Does my fear of black men make me a racist?

Question

I've never thought of myself as a racist, because one of my best friends is a black woman. But I live in constant fear of black men, even boys. Here in South Africa a woman gets raped every 26 seconds, usually by a black man. Nearly as many people, white as well as blacks, get murdered every day. Two days ago an old woman of 92 I knew was attacked while sleeping, then raped for hours before a convicted murderer, who was out on parole, and his fifteen year old partner beat her to death. This is not the exception but the rule. Most murders is commited in the cruelest way possible. Like the four security guards who was thrown in the back of their van by their black attackers, set alight and left screaming and begging while they burnt to death. And the eighty year old farmer who's achilles' tendons was cut before his murderers put him out of his misery. His wife was first raped and then stabbed numerous times before leaving to bleed to death. Am I wrong to be scared to death?

Thank you very much for understanding! I didn't expect such empathic responce. As a token of my appreciation I've given all but the last one as thumbs-up.

Answer 1

Lady, my heart goe's out to you , I am so sorry about these things , but, when you pray tonight before yo go to bed please ask god to forgive America and Britain as they are the ones to blame for the hear takes you folks are having now same in Rhodesia, America and Britain wasn't happy until they forced south Africa and Rhodesia to relinquish power to the blacks, every one had plenty to eat and a lawful society and the Brits and American politicians could not bear to see that and had to be nosing into some ones Else's affairs , so now these countries have a Communist gov, just what our politicians wanted , now there is no law and order nor food except for just the rich, even the blacks are starving, America will be in the same situation before long , and they probable deserve it,Britain is already lost so is France, America is next, our people won't get off of their lazy asses and tell our politicians to nose out of other peoples business and get America sheltered before it is to late,
I do want to apologize for my country , even tho it is a little late, and don't think it was the people ,and for the ignorant Americans it is against the law for a white to own a gun in south Africa or Rhodesia

Answer 2

You're not racist, you are smart. It is called learning by observation (vs. learning the hard way), the type of learning which in your circumstances will keep you alive. Until you can get out of there, get a gun,(even if it's not legal),try to practice regularly & become very comfortable with it, & read "The Gift Of Fear" by Gavin De Becker. That book is popular amongst law enforcement because it will help you to hone and use your instincts to recognize and prevent real threats and not have to live in a constant & exhausting state of fear.Also read Armed & Female by Paxton Quigley.Take good care & never take chances even though you are weary with keeping your guard up.Saying a prayer for your safety & well being.(You can also learn how to use a knife, but knife fighting is close up and hard -tiring-work, better for a woman to have a gun. Still, a back up, and especially the element of surprise by having a knife hidden on you, is better than nothing.My heart goes out to you).

btw-You need training with a knife, preferably from a soldier or someone in law enforcement or just street smart but able to keep quiet about it. If you find you need to use a knife, it is most effective to come from below & into center body mass (gut). Striking from above requires a lot more strength & work & is easier to see & to deflect. Hope some of this is helpful to you.

Answer 3

No, you are not wrong to be scared to death. I have read about the violence going on over there ; it is horrific. Your statistics bear out what I have heard.. You would have to be crazy not to be afraid. Especially when a helpless old woman you knew was so brutally tortured and killed.

I come from the viewpoint that all of us are racist to at least a small degree, & I believe it stems from fear. Fear of anyone who looks different, acts different, seems wierd (that's me ;-) ). Offhand I would say you are no more a racist than I am. Over here, black people are a minority. Still, I feel fear when few people are around except for a black man, or group of men, I do not know. I try not to let it show, & I try to be friendly if I'm not being stared at. I am aware of my feelings , so I try to compensate by being first to introduce myself in mixed company. If my grand daughter decided to date a black man, it would bother me till I got used to the idea, but I would learn to accept him.

I hope I have answered some of your questions. I do not know of many people who would question themselves on this issue in an open forum. I respect you for that. Good Luck.

Answer 4

You're not a racist, you're just scared. I have a lot of Xhosa and Zulu friends, male and female, but even they are afraid of black attackers. In the townships there are people who have nothing to lose and don't value a human life as you do. They have no family and values. The most crimes are committed in the townships against their own people, but these criminals don't see it this way.

There is light, I still have hope for South Africa and think that things are getting better and better every day.

Answer 5

Most poeple are going to blindly call you racist because they've been trained to believe almost any talk about race means your racist. But my thoughts are:

If you get burned by a hot oven, and you learn to beware of that over, are you then racists against ovens? Ofcourse not. I think if the majority of a sub-cultural group within the race does negative things, you have a right to beware, and not be racists. Your racist if you think ALL black people in the whole world may rape you, etc, but if you have logical reason to feel on guard around the black guys that live in your area, thats a valid feeling. I'm black myself and I know if I walk in Compton, I should prepare for death by black guys because that area is notorious for black gangs killing people. But that doesn't mean ALL black people are like the thugs in Compton.

Answer 6

Either your not prejudiced and just scared focusing only on crimes that are being pointed towards blacks, or your lying your mule off trying to scare people.

Here in America, we had similar rape frequency and crimes AGAINST Black women and men for the last 400 years, starting in the slavery days.

Over here, blaming something on a black person is the oldest trick in the book.

We have the same crimes here all the time but only inform the public of a fraction of them.

If you think the tellers of these "eye-witness" accounts are telling the truth, then you need to get off the internet and start packing... now!

Answer 7

I say this ONLY because of the facts you have given: You would be a fool (and maybe dead) if you weren't a racist in the environment which you described. It's just damn common-sense that if a particular group of people are responsible for most of the crimes then you would have to prejudge someone of that group until they prove otherwise. In other words, it's better to be a racist and live then stupidly give the "benefit of a doubt" and die.

Answer 8

Your personal fears or feelings do not make you a racist. Your public assertions may well do so; as would your interfering with the rights of anybody on account of race. Nobody has gone so far as to say that to have no wish to engage in inter-racial or inter-faith dating or marriage is racist or even discriminatory.

Many people fear, resent, consider ugly or even loathe those who do not share their beliefs (religion, culture) or their appearance. So long as they suppress those impulses in public nobody can (or should) do anything about it. When it rises to terror it is both tragic and comparable to organized crime. When it interferes with the freedom of others it is also tragic and also outrageous, and it may or may not be a crime.

Racial profiling is something one does all the time: noting that a particular person is anomalous in a particular neighborhood. It also makes good sense in policing, although it can never be official policy and has to be squared with the rights of the individual not to be accosted just on account of race.

Answer 9

WOW!! that's a troublesome one! My father became interior the army, and so I grew up in Europe. i'm Brown/African-American, yet I interacted with a great style of races. whilst i became in intense college, i wanted to communicate to my Dad a pair of "guy" subject. whilst my Dad found out the guy became white, he reported i became "scrapping the backside of the barrel". Time is going on, my Dad retires from the army, starts a available guy provider, and finally ends up looking after all those elderly white couples. Now my Dad calls all of them "mom/Dad", I even have white grandparents all over the city. My factor is that for the time of existence, human beings evolve. at last, your mom will understand that your happiness is plenty greater significant then her antiquated ideals. If this guy can love you thru your families craziness, he particularly may be the guy for you!! do no longer risk residing on my own because of this tousled society we live in. Have braveness. And Love...

Answer 10

If you lived in America you'd be called a racist just for not hiring a black high-school drop out over a white man with a doctorite. Don't know how your people work, but I'd rather be racist than raped. That much I'm sure of.