Black Lives Do Count

Which would be lost on some of the people posting here.

 

You are so kewl!

 

If you turn back the clock far enough, every ethnicity around the world has been enslaved and brutalized in the name of racism.

Are there any laws in place today that are actively keeping black people from succeeding? Laws that benefit Asians over the rest of us?

I'll bring Clara Brown as an example of a successful businesswoman who was emancipated from slavery at the late age of 56. She had her children bought and sold, never to be seen and heard from again. When she was finally freed, she moved to Colorado and started a successful laundromat business and became very wealthy. She did this all in a time when Jim Crow laws were in full swing and women did not have quite as many rights as men. She had quite possibly experienced oppression the likes of which no American alive knows.

So it sounds to me like you're just reciting the same old propaganda based excuses to keep the poor voting for the same party over and over while nothing ever improves for them as their communities get worse and worse.

 

Yeah probably me lol. Well I do read a lot. And often at times I get upset with myself for not being able to have the same thoughts. Like, I dunno. I just seem soooo off..

 

More whites get killed by cops.

More blacks get killed by blacks than cops.

Look at stats of black single mothers.

More blacks in prison now, than slaves in 1850.

 

Your statistics are misleading and wrong. Go to gallop poll and get accurate facts and go to the government website as well which will give you statistics from more than 1000 people who they cold called on the phone and were chosen based on areas by pew.

It is comments like this that brings into question the validity of their math,

So they take 500 whites people and lump them together and then take 500 minorities and lump them together. How the hell is 6.5% come to? Their wording as well. White home ownership fell while minority home ownership decreased. I can add and subtract but can they? But let's take white hispanics and put them in with the minorities, because white hispanics are not white!

Also look up what pews goals are! It says much about their agenda.

 

But this is far more recent, the "liberated" slaves were kept in a subordinate position by institutional segregation, they were a racial group set apart by appearance, and--this is our country. Irish-Americans were discriminated against plenty, but they had the advantage of looking enough like the dominant population that they could pass, and were able to advance themselves through politics. African-Americans stand out. Racial and ethnic bigotry is an ugly side of human behavior, and you're right--bigots lin this country look down on a variety of groups other than their own--but none in quite the same way as African Americans, who are regarded as congenitally less intelligent. Just changing laws is not enough to change bigoted behavior that keeps people down. We have an African-American population that has been victimized by it and bears the scars, and whities who won't understand and don't give a fuck. the Orangutan two post up is a classic example.There has been dramatic progress in this country, obviously with our first African-American President. But agitprop like yours threatens to erode that. There have been outstanding African- Americans like George Washington Carver, Clara Brown, Clara Looper, Rosa Parks, are outstanding, as was President Obama, but they were statistical anomalies. The implication that everybody could do the same thing if they really tried is balderdash. What has any AltRighter ever done than try to cause trouble?

 

I realize Orangutans are intellectually impaired, but your examples show that you are severely challenged when it comes to statistics, history and sociology. Your first comment uses absolute numbers instead of percentages. There are ten times as many whites than African-Americans in the national population, so it would not be surprising that more whites are killed in absolute numbers. In terms of percentages, blacks are killed and imprisoned in disproportionately higher numbers than whites. Black on black violence and single motherhood are sociological phenomena typical of ghettoized populations. People said the same thing about the Irish earlier in the previous century. But your last statistic is the jaw-dropper. In 1850, most African-Americans were slaves, kept under close watch and subject to potential violence. They were in virtual prison. Go back to your tree and evolve some more.

 

I think what they're saying is everybody showed a decline in home ownership. But why is the decrease among minority home owners greater? It's twice that of white former home owners.

 

My answer is that we won't always fear any group of people. The sooner these groups are de-marginalized, the sooner we will see them as something other than a thuggish group of individuals marauding the streets. Instead, we may say a group wearing business attire, or even something more casual but nonetheless, less daunting.

 

It's definitely the way some people dress (kids mostly) that gets to me sometime. And there are plenty of white kids that dress 'thuggishly' too. They 'walk the walk' and stare into your eyes like they wouldn't mind killing the hell out of you. Then I think back to when I was a kid and was dressing like a slob. I got most of my clothes second hand because I couldn't find bell bottoms in the stores, my hair was long and my face innocent of razor. I probably scared the hell out of some old folks too. That wasn't my goal of course. Maybe it's just a stage of growing up, I don't know.

