Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
For black people to blame white people in this day and age for their problems is silly. Especially considering when you have people like Barack Obama running for President, a black Supreme Court Justice, a black Secratary of State, lots of black district judges, etc. etc. Oprah Winfrey grew up poor, if white racism was holding her down then how did she turn into a mega-rich American icon? Please explain this ....
People often point to Oprah, rich atheletes, etc.. as examples of blacks success and then say " look they made it. Racism must not be that bad" But these people are ofcourse exceptions to the rule. And I'll explain how.
Oprah with her income easily fits into the top 5% of all Americans income wise. However, Blacks make up 12% of the population but only 1% of the people in this top 5% are black. Whites on the other hand make up 81% of the population and 87% of the top 5% in income.
In other words you would have to have 12 times as many Oprahs, Michael Jordans, Michael Jacksons, etc. as there currently are before we have a fair percentage of our population represented in that income class.
That problems' largely because most of our most wealthy figures are entertainers and politicians and that's because racism hasn't held blacks back as much there as in corporate america, entrepuerneurial fields, and other areas.
Also entertainment and sports are fields in which one can advance to the top with very little or no capital unlike areas like real estate, technology, farming, and construction. (Fields where blacks are grossly underrepresented at the top). Blacks tend to have very little capital and part of this is because historically blacks have been denied access to cheap land that whites took in earlier days.
So while blacks could do more for themselves I refuse to allow whites to continue to say the blame all lies in ourselves. That's simply not true.
Last edited by Galounger; 11-24-2007 at 04:24 PM..
For black people to blame white people in this day and age for their problems is silly
For white people to act as if MASS DISCRIMINATION in the job market today (as well as past racism which prevented black generational wealth;wealth that can be passed down) is not a primary reason for black poverty is silly.And dont go spouting off the ''do good in school'' stuff,because it has been proven that whites with criminal histories are more likely to be hired than blacks college students with no criminal history and equal qualifications.
I'm sure there are places where "race" doesn't matter. At least when I was a kid in Queens, none of the teachers or students I dealt with cared about it. Half our classes were foreigners from Eastern Europe and Asia.
Sometimes I think the racism problems in the US are mental; people see what they want to see and ignore the facts. Americans have this problem with not accepting responsibility for their own actions or inactions. We also have trouble realizing that problems tend to have more than one cause. I'd say the ghetto glamorizing culture in the US is holding minorities back more so than prejudice. I saw many kids not caring about their education because they wanted to act gangster and get into the drug trade instead of becoming a teacher, doctor, or engineer. I know children of Mexicans, Laotians, and Ethiopians who are better off educationally and financially than American minorities. If immigrants from the Third World can do well with less money and similar skin tones, why not the poor minorities in the US?
What's wrong with telling people the "do good in school stuff"? Education is a big part in gaining experience for a successful career. Why do you think Asians are doing the best out of all ethnic groups? I know that parts of America have horrible education systems that don't prepare kids for college, but that just means people will have make more smart sacrifices. I'd like to see good evidence that "whites with criminal histories are more likely to be hired than blacks college students with no criminal history and equal qualifications." I've learned that if it sounds ridiculous or like a conspiracy, it's probably false.
I know that people are still prejudiced, from talking to some of my "white" friends and from being singled out for being part Chinese, but people need to take more responsibility for their own lives and just deal with others civilly. Do all you can and let the chips fall where they may.
^^^As for your other comments,Ive grown weary of debating racism with the ''see no evil, hear no evil'' type of whites who just dont get it,or pretend to just dont get it.So believe what you believe.
We wont.Whites such as Tim Wise are a rarity.Whites have the upper hand and see racism as a thing of the past,or something that doesnt really affect anyone.In the meanwhile the black community is getting worse and worse (high unemployment,homelessness,and imprisonment of black men,2 parent households being a rarity,etc).
So blacks as a whole are pretty much screwed,unless something destroys the white power structure,removing the wall of discrimination which would stop giving blacks harsher penalties for crimes and allow the masses of black men stable,livable wage paying jobs.
We wont.Whites have the upper hand and see racism as a thing of the past,or something that doesnt really affect anyone.In the meanwhile the black community is getting worse and worse (high unemployment,homelessness,and imprisonment of black men,2 parent households being a rarity,etc).
So blacks as a whole are pretty much screwed,unless something destroys the white power structure.
i disagree
im a white guy, and I know it exists. and i believe things can be done.
we as a country just need to figure out what we can do to get the black population back on the road to success.
it CAN happen, its just a matter of will!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.