I’m gonna say this and don’t care who gets mad. During Texas Relays, the city is different that most weekends. Yes, there’s a whole bunch of black folks here. But just because people and businesses speak/act unfavorably about it does not automatically mean they are racist.
Yes, there are plenty of racists. But, some of us just get annoyed with it because people act a damn fool. Folks going down the interstate intentionally swerving between 2 lanes to be cute is #1 STUPID & #2 DANGEROUS for the rest of us who are actually on the road for a reason – such as to get to an actual destination; cars idling in the streets impedes not only the traffic flow of cars but also that of pedestrians since no one knows when you’re actually going to drive/get out of the way.
Second, BUSINESS. Businesses exist for 1 reason: PROFIT, so if the cost of maintaining the establishment at anytime/weekend costs more than what is being earned there is no profit being made. People like to compare it to events such as SXSW & ACL, well before you’re quick to simplify and look at just the color of the people those events bring to town, how about take a look at other factors such as the amount of $$$ it brings to the city.
And finally, ATTITUDES. Well we all know what can be said about that…
So for whoever is mad about this how about you take a deep look at your own self & attitudes cuz it isn’t just non-black folks that get annoyed with some of the shenanigans this event brings with it. You either know what I’m saying is true, or you’re mad – and I bet if you’re mad it because you’re part of the problem. Peace
If you think race is not a factor, you are absolutely delusional. If you cannot admit to the racial tension that exists in the city of Austin (especially during Texas Relay weekend), maybe you need a new prescription; because those rose colored glasses you are looking through have your vision blurry.
At no point did I say race is not a factor – please refer to sentence 1
of paragraph 2. And no I’m not black so I can’t pretend to know what it
is like to be black, But what I do know is that a lot of people
intentionally act really stupid during TX Relay weekend. Yes, there is racial tension in this town, every day of the year, and all that stupid behavior (as noted in original post)
only serves to perpetuate those racist ideas people hold. Additionally
when anyone speaks unfavorably of TXR weekend (many) black people
automatically assume the speaker is racist I don’t care how many black,
or whatever color people I am surrounded by. I do however care for the
character of those people. When someone conducts them-self in an
obnoxious & disrespectful manner I tend to not be so fond of it.
This year I worked all weekend so I was unable to go out. But, I would
have really appreciated it if I would have been able get to work without
dealing with irresponsible drivers showing off for each other in the
roadways & people running across the street whenever they feel like
it despite oncoming traffic. Yes, this happens to some degree on any
weekend, but during TXR its an extremely higher degree. All I’m saying
is that race is not the only factor as to why TXR weekend gets on some
people’s nerves. Whoever in this town is racist is going to be racist
year-round. Any other time of the year they have no problem doing
business with other races, because it is profitable. So just maybe their a correlation between the stupid behaviors and inability to make profit.
A lot of people intentionally act stupid during SxSW. A lot of people intentionally act stupid during Mardi Gras. A lot of people intentionally act stupid during Halloween festivities. More arrests are made during these times due to ‘stupidity’ than during Texas Relay weekend. However, businesses do not close during those events. This is where the derived perception of racism or prejudice comes from. When businesses shut their doors during other events due to potential ‘obnoxious’ or ‘disrespectful’ behavior, I might be more convinced that the closing of doors during Texas Relay weekend is not racially motivated.
In my initial response, I never stated you were racist for voicing your opinion. Nor am I jumping to conclusions or making assumptions. I am observing and responding to what I have observed year after year during this time. You make a blanket statement that ‘racists do exist.’ But you fail to correlate that racism in any way to being the reason why businesses close during this event, attended predominately by Black people.
In your response, I take high offense to the comment you make “Any other time of the year they have no problem doing business with other races, because it is profitable.” What you’ve said is that Black people don’t spend money, which isn’t true. Texas Relay weekend is still a multi-million dollar profitable weekend. Even with businesses closed, it rakes in an estimated $8 million dollars.
In your original post you state, “You either know what I’m saying is true, or you’re mad – and I bet if you’re mad it’s because you’re part of the problem.” Crissy, if you knew me, you would retract that statement. I, in no way, ‘act a damn fool.’ I support downtown businesses with my hard-earned money. And my attitude is only to those who are closed-minded and think their view is the only view. Be open and receptive to the thought that maybe someone thinks differently than you. Just because someone disagrees with you, doesn’t make them wrong or to blame for the issue at hand.
Melanie, my follow up comment was not directed at you specifically. It was a general response. Yes, you are absolutely correct that during any big event is Austin people intentionally act stupid & numerous arrests are made. For me personally, the difference I most often observe between the above listed events and TXR is the roadways. It would be expected that downtown traffic is higly frustrating due to influx of people. But during TXR I see people all hours of the day on roads (residential & Hwy) that choose to drive in a recklass manner just to show off. This is why I get pissed off, but God forbid me curse someone out for it because then I’m automatically ‘racist’…..I am ackowledging that racism exists, it always has and sadly probably always will. However, my entire point of the post is that racism should not be the default explanation for everything. I am stressing the fact that there are others reason as to why TXR can annoy people.
As for my comment about making $$ any other time of the year, I’m sorry you take offense to this. I think you are misinterpreting it however. No, I am not saying that black peole don’t spend $$. I am simply making note of economics. I am saying that since the business owners don’t mind accpeting $$ from black folks most of the year, why would they suddenly refuse it for this? Many of the business that close during TXR weekend tend to have a predominatly white college kid clientele. If the main customer bases doesn’t show up (for reasons of racism, comfort, w/e) then the bar wont make money.
As for spending $$ at the bars in general…well, when I first moved to Austin I also thought that many places were extremely racist due to their selective & often made up dress code policies to allow entrace of blacks guys into bars. I thought this for years. It wasn’t until I had numerous conversations with people (mostly black) that have worked as doormen and/or bartenders. As it has been explained to me (mind you these are not my own words, I’m just repeating what I’ve been told): “Most black people dont tip much, and we have a maximun capacity of 350 people, so in order to ensure we bring in a good amount of tips for our workers, we have to be selective and try to get the people in that we think will tip well” – Does this sound racist yes, it does. But unfortunatley this policy derived from experiences and the only way to adjust this mindset is by proving them worng. I’m by no means saying that what they are doing is moral. I’m simply saying that money is more powerful than race.
Finally, about my statement mentioned in your last paragraph, no, not everyone that goes out during TXR acts a damn fool, but do many? Yes. As it reads, “you either know what is saying is true or you’re mad……” I am simply saying that if someone can actually say my hypothesis , ~”But just because people and businesses speak/act unfavorably about it does not automatically mean they are racist. “~ is wrong, and debate that my supporting factors are false, then they may be mad. But I feel pretty confident that anyone who has driven in the streets, ran a business and/or experienced the influx of bad attitudes that (unfortunatly) come with TXR then they know there is some truth in my statement. Personally, the majority of negative remarks I hear from people about TXR does not come from white people and/or people that work in bars downtown. It comes from immgrants (mostly from various African nations) that work in the public service sector. If they can be black and have the same (sometimes worse) perceptions about the weekend, then maybe race is the ultimate factor.
Clever.