Is DU more or less diverse than the Democratic Party? (updated OP)

[CreekDog]

Last edited Fri May 23, 2014, 06:22 PM - Edit history (2)

In terms of race, ethnicity, gender and orientation?

Also, is it more or less tolerant than the party is on issues of key importance relating to the civil rights and the dignity of all with respect to race, ethnicity, gender and orientation?

update:

This sheds some light on the answer to the question:

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[Gravitycollapse]

1. Significantly less racially and ethnically diverse, if I remember the polls correctly.

Not sure about everything else.

[LeftyMom]

8. Also much older.

[Gormy Cuss]

21. The polls have enormous self-selection bias and really aren't reliable.

IOW, there's no way of knowing from a DU poll whether those responding are representative of all DUers.

[CreekDog]

28. well, then there's this

it may not be representative, but it sure says something!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023809738

Do you have a smartphone, non-smart cell phone, or no cell phone?

151 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Time expired

I have a smartphone 78 (52%)
I have a cell phone, but not a smart phone 59 (39%)
I have neither a smartphone, nor a cell phone. 14 (9%)

1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.

[Gormy Cuss]

122. Yes, it says that 150 DUers voted because they saw the poll and were interested.

That's self-selection. FWIW, that rate of smartphone ownership is slightly lower than the rate in recent representative surveys.
http://marketingland.com/pew-61-percent-in-us-now-have-smartphones-46966


eta: to answer your OP question, my observation is that DU doesn't reflect the diversity of the Democratic party. It doesn't even reflect the left wing of the party.

[Gravitycollapse]

30. All DUers or those who post regularly? The two likely are not the same.

Although I still suspect both classifications would garner a proportion of white participants above that of the Democratic party.

Economics alone already dictates that internet access is significantly less limited to whites than it is to person's of color. A discussion board is going to severely underrepresent at least the lower quartile of incomes and probably more. It is not a stretch at all to, along with the weak data from polls, conclude that DU is disproportionately white compared to the Democratic party.

[bravenak]

2. Much less.

We have very few minorities and less women than the party as a whole.

[Skidmore]

3. Really?

Explains some things for me. Where was that data collected and summarized?

[bravenak]

7. Look around.

Read the AA section. The party is full of black people. I can't count more than twenty that i know of that are active posters on this site. Can you?

[Skidmore]

9. Just didn't know where you were getting the data from.

[bravenak]

11. I think we had a poll one time.

I would google it if i could remember the title.
It showed we were older, whiter, and more male than the party as a whole. Not a big surprise.

[LeftyMom]

13. Over the years they're been a lot of polls.

They consistently show that a typical DUer is whiter than rice on a paper plate in a snow storm, and older than the hills. (Any thread on music or pop culture backs this up, so it's not people gaming the polls.)

[bravenak]

15. LOL!!

I fear you are correct, madam.

[Jesus Malverde]

22. "Any thread on music or pop culture backs this up"

This is one of the most revealing aspects of the demographics on this site.

Top of the lounge right now..

Your favorite "album track" or "deep cut"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018619350

The most current one referenced in the thread...

from 1992...

[CreekDog]

25. well if the age of our trolls is any indication...

see, even a lot of our trolls sign up with screen names that reference songs, bands, lyrics, etc.

invariably they are songs my mom liked. 40+ years ago!

we can't even attract a crowd of younger and more diverse trolls. we are so losing our edge.

[LeftyMom]

32. I love the "why don't kids these days make activist music?" threads.

What I like about them is that a few people reply by posting a million political songs from younger bands, and then a few months later somebody posts the same question, and it's been going on for ten years.

It's almost like people here are old and out of touch!

[BainsBane]

34. You can tell from paying attention to discussions

Last edited Tue May 20, 2014, 10:44 PM - Edit history (1)

and the small size of the ethnic area groups, like the African American group. African Americans are the single most reliable Democratic voting block, yet we have less than a dozen active posters here. That lack of diversity is evidence in the hostility to threads about racism and privilege. Yesterday I saw someone target two of the most active AA members and say they "made DU suck." This place is hostile to people of color, which is why so many have given up and left.

