No! Living there would be a nightmare for me, I'm what you would call "mixed." In the book you're reading the towns folk believe in segregation and punish those unjustly because of the color of their skin. It's also a very poor part of Alabama based on the description so schools would be awful, neighborhoods might be riddled with crime, and community resources would be very limited or non-existent (community centers, parks, hospitals, etc).
As for the second half, it was absolutely cruel. The parents should have kept a better eye on their children and reprimanded them for being so inconsiderate. They should have also educated them on letting other people just be since we're all different, with our own challenges.