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So the answer of white Americans to the facts of racism must no longer be, "But I am not a racist." If we are oblivious to the racism still in our social systems, we can't deny our complicity with it. The best answer to continual denials from white Americans of being a racist is this: Racism is in the air that we breathe and the water we drink. So let's change the water -- and the air.
hear that, whities? it doesn't matter what you do or say. you are 'racist' no matter what
I never said everything in life needs to be handed out, but we need the basics to be covered so everyone has a fair shot.
We are not purely animals. Remember, Darwin was talking about evolution. As humans we will never evolve if we can't move beyond our animal brain.
We are animals and always will be. We are not special, actually humans are a parasite on this planet. Nothing more. It's your responsibility to cover the basics. If I can do it so can anyone else. The problem is that this conversation gets away from people who truly need it because they actually can not do it for themselves and it tries to include the people who can but refuse to and we are shamed into doing it for them like you are trying to do in your OP. I say no way, if you aren't willing to help yourself, I'm not willing to help you. If you can't pitch in and pay your share of taxes you shouldn't be expecting to have good infrastructure and schools. You get what you pay for in this world. Why should I pay for schools when I have no kids but someone who doesn't pay sends 5 kids there? Everyone does have a fair shot. Poor or not you can pay attention in school and actually show up, not linger in the streets selling dope or joining a gang. Don't tattoo yourself all up and look like a jackass because you think it's cool, get responsible and try and keep trying. Failure is a fact of life, too many just give up and that is completely their own faults. I know scores of people who are beating the welfare and disability system. They can work, but they choose not, they choose to party all day and night. I know people who won't take on extra hours at work even when they are offered it because they will lose their section 8 housing. Nobody is "owed" anything unless you work for it.
hear that, whities? it doesn't matter what you do or say. you are 'racist' no matter what
You know, people hear what they want-- use your own mind.
What do you want? To ignore what is of value to this article and reduce it to ganging up on "whites"?
You want everyone to fall lock in step w/ your explanation (including the writer of this article)? And so if you leave out the economic points of this article it's pointless, has no merits?
Take from it what you will, I hear more than racial issues. I hear economic ones as well.
Negligence due to omission matters as much as outright and willful ignorance and neglect. It all ends up the same.
We are animals and always will be. We are not special, actually humans are a parasite on this planet. Nothing more. It's your responsibility to cover the basics. If I can do it so can anyone else. The problem is that this conversation gets away from people who truly need it because they actually can not do it for themselves and it tries to include the people who can but refuse to and we are shamed into doing it for them like you are trying to do in your OP. I say no way, if you aren't willing to help yourself, I'm not willing to help you. If you can't pitch in and pay your share of taxes you shouldn't be expecting to have good infrastructure and schools. You get what you pay for in this world. Why should I pay for schools when I have no kids but someone who doesn't pay sends 5 kids there? Everyone does have a fair shot. Poor or not you can pay attention in school and actually show up, not linger in the streets selling dope or joining a gang. Don't tattoo yourself all up and look like a jackass because you think it's cool, get responsible and try and keep trying. Failure is a fact of life, too many just give up and that is completely their own faults. I know scores of people who are beating the welfare and disability system. They can work, but they choose not, they choose to party all day and night. I know people who won't take on extra hours at work even when they are offered it because they will lose their section 8 housing. Nobody is "owed" anything unless you work for it.
This world will never be perfect, but your attitude is quite unhelpful to the poor who want to participate and do better in this society--You know you do share in this society of the United States, right?
The "pick yourself up by your bootstraps" is an intellectually lazy and insensitive instruction on how poorer people can improve their lot.
Sure, some good personal choices would help, but the quality of schooling and living make improving quality of life so very difficult, along w/ the accompanying influences of an unhealthy social environment (gangs, etc).
This type of "help yourself because they're your problems"--at least the ones you have little power to change--reminds me of the social Darwinism we learned about in history class.
It just goes to show, politics represents the rich person--they forget about the poor, the children, the elderly because they want "their money" and power.
They pander to special interest groups and try to divide us w/ their rhetoric, when really we're all suffering together.
There are rights we have, to make our modern society function today: access to quality education, health care, maintained infrastructure, and a cleaner environment. To do w/out any of these today will result in the stagnation of our country, at the least. These services should be granted to everyone respectively today, this is what we require today to be healthy physically and economically. These what I call "rights" should be primarily served to us by the government, not private enterprise.
