Why did they say that? MAKES ME MAD!

No prejudice is very much alive and well. your friends whether they want to admit it or not are either racist or have bought into the racist stryeotypes that surrounded us daily. I have an adopted son who is black and people keep asking me if he has been in jail or if he is good at sports.

I think they should asking the right question such as "Do you see the burglar's face?" or "What was he look like?". More suitable right? For that question - Was he black?, for me its not racist, its more to past experiences and facts. But yeah, if people keep asking me the same question, i may have wondered too - is it so important to know if he was black?

I would not be so shocked if i were you, thats a common question that is always ask...First off if you actually thought that Prejuduce is not over,you are wrong it is better but certainly not over...I am not a prejudice person myself but my father was, and a lot of people in the baby boom era was raised with this prejudice, so NO it it nOT over....Hopefully this generation that is coming up now will even be better & sooner or later prediduce will end but it has not ended yet..There are both prediduce on both sides, black & white alike....It was started way back years ago and it will continue on as long as there are people who were taught that way....Sooner or later it will die out (HOPEFULLY)

Well as a African American that question even within my own community comes up often. I know people of all colors and creeds do bad things but Black men are most televised and reported. I'm not saying its a media thing, but we all know with past history black men have a higher rating for doing robberies and getting caught. I think it takes alot of guts for someone at your job to ask that question without a reason behind it or should I say a good reason. I don't think they are prejudice I just think small minded.

I wouldnt have been shocked by far really....Just blacks get caught more because a lot of cops seem to think Whites do no wrong. But if you think about it though When someones says my home was broken into everyone will assume it was a black male. But i can say here its more white males that do it and actually just the other night i was sitting on my front porch and i sat there and watch this white guy break into someones house across the street and i assure you he will not get caught as because hes whiteLOL sounds bad but its the truth. And For the record I AM WHITE. And i know alot of white males that steal and break into peoples homes,cars etc...and my dad being one of them but its more of a retard and likes to get caught so hes sitting behind bars where he belongs. But thats just how things work...My kids are 1 and 3 and know already that calling people names or just going by someones race is not always the right way to go.

It does sound like a prejiduce question. Unfortunately, statistically speaking the prison population is more minorities than whites. This is not a racist statement, but a fact. Would it have been better if they asked you if he was white? Would that have seemed less racist to you?

Personally just because a lot of time the Crimes committed by people in some areas are done by more Black than White that still does not give people the right to prioritize like that. I think some people tend to never think someone from another Race can do anything good yet I still feel especially in areas where white is more prevelant than other colors this does still happen. Personally I feel anyone with this type of thinking really needs to evaluate themselves and worry about themselves more instead of being more critical and judgemental towards and about others as well.

If someone ever asked me that question, I'd really give the person hell. What do they mean "was he black?" What the hell kind of racist biggots are these people to ask that question? I have absolutely not tolerence for that. The other day a guy ran into me on the sidewalk, and the cops only asked me to describe the person including skin colour, so that they might find him, but they did not come out and ask me if his skin was a particular colour (he was white)

That is awful that they asked you something like that or assumed it. I thought things like that were overwith years ago too. I guess not. We were burglarised in 1998 and the guy who did it, was white.

Sometimes I believe that people don't think before they speak. They defiantly could've asked what the perosn looked like, but to assume they are black is extremely prejudice. I think it has a lot to do with stereo typing.

dfollin I also thought that kind of prejuiduce was over years' back. some people are still living in the old years and still' have'the same racist remarks on the tips of their tongues. that' is just dreadful. why cannot people not make assumptions? i guess racism is something that cannot seem to die out,as there is always some one fanning the flames.thats just awful.

Prejudice (one of my MAJOR pet peeves with society) is alive and well in the good ole USA. I think our new President is showing us that (with all the rumor emails about him being evil because he is black and/or has a muslim name)- and he is basically ignoring it all. Good for him. But back to your discussion, that would just have irked me too. Like no one white does anything wrong (let's take a look at all the serial killers... oh wow.. WHITE) is still the mind-set. Wow, I am with you. Shouldn't the fact that we are in the 21st century, prove we have moved past that at least. Sad.

Racism is always going to be around i'm afraid. Don't think it will ever change.

This doesn't really surprise me, only because the more I am exposed to the world, the more I realize how very racist the US is. There is a HUGE population of non-racist people and we tend to congregate. We end up getting used to the people around us and forget that these biases still are very prevalent to some people. The only thing we can do is make people aware of their biases and, in your case, correct them when they assume something that is not true. We can also teach our children that that is inappropriate behavior and try to preach love and respect for all people.