Originally Posted by speechlesstx
My wife's car automatically locks the doors when put in gear. I don't lock my old pickup doors anywhere I drive in Amarillo, TX and never have. I live in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood and don't lock my doors, why should I do it anywhere else? The only places I ever really felt nervous was after taking wrong turns in D.C. and Omaha, and in downtown Dallas when some presumed Muslim guy wearing a veil kept walking back and forth in front of us at a stoplight while staring us down. It's the threatening looks and gestures, not the skin color, that causes concern.
Or in the mall where everyone hangs out, or the football stadium, or a hockey game, a baseball game? You're more in danger here of getting your car broken into while you're in church on the 'rich' side of town than a young black man snatching your purse. Our community is made up of a wonderful mix of whites, blacks, Hispanics, Vietnamese, Indians, Pakistanis, Laotians and others and from what I can tell we seem to get along rather well for the most part. But for what it's worth, I tell my wife to be aware of her surroundings EVERYWHERE she goes.
You are assuming racist comments are made at family dinners. Both mine and my brother's best friends growing up were Hispanic and we were all welcome in each other's homes. Presently, I am aware of only one white neighbor within two blocks of the house I grew up in and in which I have resided for the past 24 plus years. Why would we be making racist comments about our friends and neighbors?