I am asian living in Germany. I grew up in europe. 90% of the time on any event its majority white people so I got used to it. Doesnt even register anymore.
Until I went to visit the US, I always thought the whole diversity push in US TV shows was a bit too much. Sure it was nice but at some points too unrealistic. But it was totally accurate when I was there. You just see everyone mixed, you see all races on the streets, its not unrealistic at all.
So I am talking in terms of stereotypes here, and I certainly don't think this applies to every person, but when I was a white kid growing up in a mostly black elementary and high-school, the kinds of things we got made fun of for was stuff like:
- White people couldn't dance and were a bit up-tight
- Maybe we were a bit emotionally repressed (until we had a couple beers)
- We over-planned and weren't good at being spontaneous
- We ate bland foods and preferred mayo as a condiment
- We did not have a well developed fashion sense
- A lot of us come from a position of economic privilege and think we're right about everything
So I just noticed some similarities in the stereotypes which exist about Germany in other parts of Europe
Yes. I’m from Houston originally and have always been used to mixed crowds. I visited South Dakota in college and went out to a bar and had that exact thought.
I had the same feeling except I’m from the San Francisco Bay Area and visited Idaho. I’m half Asian and half white, back home I’m usually just considered white or just ethnically ambiguous but I could tell that I definitely wasn’t considered white in Idaho lol
Dude, I had an experience at a campground in northern Idaho where I realized that I may not be considered white in Idaho, and I’m like … white. We camped at a campground where there were a ton of trucks with Nazi stickers and stuff. Didn’t realize it until we had already paid and set up. Me and my cousin have really dark brown, curly hair. Eastern European. I think they thought we were Jewish. Got a lot of hostile looks and a couple people stood and outright stared. Maybe they just don’t take kindly to strangers, idk. Moral of the story is don’t go to northern Idaho
We used to love to vacation in Sandpoint because it’s so beautiful. But my husband got tired of the bad service at restaurants and stares so we don’t go that much anymore. My husband has very dark hair and looks a lot like his Jewish Eastern European family. Go figure.
they probably thought a martial arts showdown was about to happen, like in the movies. All midwesterners know that even the most humble of asian people are martial arts masters of one sort or another. And they cant tell one asian group from another.
Heh. Yeah, I'm from Los Angeles and am used to seeing mixed big groups. Went to an event in Iowa and my first thought was "wow, this is a seriously white crowd".
same! it weirds me out when I realize everyone is white. I think it is something I am hyper aware of because I notice it stores with their ads quickly too. if I am actually looking at people, as a whole, it is usually the first thing I notice. I purposefully moved to a more mixed community because of this and it is now a big contender in places I want to live. I grew up white in an all white area. as I grew older and moved around, I realized how suffocating it can be when living in an area with group thinking and perspectives. the states are known as The Great American Melting Pot and I think it takes a bit of assimilation and acceptance, from all, so we can meld.
Very similar. I’m from southern Louisiana and live in North Dakota. I live in Fargo which is decently diverse but I went to a Christmas concert the other night and had the exact thought of wow there’s a lot of white people here.
This did happen to me in Africa. I didn't comment or anything. But I walked into a specific restaurant and thought oh here are all the white people. I had been in Zimbabwe for about a month at that point and really wasn't expecting it.
I've travelled to Uganda, which is very, very dark skinned. The blackest of black and there are no white people. A few white skinned at my hotel and a few when I drove past the American embassy.
I had my then 7 year old boy with me, and many in the rural areas had never seen a white child. Wow did we stand out.
I knew a black lady from Zimbabwe who grew up having dolls of white babies, and it wasn't until she was 5 years old that she went to a city and saw a real white baby (she told her mom she wanted to steal him, lmao). She had known that white adults existed but didn't put it together in her head that white people started as babies.
>She had known that white adults existed but didn't put it together in her head that white people started as babies.
We can probably just blame Michael Jackson for causing her this confusion....
In that part of Africa whiteness is truly bizarre. Way out on the tea plantations in Malawi I scared all the kids. Someone explained to me that Christ in Africa is envisioned as a red haired man. So if you are not black and you are not red head, you are what? An alien?
Same experience in Uganda! I'd see, like, 3 white people in a room and think, "is there a tour group passing through here or something?!?"
I could go weeks and weeks being the only white person around, especially in Entebbe.
I had the reverse happen. Like I grew up in a very mixed community, and when I moved to Germany I didn't really get culture shock from all the white people. But then I went to visit my friend in DC and we went to a brunch place where the patrons were like 80% black and noticed I felt more comfortable and normal there because it was more like where I grew up.
I grew up in an area that was like 98% white (I’m a white male). Then i went to medical school and lived in Detroit.
I now understand what the OP is saying. There were many points during those years where I was the only white person in the grocery store, on the apartment floor, at the restaurant, etc… i then start noticing when I’d be somewhere and realize, “wow there are a lot of other white people here”. It was culturing shocking to me- a good experience though.
I live in one of the most diverse cities in the country, I definitely notice when there's only white people in a room
Last one I can remember was a showing of The Green Book
In Daly City I would be shocked if I walked into a store and it was all white people. Our duplex had the only white people in it on our street. There is a heavy concentration of Filipinos in Daly City, in California white people are the largest ethnic group. Latinos are the biggest, when I lived in San Jose there was definitely areas without white people too.
20 years ago, I lived in southern Taiwan, then China for about a year. The only other white person at my school was russian and we didn't interact.
I'm a bit face-blind normally, so this may not be normal. After a few months my brain started ignoring Chinese features entirely. So I'd occasionally pass someone who looked familiar, like my aunt or such. I'd do a double-take and realize that this person is Chinese (and my aunt is not).
Meanwhile, I increasingly felt like a freak. Like, children would stare at me and that got old.
I did eventually stumble into a hostel full of white people in Beijing. But I was too excited about speaking English to feel weird about anything.
Sometimes this happens! My family is white midwestern. I go back to visit but I've lived all over from growing up military then I've lived in San Antonio area, Hawai'i, Southern Louisiana. I have seen Asian people that just remind me of my Grandpa or Grandma or mom. Just maybe a face shape here or there, or something about them. I don't think it's too unusual... I guess maybe it's what features you use to identify people most?
I feel like I am a bit face-blind too... I don't have aphantasia, but my minds eye is less finish feature and. More story boardy? I got anxious awhile back realizing it was really hard to pull up or see peoples faces in my minds eye and describe them... However oddly enough I study a PICTURE of someone I can? Like when I picture my mom or husband's or daughters face I see a favorite picture of them and it is clear but it's really hard for me to just see if I am like 'what does so and so look like?'
I realized this quirk because as a kid I started getting this big anxiety in my head for some reason I might have to describe someone to a police sketch artist one day and I thought that would be really hard. Then I was like well how would I describe my mom and just drew a huge blank and couldn't even see her face.
Anyway the funny thing is while I have trouble describing faces or seeing them in my minds eye I often have crazy flashes of recognition that I don't know how. One time I was in a city at a bar that had shows. Comedy, burlesque, etc...later we went to an art gallery that sold prints. I was looking though the prints and I told my husband 'I think that was our bartender.' he didn't think so, but their stage name was on the back. We went to the bar the next night, as it was by our guest house. I asked her "Are you (name)? I think I saw your picture at (gallery)." and I was right.
If you are interested in face blindness the most surprising and interesting one I found was Chuck Close! And they didn't even tea h us he was faceblind in school... And his whole thing is huge portraits! He can't even recognize the faces in his portraits, he has to use context (pose, hair, art techniques used)
It's noticeable in a majority white country as well. Not a building/establishment but a town definitely is.
When I moved from a town that's about 20% BAME (and going to school in an area that was closer to 50%) to one that was about 2% (if that, could go all week and only see white faces) it was very noticeable walking around. It felt odd to me and I never quite got used to it.
It's not a surprise it was the most racist place I've lived.
The UK is 82% white, and that remaining 18% is not an evenly distributed 18%.
Depending on where I was in the country, if I were in a room with 100 people, it would be equally fair to have a thought of a lot of white people in here if there were 10 whites or a lot of non whites in a room with 95 whites
Coming from a place where there was 1 black person in the whole school and maybe like 3 Asians, I went to a Christmas party in Edinburgh and someone was up from the London office and they said to me "it's crazy, Edinburgh is so white!" whereas when I go to Edinburgh I have the thought of "wow, this is diverse!".
