You say 40 years but slavery ended over 140 years ago. The fact is, we're on the verge of electing a black president; at some point the line must be drawn and blacks must say to themselves, "Yes, we ARE worth something more than the product of generations of abuse. Yes, we ARE capable of making our own future. Yes, we ARE in charge of ourselves, and we cannot keep placing the responsibility for that elsewhere. Others have led the way and shown us the path, let us follow it instead of complaining about wandering in the desert." And it will be a great day indeed.
Physical Slavery The practices of Jim Crow and various laws etc were a slavery on their own . . . Rocket River
I think people are confusing racism and discrimination. Legal discrimination, as has been discussed, was only over a few short decades ago. Illegal, random discrimination still ocurrs. Actual racism is a problem that can never be solved. As a man that experienced burning crosses in his yard and lynchings to his baby sister, my father told me that everyone is racist to a degree. How you react to those racist thoughts can become discrimination. Yes, the poll is about slavery but the discrimination that follows is a direct descendant. Also, i'd like to make it clear that slavery and discrimination are not specific to African Americans. Heck the Native Americans were essentially anihilated more than a hundred years ago. Are they not still feeling those affects. If you say discrimination is relevant then slavery is relevant. Just because the African American community has self inflicted problems does not mean that it isn't still dealing with the scars of slavery.
Its not irrelevant simply because it is a historical fact, but I think too many people hang on to it....a crutch of sorts. If people can't let it go, racial healing will never fully occur, and I don't think anyone can deny that a LOT of people profit from dragging it up time and time again. It is shameful, what existed for the 100 years after the Civil War. It casts a huge shadow on our nation. When I really ponder it, I'm always quite amazed at how far we've come in such a short period of time re: racial stuff. Anytime I hear rhetoric re: hating whitey, I just wonder when it'll all stop. Some people just want to cast blame, maybe. White guilt is, well, white guilt. I just wonder when it'll all stop and everyone will think of the past as the past. I don't know....I grew up in Houston, so diversity is obviously something I'm comfortable with, well-versed in, etc. The only flat-out racism I've personally experienced was perpetrated by blacks against whites when I was in high school in the early '90's. I've never personally known any white racists to speak of....I've heard people say dumb things, but I've never known anyone who hated/didn't trust/thought poorly of black people just because they were black. Sure racism exists. I don't think it does on an institutional level like it once did, and if anyone is caught doing so, their careers are pretty much over and they are ostracized by society. I can't really say I 'get it'....my Scottish, Irish, and Welsh ancestors were all enslaved and brutalized at one point or another by my English and Saxon ancestors. Despite some off-color jokes regarding the above still in existence, everything seems to have worked out pretty well. Then again, what the hell do I know.
1. Your position isn't what is being asked in the thread. Question is: Is it relevant. Not: How do blacks respond to society today. 2. Your position is "I am right and blacks are unjustified for their own beleifs." You can have your opinion about how the world works and thats fine. But lets rejoin the real world where we look at what is ACTUALLY occuring and not how you WANT it to occur. In the real world, blacks make up 70% of death row. Explain to me how there is absolutely ZERO relevancy to 400 years of slavery. 3. A black president is ONE man. Keep in mind that to this day we've still never had a black president, mind you. blah blah blah. I could go on. You can argue all you want about how FEEL the way things should be. Now put that aside ...and look at results. Don't just cherry pick the results you want to look at. Look at ALL of the results. The legecy of slavery is still relevant. Should the legacy of slavery be the centerpeice of every discussion involving racism? No. But to argue it isn't relevant is assinine. ...and the rape analogy is silly. Rape is one random crime against one person and is a topic people try to sweep under the carpet. Conversly, 400 years of slavery is systematic hatred ingrained in millions of people that persists today.
sounds to me. . . If a white person says something racist. . . they just saying dumb things If a black person does. . .well they are FLAT-Out Racist that is what I get from your statement there Rocket River
Since when was history irrelevant? Is the American Revolution irrelevant? Is Columbus discovering America irrelevant? You should have left DaDa's stupid post in the GARM where it was dying its rightul death.
First of all, I did mention that I voted that it isn't completely irrelevant. Perhaps if you had stopped trying to pigeonhole me into a racist black-people-hater who dismisses them all as lazy welfare bums, you would have realized that. I said that slavery is a crutch that people use to blame their misfortunes on. Women were treated as lesser than men, even sometimes demihuman for millenia upon millenia, they were the objects of rape and pillaging, forced to live with masters and men they did not want, sold into sexual slavery by their parents, sold as fresh meat to brothels, and mistreated for far longer than the American slave trade went on. Did they use this as a crutch to keep themselves in a continual state of poverty, lamenting their plight? (Granted, some feminists do scapegoat everything on men, but they are pretty fringe). Hmm, maybe it's because they commit lots of violent crime? I'm not saying there isn't bias or discrimination, but look at Europeans - they're for the most part very xenophobic, especially towards Muslims, and yet there wasn't an issue of hundreds of years of slavery for the indigent Muslims (inb4 moors, yes they were oppressed but not enslaved) As for a black president - the president of the United States is still the single most powerful person in the world. To say that any minority man can be seriously considered for the job a mere 40 years after the courts ordered segregation to end, is an amazing testament to just how much social and political mobility our nation affords us. And remember, the worst discrimination is still in the southeast US - African Americans should have had a much easier time succeeding elsewhere. I believe there are much more relevant issues to where blacks are today than the legacy of slavery, such as cultural disregard for education and the lack of funding for poorer school districts.
