A Concise History of Black-White Relations In The USA

exactly. hip hop is probably the top selling genre right now, and that's not because most of the consumers are black kids.

 

No one's saying don't work as hard as you can but its ridiculous to cofuse buying Air Jordans are enjoying Cedric the Entertainer as having the wrong values.

I agree that values need to be emphasized and to the extent that some blacks don't value education that's a problem that they need to address but that is an issue for them to address. As non-blacks though the issue that we should deal with is whether racism still exists and how the legacy of racism has limited the oppurtunities for success.

I can tell you as one of the socalled "Model Minorities" I got to benefit from having parents who came here after civil rights and were among the best and brightest. That's a far different story than someone who's family had to deal with racism. So while the children of that family might now be burdened by legal discrimination they are still behind people like me because their family doesn't already have a history of success or valuing education. Its much much harder for someone to overcome that legacy as opposed to someone who's family has a legacy or even a literal legacy that gets them into college without having to bust their @ss.

 

The honesty of it is that you have a poor grasp on the complexity and depth of the issue. I would hope your family is very proud of what it's achieved in this country however your father's experiences as an immigrant pale in comparison to the black experience in this nation over the last few hundred years. It's completely innapropriate to compare the two.

 

Coldplay?

 

There are plenty of people who bust their ass, at a job most would hate, more than fourty hours a week, who never get anywhere. What if you work hard, and your probability for a positive future increases from 2.1% to 2.2%? What if many people don't work hard at all, but are virtually assured success simply because they were born to the right family?

It works for some people. And the best damn ditch digger in the world still can't afford to send his kids to college.

 

I like how the very valid discussion the first post illustrated (mainly the discussion on black american relations throughout history) has been turned into a stupid (and much safer for certain crowds) argument on dressing like a 'thug'.

Because, clearly, grills and big chains were the defining issue for African American treatment prior to the 1980s.

There was potential for discussion there before this cop-out of an angle regarding 'thug' dress was thrown in to derail.

 

I totally agree. Only blacks have no values and waste their money on senseless name products. If a white man earns $30,000 a year and is drowning in debt it's ok because he misspent money he didn't have on a new SUV, Prada shoes, and a Giorgio Armani wardrobe, not rims, "Air Jordans" as you put it, and Sean John. It's ok to misspend as long as you comply to some level of "whiteness." Then you have proper values.

And I mean, all successfull white people admire people like Stephen Hawking and other members of academia. They never enjoy entertainers.

 

Come on, man... do you even have the slightest grasp at what Blacks are faced with when it comes to education? Sure, there are those that have made the climb up, despite attending poor schools. A friend of mine is a Rice graduate, and kicks my a$$ at Go more often than I thought humanly possible, but he is an exception. I'd like to see the average white kids of this country go to the schools too many Blacks attend and face a hurdle like that.

All due respect, but I think you need to open your eyes a bit. Things are really improving, but the education system is still a millstone around the necks of too many Black Americans. What is still going on in Texas is an outrage.



Keep D&D Civil.

 

I get the feeling some of you don't know any black people. Did you really think they dress like that when they go for job interviews? I roomed with a black guy my freshman year at UT. He looked like a gang banger but was probably smarter than I am. The point being - stop judging what is foreign to you and what makes you uncomfortable.

I'm not giving blacks a free pass like many have complained. I simply think that it's much more complex than either extreme. Black America's plight is not completely the fault of the white man. Similarly, it is not completely the fault of itself. Key words - completely. Blacks as a culture need to address more value for education and work ethics like other minorities in this country. On the other hand, this sentiment expressed by some of you, that portrays them as the ugly step sister, raped and now left in the corner to get itself back together and blamed for its plight is maddening.

I don't see why so many of you are taking this cartoon as a personal indictment. You don't owe blacks anything nor are you responsible for some "white guilt." Noone is saying you do or are. All it was was a different perspective.

 

Thanks.

 

As another of them Model Minorities, I believed the same thing until my Liberal indoctrination course called Ethnic Studies. I mean before, all my "other friends" either worked hard or had parents who worked hard, right? Sometimes it takes a little more digging to get what other people are talking about. I don't think I'd bother to find out if it wasn't for that class: the assimilation/hardwork model is hard to reject if you're successful or making progress at it.

Your solution sounds reasonable on paper, and you could have a good chance of success with your children by using it. But I'm kind of stretching my mind at your point... It sounds like a great mantra for poor people, but yet again blacks are singled out as if they don't "get it" like all the other minorities.

Who really knows if all blacks do or don't, but for someone who believes in equality, wouldn't targeting blacks, who're assumably poor, as a case study on poverty come from left field?

 

you're missing the point entirely. this is about perception. and a lot of non-black americans have that perception of african-americans. do you think that just because not all (or even many) blacks are actually like that that particular perception disappears or becomes irrelevant? no, because perceptions typically aren't fully based on realities and rarely change over-night.

your "comparison" is completely irrelevant becaused it isn't based on the reality of the issue at hand. for the most part, regardless of any particular financial situation, the perception of white america defeats any specific situation some whites may be in. they can "misspend" all they want but that won't change the fact that whites are on top of the "perception food-chain" in this country. is that unfair? you bet, but it's the truth.

 

Wait a minute...wait a minute?

You mean to tell me all blacks are not thugs?

When did this happen? I need to call my president and review the wire taps.

 

Here are my statements, if they disagree with other post is unintentional, but I stand behind what I say.

First of all, today black people are far from being victims of white people or America. Historically, however, they were. They were held back from traditional education and the American Dream. However, in being held back, there was something created that, a bond and experience, art, music, the art of storytelling, that would never have been as rich or important if black people were included in the body politic from the beginning.

I choose, therefore, to focus on the achievements of slavery (that sounds reaaly racist) but I maintain that black people TODAY are better for having had ancestors who were slaves. Black people DOMINATE America in terms of culture, is a direct result of slavery, and the bond of slaves to create something out of nothing. Period.

Of course, people who value corporate America and the almighty dollar as the important would disagree. I am not one of them.

 

You have the most accurate handle on the board.

 

THANKS!!!!

 

Oh, and then too, cohen, you are some version of white right?