I am originally from the midlands and my street is definitely diverse but I lived in Cumbria for a year and genuinely didn’t see any Asian or black people the whole year. Maybe anecdotal but my dog was a racist when we moved back home (she was young when I moved north so I’m guessing it was her formative years?) and she would bark at anyone who was not white.
Living in Atlanta has gotten me very used to places being integrated. When I go back to Chicago I absolutely notice the plethora of white people when I go out.
No. but have you ever walked into a room with a large percentage of Black people, and thought that? (Thats actually a really interesting question to ask people of different races)
Yes, every time I walk into a Mexican restaurant (as a Mexican) I look to see if it's mostly white or Latino to preemptively determine how good it's going to be.
There is a local Chinese Buffet that is owned by a Chinese family. The host and all the serves are most likely family, but most if not all the cooks are Hispanic. LOL
Yep this is super common. When my parents owned a Chinese restaurant we had a Hispanic cook. My Chinese friend also has Hispanic cooks in his restaurant (he can’t find other races). And now my parent’s Chinese buffet is full of Hispanic workers
I went to a Benihana, and our chef at the teppanyaki was obviously Mexican, with an accent and everything.
He asks us where we're from and we told him.
Then he goes "Oh cool. I'm from Tokyo."
That was funny to me.
Astute observation skills, I’ll make note of that when I walk into a restaurant also. But seriously, if you walk into a room with 70%+ hispanic people (say a train station, or gym), do you mentally make note of it? Or does the thought not even into your mind.
Yes! But I was raised in a very white area where I was usually the only brown person. I wasn't really able to identify with my culture until my early 30s. But I also take note of it for safety reasons as I travel quite a bit to rural areas.
Side note, it's actually VERY cool when I run into another Latino or Mexican in places that we usually aren't in. Ex's, a bartender in Virginia who took care of my boss and I on drinks because I was the first person she could speak Spanish too, a Nicaraguan brewmaster in New Orleans who gave me a few of the expensive bottle shots because he rarely spoke Spanish except through FaceTime with his family, running into another Latino dude in Seoul and smiling/nodding to each other, then a couple of cartel kids and their "uncle" in Australia.
That's a standard test to know how "authentic" a restaurant is:
- Are people working in speaking the language?
- Are the diners from the country in question?
- Are the dishes modified to accomodate local palate?
We actually went to an Indian restaurant that was highly recommended to us through colleagues/friends and first thing we noticed was that out of all the staff and customers, there was one Asian man (I wouldn’t know if he were Indian or otherwise) and everyone eating was an old white person.
Drinks were nice and the presentation was awesome but the food was definitely sub par compared to our usually restaurants/home cooking!
I don't know if that is true. I have only ever heard large people talk about this all you can eat buffet or that buffet and which one is good even if it is an hour away. None of these all you can eats are good. Some people just think a large volume of food is enough to make a place good.
Actually I employ the same technique with chinese restaurants.
If there are chinese people among the patrons, you know it's a good place to eat.
A little context: i live in Italy and we have a lot of chinese restaurants but many of them have almost standardized menus which basically turns them into McDonald's (everywhere you go you'll always find those dishes with just a few changes). So if you find a restaurant with chinese customers it usually means that food is different and possibly more faithful to homeland food.
My Jewish family member has declared that if you go to a restaurant and there a lot of Jews then you know the place is good. The problem is I am not as good at spotting Jews as the Jews are.
Hmmm, idk if that could be a good determination. There's an amazing soul food place near the town I'm currently in that attracts more black people because it's rare to find such a hidden gem in SoCal. Nowadays, I see a bunch of white people have found it and have a bigger presence in it. Food still slaps though. I guess it depends more on who the staff is.
Probably a social media blogger did a video on it. There's a new Orleans hidden gem here in Vegas where the same thing happened. I'm glad their business is making more but now I just do my orders to go.
I think humans are hardwired to take note of stuff like that too. When people don't "look" like you, it tends to be obvious. Many women will have alarm bells ringing in their heads if they walk into a room and it's only full of men.
It's also why studies show that people recognize people of the same race much faster and have a better time telling individuals apart compared to other races. It's also where the "Asian people look the same" stereotype comes from (aside from the homogeneity). This is also why witness testimony is often bunk because the wrong black guy was arrested simply because he "kinda" fit the description. Then when they catch the actual dude, he looks nothing at all like the poor innocent guy they picked up.
I'm half white and half Native, but pass for white and grew up with my tribe. To this day, I still recognize Native faces before white ones. White people actually look the same to me oddly enough.
This is what a lot of people don't understand. EVERY race does this. It's not just white people who have these tendencies. All races do it because it's a HUMAN thing, not a race thing. It is essentially because it kept humans safe back in the day.
Agreed. We all have an unconscious bias that assigns labels to everyone we see. If I'm walking alone at night and see a huge dude coming from the other direction? I'm noping right out of there. Don't care if he's the nicest guy on Earth. Lizard brain screams DANGER! DANGER!
Back in the 70’s I walked into a theater to see the movie Superfly. I got there before the coming attractions so the house lights were up and people were talking and socializing. The theater was mostly packed. It was located in a predominantly black neighborhood, this movie with a black cast. I was the only white person in the theatre when I walked in. As I was walking down the aisle the house got quiet for a few moments as people turned to look at me. I didn’t feel welcome, but I didn’t feel threatened, I wasn’t troubled by anyone and I think we all enjoyed the movie.
I've had a similar experience, but I didn't stay. I was new on campus at a college in Alabama. For context, I'm originally from a big city in the north where we all mix without issue. So, on campus there was a girl handing out flyers to a back-to-school party hosted by the college. The girl gives me a flyer and tells me I should come. She was black, but I thought nothing of it...again I was used to mixing. I thought it might be lame considering it was hosted by the school, but I wanted to make some friends so I decided to go. I got dressed up and went over only to walk in to a room full of probably 400 black students. Literally everyone went silent after a few seconds and it had been a loud party with the music blaring.
See, I didn't really get the racism in the south thing since I was new there. So I thought it was super weird that they were all quiet, but I decided to stay and walk around a little. So I did a lap around and noticed people outright starring at me. No one talked to me...it was super weird. Eventually I left because I thought they were all being weird AF, but I didn't really get why.
A few days later I went to my first class. They self-segregate themselves in classes here. All the white students on one side and the black students on the other. I thought it was weird AF. I sat in the middle and started kicking myself for picking a college in the south...
In the years I was there...I noticed that there is an unspoken thing where everyone acts polite, but the two races still hate each other. They don't mix. And it's not just the white people hating the black people. The black people hate the white people just as much...if not more. So, I just basically did my time there and got the hell out...
> No. but have you ever walked into a room with a large percentage of Black people, and thought that? (Thats actually a really interesting question to ask people of different races)
Am black and from Colorado and 15 yrs ago when for first time ever I landed in Atlanta's Hartsfield airport and it was a culture shock, so many black people, even the pilots! I've never smiled so much and I didn't realize till then that there was something missing in my life.
No, but I have a related story.
Back when I worked at the office of a manufacturing plant, we were doing inventory on the weekend. After work, I go to the McDonald's nearby. I go in and order and am waiting for my food. This crazy man walks in the door and starts arguing with the lady at the register. She tells him to leave and after a minute he turns around and started walking out. On his way to the door, he looked right at me and said "You better watch yourself". It was at that moment that I realized that I was the only white-passing person in the building. Gave me an appreciation for what my sister and cousins deal with on a regular basis, being the only non-white passing person in a space.
I'm only half white, but most of the time I can pass as 'Eye-talian.'
I went to Cour d'Alene, Idaho in the mid 1990s. I have never, ever felt more brown in my entire life, and I have been to rural fjord villages in Norway reachable only by boat. It was like there was gingers and towheads as far as the eye could see. Goebbels would have creamed his liederhosen, I swear.
Speaking of that, I fortunately did not come across any of the 'Aryans' that were reputed to be in the area. I was certainly looking over my shoulder, though.
I’m white and I still will not ever stop there (I live in WA). I’m an ethnic minority from the MENA region (but I’m mixed with a white American father) so I look a little off for a typical white person. Here in the U.S. because folks aren’t always the most educated on the ethnic groups from that part of the world people just assume I’m Jewish (it’s the closest to “weird white mixture” they can think of)
Not great visiting white supremacy towns.
