Racial Healing

[Littlefinger]

Okay, so, it is pretty clear that blacks in this country do not feel safe, they do not feel respected. There IS an issue, vette. Although I do not personally agree the Mike Brown case was an example of such treatment, I do not believe you'd have so many people all crying out the same message if the issue were fake. It's real. As a race, black people in this country feel threatened and mistreated.

However, I also understand that a lot of times, government instituted "fairness" doesn't actually make people feel like things are fair. Although it's ignorant of small girl to deny the existence of a problem while being a white woman in her 40's and somewhat successful, she does bring up the point that it does not foster a sense of respect to watch someone be handed rights and dignities based on their skin color rather than merit. Two wrongs don't make a right and I don't believe in continuing to foster animosity with a "do unto you what you did to me, see how you like it" attitude.

I admit there's a lot I don't know. I'm not black. I've not grown up with that struggle. How do we achieve peace? How do we encourage respect for people and unite everyone? Because even with the system in place to give blacks an even playing field, it's not enough. The tension is growing on both sides of the fence, as shown by the protests during the past few months. I genuinely would like to hear people's thoughts on how we might heal relations. Quit denying that there is an issue. There is, so, I don't want to hear that. Just turn on the fucking news and quit telling people to "get over it" like a callous prick. How do we unite and heal people and relationships between the races that have been wounded and hurt to this point? Where do we go from here?

Since nobody can seem to answer in the other thread. Is there nothing but hate left?

In the area in which I live, there aren't too many families of other colors. Of my regulars over the past 5 years, 5 of them are black families, 3 are tan and speak Spanish to each other. There's this one little girl that I adore. Her mom lets her hair go natural but she puts it up into the cutest pompom pigtails, and she's got gorgeous dark eyes; you know she's gonna be a stunner when she grows into them. I remember when I first started working here, when she was brand new, the tiniest little baby, so small, held in one arm as her mom managed the groceries onto the belt. She says she wants me to be her Valentine and since I missed her on that date last year, I agreed. It breaks my heart to know that she will feel less than at some point in her life, to know that is a reality she will have to face when she grows. So strong and precocious and sure of herself right now. She's a pro at helping her mother now with the groceries. Always wanting to help and she's one of those that even if I'm stressed and having the shittiest day, it just gets me all bubbly and feeling good inside when she comes through.

How do we make the country a place where she can continue to develop that bold and compassionate personality without fear or feeling like she has to stifle herself because she's not "something". She'll have enough trouble as a woman growing up and owning her identity. There is a problem and I want for all the world to just protect her from that, to let her feel free to be her and reach all those dreams she has right now, no matter the "can't". Can we talk about goals? Can we talk about solutions?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Fuck her. Whats in it for me?

 

[unregistered]

 

[The_Trouvere]

Since nobody can seem to answer in the other thread. Is there nothing but hate left?

In the area in which I live, there aren't too many families of other colors. Of my regulars over the past 5 years, 5 of them are black families, 3 are tan and speak Spanish to each other. There's this one little girl that I adore. Her mom lets her hair go natural but she puts it up into the cutest pompom pigtails, and she's got gorgeous dark eyes; you know she's gonna be a stunner when she grows into them. I remember when I first started working here, when she was brand new, the tiniest little baby, so small, held in one arm as her mom managed the groceries onto the belt. She says she wants me to be her Valentine and since I missed her on that date last year, I agreed. It breaks my heart to know that she will feel less than at some point in her life, to know that is a reality she will have to face when she grows. So strong and precocious and sure of herself right now. She's a pro at helping her mother now with the groceries. Always wanting to help and she's one of those that even if I'm stressed and having the shittiest day, it just gets me all bubbly and feeling good inside when she comes through.

How do we make the country a place where she can continue to develop that bold and compassionate personality without fear or feeling like she has to stifle herself because she's not "something". She'll have enough trouble as a woman growing up and owning her identity. There is a problem and I want for all the world to just protect her from that, to let her feel free to be her and reach all those dreams she has right now, no matter the "can't". Can we talk about goals? Can we talk about solutions?

If blacks on the average performed and behaved as well as whites, blacks would be accepted as equals.

Until that happens most whites will suspect that black individuals they do not know are dangerous and inferior unless those black individuals demonstrate otherwise.

My solutions consist of and are limited to considerable improvements in black behavior and performance. I also want to end the economic and social sanctions against criticizing blacks. There is so much about those people that merits criticism.

We whites owe blacks nothing.

 

[Littlefinger]

Fuck her. Whats in it for me?

We whites owe blacks nothing.

That's where you're both wrong. It's a humanity issue. There's no shoving the genie back into the bottle/sending them back to Africa. We're here now, we're all together. We share this planet.

