[graciegirl]

I don't understand the problem.

You are people who would like to live in The Villages.

You don't have little bratty kids do you?

You have to be "old enough" you know.

That's about it.

It is really great here. You realize you will be smiling all of the time.

Come down, and welcome

[barb1191]

Our next door neighbor is a beautiful lady of color whom Bill and I adore. We feel she's part of our family and who sees color, anyway? It seems to me that all these bathing beauties (heh...I mean "broadly" speaking) sitting by the pools sunning themselves to get color, right? Color is beautiful! We're caucasion and don't see color but see beautiful people of all ethnicity both inside and outside.

By the way, the plethora of groups here include almost every ethnicity, however, on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, everyone becomes Irish and the crowd has a great time "wearin' o' the green" within the town squares with parades and fun, fun, fun.

C'mon down; see for yourselves; the place sells itself....barb

[Pturner]

Hi Janklib,

My own family is a blended family. Specifically, we are two people, one dog and one cat. We're different colors too.

Except for the various critters who live among us throughout TV, we're all members of the same race. The human race.

Come on down!

[bluedog103]

The only color I have a problem with is red, as in Red Sox.
Come on down, I don't think you'll find race to be an issue at all.

[yanklib]

Thank you all for your responses to my inquiry. I conclude that yours is a community in which we could live. Now if I can just persuade my better half.

Hope to visit soon.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by yanklib

Thank you all for your responses to my inquiry. I conclude that yours is a community in which we could live. Now if I can just persuade my better half.

Hope to visit soon.

Just get your better half to be willing to come for a look-see. As others have said, the place sells itself!

Bill

[ceegeo]

Originally Posted by BaylorBear

Color?? What color?? Nobody here cares what color anybody may be. We're way beyond that silliness!! Come on down and you will be able to see for yourselves. We're very friendly and most of us think we are very cute as well! You will absolutely LOVE the place!

I love your answer "we're way beyond that silliness!" Oh how wonderful that is. The Villagers are color blind and I love it. God bless us one and all.

[TrudyM]

Originally Posted by yanklib

Thank you all for your responses to my inquiry. I conclude that yours is a community in which we could live. Now if I can just persuade my better half.

Hope to visit soon.

I am married to a Hawaiian Japanese and have been suprised at how rude some people can be. I have decided to leave this call up to my husband. The people who post on this forum are too nice and of a friendly sort I suspect maybe a representation of the best side of things, and I am sure that means that there are people in the villages who are open and accepting. When we visited people were very nice and as my husband golfed every day he had a good time. But that doesn't mean that a person who is use to be surounded by a more diverse group might not feel more comfortable not surrounded by a sea of white over the long haul. I know that when I was in the neighborhood he grew up in I sometimes felt out of place. (We lived in a more mixed neighborhood when we lived in Hawaii and he was from a very locals only one) My hubby is so easy going I decided I have to curb my natural tendancy to push for the villages and let him decide when the time comes.
If we can ever sell this house so we can retire my husband and I plan to rent for several months in different parts of the country maybe even over a two year period. Then I am going to make him pick.

[graciegirl]

I grew up in Columbus, Ohio. I was born in 1939.

Until I left high school I had not met anyone other than whites and blacks.

Now in Cincinnati, we live on a street with much diversity.

People are people, plain and simple. I like some of them better than others but not because of their ethnic backgrounds...FOR SURE.

I love being older and I ADORE what Baylor Bear said.

"We are beyond that kind of silliness".

Sometimes you get up in the morning, and read your good ole TOTV posts and find the most beautiful wisdom.

Baylor Bear. I cannot wait to hug you.

[HeyGirly]

Baylor Bear, I just love how perfectly you summed it up: "We are beyond that kind of silliness." I grew up in Brooklyn, New York and my childhood neighborhood was a rainbow of great kids and their families. It's where I learned that people are just... people.

Hope you'll come on down and join the rest of us who just love this place!

[katezbox]

OK - I am going to throw in a bit of realism here. I personally know some of the posters that are saying we are beyond all this - and they truly are. When I was teaching adult ed in New Haven, one of my students gave me a wonderful compliment - that I didn't care if someone was black, white, brown or green - I just wanted to help them learn.

TV is like many places on this wonderful earth and in this fabulous country of ours. There are people with and without prejudices. I have a gay son and a Muslim son in law. I once was, but am no longer, a Republican. I am adopted. I have heard slurs here in TV against gays, against Muslims, and against adopted children. I was told that my political beliefs (which are fiscally conservative, but socially moderate) are extreme.

I am not a negative person - I hope Gracie and PT will confirm this.

I am thinking that most of us (me included!!!!) will welcome you with open arms - but while this is very close to paradise - it is not Nirvana.

[Larry Wilson]

Originally Posted by TrudyM

I am married to a Hawaiian Japanese and have been suprised at how rude some people can be. I have decided to leave this call up to my husband. The people who post on this forum are too nice and of a friendly sort I suspect maybe a representation of the best side of things, and I am sure that means that there are people in the villages who are open and accepting. When we visited people were very nice and as my husband golfed every day he had a good time. But that doesn't mean that a person who is use to be surounded by a more diverse group might not feel more comfortable not surrounded by a sea of white over the long haul. I know that when I was in the neighborhood he grew up in I sometimes felt out of place. (We lived in a more mixed neighborhood when we lived in Hawaii and he was from a very locals only one) My hubby is so easy going I decided I have to curb my natural tendancy to push for the villages and let him decide when the time comes.
If we can ever sell this house so we can retire my husband and I plan to rent for several months in different parts of the country maybe even over a two year period. Then I am going to make him pick.

The first question was for "people of color living in TV". I find it interesting that so many felt they could respond for people of color. If you are white, I really don't think you know how Asia, Black, Hispanic... feel.

[ilovetv]

Originally Posted by Larry Wilson

The first question was for "people of color living in TV". I find it interesting that so many felt they could respond for people of color. If you are white, I really don't think you know how Asia, Black, Hispanic... feel.

And?

What is invalid about the posts of the people here who would actually be DOING the "accepting" or "not accepting" of newcomers??

[katezbox]

Originally Posted by ilovetv

And?

What is invalid about the posts of the people here who would actually be DOING the "accepting" or "not accepting" of newcomers??

Love,

I don't Larry is saying that you are wrong - just that the original poster had asked for input from people of color. The groundbreaking novel "Black Like Me" (Griffin, 1961) proved that those who are not minorities cannot understand fully the experience of those who are.

Many Villagers listen on a regular basis to Rush, Glenn, Sean and Ann - all who have made racist remarks on the air. I have one well-educated friend who lives in TV who think that the WWII interment camps for the Japanese were a good idea and should be used now for all Muslims regardless of citizenship and another who thinks that it was only "radicals" in South Africa that wanted to end apartheid - the "regular" blacks were happy with the status quo.

I think anyone of color (or married to a person of color) would want, like Trudy, to be sure they would be welcome by a large majority of Villagers.

[redwitch]

Kate, I'm with you. To say or imply that everyone will welcome someone "different" is not accurate. I don't care how perfect a place is, how ethnically diverse it is, how wonderful the people are, there will always be some who are prejudiced and non-accepting. I've gotten grief here for adopting a child, for being a liberal, for caring about my Muslim friend, for loving my gay friend. Nothing major but enough to make me realize that people are people regardless of where you live.

That being said, I do believe that the vast majority in TV are accepting. They really don't care about your color, your political beliefs, your income, your status. They care that you care about your home and take care of it. They care that you smile and love TV as much as they do. They care that you want to take care of this wonderful community. It ain't perfect here, but it is dang good.