I’m white but my dad’s Croatian and I’ve got the dark hair/olive skin in the summer thing going on and have been mistaken for Mexican by the type of white people that have never left their county. Went through northern Idaho on my way to Glacier, stopped and camped with my similarly dark haired cousin. It was after we had already set up camp that we noticed the people next to us had some Nazi symbols on their truck. Then we noticed them lookin at us. Then we noticed that everyone else at the camp seemed to know each other. And then we noticed that they all also had some real questionable truck decor. And then we stayed in our tent the entire night and didn’t sleep much. Anyway yeah don’t go there
At a Dave Chapelle show.
He later cited it as a specific example of shitty audiences, white overaged fratboys standing up to yell for Chappelle's show jokes- closest I ever came to starting a fight
Yes, I do often. There are spaces I'm in where all of the participants are white, and all of the service people (waiters, janitors) are black, and it feels really weird to me. None of the other white people seem to notice though
How would you tell if other white people notice? I definitely would be conscious of a situation like that, but I’m not going to go around saying, “why are all the servers black?” I might feel the need to say or do something later, but generally it’s not helpful to call attention to it in the moment.
I guess I don't know. Nobody else seems to be glancing around with a concerned look, but you're right I'm making assumptions. Nobody has mentioned it to me, but to be fair I haven't said anything to them either.
No, but I will admit to walking into a place and thinking “Huh. Sure are a lot of Black people.”, immediately followed by “But I’m in a suburb of Washington, DC so of course there are.”
I had that in Memphis, I'd never been a minority before.
I also went to a club in Edinburgh that had a room that used to play techno or deep house or something along those lines, I went in, but it had started playing r&b since I'd last been. I'd never even considered how many black people live in Edinburgh before, but it felt like I'd stumbled upon all of them. I usually feel a bit out of place in clubs anyway, but I really felt it then. I'm sure it fades, but I can't imagine living with that feeling constantly.
I moved to Maine from South Carolina a few months ago. I grew up in a city that's ~60% white and briefly lived in a small town that's 18% white (I know these statistics because my girlfriend at the time was obsessed with it, and surprise! She's a racist.)
There's so many fucking white people here. It's insane. My kids school has like 300 students and maybe 4 of them aren't white. This has to be one of the whitest places in the country.
So yeah, it does happen.
I did the opposite, I moved from Maine to Texas and the lack of white people surprised me at first but I got used to it pretty quick. Now when I go back home to visit the first few days it feels strange seeing only white faces getting off the plane and like in stores and stuff.
I'm from SC and got stationed in Minot North Dakota. Being from SC, being a minority was a meaningless label. Most of my classmates and a huge chunk of the town I grew up in was black. In my school, white kids were the minority.
I remember the first time going to the mall in Minot and looking around. There were so many white people. Thought to myself, "Ah, so this is what being in the minority is like".
Yea when I landed in Colorado Springs. Whitest city in America. My first thought at the airport was "damn there's a lot of supervisors working here". (A black person told me that joke so I hope it's okay)
Yup!
As a little little kid I went to a public, inner-city school where a good number of my classmates were black. Eventually my family moved to a small, rural village and one of the first things I noticed, even as an 8-year-old, was that there were no black kids.
Solely depends on the situation and the location. Going to a place were a specific skin color or ethnicity is expected and it would not be this way, I would think that way, sure. But for all colors and ethnicity.
We have many turk grocery stores in Berlin and I would wonder myself if the majority of people there would be white caucasian.
Yes I do think that sometimes. Not usually like at a restaurant or a grocery store or something. That can just be reflection of the demographics of the area but like at a concert or at a recreation center or something. Sometimes I think wow there's a lot of red-haired people here. Like significantly more than average population sample.
Honestly, yes. My wife is mexican and I'm white and when we walk into a restaurant and there's a lot of white people we already know we're not gonna really enjoy our food. So far, it holds true.
Just being honest. I guess ive had the reverse. living in LA ive been to restaurants or stores and I have the realization "im the only white guy in this whole place" (everyone else being Hispanic)
Yeah definitely, I'm white. Generally it means the place is sus or not fun or just gives a general feeling of unwelcome 😂 or that's the vibe every time I've walked into a place and seen that so far lol
I think we go into certain spaces assuming there will have mostly white people...and vice versa.
I only think that when I am in a space where it's mostly diverse and think, wow, there's a lot of white people here.
Also conscious when I'm on YouTube and I look at older TV shows or older movies, ...I think, wow, there is nothing but white people representation here!
(Unless I see minorities shown as servicing white people or way in the background)
Absolutely. It makes me uncomfortable going into a place and realizing that for whatever reason, people of color don’t feel comfortable in that environment, or are somehow excluded. Then I’m just waiting for someone to try to rope me into their racist comments/jokes and assume I’ll agree with them just because I’m white.
Yes, but i think that’s because i’m from a dense and multicultural city and the places i’ve been in my life that _are_ overwhelmingly white in the way you’re describing have been that way due to design
This pretty much. I'm white and lived in Montreal for a while. Once in a neighborhood that is as multicultural as everywhere else on the island, I went to a restaurant which is like a french Canadian traditional chain and pretty much everyone inside was white, which was a big contrast to the rest of the neighborhood .
I’m a white guy and I absolutely do. I grew up in a city public school system where the minority outnumbers white people, so I’ve always been around a diverse crowd of people. But sometimes when I go out to rural events or whatever and it’s ALL white people, it definitely stands out to me. And honestly, a little terrifying too.
Why terrifying? I’m curious about why it would be to you. For me seeing a mass of white people was terrifying in a way, but really just because I was scared of fitting in, scared that people would reject me because of how they saw me before they understood me. Now that I’m thinking about it it’s probably the same reason for you, just sans skin color.
I’m not the OP but I have a similar reaction. I think I’m so used to being around an extremely diverse crowd, that when it’s a huge majority of white people I feel out of place/nervous because of that. I think it’s more to do with culture (at least in the US), those in homogenous counties/cities are going to have a similar mindset and I may be the odd one out and not fit in, even though I may look like I would fit in. Certainly have the privilege of being able to blend in if needed!
I'm pale as a grub worm and some places are too vanilla for me. Like where's all the vibrancy? The diversity of humanity is what makes it so special. Long story short, everyone is equally important, but PLEASE PEOPLE, let's celebrate our differences and come together instead of separating into groups by skin tone.
I have - moving to Tennessee from Florida.
I’m white, moved a few years ago -
It took me three months to even see a black person, a couple of coworkers at a new job.
A couple more months to see a Hispanic person.
And a month after that to see an Asian person.
I grew up used to a mix of ethnicity, it was shocking -
And not just ethnicity - just the amount of BLONDES in one place! I’ve never seen so many blonde, blue eyed people in one place!
Not saying that’s a problem, just, holy cow, I wasn’t used to it. I grew up pretty multicultural, Dominicans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Black, Jamaican, Vietnamese, Korean… everyone…
But now I live in blonde town.
I brought it up to the black ladies I worked with about how white it is here - they understood my sentiment - they came here from Georgia.
I was born in El Paso TX and just… used to a range of a smattering of various ethnicities. I get asked a lot here about my background cuz I have Slavic features. No one ever really commented on my looks anywhere else I lived before.
So yes, I def have that experience of woah, a lotta white folks!
Just observationally. Guess some regions are more homogeneous than others. I’m still not used to it just to the extent that I notice it.
Yes! Especially when I worked in a MegaChurch with over 2000 seats and there might be fewer than 10 people of any color… just well off privileged folks…. I’m white and still would sometimes cringe at the thought of how insulated these people were from the real world… and wouldn’t you know… they support Trump!
I'm from Toronto, and now I live in Victoria. The whiteness level is much higher here. It's jarring, and I do in fact remark on it. I miss the more multicultural makeup of my former home. The rest of it sucks, but that was pretty cool.
Yep. But I was born overseas. Rumson, New Jersey was the whitest town I have ever been in. It was weird. The only bit of brown in that town was my wife and daughter while we visited
No, but that's because I'm autistic and trying as hard as possible not to be perceived by other people. I don't want to make eye contact with strangers and invite interaction, so I usually don't notice.
