Okay, this is kinda funny..

[War Beagle]

Originally Posted by jerbear30

This would be funnier if our state wasn't also currently working to suppress the black vote through voting laws and gerrymandering. Maybe that's why black folks want black folks in office.

The primary purpose of gerrymandering is to create homogeneous districts. Both the Democrats and the Republicans like to do it for the same reason, which is to create safe districts. The Republicans would much rather there be automatic safe Democrat seats than for there to be more liberals in some of the districts that lean Republican (and vice versa).

As far as the "voter suppression" is concerned, if it is too difficult for them to get a free ID card, maybe we could let them use their EBT card to vote since there doesn't appear to be any barrier whatsoever to acquiring one of those.

[Trainwreck20]

I still don't see where he ever claimed to be black, at least not from reading the article. He just didn't come out and say 'Hey, I'm white' or put his picture out there. Do you think everyone actually voted for him only because they thought he was black, or was he actually saying some things they agreed with?

And at the end of the day, this is a community college election - maybe as good as any place to make an ironic point (even if unintentionally) - it is illegal to ask for 'race' on an application for a job, isn't an elected position a job and you are essentially demanding he list his race?

[jerbear30]

Originally Posted by War Beagle

The primary purpose of gerrymandering is to create homogeneous districts. Both the Democrats and the Republicans like to do it for the same reason, which is to create safe districts. The Republicans would much rather there be automatic safe Democrat seats than for there to be more liberals in some of the districts that lean Republican (and vice versa).

As far as the "voter suppression" is concerned, if it is too difficult for them to get a free ID card, maybe we could let them use their EBT card to vote since there doesn't appear to be any barrier whatsoever to acquiring one of those.

A white person saying "it's not about race" is like a rich person saying, "it's not about the money."

[War Beagle]

Originally Posted by jerbear30

A white person saying "it's not about race" is like a rich person saying, "it's not about the money."

Blaming social problems or lack of achievement on race is a reassuring and politically correct excuse for failure.

It sounds a lot better to say "I'm poor and don't have a job because people hate me for my skin color" than it is to say "I messed around the entire time the taxpayers were offering me a free education and now I have no marketable employment skills."

[jerbear30]

Originally Posted by War Beagle

Blaming social problems or lack of achievement on race is a reassuring and politically correct excuse for failure.

It sounds a lot better to say "I'm poor and don't have a job because people hate me for my skin color" than it is to say "I messed around the entire time the taxpayers were offering me a free education and now I have no marketable employment skills."

OK, I know this is an unwinnable debate. I would proffer that it is unwinnable because you are being irrational. This lack of rationality is related to how you and people on your side of it view history. You look at so much history of oppression and then you just pretend that it's ended at some certain date. I don't know what that date is but say its 1984 or something. And then you pretend that everything after that is all equal but that's not the way things work. and you act as if it has nothing to do with the present because, well I don't even know why to tell you the truth. So many people worship Jesus, they raise the American flag and observe history in the present in all sorts of ways. But they expect African-Americans to simply be able to abandon all that history pertaining to them. And then on top of the psychology there is the actual reality. Most cities carry forth the same segregated living plans that had been at one point designed to keep minorities apart from whites. But somehow none of this is going to matter to you because you are going to ride this fantasy of yours as far as it will take you.

[War Beagle]

Originally Posted by jerbear30

This lack of rationality is related to how you and people on your side of it view history. You look at so much history of oppression and then you just pretend that it's ended at some certain date.

The "history of oppression" argument (excuse) is problematic because sub-Saharan Africa didn't exactly have an impressive history of cultural achievement prior to contact with the Arabs and Europeans. The Arabs and Europeans encountered, enslaved and exploited people that had been living in a culture that hadn't changed much for thousands of years.

Obviously, it wasn't moral or ethical by modern standards, but it also wasn't as if the Arabs/Europeans interrupted or destroyed some thriving civilization analogous to the Roman Empire, China or the Aztecs.

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by jerbear30

A white person saying "it's not about race" is like a rich person saying, "it's not about the money."

Don't waste your time. There's nothing left to teach someone who thinks they already know everything.

[Blackscorpion]

Originally Posted by jerbear30

OK, I know this is an unwinnable debate. I would proffer that it is unwinnable because you are being irrational. This lack of rationality is related to how you and people on your side of it view history. You look at so much history of oppression and then you just pretend that it's ended at some certain date. I don't know what that date is but say its 1984 or something. And then you pretend that everything after that is all equal but that's not the way things work. and you act as if it has nothing to do with the present because, well I don't even know why to tell you the truth. So many people worship Jesus, they raise the American flag and observe history in the present in all sorts of ways. But they expect African-Americans to simply be able to abandon all that history pertaining to them. And then on top of the psychology there is the actual reality. Most cities carry forth the same segregated living plans that had been at one point designed to keep minorities apart from whites. But somehow none of this is going to matter to you because you are going to ride this fantasy of yours as far as it will take you.

exactly! I am glad someone gets it. Good post btw. This is how i feel sometimes and im nkt even black. I just know too much about the horrible things that went on in this country.

[Blackscorpion]

Honestly, i have to give it to this guy. It was clever funny and smart. He gets mad props and a fist bump