I am not black, but wish to enter into a rational discourse with you on your thread. I hope you will engage.
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Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly
The Baltimore riots have clearly shown us that there is absolutely no empathy for the Black man in America.
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I disagree. I see no connection. Regardless of where and which group, there is going to be more empathy for peaceful, thoughtful and humble protest. This is what Gandhi taught us. By the same token, there is going to be less empathy when innocents are beaten, stores looted by laughing opportunists, and by those who participate not on principles but because of vested interest.
Treat the riot (your word choice not mine) on its own merits.
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Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly
All this focus on protesting and looting but there is almost no focus on why there is so much frustration and anger among Black males.
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Actually, I think there is a lot of focus on the fundamental issues. Sadly, not much by self-appointed leadership or media. The solutions to the economics of the black community are actually well understood and fairly elementary. What has proved to be next to impossible are the politics, something we see with each flare up.
Change for the better is going to take place one decision at a time. Let's start with those who (would) pay the taxes. Imagine you are a clothing store. What would it take to open in one of the areas hit by riots/protests? What assurances would you want before you sunk in the life savings, bodily welfare, and dreams of your family?
It is important to start with the decision by someone with capital and who would be taking the risk since if they are not in the picture there are no jobs, schools, public services.
Now imagine you are a parent, a minister, a fellow business owner, local government official, a prospective employee. Go through to the exercise to tip the scales for that small business.What would the pitch look like?
Now what about the gang member, kid who is unlikely to get one of the coveted jobs, lukewarm government official, or others who might not be happy with the business in the neighborhood for whatever reason. What do they do to put their ego/interests aside for the betterment of the community? What is the negotiation among them? Between these forces and those that want the business? Between these forces and the business itself?
Until these questions are answered to the satisfaction of the business owner--not yours or mine--the desperate economic plight of the ravaged communities will continue and simply worsen.
If the small business owner policy exercise is intractable, then conversation moves to one of three other modes, each of worse is far less "communitarian." One is for strict gentrification. The solution is physically attractive but does not involve the incumbent populations--something we see from East Palo Alto to DC to Brooklyn. Two is for government to force big corporations to invest in some kind of quid pro quo arrangement. Also unsatisfactory. Government officials and their cronies profiteer and companies wash their sins. These kinds of investments are almost never transformative to the incumbent populations. Three is a 100% government solution. These are also unsustainable. When I pay my taxes I do so because I expect return from my investments in the state or in the US. If my taxes go to fund a program that has nothing to do with my journey through life, then taxes become like forced charity. Most Americans, regardless of color would not be too psyched. Besides, charity should be a bandage rather than the core of economic activity, "should" as in it will ultimately fail.
No, all three are not going to solve the intractability. Of course there is a fourth and fifth solution, and since there is great reluctance to solve small business problem, these seem to be what is prevailing. Four is foreign immigration. Since the incumbents are unwilling to address the concerns of the local small business owner, foreign immigration comes in and begins to slowly transform the landscape. It is an inferior solution since the solutions are really trickle down to local Blacks. But we are seeing foreign enclaves and have always seen them, from Arabs in Michigan to Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, Cuban, Salvadorean, etc. neighborhoods. The trickle down is largely due to language barriers and the family nature of businesses.
Finally, there is the fifth solution: do nothing. Let the core community die. White flight followed by non-black flight followed by educated black flight. What is left is not able to sustain a real community or economy on its own and slowly the light goes out.
So #1, #4, and #5 are what we see, instead of efforts to solve the small business problem from the business owner's POV.
Once the small business owner's problem is discounted by big government black leadership and labeled as racist, etc. most people will simply turn their backs to get back to their own economic journey through life.
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Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly
It's clearly obvious that America has no intentions on addressing the huge elephant in the room. Police brutality is the icing on the cake of a long history of oppression and racism against Blacks. Black males need to wake up and realize that this country despises them. If things continue as they are, Black males are done for in this country. Black males have been getting killed in epidemic numbers ever since the drugs came into the community. America wants to ignore this Black genocide. even having a so called Black president didn't change anything. The Black community has gotten worse under the Obama Administration. Things will only deteriorate and get worse. It deeply pains me to say this but it's only a matter of time before Black American males are finished off once and for all in this country. No hope, no change, just misery and pain.
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Before we talk about police, realize that enforcement of laws are part and parcel of any community. The worst police abuses occur in these ravaged communities by the police who are assigned to serve/manage/protect/enforce communities. It is terribly misleading, unfair and unhelpful to talk in generalities about police and blacks. Police that spend most of their time ticketing 30mph in a 20mph school zone; intervening in domestic squabbles have as little to do with police in full battle gear dealing with those wishing to kill them to "even scores" as black professionals have to do with teen mobs beating innocent elderly.
I think if you ran 100 images/clips of black males by audiences of all colors I would like the responses as far as positive/negative are going to be exactly the same for 80% of the cases and probably not too far off for 15% of the cases. But for those 5%, there will be differences, based largely on past experiences, media imagery, etc.