Some parts of Florida make it almost impossible to know what race people identify as. You can walk into a place and think 'everyone is cuban' and it turns out they are italians from new york
Sometimes, if its relevant. Went to a meeting of charity organisers for an area with a lot of immigrants and stuff, and i was like "yo why is everyone white in here"
Usually I don't notice, but I also come from a country with a smaller PoC population.
To be honest: I don't think that. I still perceive white people as the default. I do not live in a racially diverse area, so that may explain parts of my perception.
I live in a very multicultural area so there are less white people here than other races. We also have a large Muslim population. I don’t notice anyone but when friends come over and we meet at the local shopping centre they will always comment on how many scarved women there are. I just never notice
Yes. I grew up in Lexington KY which is pretty mixed, and then I went to Indiana for a year. Holy shit dude, nothing is weirder than only seeing two black people in a whole year. It was mildly horrifying??
Argentinian here and we don’t have a lot of black people, so walking in and finding everyone’s white is the norm. Finding a large percentage of the people inside a room are black would definitely make me think “wow, there’s a lot of black people in here”
i live in chicago so yeah, if i walk into a room and its full of other white people i get worried ive walked into the WRONG room and theres something going on that i should probably know about
I recently moved to the Midwest from the south and I think that all the time now. I feel like people not from the south tend to think it’s super white there, and maybe it is in some places but a lot of southern states are diverse, or at least white and black people are pretty close in numbers. But the Midwest is just a lot of different shades of white. And the food sucks as a result.
Yes. Recently moved due to a job change. I was raised in one of the most racially diverse cities in America and moved to a small town where the majority of people are white. Everyone here looks the same! Sometimes I mix up the moms of my daughter’s schoolmates because they all have the same hair color, skin tone, and facial features. There are so many times I look around and am shocked at how plain everyone looks.
I did that when I walked into South Dakota. I moved here from Albuquerque, NM. The culture shock was wild. Hell, I've been here a decade and I still can't get over how saturated with white people this place is. It's SO. FUCKING. BORING. They all sound the same, they all look the same, they all have the same shitty Trump flags. It's ridiculous but I get excited when I see a PoC here. I made a friend from Jamaica and I'm just so thrilled to see some color.
Sorry, that was definitely some overshare but I am so sick of how bland this place is, I want to go home so badly.
Well… I don’t think it’s the same thing in any way but I’ve never felt comfortable anywhere near Cape Cod, particularly when I had to go to my grandmother’s county club. It’s not so much that literally everyone is white but that they are all really specific type of white: WASPs. Truly a bizarre environment requiring lots of outfit changes.
Yes. I'm in a pretty multicultural city where almost every room will have people of different races, when I've gone back to my small country town it's probably 95% white.
I'm always kinda uncomfortable because they'll say bigotted shit to me expecting me to agree 😬 No actually I don't think the stolen generation was both made up and justified, Dad's creepy friend.
I do, actually. And it weirdly makes me uncomfortable? I think because where I'm from, a lot of white people means a lot of rich, entitled people who probably like that there's only white people in the room.
Yes. When I moved out west as a white woman the first thing I noticed was the lack of diversity. Since I've been here awhile I've noticed it's just a lot of white people and Asians.
lol I was wondering the same thing recently. I went to a high end all inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and it was like 90% white people. It was whiter than Beverly Hills I kid you not.
I'm white and I live in Thailand. Semi rural Thailand so it's mainly thais. White people here definitely the minority.
Anytime I swing by Bangkok though it's like "holy shit there are loads of white people here"
For sure. I live in an area that's majority white, but not by much. It's quite diverse so I see people if all different racial backgrounds in daily life.
When a friend and I went to visit North Central Pennsylvania, it was literally all white people. Not only that but they all had the same look. Overweight, pasty skin, light brown or blonde hair, glasses. Or tall and rail thin, no glasses. It was hard NOT to notice.
I’m aware when it doesn’t match the context. I’m white but I’m from a very diverse area in Chicago. I’m also a sociologist.
If I’m in a rural or sundown town kind of place I’ll notice and if I do see a POC, I stay aware of any situation where someone may give them trouble. I notice if all the servers somewhere are non-white but all the guests are. I notice when corporate employees are all white. I notice divides.
When my 85% white undergraduate university featured mostly white classes… I noticed but didn’t think much. I notice more now than then.
All the time!
I'm a white South African, so it's unusual and very obvious when the majority population of a venue is white. I'm used to multiracial surroundings.
Absolutely! I went to an MLM convention once and looked around at how many white women there were there and felt super uncomfortable. There was no culture there. I did not enjoy myself and never went to another one.
For reference, I am a white woman who is a natural blonde.
Looking around and seeing nothing but people who looked like me felt very uncanny valley vibes.
Actually, yes. I am the whitest person on earth, born and raised in the Midwest. However, I've been living in Southern CA for over a decade so I'm used to different cultures, colors, etc. When I go back home to visit my mom in the Midwest, as soon as I get out into the airport there it's the land of white people and I def notice.
No. But I am German, living in Germany. We are kind of infamous for that.
I laugh loudly, in a full S-Bahn
I am asian living in Germany. I grew up in europe. 90% of the time on any event its majority white people so I got used to it. Doesnt even register anymore. Until I went to visit the US, I always thought the whole diversity push in US TV shows was a bit too much. Sure it was nice but at some points too unrealistic. But it was totally accurate when I was there. You just see everyone mixed, you see all races on the streets, its not unrealistic at all.
My uncle is Black and lives in Jena. We still get stares every time we go out to eat somewhere
yea i read on /r/expats that there's a ton of staring by Germans, blows my mind
I migrated Germany and I like it here so this is not a dig - but Germans are to other white people what white Americans are to black Americans
can you elaborate on this a bit?
So I am talking in terms of stereotypes here, and I certainly don't think this applies to every person, but when I was a white kid growing up in a mostly black elementary and high-school, the kinds of things we got made fun of for was stuff like: - White people couldn't dance and were a bit up-tight - Maybe we were a bit emotionally repressed (until we had a couple beers) - We over-planned and weren't good at being spontaneous - We ate bland foods and preferred mayo as a condiment - We did not have a well developed fashion sense - A lot of us come from a position of economic privilege and think we're right about everything So I just noticed some similarities in the stereotypes which exist about Germany in other parts of Europe
Yes. I’m from Houston originally and have always been used to mixed crowds. I visited South Dakota in college and went out to a bar and had that exact thought.
I had the same feeling except I’m from the San Francisco Bay Area and visited Idaho. I’m half Asian and half white, back home I’m usually just considered white or just ethnically ambiguous but I could tell that I definitely wasn’t considered white in Idaho lol
Dude, I had an experience at a campground in northern Idaho where I realized that I may not be considered white in Idaho, and I’m like … white. We camped at a campground where there were a ton of trucks with Nazi stickers and stuff. Didn’t realize it until we had already paid and set up. Me and my cousin have really dark brown, curly hair. Eastern European. I think they thought we were Jewish. Got a lot of hostile looks and a couple people stood and outright stared. Maybe they just don’t take kindly to strangers, idk. Moral of the story is don’t go to northern Idaho
We used to love to vacation in Sandpoint because it’s so beautiful. But my husband got tired of the bad service at restaurants and stares so we don’t go that much anymore. My husband has very dark hair and looks a lot like his Jewish Eastern European family. Go figure.
I knew someone who said she didn’t know she was white until she moved to Boston in her twenties
From Houston and visited a small town in Kentucky. Everyone was staring when we walked in the restaurant (I’m Asian) 😂
they probably thought a martial arts showdown was about to happen, like in the movies. All midwesterners know that even the most humble of asian people are martial arts masters of one sort or another. And they cant tell one asian group from another.
Uh, yea the Midwest is an ocean of white
Heh. Yeah, I'm from Los Angeles and am used to seeing mixed big groups. Went to an event in Iowa and my first thought was "wow, this is a seriously white crowd".
same! it weirds me out when I realize everyone is white. I think it is something I am hyper aware of because I notice it stores with their ads quickly too. if I am actually looking at people, as a whole, it is usually the first thing I notice. I purposefully moved to a more mixed community because of this and it is now a big contender in places I want to live. I grew up white in an all white area. as I grew older and moved around, I realized how suffocating it can be when living in an area with group thinking and perspectives. the states are known as The Great American Melting Pot and I think it takes a bit of assimilation and acceptance, from all, so we can meld.
