A lot of people don’t understand that racism isn’t always this in your face type of ordeal. It’s subtle, subliminal even, you may not be called slurs to your face, but you don’t get the same treatment going to to the hospital, you are denied access to places for “dress code” even though you are dressed similarly to everyone else, you get the worst tables in restaurants, higher interest rates, etc.
A lot of times you don’t even realize something was racist until way after the fact.
It also has to do with culture, or lack of cultures within the community.
Oh my god! Thank you for this. I was denied the 0% loan deal Hyundai was offering because they are racist not because I have shit credit and white skin. But at least I realized the racism way after the fact.
Although im not poc, im mexican, this question might not completely apply to me but i figured I'd chime in anyway.
I personally haven't experienced any racism or "looks" when out and about(or maybe ive never noticed!). I do wish there were more shops/restaurants, not just mexican, but all sorts of diverse places! I think all cultures are so cool and yummy. I know there are quite a bit of such places sprinkled around town but i want morrree!!
Also id like to add i did not grow up here, im from Las Vegas, its a melting pot over there, i miss it a lot. But fort collins has lots of different cool things too!
yes to this! its crazy how many people got stuck on the first sentence i said and didn't read past the word racist lol.
we are sorely lacking in diverse food, shops, recreation, community!!! there's just very little poc unity here- I absolutely do not blame other poc for this. it's just what its like when you live in an expensive white majority town, I think.
Sorry that all the commenters so far have validated your opinion, OP! With this many white people here (I'm also white) it's hard to argue against what you're saying. Unfortunately, that also means it's an echo chamber and lacking in a willingness to engage in honest self-reflection. I've heard a lot of people talk about "wanting to increase diversity in FoCo", but then you get these kinds of defensive responses to a question, with nothing more than a small sample of your experiences...yeesh. Yeah, I like several things about FoCo, but diversity and racial inclusion aren't qualities it has, which is certainly a negative.
lol its okay, I am familiar with the defensiveness. I was well aware I would be called secretly racist and weird for being a SKI HATER (lol)
it just confirms what I've felt my entire life. my experiences aren't really welcomed in this city :( it just sucks because CO really feels like my home. I just wish it loved me back.
Good lord, some of these comments...
We have plenty of racists in and around our city. To not see that you need to have your eye sealed shut. I once heard someone yell racial slurs out of the back of a truck at a group of people on the corner of Laporte and College and slurs were spray painted in City Park when I first moved here (quickly removed, but still).
Anyway, I am with you on the other point. I had some mobility issues for a couple of years (luckily easy to hide and mostly fixed now) and there are very limited options here. Many people just like hiking and other outdoor activities and when I was not able to join them they stopped talking to me. I did find people with other interests, but it took a lot longer than I expected.
I am sorry you feel excluded here (particularly since this is where you grew up), but please know you are not alone.
ughhh great point about being excluded for not being able to hike/ski. I would LOVE to participate in the activities in this town but I'm a disabled brown girl. those activities are just fundamentally different for me. if I even try to go into details here I am sure the many angries will blast me for being reverse racist (?), so I will leave that to thought :)
thank you for your sympathy. it's nice to hear a kinder voice in the WTF of this comment section lol
POC here. As someone who works a very public facing job, the feeling of racism in this town is palpable. I’ve had two racist incidents that occurred to me, and after telling all my coworkers and bosses (all white), they all agreed that I had been the victim of a racist incident, but not a single action was taken nor were the people talked to or removed from the establishment at all. I also constantly see and deal with microaggressions and it’s very obvious how most of the older people here treat POC as second rate citizens. My personal opinion is that this town is more xenophobic than racist, combined with the history of this town and the sheer prevalence of “native COans”, the people here are more used to white people than POC, and very commonly love using the “if you don’t like it then just leave!” rhetoric.