Okay, so, we heard from that side of the aisle. Seems apathy reigns free, and racism is proven to still exist. Any progressives want to offer up a proposed goal or solution?

 

[PoppingTom]

Yes, let's start by convincing the Democrat Party and the American left that dividing the nation by race, religion, gender and sexual preference isn't in the national interests, that comity in the civil society supersedes the party's political interests. Let's ask them to refrain from seeing all issues through the prism of race instead of the law of the land and the national interest.

Vette can never be serious when it comes to politics...

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Long live racism....the Kool Aid free mind.

 

[PoppingTom]

Okay, so, we heard from that side of the aisle. Seems apathy reigns free, and racism is proven to still exist. Any progressives want to offer up a proposed goal or solution?

There will never be peace between racists and opposers of racism. And I have no mercy in mind for them, as long as they stay racist.

Saying this, it doesn't mean there are no problems between races. Prejudice, fear, xenophobia, violence. somebody herer said "if Blacks behaved like whites...", and this sounds horrible in my ears, as I met much more white racists than Black ones. Doesn't mean they don't exist. It means: there is no difference for me between a white or a black racist.

The only solution for me is to fight racism. I'm talking about humans. If you forget that the person in front of you is a human, you begin to lose your own humanity. And no, this is NO solution for me. I don't want to live in an inhuman world.

 

[unregistered]

 

[PoppingTom]

Why isn't it serious to propose to the the biggest promoters of race based politics in the United States, the Democrat Party, to curb their practice of dividing the civil society by race for political gain? Do you actually think any mutually acceptable solution can be reached until this occurs?

Tell me something about the "race based politics", and why it wasn't such a problem under Clinton.

We can only have solutions for problems that are for real. A smoker telling another smoker to quit smoking can never be the solution.

 

[Joeybagadonuts]

Black people won't be assimilated into American culture in this century. It would be in their best interest to economically segregate themselves as some Jewish people have.

 

[PoppingTom]

Black people won't be assimilated into American culture in this century.

And you will never have a Black president......

 

[unregistered]

 

[Nubian_Legend]

I don't think the black nationalists are as crazy as people tend to think. They realized integration was ultimately pointless if you didn't control the means of production in your respective community. Malcolm X was right on the money in a lot of his assessments in regards to the system.

I'm not too crazy about some of the pan-africanist nuts and berries stuff , but if you could apply that to macroeconomics, that would be a powerful movement. I also think a viable black political party would be worth looking into. I'm not entirely sure how it would work, it would have to kickstart somewhere on a local level where a good number of black businesses is already located, somewhere blacks have considerable clout. Atlanta, maybe? I think at this point, asking whites/non-blacks not to practice racism/injustice is pointless. Intelligent action is required.

 

[The_Trouvere]

Yes, let's start by convincing the Democrat Party and the American left that dividing the nation by race, religion, gender and sexual preference isn't in the national interests, that comity in the civil society supersedes the party's political interests. Let's ask them to refrain from seeing all issues through the prism of race instead of the law of the land and the national interest.

Republicans have been playing the race card ever since Richard Nixon's successful southern strategy enabled him to win the Wallace vote, and win the 1972 election by a landslide.

During the 1980 campaign, when Ronald Reagan talked about "welfare queen of Chicago" - who never really existed - everyone knew she was black.

When Reagan talked about "strapping young bucks ahead of you in line to buy t bone steak with food stamps while you are waiting to buy hamburger," that was about as race coded as you can get any more. All he did not do was refer to "strappling young buck niggers."

When Reagan said he could cut taxes, raise defense spending, and balance the budget by 1983 by cutting "waste, fraud, and abuse," his white supporters did not hear "Social Security and Medicare." They heard "welfare programs for black folks."

Because Reagan played the race care well he was elected and reelected.

When race is the issue Republicans win. When class is the issue Democrats win. Right now middle class incomes are declining as the rich get richer. That is a Democrat issue. I wish the Democrats were more skilled at exploiting it.

 

[CandiCame]

Since nobody can seem to answer in the other thread. Is there nothing but hate left?

In the area in which I live, there aren't too many families of other colors. Of my regulars over the past 5 years, 5 of them are black families, 3 are tan and speak Spanish to each other. There's this one little girl that I adore. Her mom lets her hair go natural but she puts it up into the cutest pompom pigtails, and she's got gorgeous dark eyes; you know she's gonna be a stunner when she grows into them. I remember when I first started working here, when she was brand new, the tiniest little baby, so small, held in one arm as her mom managed the groceries onto the belt. She says she wants me to be her Valentine and since I missed her on that date last year, I agreed. It breaks my heart to know that she will feel less than at some point in her life, to know that is a reality she will have to face when she grows. So strong and precocious and sure of herself right now. She's a pro at helping her mother now with the groceries. Always wanting to help and she's one of those that even if I'm stressed and having the shittiest day, it just gets me all bubbly and feeling good inside when she comes through.

