Sad…I totally agree with you..and I have to say…..Yours is the most well-written, thought out blog I’ve seen on here..Thanks for sharing something that is so valuable…

This whole thing has gotten out of hand. The devil has got us all just where he wants us. God is not the author of confusion so if it is not God who is it? When we stand before our Maker it will not be the color of our skin but the condition of our hearts. We have lost sight of what the real tragedy is here. A child has lost his life and many wounded for years to come. I have heard the Parrish family called “ill bread” and actually heard someone say that they have not felt pain because of this whole situation. I beg to differ it has ripped a whole through the hearts of many and now through the community. We have lost sight of the real problem in this community. We have kids being part of a gangs, carrying guns, and selling drugs. The drugs are out of control in this county. We as a community (black and white) must pull ourselves together and pray or do whatever it takes to bring forth change. Please someone share their thoughts. How do you feel about the shape our community is in. What can we do?

Thanks for that R.P.

R.P.  I graduated from PHS in the very early 80s…and we didn’t have that..if you go back through our yearbooks, you will see MANY pictures of black and white folks doing quite well together..Maybe our generation was more tolerant, I don’t know…

I can imagine it’s going to get worse now, too, R.P.  But from what you’re saying, I believe you are right…Since those two boys were so badly beaten by Tahliek’s group—that kinda says it all.  The whole of my high school career I don’t recall that type of behavior..Sure, there were disagreements between a black and a white, as well as whites and whites and blacks and blacks, but never did it escalate to full-scale beatings..And most folks there didn’t have guns, unless they were hunters.  Our generation seems to have grown up with again, a tolerance for each other.

WOW, what an interesting blog. So much hate and tension. I just wanted to drop a line here because it looks like there are some unanswered posts. Tom was looking for some facts about the KKK newsletters being dropped elsewhere. Here is a link I found on one of the earlier pages, just one example:

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977574486

There was also a comment about it not being like this in Powhatan before this happened. That is not true. I graduated Powhatan High School in the late Nineties and when I was there the racial tension was through the roof! At lunch time the area outside where you could eat was separated right in the middle. If you were the wrong color on the wrong side, you paid the price! If you needed to cross the opposite colors side to get somewhere or do something, you’d better damn well have a few friends with you or just go the long way around…..it was ridiculous! I don’t know what it’s like now, but if it’s anything like it was then, I see why this is happening. I also should mention that the racism I experienced in Powhatan High School was no more from the whites as it was the blacks. It was equal hate to go around! The only difference was that the blacks tended to band together a little better than the whites. My junior year it was so tense, never did more than a week or two go by without a fight!

p.s. I just googled the authors of the book - both are white.  I don’t have time to check on the race of all the studies authors.

I don’t need a huntin dog!  I’ve got google.  That was just one of many that came up.

and..predictably..The source for Tom’s reference to hiring practices DID NOT use US Department of Labor statistics AND it was written by a black person…Bet he went to great lengths to find that, too..Sorry, Tom..that dog won’t hunt…

Exactly, Ptown Proud…Anytime folks can’t get what they want they holler race…it’s predictable…and Tom’s statistics are dated..and skewed..but that was predictable..

I agree ptown proud - I’m not a big fan of statistics either.  Only using them here to refute bornhere’s comments about them.