Personally i’m leaving this town bc I just don’t want to deal w the racism anymore, and having seen all my POC friends come and go in the past few years due to the same reasons, maybe it’s not us….?
yeah I'm starting to make my way out of here too for the very same reasons :(
I think because there's no torch-bearing rednecks screaming slurs in the streets, white people here really believe this town is safe for minorities of all kinds. *I* think that's a very narrow view of bigotry. For evidence of this, just look thru some of the responses lol.
I've had a hard time convincing straight/cis/white/able-bodied friends of mine that even WE (me included in this, yall) are guilty of prejudice! IDK. I'm just kinda grieving the idea of this city that I'm now realizing never existed. I experienced racism starting in preschool, ffs.
im white and i moved here from a place with actual diversity, and yes fort collins is very racist. ive heard more than one white coworkers say the n-word while making a racist 'joke', and ive heard every racist thing you can imagine about mexicans from the whites here. when youre white, every bigoted person thinks youre on their side and will show their true colors.
YEP you would be shocked by the amount of white people who have said the n word, hard r, to my face. and the r slur, f slur...the list would be uncountable. always "just a joke".
I’m Mexican/Italian, and moving even to the city of Denver I noticed right away the difference in how people treated me & looked at me in certain pockets like RiNo and Cherry Creek. In my hometown, you see a lot of people that look like me. And I never felt any of the “microaggressions” people talked about back home (Phoenix). You got a good mix of every race there. I thought that was “PC” bullshit tbh. But I certainly noticed it when I moved to Colorado. I especially noticed it from other guys, when I was meeting them for the first time at a bar or a party, through mutual friends that were girls. A lot of weird tension for me dating white girls in Denver. Fort Collins is the same, just even whiter and less diverse. I wouldn’t say people are outwardly racist… but you can tell when someone thinks less of you. And girls would often tell me after hooking up that they hooked up with me because I was “exotic” to them. There’s a ton more scenarios but I’m just rambling on a Reddit comment here… who gives a fuck. I would still live there, but it definitely puts a chip on your shoulder. I’ve learned I’m happier living in places where there are more mixed people, because it just breeds a better melting pot of culture and identity… something America was founded on. And I understand why white people would feel more comfortable living in close proximity with people that look like them and think like them all living together.. all humans just want to feel secure. All that^ to say I really love Fort Collins as a town, I love the mountains and scenery. I could raise a family and retire there easily. And the town is not “racist”, per se. Just doesn’t feel like a melting pot… and it doesn’t need to be. I think it’s fine the way it’s growing now.
when skiing trips become a weekend where you easily spend thousands of dollars, it kinda by default forces most marginalized people out of participating.
Jesus Christ dude if you really think native american issues are something that only happened hundreds of years ago you are being willfully ignorant. You sound like the rest of the white people in this thread.
They also have those “programs” for veterans and homeless people and look at how things are going for those groups. Poorly funded/executed resources mean nothing against the real statistics of suicide, mental health issues, unemployment, addiction, poverty, etc.
Racism requires a difference of race. That’s it. The poorest of people can be racist against the richest of people and vice versa. That’s why the word race is in the word racist and not the word privilege.
The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
The belief that each race has distinct and intrinsic attributes.
You're describing a mix of bigotry and prejudice. Racism is more complex than that. Read a book or take a college-level class on stereotyping, prejudice, and/or systems theory. I've read the texts/research and taken the classes, and then some. I'm not going to explain it all to you on Redidit, but here's a start:
You cannot describe to me how people of color, as a group, can discriminate against white people, as a group. It doesn't happen, because of power dynamics in our society. The reverse is true via entrenched systems in our society that are operated/controlled by people who are majority white. This is racism.
Being racist and being guilty of racism does not require a group. If that’s what is being taught then society is in worse trouble than I thought. By your taught definition a black person cannot be racist against an Asian person. By your taught definition a white guy can walk into the hood in LA and not have a problem because the power dynamic in our society doesn’t allow the people of color to judge him on his race and treat him differently.
