Ohio woman says truck is burned after she gets racist letter: 'We don’t want you here black b----'

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ohio-woman-truck-torched-receiving-racist-letter-article-1.2323023

An Ohio woman is in fear of her life after she received a racist and threatening letter, and her truck was mysteriously torched.

Nicole Rhodes, 40, said she had been taunted by bigots in her Youngstown, Ohio, neighborhood for about three weeks, when she first saw a menacing note taped on her beauty salon.

"We don't want you here black b----," it read. "Don't get burnt up in there."

Then on Monday, she watched in shock as her 2006 Ford pickup truck was engulfed in flames on the same property.

"This can't be real. This just can't be real," Rhodes told the Daily News on Wednesday. "It just cannot be this serious. Black skin just can't be this serious. Black skin just can't make you go destroying property."

Rhodes has owned the building for about three years, but she's in the process of selling it and moving her business, Dynasty Salon, she said.

The emotional mother of four said she didn't take the letter seriously at first until her truck was set on fire.

"I thought it was nothing. My neighbors are prejudiced," she said. "I'm used to people hating me — but now it's because of my skin. It's the same kind of hatred."

Following an investigation, Youngstown Fire Department Investigator Alvin Ware said someone had purposefully torched the vehicle, WKBN-27 reported.

"There's something going on," he told the local news station.

There have been no arrests or leads in the case yet.

Rhodes has put up 16 surveillance cameras on the property and been distancing herself from the community, she said.

"It has to be that serious," she said.

[Teddy B 17,251]

"I thought it was nothing. My neighbors are prejudiced," she said. "I'm used to people hating me — but now it's because of my skin. It's the same kind of hatred."

Following an investigation, Youngstown Fire Department Investigator Alvin Ware said someone had purposefully torched the vehicle, WKBN-27 reported.

"There's something going on," he told the local news station.

Not passing any judgement, but this is a strange statement to make. Why is she used to people hating her other than the color of her skin?

[lostinblue 1,989]

Not passing any judgement, but this is a strange statement to make. Why is she used to people hating her other than the color of her skin?

I'm used to people hating me — but now it's because of my skin....... Sounds like a real tool ... could be the same thing as the lesbians that torched their own home .... tried to make it a hate crime . They got arrested for arson.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Not passing any judgement, but this is a strange statement to make. Why is she used to people hating her other than the color of her skin?

It's what people go through. Could be because she has her own shop. A myriad of reasons.

I'm used to people hating me — but now it's because of my skin....... Sounds like a real tool ... could be the same thing as the lesbians that torched their own home .... tried to make it a hate crime . They got arrested for arson.

That's how some of the posters here sound to me.

[Teddy B 17,251]

It's what people go through. Could be because she has her own shop. A myriad of reasons.

It's not a normal statement for anyone without prior problems to make. It's not too far to leap to think that said prior problems may be at play with this incident. That's why knowing what those prior problems are is important here.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

It's not a normal statement for anyone without prior problems to make. It's not too far to leap to think that said prior problems may be at play with this incident. That's why knowing what those prior problems are is important here.

"I thought it was nothing. My neighbors are prejudiced," she said. "I'm used to people hating me — but now it's because of my skin. It's the same kind of hatred."

Could be she was a woman in charge of a business. But when you get called a black #####, I think the issue is pretty clear.

[Janelle2002 3,865]

"I thought it was nothing. My neighbors are prejudiced," she said. "I'm used to people hating me — but now it's because of my skin. It's the same kind of hatred."

Could be she was a woman in charge of a business. But when you get called a black #####, I think the issue is pretty clear.

Pretty clear indeed.

[Teddy B 17,251]

"I thought it was nothing. My neighbors are prejudiced," she said. "I'm used to people hating me — but now it's because of my skin. It's the same kind of hatred."

Could be she was a woman in charge of a business. But when you get called a black #####, I think the issue is pretty clear.

