I have lived both in Atlanta, Georgia and North Carolina … and without a doubt, the Pacific Northwest state of Washington is more racist than the Deep South. But is it fair to paint everyone in that state with that brush? No. There is a large Progressive community in Washington … but you have to do your research before relocating to any state.
- Does that state (or city of interest within the state) have a higher rate of Mental Illness than the national average?
- Is there a higher rate of homelessness, alcoholism, or drug addiction than the national average?
- Is the demographics of Blacks higher than 10%?
In all categories …. Mental Illness, Drug Addiction, Alcoholism, etc… Washington State ranks higher than the national average.
Suicide rates have steadily climbed, by 28 percent, since 1999, with Washington state carrying a relatively high suicide rate at 12.58-14.23 deaths per 100,000 compared with other states that are as low as 6.19-11.40 per 100,000. Women are more likely to seek help than men, and men are four times more likely to take their own lives than women (Regge, 2017).
“Culture is a trap” …. and any culture that leads people within it to drink, drug, engage in dysfunctional, heartless, shaming sex, needless violence is a trap. White, Black, Brown, whatever. Never have I seen a more Narcissistic time … when people are either glorifying in their skin pigmentation, their hair, or believing that somehow their skin or hair makes them somehow inferior. Under these conditions… insecure people are especially vulnerable because little is done to build their self-esteem through personal education and belonging to multicultural groups that focus on enhancing the quality of life for everyone. The United States is not a mono-culture…. and unless your personal psychology is prepared to live in a multi-culture, you’re going to feel at odds with life.
Black people who seek to find a more functional place than where they’re currently living should not look to the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Trump Country is filled with angry, fearful repressed psyches still stuck in the Second Level of Human Development. Somehow they’ve been sold that “La Reqonqista” is good for them because … “We don’t like blacks.”
It’s like what I heard before I left Sonoma County… some of the more IGNORANT young whites were saying that it doesn’t matter that Russia is in the White House because … they’re White too. ((LoL)) The insanity. Racism has always been America’s weakest link… and now it looks to be its final undoing. The world that Russia and China dreams of is decidedly more repressive and impoverished.
I’ve traveled the nation and a good many countries abroad. The answer is final.
There is no place to run for African Americans. Those who can live in a Traditional-Fundamentalist model with a much lower standard of living, I encourage Ghana or some other African nation that offers Dual Citizenship. Second choice? If you can put up with the craziness of places like Atlanta, then go for it… but only if you have a skill-set or you’ve sold a house in a pricier market that will allow you to avoid dealing too closely with the mess already there.
SOLUTION
The BEST solution is one most of us are reluctant to face… relearning how to love each other sufficiently enough to COOPERATE and rebuild functional communities where we protect each other. Yes, there is much against us… mainly the CIA controlled media and secondly, the banks. There are ways around both.
“Power is the ability to define a person’s reality and have that person accept that definition as if it were their own.” ~ Michael Foucualt
Darwin proved that the cultures that survive the best are not those that are the strongest or smartest … but rather those whose citizens COOPERATE best together. Divided cultures eventually fail. Hip Hop / Rap values are not rooted in group cooperation.
“…power is the ability to define phenomena and make it act in a desired manner.” ~Lyndon B. Johnson
You cannot “cooperate” with someone beating their chest saying he or she is better than everyone else. Those are thoughts that develop Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Sociopathy.
Change directions or suffer. Time is running out.
The idea that I can make a deal and survive with only me and my wife… is folly. A fool’s choice that’s been sold for decades. Good luck Space Travelers.
Black Traveler 
1.04.19
Good article about the Pacific North West.. I had similar experiences with racism in Washington state, but I did meet some progressive, hip cats, there too. Relocating to a safer area (I live in the rapidly –demographically– racially changing Oakland, CA) where prejudice and racism effectively are below hazard levels, but it has been a challenge … to find a safe retirement place, so thanks to Black Traveler for the information.
Finally, I’d say that the article comment that we are living in dire times and need to show love to our fellows. But how can one love anyone if they don’t love themselves? We need to show more “Self-Love” no?
KL
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EXCELLENT comment KL. And I agree about the problem of trying to love people who don’t love themselves. We’re living in a world where Mark Zuckerberg has PURPOSEFULLY crafted “Social Media” tools that have changed the uses of thees tools… behavior modification on a much more sinister level.
We wonder why people are far less empathetic? Why the driving motivation is not to “enjoy” each other… but to “win” … some … unknown trophy that only exists in the warped egos of psychopaths and a sociopaths?
Hip Hop and Rap is just as insidious if not worse. People born into this genre see no difference in the “music” …. as if “Too Short’s” message was somehow equal John Coltrane’s, “A Love Supreme.”
“Power is the ability to define phenomena and have it act accordingly.”
Most in today’s socialized cauldron of Narcissism and the desperation of Materialism (because they can’t feel) can’t understand complexity. People who work to build themselves intellectually, creatively, spiritually are viewed as an attack on them. Therefore they only seek to lower the bar… bring everything down to their level.
This is why thinking/feeling people HAVE to confront our own denial and despair and create safety WITH each other. More of us have to decide to move to the same area, the same apartment complexes, the same cities, and be witnesses for each other. Doesn’t have to be perfect, but in the new “Techno-Feudalism” it is the our last great hope.
What was that old saying, come together or hang separately?
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