[snooper2]

63. maybe they are doing something more important than posting online

[BainsBane]

90. Is that your excuse

for the fact that so many peole of color feel so much racial hostility on this site that they have left?
You think that's funny?

[snooper2]

93. This site has always been a majority of 50+ white women

going back to 2001

[BainsBane]

94. I know from reading in the AA group

that a number of posters have left due to what they feel is a climate of hostility. Having seen it first-hand, I can understand why. The fact is people of color are funadmental to the base of the Democratic Party, yet their numbers here are small.

[Blue_Tires]

126. It's very easy to see by eye...

Last edited Fri May 23, 2014, 10:21 AM - Edit history (1)

DU has easily lost (for a variety of reasons) probably 80% of everyday regular black posters...

Unless for whatever reason the newer black posters have declined to identify themselves...

And for the record, even in DU's most diverse years, it was still lagging behind the national demographic...

[CreekDog]

10. that has been my impression too

[bravenak]

12. Also more educated than society as a whole too is what i suspect.

Thats why we get into smart people battles. War of the nerds!!!

We could stand to do some outreach, though.

[CreekDog]

16. i agree on both

we're mostly political and policy nerds.

but your point above about outreach is one that I really think matters. I had a few ideas, among them, was to have highly recommended posts automatically get posted on a DU twitter feed.

twitter is far younger, more diverse than DU and highly recommended posts might draw people outside, inside.

of course, I posted the idea here, on many occasions and was told by many in the DU demographic that we can't try this because blah blah blah, or because we can already do it ourselves, or because...

and in the couple years since, i've watched the site get even whiter.

[bravenak]

18. I think it's a good idea.

We could tweet duzy's. I always love those. Other stuff too. I going to think about it and brainstorm, and ask my little cousins. I'm 33 so thats too old to know what the kids think.
I like tumblr. I wonder what we could do with that.

[CreekDog]

20. oh you're a teenager here!

this place is so old that the trolls name themselves after songs from the 60's.

[bravenak]

26. No wonder i don't get the joke sometimes.

I love it!! Feeling young.....

[CreekDog]

27. yes, lots of jokes about where Jim Morrison went

even i had to look on wikipedia to figure them out.

[bravenak]

29. My mom also doesn't get some of them.

Born too late. I think that was a song.

Where Jim Morrison went? Hmmm. Well i have years to figure them out. I have to do more lounge time.

[1StrongBlackMan]

57. LOL ...

I was going to say, I grew up in the 60s (and came of age in the 70s, like your Mom) and I don't get many of the jokes. At first, I thought it was because of my being Black ... But for all of my educational years, I was surrounded by white folks.

So, I guess the references can be understood by a very narrow sub-culture.

[bravenak]

59. Sometimes i read a thread, and i spend an hour googling bands i never heard of.

Then i realize that i wasn't even born when some of those folks died and i feel a bit better about myself.

I mean ' i'm smart beyond my years' so i should know these things, but TBH lots of stuff goes straight over my head.

[1StrongBlackMan]

73. LOL ...

you lost it at the end with the admission ... that won't have happened.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

38. ouch.

[CreekDog]

39. sorry

the old applies to me too.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

41. the old I can deal with ...

the troll ... not so much

its all good

to answer your OP ... this place is loaded down with Old White Men ... I think we have had polls in past years that support that assertion.

I wonder if Discussionist is one way the Admin have sought to diversify not only their portfolio but, as a way to reach out to a larger more colorful participation.

[CreekDog]

50. LOL that's funny. I was trying to figure out what you were talking about

Then I finally realized your name is a Moody Blues song.




ps-not calling you a troll, though there is one or several that sign up under names of classic rock lyrics. they'll probably google now and...

[1StrongBlackMan]

54. I wish this ...

we're mostly political and policy nerds

Were true. We are far better described as: mostly political and policy , as interpreted by our favorite blog/blogger, nerds.