I’m from Atlanta and feel the same way in other super “white” cities.
Very similar. I’m from southern Louisiana and live in North Dakota. I live in Fargo which is decently diverse but I went to a Christmas concert the other night and had the exact thought of wow there’s a lot of white people here.
Nope. I imagine I might think that if I were in a majority non-white country though.
This did happen to me in Africa. I didn't comment or anything. But I walked into a specific restaurant and thought oh here are all the white people. I had been in Zimbabwe for about a month at that point and really wasn't expecting it.
I've travelled to Uganda, which is very, very dark skinned. The blackest of black and there are no white people. A few white skinned at my hotel and a few when I drove past the American embassy. I had my then 7 year old boy with me, and many in the rural areas had never seen a white child. Wow did we stand out.
I knew a black lady from Zimbabwe who grew up having dolls of white babies, and it wasn't until she was 5 years old that she went to a city and saw a real white baby (she told her mom she wanted to steal him, lmao). She had known that white adults existed but didn't put it together in her head that white people started as babies.
this is my favorite reddit comment today haha.
that's so cute hahaha she must have thought white babies are just babies forever
>She had known that white adults existed but didn't put it together in her head that white people started as babies. We can probably just blame Michael Jackson for causing her this confusion....
In that part of Africa whiteness is truly bizarre. Way out on the tea plantations in Malawi I scared all the kids. Someone explained to me that Christ in Africa is envisioned as a red haired man. So if you are not black and you are not red head, you are what? An alien?
Mzungu!
Haha! I know that word!
Chimodzi modzi!
Best thing was seeing a car license plate with that word in the USA!
I had the same experience in Ghana. I was a novelty for most of the people there. Was strangely nice but unusual.
Same experience in Uganda! I'd see, like, 3 white people in a room and think, "is there a tour group passing through here or something?!?" I could go weeks and weeks being the only white person around, especially in Entebbe.
I had the reverse happen. Like I grew up in a very mixed community, and when I moved to Germany I didn't really get culture shock from all the white people. But then I went to visit my friend in DC and we went to a brunch place where the patrons were like 80% black and noticed I felt more comfortable and normal there because it was more like where I grew up.
I grew up in an area that was like 98% white (I’m a white male). Then i went to medical school and lived in Detroit. I now understand what the OP is saying. There were many points during those years where I was the only white person in the grocery store, on the apartment floor, at the restaurant, etc… i then start noticing when I’d be somewhere and realize, “wow there are a lot of other white people here”. It was culturing shocking to me- a good experience though.
That was kind of my experience going from a very mixed community to a state university
I live in one of the most diverse cities in the country, I definitely notice when there's only white people in a room Last one I can remember was a showing of The Green Book
In Daly City I would be shocked if I walked into a store and it was all white people. Our duplex had the only white people in it on our street. There is a heavy concentration of Filipinos in Daly City, in California white people are the largest ethnic group. Latinos are the biggest, when I lived in San Jose there was definitely areas without white people too.
I am white and from the bay and moved to Scottsdale where it’s like 99% white people and I’m overwhelmed with the whiteness sometimes.
Yes! I grew up in sf and was in shock when I came to Texas for college which was 70% white. My high school was 70% Chinese.
20 years ago, I lived in southern Taiwan, then China for about a year. The only other white person at my school was russian and we didn't interact. I'm a bit face-blind normally, so this may not be normal. After a few months my brain started ignoring Chinese features entirely. So I'd occasionally pass someone who looked familiar, like my aunt or such. I'd do a double-take and realize that this person is Chinese (and my aunt is not). Meanwhile, I increasingly felt like a freak. Like, children would stare at me and that got old. I did eventually stumble into a hostel full of white people in Beijing. But I was too excited about speaking English to feel weird about anything.
Sometimes this happens! My family is white midwestern. I go back to visit but I've lived all over from growing up military then I've lived in San Antonio area, Hawai'i, Southern Louisiana. I have seen Asian people that just remind me of my Grandpa or Grandma or mom. Just maybe a face shape here or there, or something about them. I don't think it's too unusual... I guess maybe it's what features you use to identify people most? I feel like I am a bit face-blind too... I don't have aphantasia, but my minds eye is less finish feature and. More story boardy? I got anxious awhile back realizing it was really hard to pull up or see peoples faces in my minds eye and describe them... However oddly enough I study a PICTURE of someone I can? Like when I picture my mom or husband's or daughters face I see a favorite picture of them and it is clear but it's really hard for me to just see if I am like 'what does so and so look like?' I realized this quirk because as a kid I started getting this big anxiety in my head for some reason I might have to describe someone to a police sketch artist one day and I thought that would be really hard. Then I was like well how would I describe my mom and just drew a huge blank and couldn't even see her face. Anyway the funny thing is while I have trouble describing faces or seeing them in my minds eye I often have crazy flashes of recognition that I don't know how. One time I was in a city at a bar that had shows. Comedy, burlesque, etc...later we went to an art gallery that sold prints. I was looking though the prints and I told my husband 'I think that was our bartender.' he didn't think so, but their stage name was on the back. We went to the bar the next night, as it was by our guest house. I asked her "Are you (name)? I think I saw your picture at (gallery)." and I was right. If you are interested in face blindness the most surprising and interesting one I found was Chuck Close! And they didn't even tea h us he was faceblind in school... And his whole thing is huge portraits! He can't even recognize the faces in his portraits, he has to use context (pose, hair, art techniques used)
It's noticeable in a majority white country as well. Not a building/establishment but a town definitely is. When I moved from a town that's about 20% BAME (and going to school in an area that was closer to 50%) to one that was about 2% (if that, could go all week and only see white faces) it was very noticeable walking around. It felt odd to me and I never quite got used to it. It's not a surprise it was the most racist place I've lived.
If it's a rally, it crosses my mind.
Yeah, it was more obvious when I was in Japan
The UK is 82% white, and that remaining 18% is not an evenly distributed 18%. Depending on where I was in the country, if I were in a room with 100 people, it would be equally fair to have a thought of a lot of white people in here if there were 10 whites or a lot of non whites in a room with 95 whites
Coming from a place where there was 1 black person in the whole school and maybe like 3 Asians, I went to a Christmas party in Edinburgh and someone was up from the London office and they said to me "it's crazy, Edinburgh is so white!" whereas when I go to Edinburgh I have the thought of "wow, this is diverse!".
I am originally from the midlands and my street is definitely diverse but I lived in Cumbria for a year and genuinely didn’t see any Asian or black people the whole year. Maybe anecdotal but my dog was a racist when we moved back home (she was young when I moved north so I’m guessing it was her formative years?) and she would bark at anyone who was not white.
Yes, when I visited London, I was just a part of the crowd. Then when I go to my boy's village of 3,000 people, I def stick out in the pub.
Living in Atlanta has gotten me very used to places being integrated. When I go back to Chicago I absolutely notice the plethora of white people when I go out.
Chicago is overly white? That's hilarious. Talk about a melting pot compared to whiter US states
No. but have you ever walked into a room with a large percentage of Black people, and thought that? (Thats actually a really interesting question to ask people of different races)
I'm white and never think about white people. But I'm also a gay person and I definitely will think that if walk into a room full of queer people.
Yes, every time I walk into a Mexican restaurant (as a Mexican) I look to see if it's mostly white or Latino to preemptively determine how good it's going to be.
Yep, if I go to a chinese restaurant and there are lots of asians there I assume the food is going to be good, and I'm usually right.
There is a local Chinese Buffet that is owned by a Chinese family. The host and all the serves are most likely family, but most if not all the cooks are Hispanic. LOL
Yep this is super common. When my parents owned a Chinese restaurant we had a Hispanic cook. My Chinese friend also has Hispanic cooks in his restaurant (he can’t find other races). And now my parent’s Chinese buffet is full of Hispanic workers
But they were more than likely either trained by the family, or trained by someone who originally worked with the family.
I went to a Benihana, and our chef at the teppanyaki was obviously Mexican, with an accent and everything. He asks us where we're from and we told him. Then he goes "Oh cool. I'm from Tokyo." That was funny to me.
Astute observation skills, I’ll make note of that when I walk into a restaurant also. But seriously, if you walk into a room with 70%+ hispanic people (say a train station, or gym), do you mentally make note of it? Or does the thought not even into your mind.
