Are you a racist?

[artplumber]

Originally posted by Usmellgass2?
I doubt that any of us has ever met a American slave, let alone been damaged by American slavery. Has anyone else ever wondered why cries for slave reparations never includes repatriation?

You can't be serious. You pull folks out of their language and knowledge (of how to do things like obtain food and where to live) for several generations, and expect that they will want to be sent into a situation/place where they can't speak the language etc?

Did you disagree with reparations for the Japanese internment during WWII? Do you disagree that the gubmint effectively killed these people's livelihoods by either direct confiscation of their land/businesses or hamstringing them vs their competition (which continued business for 4-5 years while they were locked up)?

While I am sure there are people who want a handout, barriers exist even for those who just want an opportunity to compete.

PS "White" folk aren't alone in any "reverse discrimination". When I went to college in Kalifornia, asian males were not on the "preferred list" because there were too many (by population percentage) in the system.

Edited for grammar.

[Usmellgass2?]

Apparently I was not clear in my previous statement. I don't feel any of us alive today has been damaged. As for those who were actually enslaved they were clearly harmed.

[artplumber]

You were clear (I think). I am trying to point out to you that if you are a great grandson of a slave, you probably live in not the most affluent neighborhood, and know gangsta better than swahili etc. Because the only way gangstas are going to be accepted in this country is by being a rap star or playing sports (or corollary being a sportscaster) their inherent opportunities/expectations are much less than a suburban white factory-worker's son. To suggest that this person would further want to compound their problems by being repatriated to Africa is disingenous.

That being said, I'm not for reparations. Just for a realization that this is the real situation. It's difficult to strike a reasonable balance on racism, because there are still people and places in the US where it remains a problem and advancement is not purely based on merit.

You can continue to see this even in certain sports ie Hamilton first black driver in F1 just happening. Tiger Woods first non-white to make it big (not the first, and not fully "black") in golf...

[island911]

Obviously Tiger needs to work on his tan . .. so he can be more black, and take his proper place in black history.


Seriously, What are the effects of the sun on pigmentation? ...does anyone have the numbers on how long it takes whites to become blacks (& vise versa)?

...or do I just have some CrAZy notion of how skin color change happens?

Some of my best friends have extra pigment.

[island911]

Pigment lover

There goes the neighborhood

[fintstone]

It amuses me when people point out that blaks are not the most numerous folks in the rich, affluent communities. Some are the same folks that think the blacks are pulling more than their fair share of the load because 15% are in the military. They see no problem that most pro football and basketball players are black, but lament how few blacks are pro golfers or bowlers. If you use statistics in one case....why not all?
Some of you just need to get out of the urban centers a bit and see how many poor whites there are in "fly-over" country. A good example is rural Appalachia where many of the folks you call "rednecks" live hand-to-mouth" in tar paper shacks or old rusted out mobile homes. There is plenty of room there waiting for blacks. The same is true for rural North and South Dakota, etc. Any man who wants to work and will drive a tractor all day can provide a reasonable living for his family. And as always...the military will provide a way out for anyone williong toi make a little sacrifice.

[bt1211]

Many whites dont preceive poor whites as a threat to them.

Many whites dont see poor whites as the same as themselves but somehow all blacks are the same.

When your watching "cops" and you see a crazy white guy, do you think "Damn all white people are crazy"? Or do you think just that guy is crazy?

[fintstone]

What I see is a whole group of people making excuses for the "crazy black guy" and condemning the "crazy white guy." I see both the same...as crazy. I think that excusing the behavior of one race or group encourages it for members of that group.

[bt1211]

I would agree that black leadership has gone off the deep-end. It seems that they will only defend those with questionable backgrounds. I also think that said leadership will make gains if they point out lies, fraud and dumbassness in the black community.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by nostatic
Other races can be racist. No one ever said they can't. As for the other points, what part of hundreds of years of oppression don't you understand? There is no equivalence in the weight of various terms.

Which hundred years of oppression do you mean? The 100+ years my relatives were shot or hung for having the wrong last name in Scotland?

In fact, while things weren't perfect for any race in America; things have been made markedly worse by 40+ years of federal government interference in people's lives and racism, sometimes refered to as "Civil Rights".

[bt1211]

Not to make light of your relatives but all they needed to do is change their last name and in another generation they could be free.

[Nathans_Dad]

Originally posted by artplumber
I haven't taken any charity Rick, and I routinely run into situations where I or others run into roadblocks because of race. You can hardly make the case that I can't compete.

Then that's great and I applaud you, just as I would applaud anyone who has suceeded in life. The fact that you run into racial roadblocks is an unfortunate truth. My point is that the way to combat that is not affirmative action or any other policy that efffectively lowers the bar for one ethnic group or another.

If you had to choose a role model, would you rather have someone who suceeded on their own, without any help from the gubmint or someone who got into college and then beyond mainly from the color of their skin, and not because they were the best candidate for the position?

My issue is that more blacks who got to their positions on their own and espouse the idea that young blacks should do the same should be the ones being held up as role models and leaders. Unfortunately the current black leaders are the very ones who preach that affirmative action is vital to equality.

[Seahawk]

Originally posted by fastpat
Which hundred years of oppression do you mean? The 100+ years my relatives were shot or hung for having the wrong last name in Scotland?

He doesn't know...a hundred years is a blip on the slavery map. Take a vaca to Darfur.

[m21sniper]

Originally posted by artplumber
You can't be serious. You pull folks out of their language and knowledge (of how to do things like obtain food and where to live) for several generations, and expect that they will want to be sent into a situation/place where they can't speak the language etc?

Did you disagree with reparations for the Japanese internment during WWII? Do you disagree that the gubmint effectively killed these people's livelihoods by either direct confiscation of their land/businesses or hamstringing them vs their competition (which continued business for 4-5 years while they were locked up)?

While I am sure there are people who want a handout, barriers exist even for those who just want an opportunity to compete.

PS "White" folk aren't alone in any "reverse discrimination". When I went to college in Kalifornia, asian males were not on the "preferred list" because there were too many (by population percentage) in the system.

Edited for grammar.

The difference between paying reparations to the japs and the slaves is that there is no living ex-slave anywhere in America. I'm of Irish descent(among others), and i don't recall anyone ever giving me a check for the national guard shooting my forebears or forcing them into slave labor all the way up to early in the 20th century.

Reparations are ridiculous, and only serve to foster and perpetuate ill will.

[m21sniper]

Originally posted by bt1211
Not to make light of your relatives but all they needed to do is change their last name and in another generation they could be free.

And all a black would need to do is move to africa to be likewise 'free'.

[bt1211]

I think the promise land is Atlanta


How in the Hell did you get to 774 post in 3mns??

[Jeff Higgins]

Demanding special treatment today, on the grounds that it makes up for the suffering of your ancestors, is despicable. Those long-suffering ancestors would undoubtedly be the first to say so, if they could hear the present-day whining being done in their name.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by m21sniper
The difference between paying reparations to the japs and the slaves is that there is no living ex-slave anywhere in America. I'm of Irish descent(among others), and i don't recall anyone ever giving me a check for the national guard shooting my forebears or forcing them into slave labor all the way up to early in the 20th century.

Reparations are ridiculous, and only serve to foster and perpetuate ill will.

The Americans of Japanese decent that were arrested and thrown into concentration camps by the fascist Roosevelt weren't paid reparations. They were paid for unlawful imprisonment.

They should have resisted, and all Americans should have helped them.

The fact that didn't happen is the sorriest component of the whole affair.

By the way, two Californians were instrumental in arranging for Roosevelt to illegally arrest those people; Earl Warren and Edmund G. "Pat" Brown.