I doubt there are more than a few that have read the policy that they support/argue against, most vociferously. This shows up in all the posts that state as a matter of fact, stuff that late turns out to be false (or at best, highly selectively reported).

[Fumesucker]

46. There are a lot of autodidacts here

Mineral Man's thread a week or two ago about reading the encyclopedia for entertainment was revealing and got a surprising number of replies.

Many DUers are obsessive life long learners, the sheer depth of knowledge and memory here is a major part of what keeps me coming back.

[bravenak]

47. I'm a learn on my own type of person too.

There are so many smart people here it's kinda scary. When i am able to force myself to shut up, i find myself learning alot.
The encyclopedia thing cracked me up, i though i was the only one who did that! I bet most of us read our text books the same day we got them. I alway did.

[babylonsister]

4. I think DUers are a lot more informed than many in

our party. Just an observation. Otherwise, I got nuthin'.

[oldhippie]

5. Less, less nt

[Supersedeas]

138. 2 times

[yawnmaster]

6. Assuming that DU is mainly a sampling from the larger population, the Democratic Party,

then it is probably less diverse.

[1StrongBlackMan]

58. But DU is no where near a sampling of the larger population. eom.

[yawnmaster]

65. I believe it is a sampling of the larger population. eom

[1StrongBlackMan]

74. Okay ...

in the most generic sense, you are correct; but it is no where near a representative sample.

[yawnmaster]

86. I completely agree with you there...

That's why I think the mean of this sample can be very different than the larger population (ie more right or left leaning), and that the variation is smaller (which can lead to higher agreement within the group on views closer to the means and larger arguments with those views that vary)

[1StrongBlackMan]

89. Ahhh, a fancy way o saying DU is it's own bubble ...

Oh yeah ... I completely agree!

[LAGC]

14. Haven't there been polls on this before?

If memory serves, the largest demographic on DU are white women in their 50's.

[geek tragedy]

17. Older, whiter, more male.

On race/gender, to the right of the national party.

On economics and foreign policy, to the left of the national party.

[CreekDog]

24. that's an important nuance you posted

and I think it's correct.

thanks.

[Jamaal510]

43. Precisely.

"On race/gender, to the right of the national party.

On economics and foreign policy, to the left of the national party."

[Number23]

45. That's a great analysis. And I think you're spot on judging by the endless stream of posts

bemoaning how "right wing" the country is now compared to xx time, usually the 40s and 50s. Completely oblivious to the fact that for people with melanin and women, this country is a hell of alot LESS right wing than it was back then and you couldn't pay us to go back to those days.

But those social matters like equal opportunity in employment, housing and education -- that mean SO much to me and my family -- mean practically nothing here. Probably because white men didn't benefit from them.

[AverageJoe90]

53. " But those social matters like equal opportunity.....mean practically nothing here." I dunno what..

you've been reading on here.....but that's not true, at all. DUers care very much about equal opprotunity, by and large. Probably even more so than the Party as a whole.

[JI7]

92. no, if one doesn't even want to acknowledge and admit to there being a problem

and keep denying it , it shows they don't care. not only that thye don't care but they are part of the problem.

[Number23]

106. And once again 23-year old AverageJoe is telling a NOT 23-year old black person

how things are re: race.

I have 4 people here that I have begged and pleaded to put me on ignore because I found them either clueless, deranged or come glorious combination of both. You're about to become the 5th.

[AverageJoe90]

121. Go ahead if you'd like. I won't miss you.

But frankly, I was just setting the record straight. For whatever faults this site may have, it's not at all untrue that most of the people on here really do care about equal justice, opprotunity, etc. for all Americans(with the possible exception of the Men's Group, maybe). In fact, it's as true as true can be.

I wouldn't necessarily call you deranged, TBH. But in terms of things re: DU, I don't like to say this, but you are unfortunately, more than a bit clueless. Maybe even self-deluded. And you certainly have that self-righteous attitude to go along with that. So again, put me on ignore if you're THAT bothered by me. I have already blocked 4 other people myself, and I'm not afraid to add more these days.

