Here's that link again, there are dozens of new articles relating to Katrina and all the topics we have been discussing.
http://www.glennbeck.com/page2/index.shtml
http://www.glennbeck.com/page2/index.shtml
Katrina Damage
- Thread starter BillyBob
- Start date
PureX said:
Not in my experience. I was raised in a comfortable suburban setting, went through school including university during a period of a relatively strong local economy and have worked in several settings. The blacks I have known and encountered in my school and career have fallen in two categories, with no sharp division between them - those that took advantage of the opportunities with which they were presented and flourished, and those that wasted the opportunities before them. As a matter of fact, in this they were little different than the whites I have known in those same settings.
I have known black classmates, team members, friends, lab partners, coworkers and bosses. I have also known (less well) blacks who would avoid whites and group together exclusively. Those who overcame whatever resistance they must have felt inegrating into what was in effect a "white" school or business setting were accepted on their merits and expected to perform.
What steps would you propose that would alleviate the situation?
PureX
Well-known member
It wasn't caused by your whiteness. It was caused by the collective greed, ignorance, and prejudice of white people in America, and it has caused a lot of very real suffering. Maybe the first thing you could do would be to learn to respect that suffering, and to accept that like it or not, you have benefitted from it, and you're still benefitting from it. Maybe you could keep this in mind the next time you catch yourself passing negative judgments on black people because they happen not to be behaving the way that best suits you. I also think it doesn't hurt to speak out in opposition to other white people when you hear them blaming black people for their own poverty. We are all somewhat responsible for our own circumstances, but we don't all have to face the same obstacles. The obstacles that poor blacks have had to face are far more insidious and intractable than our own.wickwoman said:
wickwoman
New member
PureX said:
I do not blame black people for anything.
I always speak out against rudeness no matter what color it is.
I am aware of suffering and do what I can to ease it.
It looks like what you really want me to do is be ashamed of what little I do have and enjoy. And that won't happen because it was acquired through hard work and discipline.
servent101
New member
Wickwoman
Good post - good reasoning, well thought out. There is a reality that the majority of the Black people face - and they will be able to overcome their dificulties.
With Christ's Love
Servent101
Good post - good reasoning, well thought out. There is a reality that the majority of the Black people face - and they will be able to overcome their dificulties.
With Christ's Love
Servent101
PureX
Well-known member
I'm not picking on you. And I'm not saying that you shouldn't have what you have. I'm using our discussion to point out to all of us that we have some responsibility for the fact that most of the poor people in America are black, and that this IS the result of racial prejiduce against them.wickwoman said:
Lots of people have asked "so what do we do?". Yet when I suggest that the first thing we can do is accept the reality of the situation and take responsibility for it everyone wants to argue. Which is of course how we got into this situation in the first place. All I'm asking for is acknowledgment. Because once we take that step, I think we will have already begun to change.
shilohproject
New member
Fair, but difficult for many. A distinctive defensiveness often appears when historical liability comes into the equation. There are so many aggressive examples within the black community, that often the haves often miss the causes because of the results.:think:PureX said:
wickwoman
New member
PureX said:
There are some problems related to racial prejudice. I am willing to acknowledge it. But what started us down this road is snipers shooting at rescue helicopters. And this cannot be excused by racial prejudice. We cannot excuse very bad behavior. It only encourages a mindset of blame that is counter productive.
All I see is that you want us to accept blame. Asking "so what do we do" is indicating we'd like an activity that could be helpful to poor black people. That would be productive. Blame is counterproductive. That's the attitude behind the circle of poverty sometimes. It's the idea that you are owed something and that you shouldn't have to work as hard as everyone else.
Gaviidae
New member
PureX said:
First off, there are twice as many whites who are poor as there are blacks. If you'd stick to the facts this would be a lot easier.
Secondly, when you answered the question what do we do you came back with a racist statement. That I (and the rest of my race) was guilty of past crimes simply because of the color of my skin. My family was living in Europe during the time of slavery, I am an active Republican the party who freed the slaves, and my family has always lived in "free states" (or now a state that entered after the Civil War). I even have Native American blood in me (1/16th). So to blame me for slavery is a bit much when my only sin is being born white. In other words, don't use racism to blame me.
Thirdly, most people I know recognize the blame. There's even a term for it, liberal white guilt. We passed affirmative action. Trent Lott lost his job as majority leader because he made an oral gaffe that accidentally minimized the sins of the past.
Acknowledgement has happened. We can't change the past. Blacks are stuck here (though they're free to return to Africa), it no longer matters how they got here we can't change that. We also can't change the way people are and make them comfortable around people who don't act like them.
Gaviidae
New member
wickwoman said:
Well said. Reminds me of Who Moved My Cheese. We can focus on the past or move on.
One day, the foursome finds cheese in Cheese Station C. It's probably one of those researchers putting it there, but we don't know. Maybe fate or an accident has placed it there. Anyway, they all like it. They return day-after-day to eat cheese.
The mice always explore their surroundings and are looking for change. They weren't completely surprised when one day the cheese disappeared. They noticed the supply had been dwindling.
Or, even if they were surprised, when it was gone, it was gone. Sniff lifted his nose and decided upon a direction. Scurry took off in the same direction. The mice went looking for new cheese in the maze. They didn't try to hold on to a past that no longer existed.
The mice didn't analyze things too much. Change happens. They knew they had to deal with it.
The little people were different. They had come to view Cheese Station C as their home. They bragged about it. They felt it was theirs. They were outraged, shocked, scared, and befuddled when the cheese disappeared. In their comfort, they didn't notice the cheese supply had been dwindling, nor that it had become old and smelly. They had become complacent.
Hem and Haw felt the situation was unfair. It was their cheese, and now it was gone. Hem and Haw remained in Cheese Station C hoping the cheese would return and wondering where it had gone.
One day, Haw decided that waiting for the cheese to return wasn't working. He was getting weaker the longer he remained, and so, he moved into the maze looking for new cheese. He felt too old and tired to seek new cheese, and he was afraid. Afraid of the unknown, and afraid he wouldn't find new cheese, but he pressed on.
As fate would have it, Haw did find new cheese (it would be a pretty weak self-help book if he didn't!) On his cheese-seeking quest, Haw kept writing life lessons on the wall of the maze like:
"Change Happens. They keep moving the Cheese."
"Anticipate Change. Get ready for the cheese to move."
&
"Enjoy Change. Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of the new cheese!"
(Will Haw become another self-help mouse writer?)
Hem was hemmed in by his old ideas. We don't know if he ever left Cheese Station C. He may have starved, as the longer he stayed in the cheeseless station, the weaker he would become. link