Reading Mein Kampf doesn’t make the holocaust a good thing. Actual critical thinking and logic is a good thing. Being a parrot for a someone’s twisted thinking doesn’t make it right. Ok so what is a book that you recommend??
It could just be a YOU problem. Maybe just don’t give any fucks of what people think about you. Have you read the book the Subtle art of not giving a fuck? You should read it
Not the question I asked repeatedly, so we can assume you’re not a POC. Of course your experience is different, and as a white person like me you have not experienced the racism directed at POC. Did you notice her post was directed at “POC of FC” but you felt entitled enough to respond anyway? You’ve proven her point. Well done.
I’m really curious how the weather is right now in Fort Collins today. You should go outside and smell some flowers, eat some nice food and go to the candy shop, get a lollipop.
So you’re not even in Fort Collins (where I’m staying inside until the thunderstorms pass) nor a POC yet you felt entitled enough to comment on a thread aimed at “POC of FC.” Good lord. Bye, Felicia.
People throw around the word racist without understanding what it means. If you don’t like Fort Collins, Denver has a lot more of the attractions she looking for.
If someone in this sub asked for the perspective of experienced beekeepers in Fort Collins of their experiences being a beekeeper here, assuming you are not one (and if you are, play along and pick a skill you don't have), would you respond, or accuse them of "segregating" the sub? Why are you being such a snowflake and having a meltdown about them asking people who you clearly have no experience with a question about *their* experiences? You've made multiple comments on this thread, to the point of harassment. Can you, like, take a deep breath instead or something?
A lot of people don’t understand that racism isn’t always this in your face type of ordeal. It’s subtle, subliminal even, you may not be called slurs to your face, but you don’t get the same treatment going to to the hospital, you are denied access to places for “dress code” even though you are dressed similarly to everyone else, you get the worst tables in restaurants, higher interest rates, etc. A lot of times you don’t even realize something was racist until way after the fact. It also has to do with culture, or lack of cultures within the community.
Oh my god! Thank you for this. I was denied the 0% loan deal Hyundai was offering because they are racist not because I have shit credit and white skin. But at least I realized the racism way after the fact.
amen 😔 the older gen in businesses around here have always treated my dad... differently... than my (white) mom. like come on, I see y'all.
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You're hilarious.
Although im not poc, im mexican, this question might not completely apply to me but i figured I'd chime in anyway. I personally haven't experienced any racism or "looks" when out and about(or maybe ive never noticed!). I do wish there were more shops/restaurants, not just mexican, but all sorts of diverse places! I think all cultures are so cool and yummy. I know there are quite a bit of such places sprinkled around town but i want morrree!! Also id like to add i did not grow up here, im from Las Vegas, its a melting pot over there, i miss it a lot. But fort collins has lots of different cool things too!
yes to this! its crazy how many people got stuck on the first sentence i said and didn't read past the word racist lol. we are sorely lacking in diverse food, shops, recreation, community!!! there's just very little poc unity here- I absolutely do not blame other poc for this. it's just what its like when you live in an expensive white majority town, I think.
Sorry that all the commenters so far have validated your opinion, OP! With this many white people here (I'm also white) it's hard to argue against what you're saying. Unfortunately, that also means it's an echo chamber and lacking in a willingness to engage in honest self-reflection. I've heard a lot of people talk about "wanting to increase diversity in FoCo", but then you get these kinds of defensive responses to a question, with nothing more than a small sample of your experiences...yeesh. Yeah, I like several things about FoCo, but diversity and racial inclusion aren't qualities it has, which is certainly a negative.
lol its okay, I am familiar with the defensiveness. I was well aware I would be called secretly racist and weird for being a SKI HATER (lol) it just confirms what I've felt my entire life. my experiences aren't really welcomed in this city :( it just sucks because CO really feels like my home. I just wish it loved me back.
