Black Lives Matter is an honorable movement and is in no way racist

The biggest myth going on here is that Black people don't want their kids to learn...

I knew plenty of Asian kids that did horrible in school, did drugs, and who knows what they are up to now.

Culture is a thing, but it is based on areas and not so much race. If a kid grows up in a certain area a lot of factors play in to the culture there.

The so called "African-American" culture that somehow encompasses every black person in the states...most people that use that word can't even define it. If you can define it, then be my guest. What is this culture? What are the values of this culture? The music? What holidays are there to this culture? You are telling me this culture also is for every black person in the states too right?

But I know cousins that grew up living in a well off gated community that are black and of course one becomes a doctor and the other is trying to get into C.I.A or some ____.

According to the stereotypical logic that many want to put on black people, they should have just reverted to their culture right?

Fact is, success breeds success. When you grow up in a well off neighborhood you go to better schools. It's likely your parents know what success is and breed that into their children. It is also likely that you have more of a cushion and more room to fail.

Stats bear this out, it really has little to do with race. Social mobility in the USA is all tied to class. It just so happens that black people have always been far behind thanks to slavery and segregation (which only ended what 50 years ago?) and nothing to do with this culture.

 

I haven't had a chance to read through this thread recently so am just commenting on a some of the recent posts.

BMD I won't doubt your experience but I think you are painting with a very broad brush here. While yes there are many black communities that are mired in poverty with all of the problems you talk about but there are many other communities that are not black that also have many of the same problems. One of the poorest and most decrepit places I've seen in the US was Rollings, WY that was primarily white and some of the most endemic pockets of poverty in this country are also primarily white in Appalachia. While Asians are considered the model minority the Hmong community also has many of the same problems that you attribute to the black community. These aren't problems endemic to being black but are problems that are endemic to being poor.

While yes to the percentage of their population there is a troubling amount of poverty among blacks but I think it is too simplistic of an answer to say that it is really just their culture. Culture isn't something that just exist in a vacuum but is something that is formed over a long time. As I mentioned in the WWII thread that even though the war ended 70 years ago the legacy of it still affects the thinking of many today. Slavery ended a long time and Civil Rights happened 40 years ago but that is will within the living memory of many who are still alive and it is doubtful that the legacy of first centuries of slavery and then a century of Jim Crow would be wiped out in just a generation.

I think then it is no accident that the two groups who seem to have the most problems with endemic poverty are blacks who's ancestors did not come here from choice and who's previous culture and heritage was systematically erased. And Native Americans who's both ancestors and ancestral culture was systematically wiped out. For both groups it shouldn't be surprising that they have not been able to succeed in a culture that oppressed and/or tried to wipe them out.

As far as Asians there is nothing inherent about Asians that make us more prone to success. Most Asians in America came after Civil Rights and were a select group of some of the most motivated and intelligent. While yes most Asian cultures emphasize education and hard work there are many millions of Asians that are mired in poverty, ignorance and superstitions. Koreans in American are among of the highest achieving ethnic groups yet half of the country lives in one of the most backward states in the world. Just given the sheer size of Asia there are probably several times the population of the US of stupid low achieving Asians.

 

I never said Black people don't want their kids to learn. My whole post was about my own personal experience, and that was with POOR Black people. Not all Black people of all income levels.

And not all Asians are the same culturally. I'm not sure, but I don't think the Vietnamese take schooling as seriously as the Chinese, for example. But even still, we're talking in generalities here. Of course there are going to be some Asians who did drugs and did bad in school. But it's a fact that overall, Asians are more successful than even White people. So it is certainly a culture that pushes them to succeed.

I'm not talking about ALL Black people. My post was about poor Black people... specifically in the area I grew up in. But I'm sure it's the same in most other poor Black areas. And the culture is one of messed up priorities, a lack of responsibility, immaturity, lack of discipline, etc.

It's not uncommon to see a dilapidated house with hungry kids with a car out front on big chrome rims and the owner has jewelry and tattoos, an iPhone and Nikes. Messed up priorities.

I saw 40 year old "men" who are still trying to be "cool" like a teenager would. And they had the same immaturity, lack of responsibility and discipline that a teenager would have. It's like they never grew up.

