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My mother got pregnant with me when she was 17 years old. She eventually had me when she was 18, on August 29, 1995. My father left the responsibility of raising me solely to her. I was raised in some of the worst ghettos in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Chester, PA, and Mill Creek, West Philadelphia. Although she didn't have a college education, she stressed the importance of school, the fact that I can be anything I want in life, and that I WILL graduate from high school and go on to college. I did exactly that. When I was in middle school, I was awarded 7 out of 9 possible honor roll awards. When our financial situation improved, my mom sent me to Catholic high school, which changed my life. For the first time in my life, I experienced diversity and what it is like to have a stable household. Those experiences helped me realize that white people don't automatically hate black people just because they are black (contrary to what my peers in middle school convinced me of), and that I WILL marry someone, purchase a home, and give my children a better life than I had. At the moment, I am a Finance major at Temple University in Philadelphia. I have connected with more business professionals than most juniors. After I graduate, I plan to start my own real estate development company, specializing in urban real estate development in the Philadelphia area.
Many of the people I grew up with are either in jail, dead, or living a stagnant life with little possibility of turning their situation around. Those were the SAME people who made fun of me in elementary and middle school, calling me everything from an "Oreo" to a "white boy". As long as one has parents who actually care about their child (my mom was present at EVERY student-teacher conference, showed up to the school in order to ensure my bullies were addressed by administration, etc.) and have self-confidence, a willingness to work hard, optimism, and the mindset that "I can be ANYTHING I put my mind to", then anyone of ANY race can overcome their upbringing. I am only 20 years old (I'll be 21 this month), but I am doing better a lot of people 2-3 times my age.
A percentage of both black and white people in this country ignore what's going on or not, in their own homes and prefer to blame government, corporations, schools and so on, instead of taking responsibility for themselves. Victim hood is perpetual and crosses all races and ethnicities.
Your mom had high expectations of you and you have the same high expectations of yourself. In absence of a parent, sometimes a grandparent or other relative or a teacher or a minister or a big brother / sister can set a higher bar and follow through. Too often though, that's not the case.
That's the crux of his post. The rest of his post was just filler about "why" he was better than other black people, and felt he had some sort of authority to criticize black people.
you see the issue with critics of black people is that they RARELY have a good solution after the criticism is done. I actually do have REAL solutions with actual details. Staying "stay off drugs, go to school" is a pretty lame solutions. The real thing you don't understand is that most black people try this, but circumstances stand in their way. How do you engineer solutions around these circumstances?
See I'm a black man who ACTUALLY came up at a severe disadvantage. I had a drug addict father, and all of the need to "do better" was actually very hard. Today I'm a software engineer, making pretty good money, an expert in my field, and moving into the world of data science and artificial intelligence. But this journey wasn't as easy as "bullet point" solutions. It took actual strategy.
Why is this a pi$$ing contest for you, branh? This is a 20 year old kid who said he grew up in the ghetto with a single mother, was bullied in school, and is trying to make something of himself. How about supporting him instead of deriding him and comparing him to you? You're a grown man, aren't you? Shouldn't you be above that kind of thing?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Staysean23
The way people are talking on this thread makes it seem as if every black person living in this country is irresponsible, uneducated, didn't come from a good home, they all are criminals etc.
Phillies fan comments are basically the norm for majority black families living in the USA. I think most would know that if they stop watching Fox News and diversify there social settings.
No, we're talking about one person who was bullied growing up and stuck with his studies while those around him weren't so fortunate. He said a lot of the kids he knew growing up are dead or in jail or not doing much of anything.
If we encourage this, we're making it sound like everyone is a slug, if we don't encourage it, we're ignoring the hardships of some when we should be encouraging them.
Throwing my hands up once again and saying WE CANNOT WIN!
I still don't understand your reasoning for putting this young guy down.
BLM doesn't have a good reputation for a reason. They incite violence, they're responsible for the deaths and injuries of many cops, they riot, they block highways, they feel entitled. What have they accomplished in the 4 years since their formation - as compared to what the guy from Philly has accomplished?
Aside from many arrests, looting and burning down businesses, deaths, and a few visits to the WH, what have BLM achieved?
I'm putting the guy down because he doesn't actually know what it takes for black people to succeed in America. I'm not going to act like I know everything a black person needs to succeed. I'm sure no one really has that answer. I do know how someone escapes poverty though, and hard work will get your out of the ghetto, but it won't keep you out of the ghetto. And that's the main difference between me and "bulletpoint advice givers". There are so many things in society and in the market that totally directly contradicts the whole idea of "work harder, be more personally responsible". I mean guys like Lil Wayne, a famous rapper has more money than you and me combined, but he' has like 11 kids, and isn't responsible at all.
So this idea needs to be amended. One has to set a goal, and then they need to start writing down ways to achieve this goal, AND risk/reward. The main problem with black people in America is a poor sense of risk vs reward. But this is a problem with white Americans too. The effects of not understanding the tradeoffs doesn't hurt the white person's bottomline as much, but it does hurt them individually.
I don't like BLM, but there is a difference between not liking a particular organization, and feeling you can talk down to the entire black population. Apparently you're trying your hardest not to understand the difference. But that's fine, once you use critical thinking, then everything I am saying will start to make sense.
All I'm saying life is much deeper than trying to say
"Oh just work hard, and you'll be successful". That's not true. I know a ton of people who don't work hard and make stupid money. I know a lot of people who literally have no education and have all sorts of opportunity.
