Interracial couples Please respond (Tampa, Orlando: house, school, living in)

[deliz]

Doesn't matter where you live. There are morons and racists everywhere. Hold your held high be proud that you are in a loving relationship. I honestly believe the racist ignorance is the minority

[MDavisisme]

I am a 33 y/o black woman married to a 35 y/o white man, with no children.
Although I've never been to Pensacola, I have visited Orlando, Panama City Beach, Cocoa Beach, and Daytona Beach, FL.....and let me tell you, Daytona Beach was the ONLY place where we felt entirely welcomed as if we belonged.

That's not to say we were mistreated or ignored elsewhere, but we did feel like second class citizens INITIALLY each time we arrived.
We enjoyed ourselves very much and had a blast every time except in Panama CB, and I'll get to that in just a moment.

PCB and Cocoa beach are predominantly white, with an approximate 6% minority population...AND WE FELT IT. The stares were endless; not stares of curiosity, but of disapproval and disappointment. Cocoa Beach was by far our favorite place (great seafood and beautiful sandy beaches), but we had to work our way into enjoying the place initially and here's why. We visited nearly a month before the presidential election (Obama's 2nd term) and the place was so politically charged. We went to dine at a restaurant and no one wanted to wait on us. The place wasn't crowded, the servers looked like they needed work, yet we were left standing at the entrance podium waited to be seated. One of the workers in the back yelled, "It ain't my turn to seat guests!"

Whoopie woo. Any other time we would have left, but we were starving so we chose to stick it out. Eventually we were seated at a table near the bar, where all monitors were covering the election. Great. One guy looks at us and yells out, "I ain't voting for Obama!" .....which was great, but why he felt WE gave a F I'm still clueless.

The waitress......intelligent. Open-minded and empathetic. She was the ONLY person who we thought had any class at all and we were prepared to tip her our life savings.

The old white couple behind us.....constant whispers and stares, and complete disgust when the waitress offered to take a photo of my husband and I (as if to say how dare they!). It got so uncomfortable for my husband, he turned around and told the 70 year old guy he would come across the table if necessary. Now, I would have never let him do that NOR would he have, but it was nice to see my white husband feel this undeserved frustration. I wish I could have inked that moment in history!

Oh....and the old biker guy who kept a close watch on us from outside the back door to make sure we paid our bill AND tipped well (which we always do). As soon as the bill was paid, he decided he no longer needed to "watch" us and it was safe to retreat to whatever he was doing previously.

Cocoa Beach is a small town, so news travels real fast. Once people saw how nice and respectful we were at the grocery stores, beach, etc, AND that we tipped well, it's like they rolled out the red carpet for us. Well, I wouldn't go that far, but let's just say we didn't feel like 2nd class citizens anymore. I guess that's a good thing. At least a start :-)

Now, PCB - a complete time capsule into WTF am I? Racist as hell, and all the black people work as servers, hotel housekeepers, etc, and they seem to have an inferiority complex which WE certainly don't. A young white male, between 18-23 I suppose (not sure he was even legal but...) aparently had too much to drink and was knocking on everyone's hotel doors screaming N's aint gone be s**t. It was the craziest thing I'd heard in a long time and then I remembered where I was. Demographics are everything....because had this kid been in Atlanta saying that, he would not have made it. Guaranteed.

Sorry for the lost post, but I wanted to be as honest and descriptive as possible. You may not be treated bad or in an overtly racist way while you are in Florida, but the racism is there. The stares, whispers, and feeling like you have to prove yourself to be respected.......this was OUR experience in FL.

Daytona, was so diverse on the other hand. Reminds me of Myrtle Beach, SC except wayyyyyyy more mixed couples and such....

[DT97]

Originally Posted by MDavisisme

A young white male, between 18-23 I suppose (not sure he was even legal but...) aparently had too much to drink and was knocking on everyone's hotel doors screaming N's aint gone be s**t. It was the craziest thing I'd heard in a long time and then I remembered where I was. Demographics are everything....because had this kid been in Atlanta saying that, he would not have made it. Guaranteed.

Exactly the reason why I'm moving from Atlanta to Tampa when my lease runs out in Dec.

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by DT97

Exactly the reason why I'm moving from Atlanta to Tampa when my lease runs out in Dec.

Just a hotter version of the same thing.

[DT97]

Originally Posted by m1a1mg

Just a hotter version of the same thing.

You sure about that? Been to Atlanta lately?

[GHOSTRIDER AZ]

It sounds and I was not there for that poor behavior , but you got to understand that your life style is not accepted by all. It seems there is just as bad behavior to be dished out if the roles were reverses. The old school way of thinking was the children (if any) would be mixed (naturally) and not accepted by Black and white cultures.
Perceptions are changing but will take a generation or two to get the acceptance you are seeking. Be honest I am not totally accepted this concept due to the same reasons as I mentioned. But the success rate of opposite cultures does have a higher risk of failure. My fam has /had interracial relationships and they have not been a total success. The Father (Black Guy) choose to leave at a very early age which left my niece more of less fatherless. Not good!


I am sorry that some one made you feel that way and put you in an uncomfortable place from my Fellow Florida Citizen . It takes more time to undo our societies bad taste, plus you and your mate chose this life and you must have thick skin. If its worth the cost t to you? running to Atlanta will not solve your problems either.

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by DT97

You sure about that? Been to Atlanta lately?

Yep. About a month ago. I lived there for a few years as well.

Both have way too much urban sprawl, way too much crime, and way too much traffic.

[Mr. Opinionated]

Originally Posted by roadtrip75

It sounds like they are ignoring the much bigger threat facing you (and them). 93% of black murder victims were killed by other black people (source). 98% of gun assaults in New York City were committed by blacks and Hispanics (source),

As if that makes racially motivated white on black crime legitimate maybe?? Why do white people keep promoting this mindset when whites have certainly comitted fratricide worldwide for centuries? And should that excuse black people from hating or murdering them also?? I'm thinkin' hell to tha naww!! Logic fail.

[FloridaPirate355]

I used to go steady with a black girl and I never encountered any problems or prejudice from people here in Florida because of it. Same goes with this Puerto Rican girl I used to date.

If you are experiencing prejudice than I apologize and just want you to know that those people are a small minority.

Honestly I find Florida and the South in general to be less racist than other parts of the country. I see a lot more interracial couples than anywhere else that I've been to.
Most racist place I have been was the Pacific Northwest, especially Portland Oregon in particular. I drove through some neighborhoods that had swastika flags above shops and bars. Also Hawaii surprisingly has some noticeable racism too, though it's directed at white people by some of the Hawaiian natives.

But again those people are the minority in those places too. Most folk are decent.

[TriStateLove]

Growing up and living in the Southeast, I can honestly say that I think the majority of people ARE NOT racist, or if they are, they keep their opinions to themselves and their mouths shut.

Southerners, especially women, take a lot of pride in being hospitable and having good social graces. In the South people care what other people think about themselves and their family. Being racist is seen as a negative thing down here, same way as it is up north.

"White trash" on the other hand....... may exhibit racism. But white trash is everywhere, not just the South.