparing to make. I was in high school. He’d line us up in the living room and give us these speeches. I’d fall off the chair and ask really stupid questions…and he’d field everything with total aplomb and seriousness. I finally asked him why he was answering my dumb questions so seriously. He said, “Because you never know what kind of question may be asked, and you need to do your best to answer it.”

I went to university of Southern Illinois for pre dental school and it was harrowing. I’m Australian and the culture shock was intense. I lived in Belleville Illinois and worked on a casino boat. It’s the first and only time I’ve seen a public shooting, or been called out for being white. Can’t imagine a worse place to live.

I’ve been to St. Louis and downtown it felt like Memphis. A lot of southern cities feel like that to me, even though I would call St. Louis Midwest. That smaller city feel where there is a lot of bad areas and then some pockets of young people living the downtown urban life all happening within blocks of each other.

I was in St. Lous decades ago with my mother. It was known for a very violent, “South Side” back then, and always best I can remember. My mother got lost. We ended up on the south side. The houses were like wood garages, with open spaces on some walls, and no paint. There was a sharp looking Cadillac outide at least half of them. It was creepy. The are felt thick and prickly just to breathe there. We were glared at by all, young and old. Stares which told us we might be mobbed any second were everywhere. I felt I had no reason to fear being there. I had never been a racially biased person. We wound around, seeing mean glares, and children stopped playing as we came by! We came to a traffic light as it turned red. The car eased to a stop. we were still rolling slightly when four or five skinny girls in their mid teens came towards the car. They looked ready to pull us out. It was then we rolled up our windows and locked the doors. The girls burst into laughter and backed away. That was the one time I ever felt in danger because I’m white. I never want to feel like that again, and I never want to make anyone else feel like that.

The question was prompted by my familiarity with St. Louis combined with a recent visit to Cleveland, Ohio.

There has always been (to me) a sense that, ‘one block too far’ in St. Louis and you have your life in your hands. I love the city, but I’m not eager to travel Downtown, and I’m careful of the places I stop. I have to admit, however, that in around Ferguson are some of my favorite ‘haunts’. It seems to me that there is very much an ‘us verses them’ mentality among a large number of both blacks and whites. I’ve accepted this as “The City Experience”.

That was challenged recently by a brief visit to Cleveland Ohio, where the blacks and whites I encountered intermingled (seemingly) flawlessly. The people I met seemed more outgoing and forthright, particularly the blacks.

I feel there has always been an air of racial tension in St. Louis that I just didn’t feel in Cleveland.

As a side note, even as a middle aged white male I have been verbally abused and hassled by a St. Louis police officer to the point that I seriously considered buying a micro-recorder to carry in my car. He pointed to such significances as the small town I hailed from and the fact there was a handprint in the dust on my trunk as indications I was involved in ‘the transport of drugs.” Imagine if I’d been young and black, and it had been other that mid-afternoon?

I wonder why St. Louis is like that?

I heard recently that St. Louis is [perhaps not exact, and these things are subjective] around the 4th most segregated area in the US, @Dutchess_III, and I think that counts for a lot.

@ibstubro I did make a substantive contribution. I called everyone out, including your question, as being blinded by white privilege.

The question itself is proposing that the current events in Ferguson should be marginalized due to whites feeling more tension from other races in that city. I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt that this may not have been your intent with your question, however, you should realize that the only people that would feel the “particularly high racial tension” are white people.

I urge you and the other commenters thus far to educate yourself on what white privilege is about and how it affects people of color. As that little sliver of “racial-tension” you felt is what people of color live their entire life with everyday.

Also, trying to defend your stance by isolating me as racists doesn’t really help your position. We are all inherently racist in today society. It will only get better if we can acknowledge it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN8pmhQwcnY

I can’t imagine a more racist statement than:
“you should realize that the only people that would feel the “particularly high racial tension” are white people.”
@Silence04

The question is regarding anyone’s life experiences in St. Louis Missouri prior to the recent events in Ferguson. How does that marginalize the recent events? If I ask a question about pre-Katrina New Oleans, does that necessarily marginalize the disaster that resulted?

Well, I’ll give you this, making the blanket statement ”...what people of color live their entire life with everyday.”, having the hubris to be the voice of an entire race, is probably even more racist.

”...what people of color live their entire life with everyday.” is a statement that seeks to pit every non-white against whites. If you can’t see the racism inherent in that, then you are not only filled with hate, but blind to it.

@Silence04 you don’t know us very well. We have discussed “white privilege.” There was a question about it not very long ago.
We have discussed everything under the sun.
Right now we’re discussing racial tensions in Fergesun.
It you’re one of those kinds of people who scream “RACISM!” every time some one mentions color, maybe this isn’t the place for you.

BTW, this is not an exclusive white community.

@ibstubro “The question is regarding anyone’s life experiences in St. Louis Missouri prior to the recent events in Ferguson.”

That’s clearly not the question because that is not what you asked, as you were specifically asking about “particularly high racial tension,” in which only would be viewed as “particularly high” to white people.

did you even begin to watch that video? Again, trying to isolate me as “the most racist” isn’t helping your case.

@Dutchess_III that is good to know, but based solely on this thread, it needs to be discussed more. :)

We’ve discussed the hell out of it, from every direction.

Did not and will not, @Silence04. I can dismiss you and your life experiences as easily as you can dismiss mine.

It doesn’t appear to me that you’ve even bothered to read all my posts to my question. But, then again, you’re redefining my question to suit your agenda.

How very St. Louis of you, when I was hoping for a little more Cleveland.

Some areas just aren’t safe for whites. Whether it’s Mo, Ks, Mi, etc.. StL is a mecca for gangs including ‘white’ mafia.

That’s right. There are certain areas of Wichita that white people, and some blacks, avoid.

Unfortunately, it seems that there is no “safe” area for blacks. Gosh, Trayvon Martin was in an upper class, gated community.

4UTCHESS Sad but true. But who is really safe ever? Even Obama’s getting fruitloops in the white house lol