This is MY America!

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

This is much easier said then done. To start from the bottom to get to top or even the middle is extremely hard for anyone. They have social pressures that are unheard of in most white schools and there is a feeling of hopelessness for many of their futures.

If you talk to kids in mostly white schools and ask them what they want to be in the future, many say doctors or lawyers while if you go to a mostly black school and ask the same age kids the same questions you will get more basketball players and rappers*. This is a prime example of a social force that is holding blacks down, not the poor, because of representation. It is a trap that will hurt them until something is changed.

And this is the fault of white people? This is a cultural failing on their part. What is the percentage of two parent families in black culture? How about teen pregnancy? Drug use, crime? Sooner or later the Black culture will need to stop blaming others for their situations and look for solutions within. Few black leaders have stepped up to the plate to call their own culture on these short comings, I know Bill Cosby has, other than that, not very many.

It is our job to help get rid of the white supremacy and it is their job to take advantage of that when they do get an equal chance.

I would agree, but note that changes will not occur until blacks recognize that many of the problems that exist today are problems that they are responsible for, not some esoteric White Man on a plantation keep them down.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

No, I don't mean to imply that anymore than you do when you make generalizations about the white population.

I meant white by white-controlled system. It is something that neither of us have any control over.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

I meant white by white-controlled system. It is something that neither of us have any control over.

Well, do you think that the majority of "systems" that are "white controlled" are controlled with the thought of "whiteness" and how can we oppress blacks today? I am not about to state that discrimination does not occur. I am just saying it is a two way street and that we need to stop blaming others for our current plight in life and that much of the current situation is the fault of our own upbringing. I am one that believes that hard work and determination can overcome much of these lost opportunities. I see it all the time.

[piercehawkeye45]

For the people with power (as of now) , it is only a one-way street because only whites have power.

The white supremacy is institutionalized, that is the problem, we don't notice it. You don't have to be against minorities to hurt them, you just to not have to notice that you are thinking that (white=normal and white=better) subconsciously.

I need to stress the last word again, subconsciously.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

For the people with power (as of now) , it is only a one-way street because only whites have power.

The white supremacy is institutionalized, that is the problem, we don't notice it. You don't have to be against minorities to hurt them, you just to not have to notice that you are thinking that (white=normal and white=better) subconsciously.

I need to stress the last word again, subconsciously.

I think you give it to much credibility. I think that most leaders of comercial business care more about price and product than the color of someone's skin. I would be interested to see if there is emperical data out there that proves, other than a casual observation that general relationships occur, other than a sort of Bible Code relationship if you will, that choices by leaders in business, who happen to be white, are made because of skin color. I do not believe they are. I think it is more of a statistical observation based on simple majorities.

[piercehawkeye45]

Commercialism has nothing to do with this.

The people that write history books are the ones that have to do with this among other people.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

Commercialism has nothing to do with this.

The people that write history books are the ones that have to do with this among other people.

Commercialism has everything to do with it. It is about money and opportunity, which leads to advancement and prosperity... the American Dream. People come from all over the world for it.

As far as history books are concerned, there are some definate problems there. We could open a whole other thread to discuss that subject. I do know that there are significant attempts by many special interest minority organizations to re-write history. And I am not just talking about race here, religion as well. Even in the UK: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23398688-details/Don't+teach+that+marriage+is+best+say+academics/article.do

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

Commercialism has nothing to do with this.

The people that write history books are the ones that have to do with this among other people.

That's the lamest excuse in the world. Stop looking back and start looking forward, if you want to accomplish something. Listen to Bill Cosby, he was shouted down for telling the absolute truth. The only way to oppress someone in the US today, is convince them they can't because someone is holding them down. Convince them they are powerless and shouldn't try. That's been the formula since the first slave/servant/peon in history.

[bluecuracao]

Originally Posted by Cicero

Did you know that some people here in New Mexico openly refuse to do business with white people? I was told by a client that they were going to give all their money to "their own kind". Yeah, I wasn't too happy.

Uh huh, and there are people there who openly refuse to do business with, associate with, and/or are hostile toward non-whites--I've experienced it a few times myself; very ugly. New Mexico has long suffered from its share of racist attitudes, unfortunately.



Um...how the heck did this thread turn into a racism same-old-crap rehash anyway? I liked what we were talking about before.

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

National Geographic Atlas of The Human Journey

That is a fascinating presentation...I'm now looking forward to seeing if they turn up anything else at Boqueirao de Pedra Furada, the cave in Brazil.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

That's the lamest excuse in the world. Stop looking back and start looking forward, if you want to accomplish something.

How is that an excuse? Only learning about white history is something that may seem small but has big effects. That is the racism that hurts America.

Listen to Bill Cosby, he was shouted down for telling the absolute truth. The only way to oppress someone in the US today, is convince them they can't because someone is holding them down. Convince them they are powerless and shouldn't try. That's been the formula since the first slave/servant/peon in history.

You like Bill Cosby because he is saying what you want to hear. He is saying one extreme while other people say the other when it is the middle ground. Not many blacks can relate to Bill and the person I've heard criticize him the most comes from someone who got a graduate degree from Yale recently so it isn't just an excuse.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by piercehawkeye45

...and the person I've heard criticize him the most comes from someone who got a graduate degree from Yale recently so it isn't just an excuse.

Come on you know that doesn't hold water in public opinion. Cosby is a leader in the black community. Many people respect him.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Don't tell me why I do anything, got it?
White history? What the fuck is white history? US history? Do you want to change George Washington to Chinese?

Cosby speaks the truth, if you go to a job interview dressed like a hood with your hat on sideways and speaking ebonics, you're not going to get hired. It that so hard to understand?
There's no future in sitting on your ass whining how the man is keeping you down, that's complete bullshit. Dropping out of school guarantees poverty.

Not working for something better because you think you have to work harder than somebody else, is hurting nobody but yourself. Guess what, everybody has to work harder than somebody, that's life.

[Ibby]

The problem has moved from the "man" keeping people down to the culture keeping itself down. Bruce has got it.
Black "ghetto" or "gangsta" culture is just as damaging as any post-60s discrimination. It's a culture that centers on crime, a culture that values idiocy, a culture that supports poverty - a culture that creates and enforces all the negative stereotypes.

When people buck the "ghetto" culture, they buck the tendency to fail.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Don't tell me why I do anything, got it?
White history? What the fuck is white history? US history? Do you want to change George Washington to Chinese?

No, just the sole focus on white history by leaving out all other cultures.

Cosby speaks the truth, if you go to a job interview dressed like a hood with your hat on sideways and speaking ebonics, you're not going to get hired. It that so hard to understand?

That is not what people are criticizing him for. Most people actually agree with what you just said. It’s about his lack of understanding of where most blacks are coming from.

There's no future in sitting on your ass whining how the man is keeping you down, that's complete bullshit. Dropping out of school guarantees poverty.

Do you have any idea why these kids drop out of school or the pressures involved? Do you have any idea what their lives are like? It is easy to criticize from an outside standpoint when you have no understanding of what their world is like. Obviously, there will be work involved and I, with most other people, do not want to give them a free ticket if they do not earn it I am talking about the obstacles engrained in society that are holding them back. Every source I've heard has said that the general feelings in inner city schools are much different than suburban which will cause great effects in the future.

Not working for something better because you think you have to work harder than somebody else, is hurting nobody but yourself. Guess what, everybody has to work harder than somebody, that's life.

If blacks have to work harder than whites that is racism within the system.

[lumberjim]

If you were more careful with your punctuation, you would sound less like a crazy person. just a tip.