Perhaps maybe someday, you'll take a breather, collect your thoughts, and realize that DU isn't the terrible hypocritical place you seem to think it is. But only you can do that for yourself.

[Number23]

134. I see you read as well as you do everything else around here

You have made such a spectacular name for yourself. You should be really proud of the way that you are viewed by large numbers of people who post here. You have not only been on this earth less time than I have but you have even been on DU less time than me and yet you are STILL trying to tell me what I do and do not see here every day.

I suppose I should be shocked that a person so clueless that when he (mis)quoted an article, the author of the article SIGNED ON TO DU for the sole purpose of telling you that you didn't know what you were talking about. And with no clue, no grace and no shame, you are still running around telling every one what they see as if you have a clue or anyone gives Damn the First about your opinion.

I said that I would ask YOU to put me on ignore. As I said, you appear to read as well as you do everything else. And I don't need you to tell me to take a breather or whatever other arrogant stupidity was in your post. The ONLY thing I need for you to do is stay away from me and to take your particular brand of staunch ignorance out of every single fucking race thread on this web site.

[AverageJoe90]

51. "On race/gender, to the right of the national party." I wouldn't be so sure of that, TBH.

If anything at all, we are almost certainly to the LEFT of the Party on both accounts.....just as with economics. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself, though.

[geek tragedy]

52. there is a lot more tolerance here for outright misogyny

than there is in corporate America, let alone the Democratic party

[1StrongBlackMan]

60. And racist, comments, as well ...

whether they are intentional or unintended.

I agree ... DU is far, far to the right of the national party in respect to race and gender (but I'm not certain about GLBTQ issues).

And far, far to the left of the national party on most other issues, including the environment and domestic affairs.

But I would say that the same holds true for DU's relationship to the country as a whole.

[bravenak]

77. Do quite a bit of stereotyping here too.

Like the Asian privilege thread. Or saying that black people leave their kids, go to jail for not paying child support, don't know how to use birth control, and have to many babies to afford. And people rec that stuff. If i had seen that on my first day perusing the site i would have not signed up and would have thought this was a joke rightwing site.
Or that thread slamming 18-30's for their voting habits, why would any young person want to vote for the candidates suggested by people who get on their soapboxes and disrespect and slam them?
No wonder midterms suck.
When you google democratic websites guess what comes up first? DU.

[Egnever]

64. that is ridiculous

What leads you to make such silly claims.

[geek tragedy]

71. What do you think is stricter on misogyny and sexism,

DU Community Standards or the standard "hostile environment" rules at most workplaces in corporate America?

Hint: anonymous juries do not get to vote "leave it, refute with facts" in corporate America

[Egnever]

72. Laws and realities are two different things

[1StrongBlackMan]

79. And corporate policies are evidence of ...

the corporate world's intolerance of intolerance ... making the corporate workplace a more tolerant place.

[Egnever]

81. Coroprate policies are evidence of

Corporations aversions to lawsuits, nothing more and again have no reflection on reality other than something to point to when they find an action so egregious they need cause to fire someone.

[1StrongBlackMan]

84. And the result is ...

A near elimination of overt racist/sexist remarks and actions ... and more thought about/consideration of others when making comments/taking actions; thereby creating a more tolerant workplace.

I, as a Black man, don't care what someone thinks about my, racially ... I only care how someone acts towards me racially.

[Egnever]

91. that depends largely on the office environment

And has very little to do with the policy. Sure it will curtail the most outwardly offensive behavior but it certainty will not eliminate it.

And again has nothing to do with corporate America wanting to do what is right it is mearly a shield for litigation.

It is certainly no any kind of proof of that corporate america is to the left of DU on anything the idea itself is ludicrous.

[1StrongBlackMan]

97. Actually, it has a lot to do with the policy ...

and the company's commitment to enforcing the policies.

There is nothing that will eliminate all racist/sexist conduct in the workplace; just like laws will not eliminate crime.

No one is talking about WHY the companies do the right thing; only that their doing the right thing creates a more tolerant workplace.