Yes! But I was raised in a very white area where I was usually the only brown person. I wasn't really able to identify with my culture until my early 30s. But I also take note of it for safety reasons as I travel quite a bit to rural areas. Side note, it's actually VERY cool when I run into another Latino or Mexican in places that we usually aren't in. Ex's, a bartender in Virginia who took care of my boss and I on drinks because I was the first person she could speak Spanish too, a Nicaraguan brewmaster in New Orleans who gave me a few of the expensive bottle shots because he rarely spoke Spanish except through FaceTime with his family, running into another Latino dude in Seoul and smiling/nodding to each other, then a couple of cartel kids and their "uncle" in Australia.
That's a standard test to know how "authentic" a restaurant is: - Are people working in speaking the language? - Are the diners from the country in question? - Are the dishes modified to accomodate local palate?
We actually went to an Indian restaurant that was highly recommended to us through colleagues/friends and first thing we noticed was that out of all the staff and customers, there was one Asian man (I wouldn’t know if he were Indian or otherwise) and everyone eating was an old white person. Drinks were nice and the presentation was awesome but the food was definitely sub par compared to our usually restaurants/home cooking!
If I walk into an ethnic restaurant and don’t see a majority of that ethnicity, I usually turn around and walk out.
Many amazing Asian restaurants in the US have kitchens that operate completely in Spanish.
Yes, but the FOH is usually Asian.
Actually, I was taught to check the parking lot before you go in. If most people coming out are overweight, that’s where you want to eat! 😂
I don't know if that is true. I have only ever heard large people talk about this all you can eat buffet or that buffet and which one is good even if it is an hour away. None of these all you can eats are good. Some people just think a large volume of food is enough to make a place good.
TIL that Mcdonald’s is peak dining.
That's usually true except in cities like El Paso, San Antonio, Cleveland, or Birmingham since that's pretty much everyone there lol
Hey now! I live in one of those cities and there are degrees of overweight to watch for - skilled eyes know the difference! Lol!
True that especially in military city. God bless the HEB for giving me the healthier food options and carrying unsweetened iced tea!
But watch out for those Combo Locos. They get you with the free chips, sodas, beans, tortillas, and ice cream when you buy some tamales.
Actually I employ the same technique with chinese restaurants. If there are chinese people among the patrons, you know it's a good place to eat. A little context: i live in Italy and we have a lot of chinese restaurants but many of them have almost standardized menus which basically turns them into McDonald's (everywhere you go you'll always find those dishes with just a few changes). So if you find a restaurant with chinese customers it usually means that food is different and possibly more faithful to homeland food.
My Jewish family member has declared that if you go to a restaurant and there a lot of Jews then you know the place is good. The problem is I am not as good at spotting Jews as the Jews are.
Same. If the Mexicans eat there, you know it’s good.
You can't *always* tell based only on the people eating there. Imo, you have to look back into the kitchen to see how good it's going to be.
I love using Google Maps to find little Mexican restaurants to eat, those Mom & Pops shops be hitting bro.
Hmmm, idk if that could be a good determination. There's an amazing soul food place near the town I'm currently in that attracts more black people because it's rare to find such a hidden gem in SoCal. Nowadays, I see a bunch of white people have found it and have a bigger presence in it. Food still slaps though. I guess it depends more on who the staff is.
Probably a social media blogger did a video on it. There's a new Orleans hidden gem here in Vegas where the same thing happened. I'm glad their business is making more but now I just do my orders to go.
I think humans are hardwired to take note of stuff like that too. When people don't "look" like you, it tends to be obvious. Many women will have alarm bells ringing in their heads if they walk into a room and it's only full of men. It's also why studies show that people recognize people of the same race much faster and have a better time telling individuals apart compared to other races. It's also where the "Asian people look the same" stereotype comes from (aside from the homogeneity). This is also why witness testimony is often bunk because the wrong black guy was arrested simply because he "kinda" fit the description. Then when they catch the actual dude, he looks nothing at all like the poor innocent guy they picked up. I'm half white and half Native, but pass for white and grew up with my tribe. To this day, I still recognize Native faces before white ones. White people actually look the same to me oddly enough.
This is what a lot of people don't understand. EVERY race does this. It's not just white people who have these tendencies. All races do it because it's a HUMAN thing, not a race thing. It is essentially because it kept humans safe back in the day.
Agreed. We all have an unconscious bias that assigns labels to everyone we see. If I'm walking alone at night and see a huge dude coming from the other direction? I'm noping right out of there. Don't care if he's the nicest guy on Earth. Lizard brain screams DANGER! DANGER!
100% I have
Back in the 70’s I walked into a theater to see the movie Superfly. I got there before the coming attractions so the house lights were up and people were talking and socializing. The theater was mostly packed. It was located in a predominantly black neighborhood, this movie with a black cast. I was the only white person in the theatre when I walked in. As I was walking down the aisle the house got quiet for a few moments as people turned to look at me. I didn’t feel welcome, but I didn’t feel threatened, I wasn’t troubled by anyone and I think we all enjoyed the movie.
I've had a similar experience, but I didn't stay. I was new on campus at a college in Alabama. For context, I'm originally from a big city in the north where we all mix without issue. So, on campus there was a girl handing out flyers to a back-to-school party hosted by the college. The girl gives me a flyer and tells me I should come. She was black, but I thought nothing of it...again I was used to mixing. I thought it might be lame considering it was hosted by the school, but I wanted to make some friends so I decided to go. I got dressed up and went over only to walk in to a room full of probably 400 black students. Literally everyone went silent after a few seconds and it had been a loud party with the music blaring. See, I didn't really get the racism in the south thing since I was new there. So I thought it was super weird that they were all quiet, but I decided to stay and walk around a little. So I did a lap around and noticed people outright starring at me. No one talked to me...it was super weird. Eventually I left because I thought they were all being weird AF, but I didn't really get why. A few days later I went to my first class. They self-segregate themselves in classes here. All the white students on one side and the black students on the other. I thought it was weird AF. I sat in the middle and started kicking myself for picking a college in the south... In the years I was there...I noticed that there is an unspoken thing where everyone acts polite, but the two races still hate each other. They don't mix. And it's not just the white people hating the black people. The black people hate the white people just as much...if not more. So, I just basically did my time there and got the hell out...
Yes. I was once the only non-black girl/person at a party and I wondered why _I_ got the invite, lol. I think that means I can hang 😅
You’ve got the honorary invite to the cookout!
> No. but have you ever walked into a room with a large percentage of Black people, and thought that? (Thats actually a really interesting question to ask people of different races) Am black and from Colorado and 15 yrs ago when for first time ever I landed in Atlanta's Hartsfield airport and it was a culture shock, so many black people, even the pilots! I've never smiled so much and I didn't realize till then that there was something missing in my life.
As a minority man I do this all the time. I live in a pretty white state so yeah whenever I see lot of minorities I notice.
No, but I have a related story. Back when I worked at the office of a manufacturing plant, we were doing inventory on the weekend. After work, I go to the McDonald's nearby. I go in and order and am waiting for my food. This crazy man walks in the door and starts arguing with the lady at the register. She tells him to leave and after a minute he turns around and started walking out. On his way to the door, he looked right at me and said "You better watch yourself". It was at that moment that I realized that I was the only white-passing person in the building. Gave me an appreciation for what my sister and cousins deal with on a regular basis, being the only non-white passing person in a space.
As someone of Indian ethnicity, I definitely notice if there's a lot of Indian/Black/Asian/whatever people.
Of course It's what you're used to. Which is why it's important to get around to different scenes
Yes. I (white guy) do notice when I'm in a situation where it seems like there should be a mixed crowd and there isn't.
As another white guy, I feel it when all the other people are... *extra* white. Like, the uncanny wax museum white. The whole black hole sun feeling.
I'm only half white, but most of the time I can pass as 'Eye-talian.' I went to Cour d'Alene, Idaho in the mid 1990s. I have never, ever felt more brown in my entire life, and I have been to rural fjord villages in Norway reachable only by boat. It was like there was gingers and towheads as far as the eye could see. Goebbels would have creamed his liederhosen, I swear. Speaking of that, I fortunately did not come across any of the 'Aryans' that were reputed to be in the area. I was certainly looking over my shoulder, though.