Woman could have mental problems, or it could be a past problem coming back to haunt her disguised as racism. When someone openly says "I am used to people hating me", a deeper look into that persons past needs to be had before jumping to conclusions.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

"I thought it was nothing. My neighbors are prejudiced," she said. "I'm used to people hating me but now it's because of my skin. It's the same kind of hatred."

Could be she was a woman in charge of a business. But when you get called a black #####, I think the issue is pretty clear.

Yeah, something is strange with this situation. Her neighbors are prejudiced and they hate her, but it's only NOW because of her skin? Wonky...

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Woman could have mental problems, or it could be a past problem coming back to haunt her disguised as racism. When someone openly says "I am used to people hating me", a deeper look into that persons past needs to be had before jumping to conclusions.

Not sure how something can be disguised as racism when they used the words black #####. If it was a personal issue, they could have torched her truck without the use of the letter.

I'm a pretty level headed dude, but you don't know how many times someone would tell me, I'm so glad you're not ghetto. Or, you really surprised me by being somewhat intelligent. And this is being directed at a man who tries to carry himself with integrity most of the time. This is what I have to deal with on a regular, as I'm sure Janelle has similar stories, esp living in that small college town she's currently residing.

Or it could be she misspoke. I'm not sure, but when you throw skin color into it, it becomes racist.

[Teddy B 17,251]

Not sure how something can be disguised as racism when they used the words black #####. If it was a personal issue, they could have torched her truck without the use of the letter.

I'm a pretty level headed dude, but you don't know how many times someone would tell me, I'm so glad you're not ghetto. Or, you really surprised me by being somewhat intelligent. And this is being directed at a man who tries to carry himself with integrity most of the time. This is what I have to deal with on a regular, as I'm sure Janelle has similar stories, esp living in that small college town she's currently residing.

Or it could be she misspoke. I'm not sure, but when you throw skin color into it, it becomes racist.

It's not possible that either A: This woman has mental problems and is making the whole thing up for attention? or B: Someone she has had problems with in the past is exacting revenge and making it look like a racial issue to throw people off?

It's simply not normal for a person to proclaim "I'm used to people hating me". Then she goes on to say that "now it is because of my skin". So clearly this woman has had prior problems with people disliking her for whatever reason other than the color of her skin. But I think that needs to be looked at before jumping to the conclusion that this incident is truly racially motivated and perpetrated by the people in her own neighborhood.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Teddy B

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

It's not possible that either A: This woman has mental problems and is making the whole thing up for attention? or B: Someone she has had problems with in the past is exacting revenge and making it look like a racial issue to throw people off?

It's simply not normal for a person to proclaim "I'm used to people hating me". Then she goes on to say that "now it is because of my skin". So clearly this woman has had prior problems with people disliking her for whatever reason other than the color of her skin. But I think that needs to be looked at before jumping to the conclusion that this incident is truly racially motivated and perpetrated by the people in her own neighborhood.

Not in your circles. But for me, I've seen this more than I even want to admit.

She's a black woman owning a business in what might be a predominately white neighborhood. There's that factor. Or it could be because she stepped on some toes to get where she is and someone is out for revenge.

[Teddy B 17,251]

Not in your circles. But for me, I've seen this more than I even want to admit.

She's a black woman owning a business in what might be a predominately white neighborhood. There's that factor. Or it could be because she stepped on some toes to get where she is and someone is out for revenge.

You know of many people that openly claim they are used to being hated for reasons other than their skin color?

I'm not trying to be sarcastic Marv, but I don't find that to be realistic.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

You know of many people that openly claim they are used to being hated for reasons other than their skin color?

I'm not trying to be sarcastic Marv, but I don't find that to be realistic.

It's cool. Personally, I think she misspoke, since she made it clear that her neighbors were already prejudiced against her.

Some women are hated for their beauty, some for being ugly. Some for being driven, some for being lazy. My old boss, a black woman, was hated in our building. Could have been just because she was a woman in power, or because she was black and in power. I used to hear about this all the time after meetings.