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I have either deleted or edited at least half the posts on this thread and, still, many of the ones I decided to allow to remain don't fully adhere with the Great Debates guidelines. Posts that don't follow the guidelines from this point will be deleted, not edited.
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5) STAY ON TOPIC!!! The topic of this thread is whether young black boys are at a disadvantage. Discussing that will often result in discussion of satellite issues but the overwhelming focus of any post should be the actual topic. Responses to other posters need to focus on points in their post that are directly related to the actual topic.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 05-21-2014 at 04:43 PM..
Reason: Grammer..... sigh
When I say young, I mean 20y/o and younger. It seems many are lacking in basic social and educational skills development. I try to assist this demographic but it seems like instead of assisting it's more like a demolition than rebuild project.
I also find many to be mentally weak being mask by a "tough guy" persona. Could thins could caused by absent fathers? Mothers that cannot show boys how to be men?
It seems like many are behind the 8 ball and are not prepared for adult live. Does race play a role? Does lacking direction and discipline play a role?
Are young black boys at a disadvantage?
Only if they put themselves there.
Stop showing a tough guy persona and act like a civilized human being. It will be surprising how attitudes toward you change.
No doubt the absence of a baby daddy plays a role. Mothers, think about this before you act like breeding has no consequences. A stable home life should be a requirement before popping out the young 'uns.
One of the first things I learned when I began as a teacher in an all black school district school is not to refer to a black male as a boy. It didn't matter if he was a boy, he couldn't be called a boy. Even today, many years later it would be very awkward for me to say it. They are young men. I'm sure it's obvious why this is the way it is, but, briefly, way back in the day, even black men were often referred to as boy and it was so disrespectful, it must not be used today.
When I say young, I mean 20y/o and younger. It seems many are lacking in basic social and educational skills development. I try to assist this demographic but it seems like instead of assisting it's more like a demolition than rebuild project.
I also find many to be mentally weak being mask by a "tough guy" persona. Could thins could caused by absent fathers? Mothers that cannot show boys how to be men?
It seems like many are behind the 8 ball and are not prepared for adult live. Does race play a role? Does lacking direction and discipline play a role?
Are young black boys at a disadvantage?
If they were raised right by 2 loving parents, a decent single parent or grandparents I would say no they are not.
If decent parenting/ role models were absent then they and young men of all backgrounds are at a serious disadvantage.
Race plays a far less role than direction/guidance and discipline, socio-economic factors come into play also.
What does help is a strong moral/religious background and possible mentors/role models ( older relative, understanding neighbors, teachers, ministers).
Institutionalized racism is real but it does not mean black men are doomed to fail. However, with the deck stacked against them from the beginning, they really do have to work extra hard just to gain an equal footing. How many of them are up to this challenge?
So how would you explain those that overcome obstacles and raise themselves up to become productive citizens?
Time to stop blaming others and take some personal responsibility. Excuses might make you feel better about yourself but it won't solve your problem.
I think Bill Cosby touched on this subject years ago, but was vilified.
Quote:
Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic and lower middle economic people are [not*] holding their end in this deal. In the neighborhood that most of us grew up in, parenting is not going on.
We cannot blame white people. White people (clapping) .. white people don't live over there.
50 percent drop out rate, I'm telling you, and people in jail, and women having children by five, six different men. Under what excuse, I want somebody to love me, and as soon as you have it, you forget to parent. Grandmother, mother, and great grandmother in the same room, raising children, and the child knows nothing about love or respect of any one of the three of them (clapping). All this child knows is “gimme, gimme, gimme.”
Brown Versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem. We've got to take the neighborhood back.
If this is indeed true, then why are young black males struggling so hard to become productive members of society?
This is the wrong question. I'd ask you this instead, why are there so many roadblocks for black boys before they have even had a chance to figure out the rules of society?
We have a serious problem in our education system, where black kids are disciplined more harshly than their non-black peers for minor offenses. School 'Discipline Gap' Explodes As 1 In 4 Black Students Suspended, Report Finds
We use different language to describe similar behavior among black kids and white kids. If a black kids talks over the teach and speaks out of turn, he is labeled as "acting up." When a white student does the same it is read as confident and authoritative.
And why do we dwell on the behavior of some black boys, and hold that up as representative of all black boys. Why are we starting with the assumption, as in this thread, that black boys are trouble makers and are not fitting into society? In actually, most black kids are doing OK, even with all the systemic limitations out there.
But we like to dwell on this idea of the pathology of black kids, like somehow they are significantly different than white kids. But all of this is rooted in our perception of black males.
No matter how much you achieve. How successful you are. Society will teach you, that you aren't worth as much as your white peers. You aren't trustworthy. You are dangerous. You are worthless. And those lessons are reinforced daily. When college professors are arrested for "trespassing on their own property." When a couple is killed because a "neighbor" thought they were trespassing on their own property. When a woman knocks on a door late at night because she needs medical help, and gets shot in cold blood because she looks "suspicious."
All day, every day you are put at a huge advantage, because before you have had a chance to open your mouth, your potential and your worth is pre-determined.
I know many posters here think they are "helping" by opening a forum up to try and "understand," at the same time there is an underlying pretense that says: there is something wrong with *those people* and *those people* should work on it. I have no responsibility in the landscape that makes it happen.
We use different language to describe similar behavior among black kids and white kids. If a black kids talks over the teach and speaks out of turn, he is labeled as "acting up." When a white student does the same it is read as confident and authoritative.
How do you know that most teachers can't tell the difference or show bias? What about black schools where there are no white kids and the majority of teachers are black?
Quote:
And why do we dwell on the behavior of some black boys, and hold that up as representative of all black boys. Why are we starting with the assumption, as in this thread, that black boys are trouble makers and are not fitting into society? In actually, most black kids are doing OK, even with all the systemic limitations out there.
Ok relative to what?
Quote:
No matter how much you achieve. How successful you are. Society will teach you, that you aren't worth as much as your white peers. You aren't trustworthy. You are dangerous. You are worthless. And those lessons are reinforced daily.
I don't really understand this. Are you telling me that well spoken, cerebral, successful blacks that contribute to society are told these things on a daily basis? Do you think someone like Dr Ben Carson faces this?
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to become productive citizens?