I just remembered something that happened a few years ago. I was walking through one of the malls in Peoria, IL with my brother and we saw these two scrawny white teens all decked out in 'street attire', strutting their stuff, probably from middle class families. They were calling one another '******'; I thought it was funny as hell but my brother didn't feel the same, he got mad as hell. I had to talk him out of walking up to those guys and telling them to shut the fuck up.

 

"and this has carried over to the present" by who? It's not the "institutional racism" as is claimed since that itself would be illegal and there are no state or federal laws then either encourage it or allow it.

As for being pulled over, who doesn't suffer this. The difference is I don't whine about it and say "they was pullin me over for driving while white" or other such childish shit. They were pulling me over because I was driving too fast. I readily admitted my fault and collected my tickets with no drama. I certainly didn't try to argue with a cop since I know for a fact it doesn't do any good. Even Chris Rock said as much.

I don't consider affirmative action to be a payback at all. It's a head of the line privilege as is evidenced by college admissions. Like it or not, social promotion has led to black freshman entries who can barely read above the 8th grade level and their math skills are even worse. By doing this to them, lying about their grades and capabilities through primary schooling, they have literally set them up to fail as adults. It's the same logic that suggests midnight basketball is "good for black teens" when it's absolutely not. It fills them with false hope and keeps them out late when they should be resting for the next day at school.

But here's the real thing, how much longer can they hope to ride this blame train? There's nothing at the end. While I am not a Trump supporter it's interesting how he has become the lightning rod for so much hatred of white people, for JUST being white. Look how he's being tarred as a racist, nazi and sexist on the slimmest of pretexts. And I just love watching Maxine rant about impeaching him for nothing more than winning the election. I can't believe my home state still keeps that stupid old crone in her seat.

As long as we suffer the idea that "ALL" white people are racists and that "ALL" white people owe non-white people everything they have, I can't imagine how we'll see reconciliation. I keep hearing these kinds of claims in the news and I can't fathom what good they think will come from it. It's as if someone actually wants the nation to be divided with white folks on one side and everybody else on the other. Which is a pipe dream for malcontents. Most of the white people I encounter seem to get along fine with people regardless of their race. If they really were racist assholes I doubt they could keep the facade going for so long, particularly in corporate America.

I have no use for racists of any shade.

 

People marginalized themselves and as for the supposed foreclosures, more white people lost their homes than black people. This loss of homes had nothing to do with ethnicity but had to do with loans given to people who did not have the money to cover it. This did not happen in Canada because we have laws in place and a formula that must be adhered to by the banks when it comes to loans. It is based on income and a percentage of income going to a mortgage. Many people who work hard can't afford a home in this city and it took years of saving to do so. Look at the number of people given loans for a house in the USA by people who did not have a high school education during the Obamas administration! People as a whole were set up for failure and people wanted to live beyond their means. These loans and mortgages were not given out based on skin colour but by those who took advantage of something that was promoted by the left as being a good thing for black and brown people, excluding white people.

Because you see, Obamas promised to pay for black people mortgage and gas.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P36x8rTb3jI

And let's not forget the DOJ going after JP Morgan for not giving housing loans to black people and Hispanic at a cheaper rate than white people. Insisting people be granted loans based on skin colour when they were incapable of paying, which was the reason they were originally declined. Not because of skin colour or ethnicity as Obamas admin claimed.

They were shamed and forced to give loans to people based on ethnicity.

 

http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/minorities.aspx

I think African Americans and other minorities are marginalized. I also think it's important to raise awareness of some of the issues surrounding this issue.

• educational attainment
• financial security
• subjective perceptions of social status and social class
• and of course income

One of the big problems is also job opportunities that are not viable. The jobs available to white people are not available to minorities, or if they are it's according to a different standard, such that minorities have to work twice as hard for the same opportunities.

 

In truth, the subprime crisis started with Clinton. He's the one who insisted that buying a house should be simplified for "disadvantaged" people. The result was that running proper credit checks was reinterpreted as racism. Because, after all, white Americans are all on easy street and can buy a house with a simple signature. Everybody else has to have adequate income, good credit (a measure of how one pays their bills) and a stable work history. Personally, I am none of those things except maybe the income part, but it's sporadic. My credit was turned to shit long ago, but I got to drive a really nice car for 7 years.