It's not about hard work. It's about positioning yourself to be at the right place at the right time. You can work until your back falls off, but it's never going to make you any real money. If you don't have strategy then you're just wasting your time.
See pre-layoff I was a "hard worker". Killing myself trying to put in 80 hours a week trying to hold on to whatever career my boss allowed me to have. See hard work just got me laid off, and since my career at that point was based around kissing my bosses ass and trying to save my job, I didn't even have any real skills when I was laid off. I was out of date, obsolete, and unemployable.
Hard work doesn't do anything. It's all about being smart, positioning yourself correctly, and knowing opportunities when you see them. It's also about being ahead of the curve, and learning how to use information to your advantage.
You missed this post, apparently:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow
What if, what if, what if.
You think that paragraph is only for black people? That crap happens to white people all. the. time.
You think black people are the only ones who live in poverty? You think black people are the only ones who have the cards stacked against them? You think black kids are the only ones who see their parents struggling and failing?
A lot of people come from terrible homes with families that really should not even be called "families", they see the insane failures of their parents, they are dirt poor, can't afford heat or food, yet they still work hard to make something of themselves. They do "everything right" and it still crumbles down all around them. You think that is only one race that endures that?
I can tell you, from personal experience, it's not just one race. You don't post on here much by your count, but I've written a few times what my upbringing was like, that I did "everything right" despite the absolute mess that "upbringing" was, I worked hard and yes, it did crumble around me. I didn't ask for someone to give me something...I was upset - I'm human...of course I was. But what were the options? Stay down there in failure and blame the entire world for not helping me, or get the hell back up and work twice as hard this time.
Guess which one I chose.
You aren't going to find those creative ways to be successful if you never put in the hard work to begin with. Since people want to prattle on about the norms, the majority of people have to work hard to get ahead. It is not common for someone to make it without having put in hard work. Those who make ridiculous amounts of money with minimal effort are not the norm.
As for Lil' Wayne, he has 4 kids, not 11. He had one when he was a teen, the rest were after his career got started.
Why is this a pi$$ing contest for you, branh? This is a 20 year old kid who said he grew up in the ghetto with a single mother, was bullied in school, and is trying to make something of himself. How about supporting him instead of deriding him and comparing him to you? You're a grown man, aren't you? Shouldn't you be above that kind of thing?
.
Well as an adult, don't we step in and let kids know when they've said something stupid? Remember kids seem to think they know everything, but they really don't.
You aren't going to find those creative ways to be successful if you never put in the hard work to begin with. Since people want to prattle on about the norms, the majority of people have to work hard to get ahead. It is not common for someone to make it without having put in hard work. Those who make ridiculous amounts of money with minimal effort are not the norm.
Plenty of people blame the world around them for their failures, black or white. And to some degree it is the world's fault. The only thing is I believe it's not up the the world to solve your problems, it's up to you. But yes, it is the government's fault, the white man's fault, and everything in between. I truly believe that the people in power do everything in their power to sabotage the poor in this country. And yes it is their fault. But it being their fault really means nothing, because it's not up to them, it's up to you.
To me, it's about employing strategies that work for you that does not depend on "them" "allowing" you to make it. The more your solutions are independent of the government, the people in power, or anything of that sort, the more likely you are to succeed. This is why it is important that we talk about markets and the idea of sustainability. If you understand the market, then you can come up with a good strategy for your life.
But I do not believe in bullet points. In most cases it's not true.
Well as an adult, don't we step in and let kids know when they've said something stupid? Remember kids seem to think they know everything, but they really don't.
That's your opinion. It's not like he's said something that's ridiculous and is going to ruin his life, which would warrant being told he's not thinking clearly, but that's not what happened. Most of us don't think he's posted anything stupid.
You've put him down because he hasn't graduated yet, because he hasn't done X or done Y, and you state that you go about things differently.
I don't understand this. You usually post thoughtful, intelligent things. It's like you're comparing a 20 year old to you in order to feel better about yourself.
Plenty of people blame the world around them for their failures, black or white. And to some degree it is the world's fault. The only thing is I believe it's not up the the world to solve your problems, it's up to you. But yes, it is the government's fault, the white man's fault, and everything in between. I truly believe that the people in power do everything in their power to sabotage the poor in this country. And yes it is their fault. But it being their fault really means nothing, because it's not up to them, it's up to you.
To me, it's about employing strategies that work for you that does not depend on "them" "allowing" you to make it. The more your solutions are independent of the government, the people in power, or anything of that sort, the more likely you are to succeed. This is why it is important that we talk about markets and the idea of sustainability. If you understand the market, then you can come up with a good strategy for your life.
But I do not believe in bullet points. In most cases it's not true.
Is it white man's fault that you got laid off? I got laid off, lost a good paying job...that's white man's fault?
As for government, the saying: We get the government that we deserve
actually means something. It's not government's fault, we put those idiots in to power.
There is no "them" without "us" placing them there.
This election cycle taught me that "them" don't have as much power as people like to think that they do. If "they" did, Trump would not be the nominee.
Do you have any issues with corporate welfare? or is that not as bad?
Yep, but Corporate welfare isn't really welfare. Its just a term liberals made up. Cities, states, and countries FIGHT to have corporations there. There is a difference between getting a tax break and not having a job and getting money for nothing. Corporations are a net contributor to America with all the taxes and jobs they provide for every race. Everyone I know works for a corporation and makes good money.
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