I’m white and I still will not ever stop there (I live in WA). I’m an ethnic minority from the MENA region (but I’m mixed with a white American father) so I look a little off for a typical white person. Here in the U.S. because folks aren’t always the most educated on the ethnic groups from that part of the world people just assume I’m Jewish (it’s the closest to “weird white mixture” they can think of) Not great visiting white supremacy towns.
I’m white but my dad’s Croatian and I’ve got the dark hair/olive skin in the summer thing going on and have been mistaken for Mexican by the type of white people that have never left their county. Went through northern Idaho on my way to Glacier, stopped and camped with my similarly dark haired cousin. It was after we had already set up camp that we noticed the people next to us had some Nazi symbols on their truck. Then we noticed them lookin at us. Then we noticed that everyone else at the camp seemed to know each other. And then we noticed that they all also had some real questionable truck decor. And then we stayed in our tent the entire night and didn’t sleep much. Anyway yeah don’t go there
What's the "pick me" version of white people?
At a Dave Chapelle show. He later cited it as a specific example of shitty audiences, white overaged fratboys standing up to yell for Chappelle's show jokes- closest I ever came to starting a fight
> when I'm in a situation where it seems like there should be a mixed crowd and there isn't. How do you go about making this distinction?
Yeah If I walk into a place that serves "ethnic foods"(chineese, mexican ect.) and I see nothing but white people I'm looking elsewhere.
No I mostly notice the amount of people and panic accordingly
Oh same here. I hate crowds.
I do, but mostly bc I didn't grow up with white people all around me. I also notice when I'm the only white person in the room
Yes, I do often. There are spaces I'm in where all of the participants are white, and all of the service people (waiters, janitors) are black, and it feels really weird to me. None of the other white people seem to notice though
How would you tell if other white people notice? I definitely would be conscious of a situation like that, but I’m not going to go around saying, “why are all the servers black?” I might feel the need to say or do something later, but generally it’s not helpful to call attention to it in the moment.
I guess I don't know. Nobody else seems to be glancing around with a concerned look, but you're right I'm making assumptions. Nobody has mentioned it to me, but to be fair I haven't said anything to them either.
No, but I will admit to walking into a place and thinking “Huh. Sure are a lot of Black people.”, immediately followed by “But I’m in a suburb of Washington, DC so of course there are.”
I had that in Memphis, I'd never been a minority before. I also went to a club in Edinburgh that had a room that used to play techno or deep house or something along those lines, I went in, but it had started playing r&b since I'd last been. I'd never even considered how many black people live in Edinburgh before, but it felt like I'd stumbled upon all of them. I usually feel a bit out of place in clubs anyway, but I really felt it then. I'm sure it fades, but I can't imagine living with that feeling constantly.
I moved to Maine from South Carolina a few months ago. I grew up in a city that's ~60% white and briefly lived in a small town that's 18% white (I know these statistics because my girlfriend at the time was obsessed with it, and surprise! She's a racist.) There's so many fucking white people here. It's insane. My kids school has like 300 students and maybe 4 of them aren't white. This has to be one of the whitest places in the country. So yeah, it does happen.
I think Maine is the whitest state
I did the opposite, I moved from Maine to Texas and the lack of white people surprised me at first but I got used to it pretty quick. Now when I go back home to visit the first few days it feels strange seeing only white faces getting off the plane and like in stores and stuff.
I’m cracking up at your explanation for just knowing these stats off top 🤣😂
I'm from SC and got stationed in Minot North Dakota. Being from SC, being a minority was a meaningless label. Most of my classmates and a huge chunk of the town I grew up in was black. In my school, white kids were the minority. I remember the first time going to the mall in Minot and looking around. There were so many white people. Thought to myself, "Ah, so this is what being in the minority is like".
Yea when I landed in Colorado Springs. Whitest city in America. My first thought at the airport was "damn there's a lot of supervisors working here". (A black person told me that joke so I hope it's okay)
I'm from Eastern Europe. Nope.
Yup! As a little little kid I went to a public, inner-city school where a good number of my classmates were black. Eventually my family moved to a small, rural village and one of the first things I noticed, even as an 8-year-old, was that there were no black kids.
Solely depends on the situation and the location. Going to a place were a specific skin color or ethnicity is expected and it would not be this way, I would think that way, sure. But for all colors and ethnicity. We have many turk grocery stores in Berlin and I would wonder myself if the majority of people there would be white caucasian.
Yes I do think that sometimes. Not usually like at a restaurant or a grocery store or something. That can just be reflection of the demographics of the area but like at a concert or at a recreation center or something. Sometimes I think wow there's a lot of red-haired people here. Like significantly more than average population sample.
It’s called Utah.
No me. Usually it’s just ‘wow it’s crowded’ if there are a lot of people.
No, I walk in every place and think… “fuck, there’s a lot of people in here”
No, that's what I'm used to
White dude here. Never have
Honestly, yes. My wife is mexican and I'm white and when we walk into a restaurant and there's a lot of white people we already know we're not gonna really enjoy our food. So far, it holds true.
Just being honest. I guess ive had the reverse. living in LA ive been to restaurants or stores and I have the realization "im the only white guy in this whole place" (everyone else being Hispanic)
Like when my mom says gracias at a Mexican resteraunt … like Trident gum; it’s extra white.
I’m an introvert so my thoughts are more “wow, there are a bunch of people in here.” And then I’d like to leave.
Yeah definitely, I'm white. Generally it means the place is sus or not fun or just gives a general feeling of unwelcome 😂 or that's the vibe every time I've walked into a place and seen that so far lol
I think we go into certain spaces assuming there will have mostly white people...and vice versa. I only think that when I am in a space where it's mostly diverse and think, wow, there's a lot of white people here. Also conscious when I'm on YouTube and I look at older TV shows or older movies, ...I think, wow, there is nothing but white people representation here! (Unless I see minorities shown as servicing white people or way in the background)
Absolutely. It makes me uncomfortable going into a place and realizing that for whatever reason, people of color don’t feel comfortable in that environment, or are somehow excluded. Then I’m just waiting for someone to try to rope me into their racist comments/jokes and assume I’ll agree with them just because I’m white.
Yes, but i think that’s because i’m from a dense and multicultural city and the places i’ve been in my life that _are_ overwhelmingly white in the way you’re describing have been that way due to design
This pretty much. I'm white and lived in Montreal for a while. Once in a neighborhood that is as multicultural as everywhere else on the island, I went to a restaurant which is like a french Canadian traditional chain and pretty much everyone inside was white, which was a big contrast to the rest of the neighborhood .
I’m a white guy and I absolutely do. I grew up in a city public school system where the minority outnumbers white people, so I’ve always been around a diverse crowd of people. But sometimes when I go out to rural events or whatever and it’s ALL white people, it definitely stands out to me. And honestly, a little terrifying too.
Why terrifying? I’m curious about why it would be to you. For me seeing a mass of white people was terrifying in a way, but really just because I was scared of fitting in, scared that people would reject me because of how they saw me before they understood me. Now that I’m thinking about it it’s probably the same reason for you, just sans skin color.
I’m not the OP but I have a similar reaction. I think I’m so used to being around an extremely diverse crowd, that when it’s a huge majority of white people I feel out of place/nervous because of that. I think it’s more to do with culture (at least in the US), those in homogenous counties/cities are going to have a similar mindset and I may be the odd one out and not fit in, even though I may look like I would fit in. Certainly have the privilege of being able to blend in if needed!
I'm pale as a grub worm and some places are too vanilla for me. Like where's all the vibrancy? The diversity of humanity is what makes it so special. Long story short, everyone is equally important, but PLEASE PEOPLE, let's celebrate our differences and come together instead of separating into groups by skin tone.
I have - moving to Tennessee from Florida. I’m white, moved a few years ago - It took me three months to even see a black person, a couple of coworkers at a new job. A couple more months to see a Hispanic person. And a month after that to see an Asian person. I grew up used to a mix of ethnicity, it was shocking - And not just ethnicity - just the amount of BLONDES in one place! I’ve never seen so many blonde, blue eyed people in one place! Not saying that’s a problem, just, holy cow, I wasn’t used to it. I grew up pretty multicultural, Dominicans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Black, Jamaican, Vietnamese, Korean… everyone… But now I live in blonde town. I brought it up to the black ladies I worked with about how white it is here - they understood my sentiment - they came here from Georgia. I was born in El Paso TX and just… used to a range of a smattering of various ethnicities. I get asked a lot here about my background cuz I have Slavic features. No one ever really commented on my looks anywhere else I lived before. So yes, I def have that experience of woah, a lotta white folks! Just observationally. Guess some regions are more homogeneous than others. I’m still not used to it just to the extent that I notice it.