Ad no one said that corporate America is to the left of DU ... what was said was the corporate America workplace tends to be more tolerant of racial/gender diversity than DU.

BTW, I really hate the use of the term "Tolerant" with respect to diversity, as tolerance is a far cry from acceptance.

[Egnever]

99. To the left of, more tolerant of

The idea that either is true in comparison to DU is ridiculous. Once again a company policy on paper and reality is two totally separate things.

[1StrongBlackMan]

100. I have never, in my 30+ years working in corporate America ...

had, or heard, the racist/sexist language used, by a co-worker or competitor, and had the speaker/actor walk away, unscathed, or even cheered on, as I have here on DU, of late.

Part of the reason is the corporate policies that consistently, and severely, punish that offensive conduct. It matters not, that corporate America does so as a prophylactic measure against liability; just that Corporate America does not tolerate that conduct and the conduct does not happen much or for long.

[Gormy Cuss]

123. ^^^This^^^ n/t

[seaglass]

110. It is not just about shielding from lawsuits. Companies want a diverse workforce because they

sell their products in a diverse market.

[1StrongBlackMan]

127. This is a relatively new revelation ...

that took years of diversity advocacy, before they re-branded the approach into a language that corporate America could understand ... organizational diversity opens up markets.

[seaglass]

128. I worked for AmEx in the 90s and this was a major focus. We were evaluated on our adherence

to diversity in hiring and diversity activities. I know many say boo-hiss on the big companies but AmEx was a really good company to work for, the values they promoted weren't just talking points to the employees as far as I could tell (obviously it's a huge company and I only knew a small percentage of employees).

[1StrongBlackMan]

130. Agreed ...

the re-branding of diversity began in the mid-80s ... about the same time as the anti-Affirmative Action push began to ratchet up.

[myrna minx]

119. +1

That what I think too.

[Cali_Democrat]

19. Less diverse

I remember about 3 DU demographics polls since I've been here.

DU skews whiter and older.

[Starry Messenger]

23. Way less diverse.

I feel like the intolerant are few but loud.

I can't speak to the entire party, I feel like the CA party might not be representative of national. But the loudmouths here do not sound anything like people I meet out here working in politics on the left.

[BainsBane]

31. Much less diverse

No question about it.

[Eleanors38]

33. So, what now? nt

[CreekDog]

36. try asking a coherent question

[Eleanors38]

37. What now? nt

[Squinch]

35. Less diverse, less tolerant. Any statement about race, ethnicity, gender and

orientation that suggests that the non-privileged side in any of those groups is at a disadvantage ALWAYS gets a LOT of pushback here. Not to say that those pushing back are in the majority, because I don't think they are, but stuff is routinely said here that would get a Democratic candidate run out of town.

[Spider Jerusalem]

40. Much less diverse. Much less tolerant on race and gender issues.

See any thread on white privilege and female objectification. People of colour are not a significant voice in those debates and feminist points of view on their experiences of street harassment and unwanted sexual advances get met with responses like "well if you don't want the attention you shouldn't be wearing those breast things in public".

[Jamaal510]

42. Going by how dead

most of the sub-forums (related to race and ethnicity) seem to be, I would assume that it's not very diverse in that regard. Like an earlier poster said, there are maybe about a dozen or so regulars who frequent the AA group (and not all of them are black). Also, it is even less than that inside the Asian, Latino, and Native groups here. At one point, I went inside the Latino group, and the last post was about two months before I visited.
With orientation, I have seen roughly a dozen regulars on here who admit to being gay, and fewer than that who admit to being bisexual or transgender.
In terms of gender, it might be about a 50/50 split. That would be my guess, as I have seen plenty of posters who admit to being female, and a gender poll a few months ago that was pretty split.
I also saw a DU Lounge age poll, in which a plurality of the respondents were over 65. Slightly less than that were between 50 and 65. The same pattern occurs as the age goes down. I was one of just several people who chose the 20-30 age choice.
Overall, it is tricky to know for sure how diverse and how old it is here without more pieces of data used to gauge demographic info. One thing that I would add, though, is that judging from much of the threads and comments here (plus the Warren vs. Clinton polls), moderate and conservative Dems appear to be outnumbered by more progressive Dems. In the Democratic Party and the country as a whole, moderates are the majority, but on here, it's basically the opposite.