Explain Asians. I'm pretty sure they weren't born with a silver spoon in their mouth, yet they out-pace Whites. It's their culture that brings them success. It's based on discipline, responsibility, and hard work. Those are generally the same values in White culture, but Whites don't take it to the level that Asians do.

 

And what causes a lack of success from poor people?

Is it not having money? Or is it the attitudes and mindset that poor people have that prevents them from achieving?

In more well-off areas, kids are pushed to do well in school. Not just by their parents... but by everybody. It's EXPECTED of them. They grow up expecting to succeed because it's what people do in their area. Teachers push them, parents push them, neighbor parents expect them to do well, etc. It is an expectation that you should do well and succeed and do what you're supposed to do. Their parents might be an accountant and a teacher, the neighbors might be a police officer, a salesman, a business owner, an engineer, etc. And you see that and you imagine that as you one day. You are going to grow up and and have a career and a family and the whole 9 yards. It's what you expect.

In a lot of poor areas, it's not about the money. It's about the mindset. Poor kids don't have those same expectations... by the people in their own neighborhoods. Nobody is pushing them, nobody is expecting them to succeed. So they go through life not expecting to succeed because that is what they were led to believe from growing up in that area. Which is all part of the culture. They don't see their neighbors as people with careers and families. They see men loitering on the porch with no job. Poor kids are conditioned to not have the same expectations as a kid in a middle class or well-off neighborhood.

I'm not saying Black people invented that culture. I'm saying it permeates the Black population in very high numbers relative to other populations.

Successful Black people have to go live in White neighborhoods if they are going to escape that toxic culture.

 

Now someone post a bunch of stupid Asian generalities and lets get this freak show going. Nice job bmd, somewhere Bigtexxx is just beaming.

 

I'm sorry that you can't have a discussion about race without getting your panties in a bunch. That's small-minded.

 

I've had very detailed discussions on race but none of them started with a bunch of racist generalities and nonsense. Talk about small minded.

 

You can't speak about large groups of people without speaking in generalities.

Also, my original point was about my own personal experience in my neighborhood.

 

And nothing I said was racist. Discussing differences in classes, culture is not racist.

 

Yeah I'm not sure how any of what you said was racist. And I thought a lot of it was fairly evident to anyone who spent childhood years in any bit of a majority poor black neighborhood.

 

These are still mass generalizations though man. When you give your example of black people moving into a neighborhood you seem to be implying that it's almost inherent.

These things are a lot more nuanced than you make them seem.

About the Vietnamese for instance. Their immigration was the result of a civil war. Chinese immigrants are often coming over with money and a few steps up the ladder.

Explain Africans. In fact....

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/sub-saharan-african-immigrants-united-states

But the point is not that African immigrants are coming from another culture, a better culture. It is that to pick up your things and move across the Atlantic is already a difficult thing. Immigrants also come to the states with a motivation that many natives don't have. INCLUDING white people.

Your post though is all anecdotal, it is your experience and I do not doubt your experience. When you say things like "White families set rules..." and stuff like that, those are mass generalizations and imply that black people just don't do these things. It's also like white people innovated setting rules and stuff.

The reason it permeates black population is because more black people are poor. There are a variety of reasons why that is, but lets summarize it once again to history of slavery and the recent history of segregation that isn't even a generation past. People that marched with King are still living today...

Even so, you are talking about poor people. As Rocketsjudoka points out, poor communities are of every shade around the country. The reason it is a cycle are a variety of reasons. Mainly it is just growing up in a toxic environment.

I don't know why everything that is bad gets attributed to 'Black culture' though. Certainly feels that way, if it's bad then it's just black culture. It just gets put into that box even if other peoples do the same thing it is just pushed off into being a 'Black' thing.

It is based on area though, for example. The entire Adrian Peterson case revealed this. Revealed what I said earlier about it being an area thing, not a race thing. Where a part of the country no matter their race said "Yeah, of course we whup our children." and another part of the country was like "What?"

But if it's bad, things like that it's just attributed to black culture even though Asian parents, white parents, many people whip their kids as in grabbing a belt or something and spanking them.

Usually, it's attributed to rap music as you say...

But this fact forgets that not all rap music is that and rap music is not one thing. It's a broad genre of music that is now global. Also, not all black people listen to rap music.

