I’m in small town rural Florida. Probably (55-60)% of the service personnel, clerks, road workers, Walmart clerks, are black. Not only haven’t I experienced or observed any racial issues, quite the opposite. Body language reading says they’re just fine dealing with me.
Now, during the Obama era, I lived in Tallahassee and those racial interactions went from okay (they were never great in the socialist capital of Tallahassee) to threatening in a matter of weeks. But during Trump’s presidency, the relations became more similar to what they are today in my new rural setting.
Organization theory says that people on the bottom of the organization will reflect the values and views of the guy at the top. If the CEO is a drunken philanderer then you’re likely to find that the guy sweeping the floors drinks too much and probably fools around. I’m thinking several factors account for the differences I’m seeing in my rural setting today. One, our views of what is happening are due to social media and although the media’s reach is far, it is also exceedingly shallow. It doesn’t reflect reality in a red state. Another is that Trump’s effect was larger and more lasting than I’d expect. Still another thought, Florida was up and operating still during the fear-demic due to Governor DeSantis. And one last observation about the guy at the top, the overwhelming feeling I see is no one believes he was legally elected and therefore, his influence is limited to just those who are true believers...also known as useful idiots.
Interesting.
I’ve noticed something similar when interacting with local black people. Whereas at one time we were simply cordial to one another, now it seems that several are going out of their way to be open and kind- opening doors, offering more attentive customer service, or sustaining a friendly conversation longer than required under the circumstance.
I wonder if they too feel like they have to prove that they are not as racist as the media portrays.
Like you, I too live in a more rural area of Florida, and, as you, I have also noticed/experienced a (increasing) number of positive racial interactions.
Example...a few weeks back I was waiting in line to pay for a cup of coffee at a convenience store. I was standing (6’ social distance spacing) behind a black 20’s young man. This individual was a total stranger to me, but after he paid and was leaving he turned to me and smiled and said “the coffee’s paid for, have a nice day”. This was a first for me...any color skin.
Another day I was in line behind a poorly dressed young white man, who obviously was having trouble coming up with enough coin to pay for a small purchase and was telling the clerk he needed to go out and check his truck for more coin. About that time a 30’s black man standing behind me called out to the clerk, and said, “I got him covered, I’ll take care of it”.
Couple weeks ago at an I-95 rest area close to Daytona, I had made a vending machine purchase, and walked away not paying attention to the change dropping into the receive change slot (a little hard of hearing). I started walking away when a very large 30’s black man standing 20 feet away called out to me, “Your change sir. I heard your change drop into the change slot.” I thanked him, and he smiled and replied, “Have a nice day sir”.
Also, on a number of occasions I have had blacks of all ages, sizes, men and women, pause to hold open a door for me, and to say “thanks” when I do the same. This has not always been the case, as sometimes before it would seem the typical black would start walking slow in order to not allow a white to hold the door for them. So, from these purely anecdotal experiences I since positive changes rather than all doom and gloom.