Is there really a huge difference between racial acceptance between the West Coast and the East Coast???
437675
I dont know about the east coast, but out here in cali everyone gets along with everyone. Or atleast theres that much diversity that i just dont notice. But yeah everyone usually stays in their own racial community where theres more of your "kind".
1055706
Oh boy. This is a question most intelligent people try to avoid. Not me. And I guess that says something for me.\nHaving grown up and been an active participant in the civil rights demostrations and activities of the 60s, I have observed one very problematic concept that was adopted, early on. Black men and women of that era feel into and adopted the concept of a seperate identity and observance of customs of their original countries. There is nothing wrong with this except in a fight to be absorbed and accepted into American culture it has become impossible for Whites and other races to accept them since any moves to do so will be rejected.\nMany of the injustices done to Black Americans by those who pervert our way of life were, of course, wrong and horrible.\nIf you look at the European style of life and society you see that this hasn't happened, mainly because the injection of those of color in their societies happened over a very long period of time and gradually. We on the other hand forced the issue and moved ahead, perhaps, too fast.\nNow, something worse has happened. White Americans are adopting the culture of African Americans in a big way which makes the problem worse because they are recognizing the differences.\nThere is no easy answer and I am glad you didn't ask how we can fix it because, I have no answer to that question.
710028
The East Coast is a lot more fast paced and Career oriented. The West Coast is mostly Suburban with Soccer Moms and Stuff. Just dont get ran over by a crazy Cabbie!!! Washington, D.C. is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1063675
Probably pretty immensely, and I must say, you have a good point. I don't understand why people are so touchy about their race. My grandfather was an Estonian (Teeny country on the Baltic) who immigrated to the US, and I don't get uptight when someone jokes about my heritage. But, if a person's grandfather was an African immigrant or Mexican immigrant, they'd be immensely offended if someone made jokes about their family's nation of origin. I don't think the minority argument stands, because even though I'm white, Estonians are certainly more of a minority than Mexicans or Africans.
845756
NY was the worst...  Va Beach and Boston were great.  I live in GA and us Southerners are pretty hospitable.... but I might be biased...
588242
Except for our holidays I can't say there is any difference. We have all the same different ethnic background. There is rude people from both places, you can't get away from that. we speak the same languages.
1082501
Gee, that a hard one to answer.  It seem that a person needs to live in both nations to be able to do the comparison.  How about I give you my life in America and maybe someone can give you their life in Europe and you can compare.\nI am Chinese born in California in the late forties.\nWhen I want to school, I was told to get off their sidewalk.\nWhen buy things, they would always try to short change me.\nWhen I was in the Marines in the late sixties, I was called many names by a group of Puerto Rican during infantry trainning.  \nAt my first duty station, a group of black marines (from New Orlean) refused to look or talk to me, until they found out that I was not Japanese (?).\nWhen I was sent oversea, the officers and lifers were from the south, some wanted to get me out of the unit.  By the way, they did not like yankees either.  \nI can go on and on.  But for me, I don't think it was too bad.  I do not have a problem if people don't like me for me.
489179
I teach at ECU, which is about 1.5 hrs from Duke.  NC is considered part of the south.  Racial issues really aren't a problem here now.  As for culture, Duke is located in a large city that is very close to two other major cities.  Therefore, there are a lot of things to do, places to visit, and a lot of night life.  You will be about 2 hours from the ocean and about 3-4 hours from the mountains, so both should be nice for weekend getaways.
450535
OK, first of all, race is all in your head. The differences among members of a so-called "race" are greater than the differences between one so-called race and another. \n\nOn the other hand, racism is very real behavior, even if the differences between races that inspire racism have no scientific basis. In an effort to track the success of government efforts to combat racism, the US federal government has established five official races: \n\n1) American Indian or Alaskan Native\n2) Asian\n3) Black or African American\n4) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, \n5) White \n\nThe US federal government also recognizes two official ethnicities: \n\nA) Hispanic or Latino\nB) Not Hispanic or Latino\n\nThe definititions for these groups are found in the first link listed below in the "Sources" section. \n\nNow, if you ask people who they are, they either have a tough time putting themselves in these categories, or they don't. Folks in Hawaii often have such complex backgrounds (Portuguese-Hawaiian-Chinese, for instance), that they just shrug and check a box. If you ask them about it, they might say, "It's just a form. It doesn't have anything to do with who I am." On the other hand, children with one Black parent and one White parent find this kind of form much more difficult. \n\nVery often though, even the folks who are pretty sure they belong to just one of these groups are wrong. Recent DNA research suggests that about one-third of White Americans have some fairly recent African ancestry. The Black population in the US seems to have an even greater degree of European and African ancestry. One study looked for known genes with an African origin in the DNA of Black individuals in the US and found none of them in about 5.5% of their sample of that population. \n\nEach of the categories you list has people whose ancestors came from many different countries. The best way to tell who is what is to ask each individual. The US government used to give pictures of eye and nose shape to its census workers to help them tell the difference among races, which is a ridiculous approach. It is much simpler and accurate to merely ask the person.  That's the best truth you will ever get.
