[Chronic Diarrhea]

gt, I know you're from AL as well, and I know you went to Hoover High School. I didn't go to Hoover, but I know the division between whites and blacks that still exists very heavily in high school. I've seen the division of the color line since entering college. I believe the reason is that a lot of African-Americans realize that by trying to look hard, by trying to walk, talk, and act a certain way to become accepted by their peers, they've distanced themselves from other people, because it's not a normal act. You may say that's innacurate, and the gangsta sub-culture or whatever term you want to coin for it is merely the culture of blacks.

I don't buy that for a second. The black guys on my football team, and consequently the black guys on the track team that I was on (I was the only white guy on the team BTW), when seperated from the pressure of trying to mold themselves into what society has expected them to, completely breaks the stereotype, and suddenly the "ghetto" accent and phrases disappear. This tells me that by trying to buy into the gangsta sub-culture, it is in fact an unnatural way of presenting yourself in public, because why would these mannerisms disappear when not with that particular group? You wouldn't look at a white guy who is being a "wigger" and view that as normal. Why, then, should it be normal for a black guy?

Again, I've seen that college destroys sub-cultures in our society. This applies not only to the gangsta mentality, but also that of the rebel/redneck/confederate flag cuture, complete with its own mannerisms and idiosyncracies. I see whites and blacks eating with each other, hanging out at the bars on the strip, and, there's a complete breakdown of "white" and "black" clothing styles. Girls dress like girls; guys dress like guys. There's no longer identification of who's a "black" and who's a "white" judging from clothing styles.

This is not to say that whites and blacks do not still hang out with their own race. Indeed, there are still all black fraternities and sororities. It's human nature to hang out with people of your own race, because it's comfortable, it's something you can relate with. Just like a 1st grade boy wouldn't want to hang out with girls. There's a lesser connection with girls than guys at any age, just as there is with respective races. But the dissipation of sub-cultures, which has gotten rid of the use of the words n*gga and n*gger for the most part, is the only way that racism and stereotypes can be truly minimized.