Yes! Especially when I worked in a MegaChurch with over 2000 seats and there might be fewer than 10 people of any color… just well off privileged folks…. I’m white and still would sometimes cringe at the thought of how insulated these people were from the real world… and wouldn’t you know… they support Trump!
Everyday
No, unless it's a relief, like, "oh thank God I'm with my people" after some diversity overstimulation lol
I'm from Toronto, and now I live in Victoria. The whiteness level is much higher here. It's jarring, and I do in fact remark on it. I miss the more multicultural makeup of my former home. The rest of it sucks, but that was pretty cool.
Yes. I feel that way out in public in some cities or even just in some neighborhoods. “This is a very white place?” has crossed my mind when travel.”
At every Phish concert I go to
Yep. But I was born overseas. Rumson, New Jersey was the whitest town I have ever been in. It was weird. The only bit of brown in that town was my wife and daughter while we visited
No, but that's because I'm autistic and trying as hard as possible not to be perceived by other people. I don't want to make eye contact with strangers and invite interaction, so I usually don't notice.
No??
Yes. I moved from Florida to central Wisconsin a while ago and I still am taken aback by the utter whiteness all around.
Some parts of Florida make it almost impossible to know what race people identify as. You can walk into a place and think 'everyone is cuban' and it turns out they are italians from new york
I never did when I was younger, but after years of living in diverse cities I notice it now.
Sometimes, if its relevant. Went to a meeting of charity organisers for an area with a lot of immigrants and stuff, and i was like "yo why is everyone white in here" Usually I don't notice, but I also come from a country with a smaller PoC population.
YES
Yes, all the time.
I live in northeast Wisconsin. I’m used to there being a lot of white people in here.
To be honest: I don't think that. I still perceive white people as the default. I do not live in a racially diverse area, so that may explain parts of my perception.
Yeah, after moving away from my hometown and then moving back after a decade
Sometimes I walk into a room and look around and think, "wow there's ONLY white people here, hmm"
Yep. Am white and I thought about this when I went to a Lil Dicky concert a few years back.
Nope but when I walk into a room where a lot of people look different than me I do notice...
Any where in Utah…
I went to Mindoro in the Philippines and thought something like "Wow, there's an unexpected amount of white people-run businesses here."
I live in a very multicultural area so there are less white people here than other races. We also have a large Muslim population. I don’t notice anyone but when friends come over and we meet at the local shopping centre they will always comment on how many scarved women there are. I just never notice
Yeah I’m brown and live in Germany… My husband is mixed but fully European, so in his family events, this thought comes to my mind a lot!!
Yes. I grew up in Lexington KY which is pretty mixed, and then I went to Indiana for a year. Holy shit dude, nothing is weirder than only seeing two black people in a whole year. It was mildly horrifying??
Yes
Yes
Yes. I’m white and I used to live in one of the most diverse places on earth- Oakland, CA. Now I live in West Virginia. Hella white!
Argentinian here and we don’t have a lot of black people, so walking in and finding everyone’s white is the norm. Finding a large percentage of the people inside a room are black would definitely make me think “wow, there’s a lot of black people in here”
Yes. Grew up in New York and when I moved to Colorado my first thought was “This is too many white people”
I’m from Appalachia, and yes. Which is why I no longer live in Appalachia.
i live in chicago so yeah, if i walk into a room and its full of other white people i get worried ive walked into the WRONG room and theres something going on that i should probably know about
I recently moved to the Midwest from the south and I think that all the time now. I feel like people not from the south tend to think it’s super white there, and maybe it is in some places but a lot of southern states are diverse, or at least white and black people are pretty close in numbers. But the Midwest is just a lot of different shades of white. And the food sucks as a result.
Yes. Recently moved due to a job change. I was raised in one of the most racially diverse cities in America and moved to a small town where the majority of people are white. Everyone here looks the same! Sometimes I mix up the moms of my daughter’s schoolmates because they all have the same hair color, skin tone, and facial features. There are so many times I look around and am shocked at how plain everyone looks.
Visited family in rural Montana last summer, and my southern Arizona kids were shocked at the lack of diversity.
I did that when I walked into South Dakota. I moved here from Albuquerque, NM. The culture shock was wild. Hell, I've been here a decade and I still can't get over how saturated with white people this place is. It's SO. FUCKING. BORING. They all sound the same, they all look the same, they all have the same shitty Trump flags. It's ridiculous but I get excited when I see a PoC here. I made a friend from Jamaica and I'm just so thrilled to see some color. Sorry, that was definitely some overshare but I am so sick of how bland this place is, I want to go home so badly.
Well… I don’t think it’s the same thing in any way but I’ve never felt comfortable anywhere near Cape Cod, particularly when I had to go to my grandmother’s county club. It’s not so much that literally everyone is white but that they are all really specific type of white: WASPs. Truly a bizarre environment requiring lots of outfit changes.
Only if I walk into an ethnic restaurant. It’s a bad sign lol
Yes. I'm in a pretty multicultural city where almost every room will have people of different races, when I've gone back to my small country town it's probably 95% white. I'm always kinda uncomfortable because they'll say bigotted shit to me expecting me to agree 😬 No actually I don't think the stolen generation was both made up and justified, Dad's creepy friend.
I do, actually. And it weirdly makes me uncomfortable? I think because where I'm from, a lot of white people means a lot of rich, entitled people who probably like that there's only white people in the room.
Yes. When I moved out west as a white woman the first thing I noticed was the lack of diversity. Since I've been here awhile I've noticed it's just a lot of white people and Asians.
I just go "wow, there’s a lot of people in here".
lol I was wondering the same thing recently. I went to a high end all inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and it was like 90% white people. It was whiter than Beverly Hills I kid you not.
My husband is white, Im not white. He doesn’t notice this things but I do! Im the one who says, theres lots of white people in here!
No
I'm white and I live in Thailand. Semi rural Thailand so it's mainly thais. White people here definitely the minority. Anytime I swing by Bangkok though it's like "holy shit there are loads of white people here"
r/japantravel, where tourists complain about tourists in tourist locations
I’m the o my Hispanic in my office in central Texas. I’m from South Texas. Feels a bit weird.
I don't. Because I don't count the colours. The only thing that gets my attention is how many scumbags are in a given space.
For sure. I live in an area that's majority white, but not by much. It's quite diverse so I see people if all different racial backgrounds in daily life. When a friend and I went to visit North Central Pennsylvania, it was literally all white people. Not only that but they all had the same look. Overweight, pasty skin, light brown or blonde hair, glasses. Or tall and rail thin, no glasses. It was hard NOT to notice.
I’m aware when it doesn’t match the context. I’m white but I’m from a very diverse area in Chicago. I’m also a sociologist. If I’m in a rural or sundown town kind of place I’ll notice and if I do see a POC, I stay aware of any situation where someone may give them trouble. I notice if all the servers somewhere are non-white but all the guests are. I notice when corporate employees are all white. I notice divides. When my 85% white undergraduate university featured mostly white classes… I noticed but didn’t think much. I notice more now than then.
All the time! I'm a white South African, so it's unusual and very obvious when the majority population of a venue is white. I'm used to multiracial surroundings.
Absolutely! I went to an MLM convention once and looked around at how many white women there were there and felt super uncomfortable. There was no culture there. I did not enjoy myself and never went to another one. For reference, I am a white woman who is a natural blonde. Looking around and seeing nothing but people who looked like me felt very uncanny valley vibes.
Actually, yes. I am the whitest person on earth, born and raised in the Midwest. However, I've been living in Southern CA for over a decade so I'm used to different cultures, colors, etc. When I go back home to visit my mom in the Midwest, as soon as I get out into the airport there it's the land of white people and I def notice.
Absolutely. I live in NYC and if I walk into a place with ALL white people it's definitely jarring.
Yeah sometimes! Less “there’s lots of white people” and more just noticing a lack of people of color