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Or perhaps it is a country based on the above is bound to fail. The U.S. is relatively young when compared to a number of other nations so guess the above isn't so great after all.
That's always worth keeping in mind.
It's probably best to look at the social systems and attitudes built into long lasting cultures. The Romans, Russia, the Eastern Empire, some of the Chinese empires, the gold standard of ancient Egypt.
There is a central glue holding those places together, and it isn't always ethnicity, but it *is* something.
Just to pick a word purely at random, let's call it 'Asabiyyah'.
Last edited by Aunt Maude; 04-14-2015 at 02:40 PM..
There are different levels. Technically "pain is pain" but someone getting a paper cut is going to experience a different level of pain than someone who got their arm sliced off by a machete. There are different levels of prejudice, stereotyping, and suffering. A person suffering from not being able to own multiple houses is different from a person who is suffering from being homeless.
You can quantify or compare pain relative to other people, its subjective and arbitrary. Maybe the homeless guy has dementia and has no real understanding of his suffering...and for the most part, in his mind, he is content.
A lot of white people simply won't acknowledge that this culture is built on White, Male, Christian supremacy. It is discomforting to say the least.
A lot of people also can't come to terms with the fact that the statement I just uttered is not a personal indictment on any one white person. People get too defensive to have a rational conversation on such a matter.
How does this sound:
A lot of black people simply won't acknowledge that this culture is built on black, Male, drug dealing. It is discomforting to say the least.
Its equally ignorant and discomforting, to say the least.
I agree. The problem I think a lot of people have is that when you say that they are the beneficiaries of a oppressed system, they take it as a personal insult as if you are personally calling them a "racist" and they start to get very defensive. Whether they as individuals are racists themselves is beyond the point because you will always have people who are going to be racist. It's the White Supremacy/systematic oppression that's the problem. An individual White racist doesn't really have much power over the Black community at a collectively level but White Supremacy certainly has a huge effect on the Black community. It was created by the ancestors of modern White Americans and the supremacists system won't change until the beneficiaries of the system decide to change it.
Let's also not forget that true Christianity is at complete opposition with such a system. People can fool themselves down here, but a true Christian knows that the foundation of this country was built on "sinking sand." I won't even go into how polluted Christianity became due to numerous Europeans and that such a version predominates in the U.S. This country will fall due to its unwilling to truly live by principles.The same Bible that so many profess to believe in says it clearly.
It's probably best to look at the social systems and attitudes built into long lasting cultures. The Romans, the Eastern Empire, some of the Chinese empires, the gold standard of ancient Egypt.
There is a central glue holding those places together, and it isn't always ethnicity, but it *is* something.
Just to pick a word purely at random, let's call it 'Asabiyyah'.
There is certainly truth to that. Unfortunately the U.S. lack asabiyyah from its inception and didn't truly make a real attempt at it under the 60s.
I see the complaint over and over, but never a concrete suggestion for a proposed remedy.
Nothing stops black people from ascending to the the highest positions in industry, entertainment, business, politics, etc. We know this for a fact because we have black billionaires, millionaires, CEOs, senior executives and obviously tons of politicians including the President, and past AG, SecDef, SecState, etc. So it is possible and clearly there are no laws against it. Yes, it happens less often than white people, but it does indeed happen, therefore it is not forbidden nor even discouraged.
yet still the problem, relatively speaking, exists. Compared to white people by percentage, and manipulating statistics, we can make a case that blacks are the lowest socio-economically performing race demographic. Without going to causation, that is plain enough to see.
Since no law or regulation forbids black achievement, and affirmative action laws/regs actively promote/fund/regulate black and Hispanic achievement over all other race demographics (laws, btw, written and passed by vastly white majorities, tyvm), and there are very successful, high achieving black people all over the country (as in, successful blacks are rules more than exceptions)...what is the suggestion to remedy the demographic "problem?"
What are white people supposed to do en masse that will uplift blacks en masse relative to them?
There are lot of things that could be done. The first I would recommend is getting rid of the governmental policies that hurt the Black community such as welfare and other polices that help destroy the Black community.
The 2nd thing that would help is some form of reparations. It doesn't have to go to individuals but it could be invested in economic opportunities within the Black community.
That would certainly be a great start in the right direction.
There's no such thing as Black racial privilege in America. You can talk about politics all you want, race has always mattered in America. Whether is blatant racism or systematic racism(which most people are oblivious to). The worst kind of racism is the kind that goes largely unnoticed. Slavery can also be both physical and mental.
The non-sense you people spout....the privileged concept is nothing more than a stereotype. I reject privilege concepts based on the logical underpinnings of it. With that said, if I bought into the concept and logic behind it, I can easily show a purported privilege black people enjoy. They wont be ostracized for being prejudicial and discriminatory. The point is, if you buy into the privilege concept, which you shouldn't, of course there is black privilege.
There's no such thing as Black racial privilege in America. You can talk about politics all you want, race has always mattered in America. Whether is blatant racism or systematic racism(which most people are oblivious to). The worst kind of racism is the kind that goes largely unnoticed. Slavery can also be both physical and mental.
You said that different people have different levels of suffering, have different experiences. I am agreeing and saying that using racial politics/racial generalizations to weigh people's experiences is denying that difference; it is denying that there are certain black people with more privileged and power than certain white people, just as their are certain white people with more privilege and power than certain black people.
There is certainly truth to that. Unfortunately the U.S. lack asabiyyah from its inception and didn't truly make a real attempt at it under the 60s.
It's interesting you would say that.
I would say that US civic glue began dying in the 1960's and has descended to a fairly dismal state in modern times. It's been a pretty obvious decline and likely will result in a lot of tears.
Robert Putnam would probably be on my side in this.
There are lot of things that could be done. The first I would recommend is getting rid of the governmental policies that hurt the Black community such as welfare and other polices that help destroy the Black community.
The 2nd thing that would help is some form of reparations. It doesn't have to go to individuals but it could be invested in economic opportunities within the Black community.
.
Those two statement almost sound mutually exclusive.
What investment can you think of that would actually make a lick of difference?
Before you speak too quickly, this is probably worth a scan...
I apologize for the source, but it is interesting.
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