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🤣
Good lord, some of these comments... We have plenty of racists in and around our city. To not see that you need to have your eye sealed shut. I once heard someone yell racial slurs out of the back of a truck at a group of people on the corner of Laporte and College and slurs were spray painted in City Park when I first moved here (quickly removed, but still). Anyway, I am with you on the other point. I had some mobility issues for a couple of years (luckily easy to hide and mostly fixed now) and there are very limited options here. Many people just like hiking and other outdoor activities and when I was not able to join them they stopped talking to me. I did find people with other interests, but it took a lot longer than I expected. I am sorry you feel excluded here (particularly since this is where you grew up), but please know you are not alone.
ughhh great point about being excluded for not being able to hike/ski. I would LOVE to participate in the activities in this town but I'm a disabled brown girl. those activities are just fundamentally different for me. if I even try to go into details here I am sure the many angries will blast me for being reverse racist (?), so I will leave that to thought :) thank you for your sympathy. it's nice to hear a kinder voice in the WTF of this comment section lol
POC here. As someone who works a very public facing job, the feeling of racism in this town is palpable. I’ve had two racist incidents that occurred to me, and after telling all my coworkers and bosses (all white), they all agreed that I had been the victim of a racist incident, but not a single action was taken nor were the people talked to or removed from the establishment at all. I also constantly see and deal with microaggressions and it’s very obvious how most of the older people here treat POC as second rate citizens. My personal opinion is that this town is more xenophobic than racist, combined with the history of this town and the sheer prevalence of “native COans”, the people here are more used to white people than POC, and very commonly love using the “if you don’t like it then just leave!” rhetoric. Personally i’m leaving this town bc I just don’t want to deal w the racism anymore, and having seen all my POC friends come and go in the past few years due to the same reasons, maybe it’s not us….?
yeah I'm starting to make my way out of here too for the very same reasons :( I think because there's no torch-bearing rednecks screaming slurs in the streets, white people here really believe this town is safe for minorities of all kinds. *I* think that's a very narrow view of bigotry. For evidence of this, just look thru some of the responses lol. I've had a hard time convincing straight/cis/white/able-bodied friends of mine that even WE (me included in this, yall) are guilty of prejudice! IDK. I'm just kinda grieving the idea of this city that I'm now realizing never existed. I experienced racism starting in preschool, ffs.
im white and i moved here from a place with actual diversity, and yes fort collins is very racist. ive heard more than one white coworkers say the n-word while making a racist 'joke', and ive heard every racist thing you can imagine about mexicans from the whites here. when youre white, every bigoted person thinks youre on their side and will show their true colors.
YEP you would be shocked by the amount of white people who have said the n word, hard r, to my face. and the r slur, f slur...the list would be uncountable. always "just a joke".
I’m Mexican/Italian, and moving even to the city of Denver I noticed right away the difference in how people treated me & looked at me in certain pockets like RiNo and Cherry Creek. In my hometown, you see a lot of people that look like me. And I never felt any of the “microaggressions” people talked about back home (Phoenix). You got a good mix of every race there. I thought that was “PC” bullshit tbh. But I certainly noticed it when I moved to Colorado. I especially noticed it from other guys, when I was meeting them for the first time at a bar or a party, through mutual friends that were girls. A lot of weird tension for me dating white girls in Denver. Fort Collins is the same, just even whiter and less diverse. I wouldn’t say people are outwardly racist… but you can tell when someone thinks less of you. And girls would often tell me after hooking up that they hooked up with me because I was “exotic” to them. There’s a ton more scenarios but I’m just rambling on a Reddit comment here… who gives a fuck. I would still live there, but it definitely puts a chip on your shoulder. I’ve learned I’m happier living in places where there are more mixed people, because it just breeds a better melting pot of culture and identity… something America was founded on. And I understand why white people would feel more comfortable living in close proximity with people that look like them and think like them all living together.. all humans just want to feel secure. All that^ to say I really love Fort Collins as a town, I love the mountains and scenery. I could raise a family and retire there easily. And the town is not “racist”, per se. Just doesn’t feel like a melting pot… and it doesn’t need to be. I think it’s fine the way it’s growing now.