During Bush's administration the issue of subprime loans was basically ignored while he and his buddies loosened the regulations on securities. This allowed Wall Street to package the basically worthless mortgages into other types of investment "products" (a stupid term financial geeks use to try to feel better about the fact they produce absolutely nothing). It was a bipartisan effort between two lawmakers, Paul Sarbanes and Michael Oxley. They saw the trainwreck that Clinton started and Bush refined and wanted it to stop.

But they were powerless to deal with the subprime mortgages since it had been codified into a "racist" issue and any talk of rolling it back had you instantly associated with the KKK (see how easily our system is tossed into the weeds at the smallest suggestion of racism). So they went after Wall Street, a somewhat easier target. They use Enron as an example as well as WorldCom and Tyco. Bush was forced to sign it in 2002 but insisted it be grandfathered in. This gave his wealthy buddies time to ship their money offshore and leave American taxpayers holding the bag. Bush hid the nightmare by channeling money from TANF to make the balance of mortgage payments to keep the housing act alive and allow people who made $17-$22K to keep their $180-$240K homes for a while longer.

This was the setup. Bush knew that none of the republicans in the bullpen were going to be a match for Hillary. At the time Obama was barely on the radar. Hillary was running to give the Clintons a second chance to fix the nightmare that Bill had created, the one Bush just kicked down the road. The surprise as Obama, who had only been a senator for 145 days before deciding to make a run for the top seat. Usually it takes years of carefully crafted relationships in Washington for anyone to even consider such a run. Obama was a rookie. But he had an ace up his sleeve and used it, by playing the race card on Hillary. It worked like a charm.

But he still needed the connections of the oft touted "Clinton Machine" if he hoped to get anything done. When Obama discovered that a massive balloon note was about to come due, and that millions of non-white people would soon be evicted from their homes, he made every deal he could with every devil on capital hill to make sure the mortgages were paid. He knew then that he'd never have to worry about it because he was about to stab all of those devils in the back and call them out for being "racists" if they dared to say a word against him. He had the media on his side, to the biggest transfer of graft in US history went by with nary a note.

What we really have in the US is a population that is used as both human shielding and human footballs for the elites on BOTH sides of Washington to use as they see fit. To keep the Americans off their backs about it, they stir up other, disconnected matters. For Obama this was all too easy, he'd just drive it all as racial compensation and dare anyone to say otherwise.

Now we have a real wildcard in the white house. Since he's not really beholding to either side, they're both going for his throat or looking for ways to stab him in the back. The American people are a secondary concern for them, until they need their votes.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHG0vom4xjs

 

"And this has carried over to the present" by who?" By folks with attitudes like yours, and by deeply entrenched behaviors that are hard to change. As for being pulled over, I think it happens a lot more to African-Americans. A lot of the white contributors to this thread must have been socially promoted, because they can brely think above an eighth grade level, if that. The "blame train" is kept fueled by people like the Prez, who give them something more to feel exploited about by using race as a political wedge issue. Certainly not "all" white people are racists, and those who aren't don't "owe" minorities anything except understanding and compassion. Someone obviously does want America divided--the Divider in Chief on his golf course. It works with his base. Most people I know of any race get along fine with each other, and if it weren't for politicians, the Donald, and internet trolls fanning the flames, we could probably get along.

 

I don't agree with her. They have an opportunity to lead America by example in touching on racial inequality. I think that's a positive example. And I have more respect for them now that they're standing up against President Trump, who would in all likelihood rather them be silent.

I don't think I'm unpatriotic for feeling that way. I love America but I think it makes a powerful statement every time they kneel; which is simple: a different way of showing respect. Americans will learn from it that the NFL and its teams feel strongly about racial inequality.

 

You characterize this whole situation well.

Educational Attainment - Regardless of busing, social promotion and relaxed college admission standards education is still going to come down to what a person has learned and how well they can apply it. A sheet of paper on the wall no longer represents absolute roof of capability and our universities are to blame. What "good" could possibly justify telling people that they have achieved something that they didn't? And with so many colleges issuing these "participation" degrees employers have had no choice but to include competency requirements during the hiring phase. I know this very well as I had to take a typing test recently. I haven't had one in decades and the material I was to type was badly written. I struggled through it and got a score of around 25 wpm, not so good for a guy who claims to be a writer. I insisted they allow me to do it again with better material and selected one of their technical manuals for a reverse osmosis system. In 20 minutes I was finished and scored nearly 80 wpm. So their entrance exam itself was flawed and they probably kicked a lot of people to the curb needlessly. This is a problem we all face, but it's particularly hard on people who have what are basically fake degrees. Here's a hint; if college seems "easy" to you, something is wrong.

