If I Were A Poor Black Kid (Reagan, regular, state)
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I'm very successful and have never had to pretend that I was white. I make it clear that when engaging in business with me, you are dealing with someone that is professional, proficient, and knowledgeable.
I have no chip on my shoulder, but there is give and take in interpersonal relations and I don't have to pretend to be something I'm not.
I'm unsure whether to laugh or not.
So a racist, not knowing if you are a good worker, are smart, and will contribute to their success, just viewing the color of your skin; is going to give a black person a job.
O.K. sure...how is that black worker going to be treated on a daily basis, oh right..that's irrelevant.
You come across very angry and bitter on the net. I would be shocked if you were any different in person.
1. You're not my people.
2. I don't hate the descendents of American slaves.
3. I do hate what passes for their culture. It's regressive and inhibits progress.
1. Yes, I know I'm not your people. On one side, my Scots-Irish ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War. On the other side, my German ancestors were brought to America directly by William Penn. I have very old white American roots. You probably think you're inferior to me.
2. Then why start thread after thread running them down?
3. The old, I don't hate you; I jjust your culture bit, eh? That's an old racist canard. No, no, no -- I don't hate black people. I like black people who act, dress, think, eat, etc. like white people just fine.
I've met a lot of racists over the years. Most of them just don't get out much. If they interacted with more black people, they'd realize that black people come in all flavors, just like white people do. As a black man, you should know this. Why you don't just baffles me.
I state my views clearly and concisely without emotion. Recon attacks people who he disagrees with big difference. He does so with personal insults and very rarely debates on the actual facts.
I'm not angry about anything it's a fact that after 400 years in America, African-Americans bring up the rear in just about every socioeconomic indicator.
The anger is coming from folks who refuse to acknowledge these facts. Personally I'm quite calm about the situation.
I state my views clearly and concisely without emotion. Recon attacks people who he disagrees with big difference. He does so with personal insults and very rarely debates on the actual facts.
I'm not angry about anything it's a fact that after 400 years in America, African-Americans bring up the rear in just about every socioeconomic indicator.
The anger is coming from folks who refuse to acknowledge these facts. Personally I'm quite calm about the situation.
That statement is factually true, but it conceals a lot more than it reveals. When did active legally sanctioned discrimination against blacks cease? There's no hard date for this, but it was within the past 50 years. Blacks have done very well for themselves since then. Yes, there is a black underclass, but there is also an active, growing black middle class -- which presumably you and your family is a part of. (Have you noticed the color of our president? Have you noticed he is one of exactly TWO presidents in our long history who is not a WASP .. the other one was JFK, the Irish Catholic.)
Racists love to look at black ghettos, but conveniently overlook areas where black middle class families live in nice homes, have professional jobs and send their kids to good schools. They also conveniently forget that large swaths of white America live in communities that are plagued with drug problems, poor schools, welfare, etc.
Why is the "ghetto" more authentically black than a black suburb? Why are white suburbs more authentically white than trailer parks in Mississppi?
Wanted to start off by saying that it is not interesting or informational, the article posted in the OP. It is just another white person trying to tell black people what to do to make them be more accepted by white people. I grew up a poor black child. We were on welfare and foodstamps and medicaid for a time when I was younger, under the age of 10. My mom was a single teenage mom. My dad was a petty drug dealer at times. He never went to prison but did serve semi-long stretches in the county jail. I have never been on welfare, I did well in school, and I even have a high IQ! I was in honors and AP classes my entire academic life in school, even when we were on welfare, because my mom cared a great deal about us, even though she was young and to some of you she may have been dumb. My dad, even though he has a criminal past, cared about his kids, all his kids. He was involved in our lives, he picked us up on weekends. I never saw him deal drug or use drugs. He got addicted to crack back in the 80s. My mom also did drugs but luckily didn't go to far into addiction that it led her to a bottom like it did my Dad. My dad rose above all that, he has been clean for over 20 years now. My mom eventually got off assistance and opened her own business and makes good money. My dad owns his own cab and makes his own money as well. They were supportive. We had an extended family that loved us, aunts, uncles, a whole group of grandparents etc. Not all black people are the same. Not all white people are the same. No one has any authority to try to tell black people what we should do to be accepted by white people. Personally, I don't care if white people think a certain way of me, or anyone of any background actually. People will think what they want. But I do feel that it is misguided. What is this man doing for poor black kids. Is he a mentor (contrary to PP earlier in the thread, most poor black kids don't mind having bald white men as mentors as long as they aren't child molesters or something and are a positive influence. I had 3 personal music teachers who were nerdy white guys. The guy who ran the program that provided my music lessons was a white guy. All of us poor black kids liked him and looked up to him. He was a great guy). Does he tutor children in an after school program. Does he coach a sport for predominately black children? If he does not, he like all others who try to tell any group of people (most of whom don't need their help) what to do, he needs to shut up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuling
If I were a kid, I would have to be motivated to study hard. As a kid I probably wouldn't have the vision it takes to plan my own future.
What I sometimes wonder is why black families or single moms don't move to better areas farther West or wherever, but stay in their problematic neighborhoods. Why stay in Detroit when one is much more likely to find a job in Iowa or Nebraska? Not to mention getting rid of the crime and gloom...
What poor family has the means to travel from Detroit to Iowa or Nebraska and who's to say they will have a job waiting for them. Also wanted to note, like I mentioned above, my mom, a single mother, got a lot of support from our extended family. She did not have to pay for childcare because there was always someone to watch us. When our water, or gas, or electricity got cut off we always had a relative's house to go to in order to get a hot bath/shower and some food if needed. Many of you seem to ignore that most black single mothers are not actually raising children by themselves. They have a lot of people in their support system. My mom even had my dad's family. Single mom doesn't mean that the child's father is not in the child's life or that the paternal family is not active in rearing the child. It is too bad that so many people overgeneralize.
I really, really, REALLY hate to say this because it is going to evoke a negative reaction from you and probably everybody else...but I will say it anyway.
Fitting into white culture does not mean that you have to pretend you are white. I don't think that *anyone* expects a black person to pretend they are white. What I mean by "fitting into white culture" means, well, (oh God, I'm actually going to say this....) knowing their place. (arghhhhh). This is a term I detest. But to succeed in a world that is white, black people have to accept it. Again, I am not saying it's right, or defending it in any way. But it is the way things work.
As far as how I would be treated on a daily basis, I wouldn't care if it gave me the opportunity to better myself. I can put up with a lot of crap when it comes to attaining my goals.
20yrsinBranson
Also wanted to say as a black person that I agree with the above to an extent. I do feel that everyone has to learn their place. Especially when it come to employment and the business world. No one will hire someone who doesn't know how to dress professionally or who has gold teeth all in their mouth or who cannot speak correct English in a business environment, this includes black business owners and HR reps as well BTW.
But wanted to also add that black people will probably never be accepted by "white culture" so it is better to just go about ones life and be a decent person. The main problem I see with "poor black kids" and honestly with middle class black people, is the desire to be "accepted" by others. Accept yourself for who you are and forget the rest of them.
#1 priority, learn to play the clarinet. musical instruments are skunk juice to gangs.
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