Sorry....meant to get to this sooner. I hate online classes.... Anyway: I should have re-read what I wrote because that's not what I meant. I've heard all races say dumb things that I don't think would automatically make them racists. I was referring to the only specific racism that I have personally witnessed. It involved whites getting jumped at school just for being white. This was my freshman year at Eisenhower in 1990-91.
RR, I read your post and respect your views, and you are one of my favorite posters here, even when we disagree. I do think a lot of racism and mannerisms can be traced back to slavery etc, your wreckless eyeball example is very interesting to say the least. And lord knows that I believe racism still exists, but I also think my parents generation is probably the tail end of a dying breed.....people who grew up focused on skin color as a hinderance or marking someone as inferior. I think most people of my generation and certainly my kids generation harbor no such thoughts.......and the general populace probably the same. The thing that bugs me is that people tend to discuss US slavery as a great crime when mankind has been doing that to people of all races for centuries, it was not just the african americans that have been slaves, but many many other peoples have been enslaved as well. Usually cultures meld together over time as slavery is abolished and people are assimiliated into society. The US is experiencing it now.... I don't find what happened to be adhorrent, I think it was a sign of the times and accepted behavior of that period, and thus is interesting to study from a historical perspective. Do I think people suffered uneccessarily, heck yes....and they still are......right now in Africa they still use slaves in some countries and cultures. Mankind is the worst offender to man.......we are simply brutal to each other and until that stops in all cultures and wars, we are destined to repeat our forefathers sins. So, sorry for the ramble, I do think slavery is somewhat relevant as a study, but I don't think it has that much effect on shaping today's culture, or to be exact is dying out with the generation before mine. Which is why all my parents and in laws are having a hard time with my wife and I telling them we are voting for Obama.....I think that somewhere in the back of their mind a little voice still says "Inferior race".....too bad that voice never told them about the current red neck in the whitehouse in the last election. DD
somewhat offtopic but I am amazed at the "racism" between blacks and hispanics. living in SA, I've seen it 1st hand on more than one occasion and it really is astonishing.
I went to a Desegregated Louisiana School Elementary and Middle though and it was north Louisiana I know GET AN ED comes from all sides Honestly . . . what keeps blackfolx back is deeper than a lack of Ed Much deeper . . . IMO Rocket River
you must have been lucky, in my school (in baton rouge) the kids were so disruptive they made the [black] history teacher cry and threaten to quit, she quit after the year was over.
we've had this convo before I think the major source of our disagreement was You felt . . .black folx just have to be patient cause times are changing and it will happen whereas I was more like JJ WENTWORTH . . . ITS OUR FREEDOM AND EQUALITY . . . AND I WANT IT NOW!!!! We cannot excuse what america does based on LOOK OTHER FOLX DO IT! or DID IT America needs to be better than that. Alot of the racism today is a direct result of slavery Alot of the stereotypes of Black folx from slavery persist today KOKO thinks black folx don't respect education . . . Let's not forget that for over 300 years learning to read was a LYNCHABLE OFFENSE FOR BLACK FOLX The stereotype of black folx being lazy persists from slavery . . . how excite would the average american be to pick someone else's cotton for free. . . and the threat of the whip . . naw . .i ain't gonna go all out to pick that *****!! . . .next thing you know. . BOOM they just lazy . . . that still out there today Are there issue within the community . . .of course only an idiot would think there would not be Reparations is no a Refund check. It is about reinvesting into the community Schools, Loans, etc. Alot of Education needs to happen the point is. . . America cannot go off the hook saying things like "WHY YOU BRINING UP OLD STUFF" "OTHER FOLX DID IT" "EVERYONE WAS DOING IT" they are all excuses. . .we talk about taking responsibility for you own actions Which is ironic considering it is said to DEFEND AMERICA NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT IT DID TO A WHOLE RACE OF PEOPLE!!! funny We won't even get into the appreciation of the debt in work owed. . . Rocket River
I'm 36 . . .so i might be quite a bit older hhhmmmm . . .Was that Neville High [or is that in Monroe] Growing up Neville and another school use to win state in football every year [One was in Monroe the other was down south]] Rocket River
My personal opinion is that slavery has more lasting affects than just the decades of discrimination it has more psychological affects. Slavery created a legacy of forced ignorance, laziness, and a financial hole. All very underrated problems. Ignorance still affects kids today who didn’t have the benefits of parents to help them with homework or the opportunity to attend college because of the needed extra income. Laziness was also a product of slavery. Slaves were considered “lazy” because they paced themselves in the fields knowing there was no monetary raise in sight and it prolonged their lives. Obviously the financial hole comes from being set free with absolutely nothing of compensation. African American have no “old” money so almost everyone who is successful is self made.