[Number23]

44. Less diverse in probably all of those. The only thing I think would come close to the norm

in the Dem party here would be the gay population which is very vocal and gay members are very open about their sexuality.

In terms of race, this place is abysmal and has been for so long.

DU is very white, very male and very insular which to be honest, makes it also very insignificant and removed from the Dem party. If a place doesn't in any way, shape or form represent the groups that it supposedly supports, then it's done nothing but make itself irrelevant and completely useless, which is why so much of the posting here looks like this:

I have no doubt this is why people howl so hard whenever Cali_Democrat posts the polls that show what the TRUE Democratic base is thinking/doing. Because the true Democratic base is not here and it's easy to forget that whenever so many of the posts here do the "Democrats let me down" or "Democrats are the same as Republicans" dance.

[1StrongBlackMan]

61. +1,000 ...

and the interesting thing (to me, at least) is those doing the "Democrats let me down" or "Democrats are the same as Republicans" dance, self-identify as a "Democrat" as their 3rd or 4th political descriptor; but claim to be/represent the "base." (See: "any principle over party" thread).

[AverageJoe90]

48. Probably less diverse, I think.

Well, I dunno for sure, TBH.....but it seems that way sometimes. (We certainly do tend to trend quite a bit to the left of the Party overall, though.)

On the other hand, I would not at all be surprised if a lot of the more fringe stuff being thrown around here lately would end up not being terribly well-received, or even understood, in the mainstream. And DU isn't the mainstream. Never has been.

As much as I love this place, we do tend to get too far ahead of ourselves sometimes.

[1StrongBlackMan]

49. Less ... Far less ...

In terms of race, ethnicity, gender and orientation, as well as general political ideology/platform.

[arely staircase]

55. I suspect it is older, whiter and farther to the left than the party's real life base. nt

[Shandris]

66. This is my experience also. <n/t>

[Egnever]

67. this for sure

I don't think there can be any doubt.

Poll anything here and compare it to national trends I am willing to bet money what you said will be shown to be abundantly clear.

[Puzzledtraveller]

76. I can see that

[1StrongBlackMan]

80. I would agree; but ...

clearly farther to the right on matters of race and gender.

[randys1]

98. DU being to the left on everything but race and gender is so true...

I noticed my first day here how rightwing the attitudes were toward minorities and women...

Still seems that way here to me from several members, though there are many who are liberal and good on the issues too...

I wish there was a DU type forum operated and dominated by African Americans and Women, Latinos as well.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

56. If it is either more or less diverse, why?

I'm a 70 year old, straight, white male. None of which has anything to do with my being a Democrat. I'm also a "lesser of two evils" Democrat who chose the party because we are two party country to all intents and I usually vote Democratic for that reason.

[1StrongBlackMan]

82. I suspect that this puts you ...

near the middle of the pack of the Democratic Party.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

87. I suppose so.

But, I owe no allegiance to the brand and when it strays too far to the right in it's philosophy or policies I have no problem voting to the left.

[liberal N proud]

62. For the most part I couldn't tell what race, ethnicity, gender and orientation most DUer are

I don't make it a point to focus on that in person and on line much less so.

There are a few that stand out as beacons for their race, ethnicity, gender or orientation and I could not name them off the top of my head.

If I had to guess, I would say probably less, but that is a wild ass guess.

[Romulox]

68. Many of the more left-leaning posters have been banned or left over the years.

My feeling is that we have let one demographic run several others off.

[B2G]

69. Diversity isn't just about how you look

It's also about how you think and your stance on issues.

That said, DU is WAY less diverse, on all counts.