That's also one of those big myths. Growing up in a black family, it felt like more people listened to Rnb/Soul or Gospel. You also have Jazz. Some black people HATE rap music.

I'm not going to be naive and say that music can't have an effect on young people. Certainly it can. Anyone that went to a high-school without a dress code, you could probably tell who listened to what by how they dress. The problem here is assuming that all rap music talks about their sex, drugs, and gangbanging.

Any ways, that's another topic. I know PLENTY of poor black people. Actually know them more than "Those kids across the street." I find it funny that most of the people that stereotype them think all they listen to is rap when it is really Gospel. Many poor black communities are STRONGLY religious. STRONGLY. I won't ever bring up to part of my family that i'm Agnostic in fear of being shunned by at least half of my family. It's ironic that it is usually the strongly religious conservatives who do not realize the ally they could have if they didn't spend so much of their time with their racial politics.

Any ways, what I have a problem with is once again, everything that is bad is attributed to 'Black Culture' so I'll ask you as I do with everyone that uses this word. (And have yet to get an actual answer) Define what that is.
I'm not asking for some college essay on it but every time someone brings it up in this forum they can never even define what it is.

 

I wouldn't say black culture is a problem but there is a poverty culture that affects all races to differing degrees.

Just blaming cops or society and throwing a hashtag in front of it isn't helping.

 

Black culture is American Culture.

The U.S. is known and has been known for a few cultural highlights over the years. Many of them were invented, pioneered, or brought up to standards by African Americans.

Here are some of them

1. Jazz
2. Blues
3. Rock and Roll
4. rap/Hip Hop
5. Tap dancing
6. Swing dancing
7. Hip Hop fashions

These things are or were at one time American cultural exports.

All around the world others embraced and celebrated these things as part of American culture. The roots for many of these can be traced to African origins.

 

I agree

 

That's not what I'm saying. I made it very clear that the people who moved into my neighborhood were POOR Black people from the PROJECTS. I made it clear I was talking about a specific kind of culture.

That's exactly my point. It's a culture thing. Those Africans did not grow up with the same culture many African-Americans did.

I understand that a lot of it has to do with poverty. But even still, poor Whites and poor Asians are not killing each other at nearly the rate of poor Black people. It's not JUST poverty. There is a different, more violent culture.

I'm not saying this was caused by rap music. I was more talking about how these little kids in the neighborhood were talking about p***y, weed, and hoes and listening to music talking about those things. It's just part of the culture from a young age.

I know not all rap music talks about that stuff... but in New Orleans, in my neighborhood, that's what was listened to. A popular song at the time was "Drag 'em 'N' tha River" by UNLV... which stands for "Uptown N****s Livin' Violent". I'm sure you probably know the song. "I'ma drag him from the river dump his body in Chuck's yard
Leavin' a note around his neck readin' BAD ASS YELLA BOY"...

That was the jam when we were little kids.

1. I grew up around poor Black people more than just "those kids across the street". Most people I knew were poor and Black. That's who my friends were. Back then they were just the people in the neighborhood. But as I'm older, and I look back, I see how messed up it all was.

And most conservatives have nothing against Black people because they are Black. They like upstanding, religious Black people. They do not care for the low-class rap culture Black people just like they don't particularly care for "trailer trash" White people.

I think when people talk about "Black culture", they attribute a certain subset of Black culture to the whole. That is a mistake. However, it's understandable in my opinion because that subset is quite large in the Black community and is not a small blip like trailer trash would be in White culture.

 

400 years of institutionalized racism and segregation where the first 300 years, basic literacy education wasn't even allowed due to slave status and then an additional 100 years of Black Codes and Jim Crow laws where segregated black only schools would receive as little as 10% of the funding as respective white schools which all theoretically ended in 1964, 51 years ago, which isn't the amount of years of one average human lifespan...

That is what caused a disproportionate amount of poor uneducated black people in the United States. This 'culture' you are references was created by the state.

 

Sounds like the conversations we would have in my college dorm and no, this wasn't your local community college.

 

And that could be. I said nothing about WHY things are how they are ... I was just stating as an observer what the problems are and the culture that exists currently.

 

You also weren't a little kid.