I think most people agree that everyone, regardless of socio-economic status, should have access to quality education, health care, maintained infrastructure and a cleaner environment. Let's take each of these in turn:
1. Quality Education - ALL schools in a public school district should have equivalent facilities, class offerings and teachers. We should have this as a benchmark in all public schools. But, despite that some kids will fail. No because they are being offered less, but because they are offering less by way of effort or engagement in their education.
2. Health Care - Between Medicaid and Obamacare, health care is available and affordable for the least among us. But, if people refuse to participate in making their lives healthier (no exercise, smoking, obesity), there's no amount of health care that will matter.
3. Maintained Infrastructure - No really sure where you're going with this one. If roads and/or bridges are in disrepair, they are equally so for everyone who uses them. No one group is being singled out.
4. Cleaner Environment - Again, last I heard we all breath the same air be we rich or poor. Certainly cities have a duty to provide clean drinking water for all who pay for the service. Sadly, Flint MI seems to have missed that memo.
IMO, when people say "Pull yourself up by your boot straps", they are frequently referring to the boot straps offered to everyone. How is the school system to blame when one kid excels and the kid sitting next to him in the same class fails? How is the quality of health care to blame when one person chooses to smoke and another does not? The government should provide a baseline boot strap for everyone. Whether people decide to pull them up or not is on them.
Dbones - that is just about the most monomaniacal delusion I have ever seen on this Forum. You and your ideas, as you expected because you and they are so perfect, take the prize.
"In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets, and steal loaves of bread." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatole_France
I think most people agree that everyone, regardless of socio-economic status, should have access to quality education, health care, maintained infrastructure and a cleaner environment. Let's take each of these in turn:
1. Quality Education - ALL schools in a public school district should have equivalent facilities, class offerings and teachers. We should have this as a benchmark in all public schools. But, despite that some kids will fail. No because they are being offered less, but because they are offering less by way of effort or engagement in their education.
2. Health Care - Between Medicaid and Obamacare, health care is available and affordable for the least among us. But, if people refuse to participate in making their lives healthier (no exercise, smoking, obesity), there's no amount of health care that will matter.
3. Maintained Infrastructure - No really sure where you're going with this one. If roads and/or bridges are in disrepair, they are equally so for everyone who uses them. No one group is being singled out.
4. Cleaner Environment - Again, last I heard we all breath the same air be we rich or poor. Certainly cities have a duty to provide clean drinking water for all who pay for the service. Sadly, Flint MI seems to have missed that memo.
IMO, when people say "Pull yourself up by your boot straps", they are frequently referring to the boot straps offered to everyone. How is the school system to blame when one kid excels and the kid sitting next to him in the same class fails? How is the quality of health care to blame when one person chooses to smoke and another does not? The government should provide a baseline boot strap for everyone. Whether people decide to pull them up or not is up to them.
I am just referring to what it takes. And today our government: national, state, and local are not providing good, quality basic services.
I don't live in a run down neighborhood, but the schools are subpar and our roads are terrible. I don't think my city is unique in those respects, among other aspects.
Moneys are being siphoned and managed in ways that are not helping us citizens out.
The "pick yourself up by your bootstraps" is an intellectually lazy and insensitive instruction on how poorer people can improve their lot.
Sure, some good personal choices would help, but the quality of schooling and living make improving quality of life so very difficult, along w/ the accompanying influences of an unhealthy social environment (gangs, etc).
This type of "help yourself because they're your problems"--at least the ones you have little power to change--reminds me of the social Darwinism we learned about in history class.
It just goes to show, politics represents the rich person--they forget about the poor, the children, the elderly because they want "their money" and power.
They pander to special interest groups and try to divide us w/ their rhetoric, when really we're all suffering together.
There are rights we have, to make our modern society function today: access to quality education, health care, maintained infrastructure, and a cleaner environment. To do w/out any of these today will result in the stagnation of our country, at the least. These services should be granted to everyone respectively today, this is what we require today to be healthy physically and economically. These what I call "rights" should be primarily served to us by the government, not private enterprise.
Always happy to hear from the hand wringing, bed wetting, holier-than-though class. Your philosophy is a demonstrated road to failure but some people just cannot learn.
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