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Divided in Lancashire

"Racists have put it on the Internet—'If you love your country come to Burnley.' The bloody bastards," shouted a white man running through the streets of Burnley in Lancashire, which erupted in race riots between hundreds of whites and Asians last month.

"Welcome to Sarajevo," said an Asian man, shrugging.

Source: The Guardian

Breaking down homophobia

In a Gallup poll of attitudes toward homosexuality, 81 percent of women thought gays and lesbians should be allowed to be in the armed forces, but only 63 percent of men agreed.

Still fewer men thought homosexual relations between consenting adults should be legal—only 49 percent, compared with 57 percent of women.

How do you measure up? Is homosexuality something people are born with?

Men:
     Born with    Environmental choice

Women:
     Born with    Environmental choice

Source: Gallup.com

I can’t get no satisfaction

Only 26 percent of Americans are very satisfied with their financial situation, according to a Gallup poll. Another 51 percent said they were somewhat satisfied. Having more money helped, but it isn’t a deciding factor. Of those making under $20,000 a year, 14 percent said they were very satisfied with their financial situation. Of those making $75,000, 36 percent said they were very satisfied.

Source: Gallup.com

"This is the Chocolate City"

An article by Washington Post writer Natalie Hopkinson sparked crossfire between the newspaper and its readers last month. Hopkinson, 24, wrote of how she and her husband were "often the lone black faces vying for homes historically black neighborhoods," then bought a home in the Bloomingdale section of the city with this strongly-worded declaration: "We damn sure are not about to let white folks buy up all the property in D.C."

"We not only have to invest in the inner city, but we can’t let white people beat us to it," she wrote. "But this is the Chocolate City. … Is the Chocolate City turning Vanilla? " … "Not if I have anything to say about it."

J.C. Mitchell, one of many readers who wrote letters to the editor in disagreement, sadness or protest toward Hopkinson’s views and the Post’s publication of them, commented: "If 'black' were substituted for 'white' throughout the article, it would have been denounced as the block-busting, fear-mongering ranting of a David Duke-type character."

Another reader wrote: "The Washington Post believes racism is acceptable when, and only when, it flows from the pen of a black writer."

Said Steve Luxenberg, editor of the Weekend Outlook section where Hopkinson's article ran, on printing controversial articles dealing with race by black and white authors: "The parallel isn’t right: Most blacks and whites don’t come from equivalent places in America, so they can’t write the same article."

Sources: The Washington Post

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From race riots to "Chocolate Cities"

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