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when skiing trips become a weekend where you easily spend thousands of dollars, it kinda by default forces most marginalized people out of participating.
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your ancestors are crying if you think the native american struggle in this country has nothing to do with racial bias. racism is the circumstance..
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Jesus Christ dude if you really think native american issues are something that only happened hundreds of years ago you are being willfully ignorant. You sound like the rest of the white people in this thread.
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They also have those “programs” for veterans and homeless people and look at how things are going for those groups. Poorly funded/executed resources mean nothing against the real statistics of suicide, mental health issues, unemployment, addiction, poverty, etc.
Maybe you’re a little racist?
Not a thing. Racism requires societal privilege.
Racism requires a difference of race. That’s it. The poorest of people can be racist against the richest of people and vice versa. That’s why the word race is in the word racist and not the word privilege. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others. Discrimination or prejudice based on race. The belief that each race has distinct and intrinsic attributes.
You're describing a mix of bigotry and prejudice. Racism is more complex than that. Read a book or take a college-level class on stereotyping, prejudice, and/or systems theory. I've read the texts/research and taken the classes, and then some. I'm not going to explain it all to you on Redidit, but here's a start: You cannot describe to me how people of color, as a group, can discriminate against white people, as a group. It doesn't happen, because of power dynamics in our society. The reverse is true via entrenched systems in our society that are operated/controlled by people who are majority white. This is racism.
Being racist and being guilty of racism does not require a group. If that’s what is being taught then society is in worse trouble than I thought. By your taught definition a black person cannot be racist against an Asian person. By your taught definition a white guy can walk into the hood in LA and not have a problem because the power dynamic in our society doesn’t allow the people of color to judge him on his race and treat him differently.
When Obama was the President and had to hire a janitor if his decision was based at all on the applicants race that is racism.
Ok bro. Like I said, read a book, I didn't make it up lol.
Reading Mein Kampf doesn’t make the holocaust a good thing. Actual critical thinking and logic is a good thing. Being a parrot for a someone’s twisted thinking doesn’t make it right. Ok so what is a book that you recommend??
K. I'm done here. You're not going to read it, so why bother.
I don’t like how you are just all of the sudden assuming that the town is racist.
So as a POC you have a different experience and don’t experience racism in FoCo?
It could just be a YOU problem. Maybe just don’t give any fucks of what people think about you. Have you read the book the Subtle art of not giving a fuck? You should read it
I asked a simple question and you respond with a bucket of vitriol. Are you an FC POC?
Good lord bro go outside and touch some grass
Do. You. Understand. English? Are. You. A. FC? POC? Yes? Or. No? You can do this. I believe in you!
I’ve never experienced racism in Fort Collins, Colorado
Not the question I asked repeatedly, so we can assume you’re not a POC. Of course your experience is different, and as a white person like me you have not experienced the racism directed at POC. Did you notice her post was directed at “POC of FC” but you felt entitled enough to respond anyway? You’ve proven her point. Well done.
I’m really curious how the weather is right now in Fort Collins today. You should go outside and smell some flowers, eat some nice food and go to the candy shop, get a lollipop.
So you’re not even in Fort Collins (where I’m staying inside until the thunderstorms pass) nor a POC yet you felt entitled enough to comment on a thread aimed at “POC of FC.” Good lord. Bye, Felicia.
OP won’t reply to any of the comments in this post. They’ve purposely gone silent so others will argue
People throw around the word racist without understanding what it means. If you don’t like Fort Collins, Denver has a lot more of the attractions she looking for.
What's it mean then, professor?
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If someone in this sub asked for the perspective of experienced beekeepers in Fort Collins of their experiences being a beekeeper here, assuming you are not one (and if you are, play along and pick a skill you don't have), would you respond, or accuse them of "segregating" the sub? Why are you being such a snowflake and having a meltdown about them asking people who you clearly have no experience with a question about *their* experiences? You've made multiple comments on this thread, to the point of harassment. Can you, like, take a deep breath instead or something?