* Police Brutality is horrible, but the cases where opinions differ is brutality in what seems like war zone.
* Drugs: terrible. Slowly I hope that this changes. I would like to separate drug use sentences (par for forgiving) from violent crime (far more punitive)
* Black on black crime. Blacks ought to try solving these problems on their own. I see no willingness to accept input from the outside unless their is big money involved. Many of my white friends would not touch this conversation with a 10' pole.
* Black Presidency--whole other thread needed, but I agree, it did not change anything and has gotten worse.
* things will deteriorate and get worse. Sadly, I agree for those communities for which videos come out in mass, communities basically abandoned by all educated peoples, I agree, it will be worse and these people will be actively forgotten. I agree, just pain and misery. And I agree it is sad, un-American and tragic.
* at the same time, this is the golden age for well educated African American males. Near guaranteed admission to the top universities and the most attractive job offers. The contrast could not be more striking. From where I stand it seems obvious that the one could not exist without the other. The success of the talented tenth versus the genocide of the bottom 30%, with the middle 60% trying desperately not to end up at the bottom but starstruck by the top 10%. And these numbers are clearly biased in favor of women versus men.
* And most tragically are the good men and women trapped in these forgotten zip codes and with no viable way to get out.
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Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly
It's no consequence that every time Blacks try to pick themselves up by their bootstraps economically, it is usually sabotaged by White Supremacy. Ironically the beneficiaries(of this oppressed system) and the Coon/Uncle Tom Blacks are always the first ones who want to criticize the Black community for being in its current state without looking at the history of why the Black community is in bad economic shape. Keep in mind people that most of these community that were destroyed happen during the time period where the Black family was still intact, so you can't blame all the problems on the Democratic liberal policies of the 1960's and onward.
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I do not agree it is White Supremacy. That would be to neat a solution. I agree that 150 years ago, it was a large feature. Today, we are all trying to right for survival. Most have no time to both with the problems of other peoples much less the legacy of history. People want their kids to get into certain universities and have no empathy with the plight of others if it prevents their pursuit of happiness. IN the news in Baltimore today, a 61 year old white male tried to stop a fight between two teen girls. For his attempt at peacemaking he is in the hospital in critical condition, in a coma with swelling on the brain. As tragic as this was, the larger tragedy is the loss of hundreds of other potential good Samaritans who will not intervene.
This brings us back to the decision node of that small business owner. Will he want to go into a community where he will be beaten to a pulp by a kid shouting "this is for Trayvon and Michael Brown?" Or have his CVS burned down?
The only possible solution for these communities is for the good to meet the good prospective small business owners and place their relationship above their race, which means the risk of being seen as a race traitor...
Finally, let's look at your own comment "Coon/Uncle Tom Blacks are always the first ones who want to criticize the Black community for being in its current state without looking at the history of why the Black community is in bad economic shape." Yikes. If that is really your deepest belief, I am wondering just who you think is going to risk their lives to come into a community in which those willing to help them are going to hated, which in turns forces many to side with the angry so as to avoid the Uncle Tom label?
And those small business owners of all colors walk away...
I will end by saying I say have great empathy for the plight of African Americans in this land. The mountain to climb is tall and for many impossible tall and steep. But that journey is no different than other journeys in that the solution requires one step in front of the other. Baby steps.
Here are my policy prescriptions.
1) Tax Free Zones
2) Exemptions from Minimum Wage
3) Special Schools which produce viable workers by age 14 and that de-emphasize the traditional liberal academic curriculum
4) Decriminalize drug use but keep strict punishment on violence
5) Channel all income taxes into the local communities
6) Prohibition on vice and junk food businesses
7) Single-sex schools
8) All-Zip code police paid for by those local income taxes.
9) Free university education for those from low income zip codes provided they return for four years to give back to those communities, but only in certain subjects (engineering, science, math, programming, info systems) and only if standards are reached.
10) Curfews for kids under 18.
11) 100% subsidized private education courses, again only in certain subjects.
12) Prohibit churches from collecting money from patrons; Churches will have income taxed.
13) Free devices provided for by Apple (whose billions are made from outsourcing), which all are unable to access signals between 10pm-6am.
14) Development of civilian patrol to escort old people, pregnant women, the handicap.
15) Youth offenders go into a bootcamp and WORK long days to help the community with trash collection, clearing blight, etc.
16) Free lifetime Polytechnic education for children from these zipcodes regardless of where they end up living as adults and regardless of their success.
17) Tax free ownership of businesses born in these communities and that stay in these communities.
18) No sports offered by schools or the community except cross country running, swimming, rock climbing, sailing, and chess.
19) All parents and children must voluntarily accept the cultural rules of this community or sit out (but without risk to economic survival)
20) Lease to own; Free healthy food.
It will take a generation or two. But at some point such a community will begin to attract back human capital. I would rather some of my taxes go to such efforts than to be flushed down into the pockets of those who have grown fat on the poverty industry.
Looking forward to your response.
S.