How do we make the country a place where she can continue to develop that bold and compassionate personality without fear or feeling like she has to stifle herself because she's not "something". She'll have enough trouble as a woman growing up and owning her identity. There is a problem and I want for all the world to just protect her from that, to let her feel free to be her and reach all those dreams she has right now, no matter the "can't". Can we talk about goals? Can we talk about solutions?

Now imagine that that's your baby and you know that you can't protect her from it; you have to prepare her for it. And you're preparing her to be scared of the people who look like you. It fucks you up.

 

[The_Trouvere]

I don't think the black nationalists are as crazy as people tend to think. They realized integration was ultimately pointless if you didn't control the means of production in your respective community.

What good has black control of the means of production in Zimbabwe done? Confiscation of white owned farms in Zimbabwe has wrecked agriculture in Zimbabwe.

 

[CandiCame]

Why isn't it serious to propose the biggest promoters of race based politics in the United States, the Democrat Party, to curb their practice of dividing the civil society by race for political gain? Do you actually think any mutually acceptable solution can be reached until this occurs?

Because colorblind racism is a thing.

 

[The_Trouvere]

Now imagine that that's your baby and you know that you can't protect her from it; you have to prepare her for it. And you're preparing her to be scared of the people who look like you. It fucks you up.

That little girl has more reason to be afraid of blacks than of whites. Blacks are more likely to be victims of black violence than white violence, even when we add the violence of white police officers.

 

[The_Trouvere]

Black people won't be assimilated into American culture in this century.

Black people who behave decently and perform adequately are assimilated into American culture right now.

 

[CandiCame]

That's where you're both wrong. It's a humanity issue. There's no shoving the genie back into the bottle/sending them back to Africa. We're here now, we're all together. We share this planet.

Okay, so, we heard from that side of the aisle. Seems apathy reigns free, and racism is proven to still exist. Any progressives want to offer up a proposed goal or solution?

The goal/solution is to gradually wear away the racial blockades that permeate American society by admitting that a country based on two genocides that still uses the power system set up by those genocides is fucked from the beginning. There needs to be a rearrangement of that power. That's slowly- painfully slowly, happening, and the biggest obstacle to it is a cultural one, by a pathological desire that white folk seem to have to hold on to hate.

It's not just black folk that are tired of this shit. We can't get the name of a sportsball team changed. If we can't get the basic respect of a group of folk not to chant about murdering us like it's fucking funny, then how can we expect actually social change like, maybe not raping folk and whatnot?

We have the solutions in place, to promote minority advocacy groups in major organizations that have problems with racism, like universities and corporations and government offices. The reason that we move so slowly is because people are either

1: Overtly racist or
2:Covertly/Colorblind racist.

Every generation we do better, but it takes... an annoying-ass amount of time to wait on everyone's crazy, racist grandparents to die, and for the power structures to become more inclusive. When we have centuries worth of wealth that has been distributed by theft and chattel slavery, you can't redistribute that in one generation, even if /everyone/ is working towards it. If there are people actively working against you, it's going to take even longer.

 

[The_Trouvere]

There will never be peace between racists and opposers of racism. And I have no mercy in mind for them, as long as they stay racist.

Saying this, it doesn't mean there are no problems between races. Prejudice, fear, xenophobia, violence. somebody herer said "if Blacks behaved like whites...", and this sounds horrible in my ears, as I met much more white racists than Black ones. Doesn't mean they don't exist. It means: there is no difference for me between a white or a black racist.

The only solution for me is to fight racism. I'm talking about humans. If you forget that the person in front of you is a human, you begin to lose your own humanity. And no, this is NO solution for me. I don't want to live in an inhuman world.

There will never be peace as long as people like you try to suppress legitimate criticism of blacks. Blacks really do tend to perform poorly intellectually. They really do have high rates of crime and illegitimacy. You can suppress mention of those facts. You cannot suppress awareness of them.

There should never be any sanctions against telling the truth.

 

[The_Trouvere]

Go Redskins!

We can't get the name of a sportsball team changed.

Go Redskins!

 

[Joeybagadonuts]

Black people who behave decently and perform adequately are assimilated into American culture right now.

Please define behaving decently and performing adequately.

 

[Joeybagadonuts]

If there is white trash, shouldn't there also be black trash and brown trash?