183732
The United States is a pluralisitc society.  I would argue there is no such thing as an 'average' American in any ethnic or cultural sense.  I'm sure there are those Americans, by virtue of racism or their own bad experiences, who harbor negative feelings about immigrants of any background.  America has had a mixed history of racial interaction, but, by in large, I have found Americans to be a tolerant people.  In most major cities you can also find large groups of ethnic Iranians to ease your transition.  There will always be bigots, and terrorism has focused the attention of bigots on people from the Middle East, but bigots are the minority.  You will likely find ignorance to be much more frustrating than maliciousness.  For example, most Americans don't know that Iranians are generally Persian, not Arab.  If you have patience, I think you can overcome these difficulties and make a successful, free life in America if you so choose.
894389
Unfortunatly yes, and from what I understand it is worse in some areas then others. I was rasied to accept everyone and I am still shocked when I meet people who make racist comments, like my roommate in college was smart but remained a racist because her dad was... It's sad. My aunt is white and married to a black guy, they have a restraunt in North Carolina and due to the racism down there she is struggling with her business. Shes in a black community that doesn't like that shes married to a balck guy. So it goes both ways.  I say, we should all love one another! Discriminate based on actions not race! But hey, not everyone is me...
112662
Tracks divide neighborhoods. Often the other side of the tracks meant the poor or"bad" neighborhood. Americans arn't as much racist as they are classist.
624337
southern california, intolerance as well as tolerance exists ,one does not exclude the other ,in certain cities,districts,neighborhoods ,the population is more diverse and tends to have more tolerance among people,the oppsite is true too,I don't think it is a black and white issue(no pun intended)there are many factors that could affect the melting pot versus mixed salad outcome on society
248949
Even though I am an American I have to agree with you.  So many people in this country take what we have for granted.  The south has always been labeled as an area of high discrimination..but I have been all around this country and trust me..it exists just as much in the north and out west as it does here..I think its the American philosophy of me me me..and if you are not like me then you are against me..its a sad thing but luckily not all Americans are like that!
319299
Hi, Chulapanama.. i see that almost everybody gave you great answers. I do believe that's true about everybody make those kind of mistake, as silly as it sounds. \n\nSpecially maybe because your friends are so adjusted with you being a part of them that they really forget your race, and it is not personal. I don't mean that racist comments are justified in any case!\n\nI believe you are in the perfect circumstance to start changing those perceptions that are so incorrect, and that comes from a lot of missinformation. \n\nYou can use those situations to make them notice that they are being judgmental and prejudice. And that not all the latinos are like they assume. \n\nWhat do you think? all of you who are around there in the USA are our face in front of those causasians people, and you can make the diference.
573460
Culturally (not including the Western Coastal areas, which are a culture unto themselves) the belief systems are more like the South-primarily because most people in the West are descendants of settlers from the South- Also, both the South and West have high percentages of Irish families, which seem to exert a strong cultural influence, while the Midwest is influenced by German and Scandinavian immigrants, and the NE by English, Scottish and Italian groups.\nNext would easily be the Midwest-In fact an argument can be made that the West is more like the Midwest in many ways- If you look at voting patterns, the west (again, apart from the Coast) and the south are the most staunchly conservative- the midwest is split between liberal and conservative, with the lean towards democrates.  Political party voting patterns are probably a fairly good gauge, since the political parties in the US are so culturally divided now.
129620
I'm from lower state New York, so I don't see much of racism, sexism etc. You start to see more xenophobia and racism in upstate NY though.\nAs far homophobia, it's not as bad as say the south, but it's not all that good either.