Financial Security - During the last recession (undeclared) many Americans learned that there is no such thing as financial security or job security. Employers have zero loyalty for employees and seem to think of them all as disposable. I know this well as I have lost several jobs over the years when the economy dipped, the company shut down, downsized or dismissed me when I got sick (though they'd never admit to it). Another thing to consider is that managing money in the US economy is not an easy task. Jane, my wife, has an accounting degree and has saved us several times from IRS audits. But not the last one. Some things changed during Obama's terms that she hadn't been aware of and my final tax rate was nearly 50% because of weird regulations in place for earning money overseas and being classified as an international business because I hired a translator in Tunisia. This isn't a racial thing, it's a knowledge thing and ties right back into education. If you're ignorant, there's a long line of people, companies and government agencies waiting to get their hooks into your wallet.

subjective perceptions of social status and social class - This is as old as humanity. The modern world has allowed a lot of people to live with the appearance of a higher social status than they have actually earned. Too many seem to think they can buy their way into a higher social class and it's not so easy. In the 20th century we saw lots of nobodies attain amazing wealth in a short period of time. But their actual social class became obvious once they opened their mouth. Regardless of the size of their house or the number of expensive cars they owned. This phenomenon continues today and race plays a minor role in it. Kanye West is about as classless as they come, but he's heralded for coming up with a rhyme for orange. The Kardashians are famous, for being famous. Try to wrap that thought around your head. Mark Zuckerberg is a shrewd thief who recognized that patents and copyrights do not protect an "idea". I doubt there's an old money family in any nation who sees him as nothing more than a commoner with a few extra bucks. I understand his need for isolation in the face of that. Another thing that old money doesn't admire is crime. Not to say they don't engage in it, but anyone who gets caught or exposed in public is summarily drummed out of their midst. So going in the door looking, acting or smelling like a crook will only net a limited social following.

income - Income is a protected environment, until it exceeds the minimum wage. Then it becomes a minefield. Ultimately you are only worth what you can talk someone into paying you. Once you achieve that, staying in that role is a daily battle. There are no more "cushy" jobs unless you work for a doting family business and can do no wrong in their eyes. Or you might be in a work center with a team of cronies, all watching each other's backs and finding clever ways to steal praise from other work centers who actually did the work. I've been there many times. Service departments are the ones I've really seen taking it on the chin. They are usually the only department with a steady positive revenue. But the bonuses go to the sales and marketing team.

It's a tough game for everybody, but I do agree that some minorities discover this in a sudden and brutal way. Especially if they're holding a gifted diploma from a degree mill college. In Atlanta a whole generation of children were screwed out of their education by Beverly Hall and a team of her choosing. They chose to shit on the kids, mostly black, in order to win cash and awards for closing the achievement gap. Only, they did no such thing and actually made that gap a lot wider for thousands of kids who will likely be on the dole shortly after "graduating" from high school.

The real issue though is how much we focus on our own shortcomings as opposed to looking for an external scapegoat since it will relieve us of having to accept the truth about our own abilities. Once I considered my own limitations I quit thinking that I "deserved" a corner office in a high rise just because I wanted it. I wasn't going to deserve my way up the corporate ladder, it was going to take effort and evolving talent. For a guy as old as me to survive as a freelance writer takes a lot of effort. I have to learn new software on a regular basis as so many companies hire according to the tools they have purchased as opposed to the actual talent of the writers they hire.

While I mastered MS-Office long ago, the changes in 2013 were a serious threat for several months as I struggled to find everything. And I've been rejected from other projects because I don't know Adobe creative suite (a stupid requirement for someone who writes dull mechanical content) or because I don't do graphic arts (because I'm a writer, not an artist). I turned down a project recently because they wanted me to commute from Atlanta to some small town hell south of Macon at my own cost, no hotel or mileage. They figured I could just deduct it as business expenses, from my paycheck. Arrogant fucks.

The thing is that even with the antidiscrimination laws we have on the books, employers still do it. Age discrimination is very common and I've begun to see it in overseas job postings. They literally state they won't be hiring anyone over 50. Companies in the US have the same policy but can't legally admit it. So they come up with sly ways to get around the discrimination laws. No amount of whining will fix that. They who have the gold make the rules and cheat on the rules. Again, its not a specifically racial issue.

 

Thank you!

We are currently studying this in a Sociology course on Social Problems I am taking at a local community college.