[CreekDog]

70. DU isn't meant to be diverse ideologically, it's a liberal board for Democrats

however, it is supposed to be racially and ethnically diverse and it appears that it is less and less diverse in that respect.

sincerely,

Cjeekdgg

[B2G]

83. Have you started your Discussionist

cross reference table of user ids yet?

And why do you keep posting Cjeekdgg? I have never referred to you as such.

[CreekDog]

95. Not interested

i may become active over there, but for now, i'm not and at most i read occasionally while not logged in.

[Puzzledtraveller]

75. considerably less

[Kaleva]

78. Far less diverse.

[valerief]

85. How would we know????? nt

[Rex]

88. The same. Much to the chagrin of some here.

They just cannot handle it very well. This place is more tolerant, despite those that try their best to divide us up before elections.

[1StrongBlackMan]

102. Funny ...

the PoC and women here say DU is less tolerant than the National Party on matters of race and gender ... and white males insist that's not true.

Funny that!

[bravenak]

105. It's a strange thing.

And they say it with total confidence.

[1StrongBlackMan]

112. I guess it's adisplay of tolerance ...

They let us post before telling us that our experience is a lie.

[Number23]

107. Yep. Seriously, all you have to do to look at the folks hollering that it's the same or better

Tells you all you need to know.

[1StrongBlackMan]

113. And some wonder why ...

PoC and women feel the need to keep bringing up the topic of white (male) privilege!

Hello ... Hello ... Is this mic working?

[ConnorMarc]

96. Seems To Be Quite Less Diverse

Than what I see on the national level.

With that said, how does one know who is black or not?

[bravenak]

101. We mostly self identify.

Check out the AA group. Most of us are there at various times.

[1StrongBlackMan]

103. Do you think my screen-name ...

a tell?

[bravenak]

104. I think so. I figure it out right away.

I put a picture on the bottom just to make sure.

It's also a good way to fish for compliments.

[1StrongBlackMan]

111. Adorable Kids ...

I'll bet they take after their Mom.

[ConnorMarc]

118. That's What I Figured

@Strongest...yeah, I had a clue.

LOL!

[Niceguy1]

108. its an anonymous

Web board...how can anyone accurately tell?

[1StrongBlackMan]

116. Most, but not all, PoC have self-Identified ...

which brings me to a case in point ...

There is a fairly frequent posting DUer (that I will not identify by name) whose posts were generally met with respect ... until one day, in one post on race, they let it slip ... they self-identified ... from that day on, there was a subtle and not so subtle change in the responses he/she received from those same (few) DUers that seem to be compelled to seek out and tell (identified) PoC that what we experience (on race) is a lie.

They noticed it, and several other PoC noticed it, as well ...We notice such things; it's a survival mechanism.

[Niceguy1]

117. the problem

With self identification is that you still dont know for sure those who have not self identified. You can guess, but that is it. The best way would be a box that u check on your profile, but that too would be limited by peoples willingness to check a box.

I am not going to judge DU based upon opinions and anecdotal evidence.

[1StrongBlackMan]

120. Is that the problem? ...

that we don't know the "true" racial identity of our fellow posters?

Or, is the bigger problem the treatment of posters once "identified" as, or believed to be, a PoC or woman? ... Especially a PoC or woman that draws attention to DU's racial/gender issues.

For example, go to the most recent "privilege" thread(s) ... compare the tone and tenor of the responses to the 2-3 most obvious PoC (you know ... the one's that make "DU suck&quot to those of self-identified white posters, or racially unidentifiable posters, saying the same thing (often in the same words).

[McCamy Taylor]

109. Do we have a Spanish language forum? 'Nuff said.

P.S. I recommend Rosetta Stone. I am on part 2 of the first section, and I find myself chattering away. By the time I finish, I hope to be able to speak to my Spanish speaking patients w/o an interpreter.

[1StrongBlackMan]

114. MT, PMame, por favor. Tengo una pregunta para usted.

[McCamy Taylor]

132. Que es? Hablo espanol muyo poquito.

[1StrongBlackMan]

133. LOL ...

Living in Tucson has some exposure advantages.

