A "yankee" View of Albany
-
12/3/2011
I lived in Albany and went to school at Darton, and then GSW. I moved down from eugene oregon, one of the most liberal diverse sities in america. This is the thing. Northerners who move down to Albany - get ready for some culture shock. This is the deep south and you are not ready for it. Albany actually two cities - white and black. These two communities hate one another. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you. On the white side, be ready for the use on the 'n-word' often. The first time someone whipped it out on me was my first night at my boarding house. Like a good liberal I gave my speech about respecting others...here's some advice - don't waste your time. I'll go into this later. As a white person, you must learn the southern lingo and manners. If you don't, you will come off as very rude to the Albany white community. This took me a little bit to learn. This is an area where college students say yes sir / yes ma'am to their professors. As a matter of fact, it's just best to say sir/ma'am to everyone. That is not optional. Also never say "You guys" learn to say "y'all" or you might as well wear a big shirt saying "YANKEE" on it. This is just part of the culture. The south and the 'war of northern aggression' is still on people's minds here. Once I learned the proper manners for this area I got along a lot better. But oh my god, the racism! And everyone who has written about how the Blacks completely hate the whites in Albany is spot on. If you want to ignore these people who are trying to warn you, then get ready to kick yourself if you move here. I imagine it's a lot like being in prison. You pick a side, or you get eaten up and spit out. If you are white, the blacks will help you in your choice of sides as they are AMAZINGLY rude to whites. The way whites show there hatred is that they just try to ignore the blacks as best they can (except for the real country boys, they are just like the stereotype of them). So as I said, I came down here and was shocked at the white people's racism, but soon I found out why. Don't think that you are going to apply your "I'm a liberal and I accept everyone" attitude down in Albany, because it will get spit back in your face. If you go to Albany and you are white, prepare to feel lots of hate from many of the black population. That's why there are two cities. They just, after all the years of hatred on both sides, CAN NOT get over it. Other things whites will have to deal with is the petty way the white "society" folks deal with people who are outside the clique. It's like kindergarten. This city is the definition of the big fish, small pond scenario. Except the fish aren't that big, but they sure act like it. I learned a lot in albany that showed me that my liberal professors are just as clueless as everyone else. The two sides will never get along in Albany there is too much unwarranted hate. The white demonstrate their hate behind closed doors, the black demonstrate it right in your face. You can't live there without being part of it - unless you want to be a hermit with no social interaction whatsoever.
So, all I've written is true. White yankees, ignore my warnings at your peril.
Matt | Albuquerque, NM