Mike Ditka: There has been no oppression in U.S. in last 100 years

at some point we've conquered the issue or accept there will always be some bigots for example. you can't legislate feelings

 

A good case could be made that we would be in the same place unfortunately. If you look at the graph I presented, the Civil Rights movement did nothing to decrease wealth/income disparity. Racism just perpetuated in more subtle and yet effective ways. From the start there has always been a significant segment of the power structure in this country that has been determined on protecting their power and wealth to the detriment of others.

 

I think you are underestimating the impact of the civil rights movement. The difference between say the early 1950's and today is night and day when it comes to civil rights and social issues, and the level of discrimination. African Americans couldn't go to college without federal intervention.

Yes, income inequality remains high and so does wealth disparity, but this is not just a skin color issue; it affects people of all colors and creeds. Black people and other minorities are much more accepted today than 50 years ago. Many have attained high positions of power, which would have been unthinkable 50 years ago: men like Colin Powell, Obama.

pgabriel, on the other hand, seems to think that the issue has been pretty much conquered.
I think the answer is somewhere in-between. We still have a way to go.

 

I think it's one thing to focus on rights and on acceptance and what have you but basically, show me the money. We have seen Republicans attacking voting rights with voter ID laws that specifically target minorities. We've seen gerrymandering that continually dilutes the voting power of minorities. And as I said, the wealth gap is as prominent as it's ever been. I was recently reading about how affluent white neighborhoods are in effect seceding from larger public school districts to form their own districts and in effect keeping their tax money closer to home rather than having it spent in other neighborhoods that are part of a larger district. It's just the newest way in which the affluent cull the heard to keep their status.

 

I don't know how much "high tech education" plays into it. A lot of tech workers come from astoundingly poor countries like India. Also, we here at CF have our own anecdotal example of NorthsideStorm - whose education is non-tech but managed to land a tech job in the tech industry in the heart of techland. We can also see examples of people like Gates and Zuckerburg who either taught themselves how to program or learned how to program outside the settings of public schooling.

There are ways to circumvent the "catch 22" of property taxes - one of which has been done here in Texas.

I think it is too dismissive to ignore the massive wealth generated through the tech industry. After all, we are discussing the difference in income/wealth among different demographic groups. Therefore we should not ignore current trends in the demographics of employment.

And speak of the devil, the NYT publishes an article today called Silicon Valley Is Not Your Friend and conveniently leaves out any discussion about racial segregation in SV. Shows you what the NYT really thinks, at least.

 

We are are only a generation removed from Jim Crow. Still a sizable portion of Americans who remember colored facilities.