I was asking that you PM me ... I have a question for you regarding your Spanish-speaking parents and you up-bringing (assuming that you/your parents are of Hispanic descent).

Oh yeah, "Muy" not "Muyo" ... and you don't need the "Espanol." Simply: "Que es? Yo hablo muy poquito." Would get the message across.

[yuiyoshida]

137. Ya know you have to be careful here

If you post in another language. I posted something in Japanese and got my posting hidden. Why is it that Spanish is better to post in than Japanese? Maybe because there are more Spanish speakers than Japanese. Someone even told me if I wanted to post some thing in Japanese I should go to a Japanese website! What would happen if they said that to someone who spoke Spanish here? It doesn't seem fair to me.. I have seen comments in French, German, Italian, Norwegian and Even Latin but post something in an Asian language and people FREAK the hell out.,

[CreekDog]

139. That is ridiculous and nothing should be hidden just because it's in a different language

ugh. what thread was that, by the way? just curious.

[yuiyoshida]

140. Here and Here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=800179


http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=800210

[CreekDog]

141. not that it will help, but I alerted on the post with the jury results, that is downright xenophobic

and i know my alert, being on an old post, will go straight to the admins.

may I ask what you think of the fact that your post was hidden, this one was not?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024949246

(if they're gonna let innocent posts like yours get locked, they could at least lock the derogatory stereotypes)

[yuiyoshida]

142. Frankly I was shocked...

The normal response would be to ask, "What did you say? What does that mean?" And I probably would have translated. It frankly reminded me of when I used to go into chat rooms with friends, and we would speak Japanese. The people there would get upset and think the only reason, we were speaking in another language was because they thought we were talking about them in a rude way. So we would either get yelled at and told to speak English or were booted from the room.

Why is it, when speaking to friends in another language do other people assume we are talking about them? I assume some people in the post must have thought I was speaking in code to friends on DU about the person who posted the post in the first place. I would love to have a major discussion about it on DU ..BUT don't know how to get the conversation going.

DU is supposed to accept people of color, and people of other countries who have come here. Many Americans are bi linguel in some language, and yet the attitudes here are similarly like what one would expect on a right wing website.

"SPEAK ENGLISH OR GET THE F*^K OUT!! THIS AMERICA!! SPEAK F*^KING ENGLISH, FOR GODSAKES!!"

This is not a liberal or progressive way of dealing with things. The Jury seemed to be of the same mind, as what was stated above.


I really did NOT expect this kind of attitude on this website.

By the way, if you want to start a discussion on GD about the use of foreign phrases being alerted on, I would be happy to participate. Why is FRENCH acceptable or German acceptable and Chinese and Japanese are not??

[giftedgirl77]

129. I speak spanish but can't read or write it very well...

Spanglish is used is our home regularly even to our pets?

[CreekDog]

131. I think it would be great to have a Spanish forum

or to simply post Spanish language material on DU, even here in GD or in LBN.

the world, even our country is not conducted exclusively in English and this party represents many people who use other languages in their daily life as well as many people for whom English is a second language.

learning another language and being exposed to other languages are opportunities.

[etherealtruth]

115. As many have stated: whiter, older ... maybe more monied

Definitely less sensitive to racial and gender issues than the national Democratic party.

[Nye Bevan]

124. I don't recall being asked about my race, ethnicity or orientation upon signing up.

So I don't think anyone knows for sure. Those who make comments like "oh, there are so few posters in the African-American forum so DU must be less diverse" seem to be making quite a few assumptions to arrive at that conclusion. And as we all know online polls are woefully unscientific.

Having said that, it seems logical that people who have time to hang out on internet discussion forums have less working-class representation compared to the population as a whole. People who are focused on working two or more jobs and taking care of their families obviously have less time for this kind of pursuit.

[Kaleva]

125. My guess is that the demographics of Free Republic and CC would match that of DU

Predominantly older, white and male.

[Number23]

135. I would guess that your guess would be Spot On.

[yuiyoshida]

136. I don't know

Honestly.