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I am saying in a genral sense. Now there are many,many successful blacks in this country but there are still waaaay to many the dwell at the bottom. I do understand racism but I really would like to take that out of the equation and look at things that blacks themsleves can do. We, blacks, cannot control the way whites treat us not can we make them change that kind of behavior but we can controll ourselves.
So what can we do to get a more stable footing in America? I ask this question because I sure would like to do more than just mentor black kids, I don'think I'm doing enough, that is far from enough. Blacks have to do much more. I would like to hear any suggestions or opinions........
How about you stop blaming your problems on "racist" whites.
I traveled to Africia with a black friend, all the way there he was going back to his roots, after we left I asked how he liked his roots. He looked at me smiled and said thank god for slavery, it got my ass out of that S***
Interesting responses from this thread.... I'm going to give my response from a young black male perspective.
I think there are several factors at play here. I think the main issue is the poverty/wealth gap in this country. The US has a pretty high gap compared to other western nations (like Canada). That's why you see a lot of super concentrated poverty in many of our cities and in Appalachia, which is mostly white.
Second, I think the problem lies within the black community itself. A lot of poorer blacks (I don't think you see this issue that much in middle to upper income black households) don't try and take responsibility for things. They get hooked in this "thug culture" and never try to better themselves, despite having access to a lot of things to help them out, like education grants. At the same time, these parents aren't instilling values in their children.
Third comes back to the big elephant in the room, racism, stereotyping, and the media in general. I think part of the issue is the preconceived notion from other groups that "blacks" are thugs in general helps feed into the stereotype. I can't count how many times, I've had white people come up to me and ask what is the latest rap music, not even getting to know and finding out what I actually like, which isn't rap by the way. People may say they aren't racist, but how many people actually have black friends that they hang out with outside of "forced" settings, like college and work? This comes from both sides too.
The media doesn't help things either. Blacks are constantly being portrayed as thugs or either rich athletes or rappers. I really think it took the nation by surprise when the Obama's came into the spotlight and people actually saw for the first time *gasp* how normal middle-upper class black family lives. If people would take off their blinders and step outside their comfort zones, maybe they would actually see that stereotypes aren't always true.
My coworker is Black and fits every stereotype I ever had of Black people, it's sad.
Late everyday, steals company time, hits on woman and constantly says sexually degrading things, is lazy, falls asleep at work, etc etc. It's ridiculous, and he says he doesn't like the stereotypes that Blacks have.
Can a white person get away with the same things??
Hmmm. One African American President, two Secretaries of State, two Supreme Court Justices, one Attorney General, three governors, six Senators, 88 Medal of Honor Recipients, 42 currently serving members of the House, more mayors than I care to count and elected officials by the scores and I won't even go into areas of science, engineering, medicine, sports and entertainment. And all of that in just 40 years since the outlawing of racial discrimination. I am more than willing to put those achievements up against any other minority group who has faced the same challenges in that short amount of time.
This thread is the typical glass 3/4 empty argument. If you choose to only see the shortcomings, so be it.
But I have too believe their are allot more shortcomings than accomplishments .
How about you stop blaming your problems on "racist" whites.
Once someone does that they have to also be willing to admit that they might just be responsible for their own failures. Blaming someone else is always much easier.
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