PS: Caroline is great… She does deserves some props for being above the grade from her peers!.. Big shout-out to Wendy also

As for my comment about making $$ any other time of the year, I’m sorry you take offense to this. I think you are misinterpreting it however. No, I am not saying that black peole don’t spend $$. I am simply making note of economics. I am saying that since the business owners don’t mind accpeting $$ from black folks most of the year, why would they suddenly refuse it for this? Many of the business that close during TXR weekend tend to have a predominatly white college kid clientele. If the main customer bases doesn’t show up (for reasons of racism, comfort, w/e) then the bar wont make money.

 As for spending $$ at the bars in general…well, when I first moved to Austin I also thought that many places were extremely racist due to their selective & often made up dress code policies to allow entrace of blacks guys into bars. I thought this for years. It wasn’t until I had numerous conversations with people (mostly black) that have worked as doormen and/or bartenders. As it has been explained to me (mind you these are not my own words, I’m just repeating what I’ve been told): “Most black people dont tip much, and we have a maximun capacity of 350 people, so in order to ensure we bring in a good amount of tips for our workers, we have to be selective and try to get the people in that we think will tip well” – Does this sound racist yes, it does. But unfortunatley this policy derived from experiences and the only way to adjust this mindset is by proving them worng. I’m by no means saying that what they are doing is moral. I’m simply saying that money is more powerful than race.

Finally, about my statement mentioned in your last paragraph, no, not everyone that goes out during TXR acts a damn fool, but do many? Yes. As it reads, “you either know what is saying is true or you’re mad……” I am simply saying that if someone can actually say my hypothesis , ~”But just because people and businesses speak/act unfavorably about it does not automatically mean they are racist. “~ is wrong, and debate that my supporting factors are false, then they may be mad. But I feel pretty confident that anyone who has driven in the streets, ran a business and/or experienced the influx of bad attitudes that (unfortunatly) come with TXR then they know there is some truth in my statement. Personally, the majority of negative remarks I hear from people about TXR does not come from white people and/or people that work in bars downtown. It comes from immgrants (mostly from various African nations) that work in the public service sector. If they can be black and have the same (sometimes worse) perceptions about the weekend, then maybe race is the ultimate factor.

In my initial response, I never stated you were racist for voicing your opinion.  Nor am I jumping to conclusions or making assumptions.  I am observing and responding to what I have observed year after year during this time.  You make a blanket statement that ‘racists do exist.’  But you fail to correlate that racism in any way to being the reason why businesses close during this event, attended predominately by Black people.

In your response, I take high offense to the comment you make “Any other time of the year they have no problem doing business with other races, because it is profitable.”  What you’ve said is that Black people don’t spend money, which isn’t true.  Texas Relay weekend is still a multi-million dollar profitable weekend.  Even with businesses closed, it rakes in an estimated $8 million dollars.

In your original post you state, “You either know what I’m saying is true, or you’re mad – and I bet if you’re mad it’s because you’re part of the problem.”  Crissy, if you knew me, you would retract that statement.  I, in no way, ‘act a damn fool.’  I support downtown businesses with my hard-earned money.  And my attitude is only to those who are closed-minded and think their view is the only view.  Be open and receptive to the thought that maybe someone thinks differently than you.  Just because someone disagrees with you, doesn’t make them wrong or to blame for the issue at hand.