40 acres and a mule?

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by Eirene_DGP


Whoa!!! I cannot believe you typed this.... Keep in mind that you are reflecting your organization. This is why a lot of minorities think twice about joining historically white orgs...you will always have people who STILL think like you.

I cannot believe you said you have a problem with blacks who continue to bring this up. IF WE feel like we are treated differently and young black children are not treated equally in the public school system, we will continue to talk about it whether you like it or not. IF WE backed down from people like YOU, WE would not be as far as we are now. YOU really need to think about things before you say them.

~Steelstrap, thanks for speaking out on this Blatant prejudice.

Eirene, you're welcome. And I love your post.

As I've said, I usually am a model of decorum and dignity. My parents gave me those critical values.

But that individual's blatant ignorance and repeat pattern of degradation, not just on this thread, but on other threads, called for a response.

The shame of it all is that there were some intelligent posts on this issue, which really needs to be debated in a rational manner, not in an emotional one. In particular, I felt informed reading takes from librasoul22, KSigRC and Optimist Prime.

All I'm saying is that this should have degenerated into this.


-- ST

[madmax]

Originally posted by librasoul22


Um....

Entertainers DO help "their people." Many entertainers give back to the community. However, the money that entertainers have cannot POSSIBLY feed the vast majority of people living below the poverty level. Come on now.

This argument made me kinda angry, because it absolves the government of their role in creating ghettoes and perpetuating oppression. It is not the ENTERTAINERS responsibility to provide food and healthcare to those in poverty. Be real.

How did the government create ghettos?

[librasoul22]

Originally posted by madmax


How did the government create ghettos?

It is known as the Broken Window Theory.

You know how if you have a brand new, flawless car, you tend to try to keep it as pristine as possible? Then if you get in a wreck, you kinda let the rest of it go?

Same with ghettos. One broken window and people stop caring about the property values. If you take a look at the businesses in the ghettos, they are not minority-owned. Neither are the properties.

Ghetto living conditions are deplorable and poverty and hunger are rampant. The government has little interest in rectifying this. Also, the very EARLY government made it impossible for minorites to have the same rights as their white counterparts, by ratifying laws in the constitution and encouraging segregation. Although today such things are not condoned, the ramifications are undeniable.

BTW, as for your 40 acres and a mule = wanting a free ride comment from earlier...I thought you were kidding, but maybe not. Were you?

[madmax]

Originally posted by librasoul22


It is known as the Broken Window Theory.

You know how if you have a brand new, flawless car, you tend to try to keep it as pristine as possible? Then if you get in a wreck, you kinda let the rest of it go?

Same with ghettos. One broken window and people stop caring about the property values. If you take a look at the businesses in the ghettos, they are not minority-owned. Neither are the properties.

Ghetto living conditions are deplorable and poverty and hunger are rampant. The government has little interest in rectifying this. Also, the very EARLY government made it impossible for minorites to have the same rights as their white counterparts, by ratifying laws in the constitution and encouraging segregation. Although today such things are not condoned, the ramifications are undeniable.

BTW, as for your 40 acres and a mule = wanting a free ride comment from earlier...I thought you were kidding, but maybe not. Were you?

No I wasn't kidding about the 40 acre and a mule comment. Anyone that wants 40 acres and a mule is looking for a free ride.

Why should the government fix broken windows that they didn't break? The individuals that broke the windows should fix them and if they dont fix them, then they deserve to live in a ghetto.

[lovelyivy84]

Originally posted by prayerfull


Well, PM_Mama - - you're prejudism ought to really start trippin' out when I tell you this....I'm racially mixed..

Sicilian (25%), Spanish (Malaga) (25%) and BLACK (50%).

Got a problem with that? You think you're blood is hot...mine is straight up boiling over the bull crap that you've posted on this thread.

I am mystified as to why people expect any better from her.

Don't we already KNOW about this girl? WHY ARE PEOPLE SURPRISED? She just came out and admitted what we all already knew.

She definitely needs prayer Soror.

*Note: This is my first and last post on this thread. As I can not reach out through my computer and deliver well-deserved smacks upside the head, there just isn't anything more I can do, lol.

[Tom Earp]

Well, has everyone gottent off of your Chest about what we do not like about someone different than our selfs?

Hell, I am Not Prejudice, I hate everybody!

There are Preconceived Ideas of people and Races until you get to Know the PERSON!

If I did not like anyone on this site that was not white, what a Great group of Freinds I would Lose!

Your Race is Your Business but do not abuse it for our benefit as you are barking up the wrong damn tree!

We of different Races and Religuionsand Greek Group agree to disagree but piss comes to push We are together for what we have!

That was not for just Afro-Americans but every American that had No Damn Money! Let us get Real!

Should I hate OTW, Nina, Carnation, etc because they or different? NOT!

[damasa]

Originally posted by Eirene_DGP


Sometimes I wonder how white people would function if they just happened to be born black or any other non-white ethnicity.

We could turn this around for any ethnicity and it would make for a great discussion, as in what do you think life would have been like had you been born as another race? I like hearing the opinions from many of you and I would like to hear what you would think life would be like had you been born another color/race/ethnicity, hell we'll even throw in social/economic backgrounds (w/o taking a sociologist's pov).

On a sidenote, I would strongly encourage anyone (black, white, red, orange) to take some classes in African History, or something that I took, African American Literature. This course opened up my eyes in many more ways than I thought it could. This class taught me more in a semester than almost all of my classes have in three years. Sadly, I hated the professor at first because I thought she was giving me a hard time because I was white (one of only three white students that took that class during the semester). I later came to find out that she was interested in why I took the class and if I truly wanted to learn. Once she found out that I did, she began to "teach me" and I still talk to her about once a week.

[Dionysus]

Originally posted by PM_Mama00
Dionysus.... I agree with you. My reason for mentioning all that is because people keep saying that what happened to African Americans back then is so much worse than what happened to all these other people. And someone said you can't compare them. That's right, you can't. No ones problems are exactly the same, and no one's problems are more trivial than the next person's. That is what is angering me the most is that people keep bringing that up. That is why I asked if any of those minorities were complaining. Not to compare them, I'm sorry if that is what yall got out of it.
[/bold].

I think you missed my point, I was disagreeing with you.

[PotentialPledge]

Originally posted by damasa


We could turn this around for any ethnicity and it would make for a great discussion, as in what do you think life would have been like had you been born as another race? I like hearing the opinions from many of you and I would like to hear what you would think life would be like had you been born another color/race/ethnicity, hell we'll even throw in social/economic backgrounds (w/o taking a sociologist's pov).

On a sidenote, I would strongly encourage anyone (black, white, red, orange) to take some classes in African History, or something that I took, African American Literature. This course opened up my eyes in many more ways than I thought it could. This class taught me more in a semester than almost all of my classes have in three years. Sadly, I hated her at first because I thought she was giving me a hard time because I was white (one of only three white students that took that class during the semester). I later came to find out that she was interested in why I took the class and if I truly wanted to learn. Once she found out that I did, she began to "teach me" and I still talk to her about once a week to this day.

Thats cool I really admire that.

[librasoul22]

Originally posted by madmax


No I wasn't kidding about the 40 acre and a mule comment. Anyone that wants 40 acres and a mule is looking for a free ride.

Why should the government fix broken windows that they didn't break? The individuals that broke the windows should fix them and if they dont fix them, then they deserve to live in a ghetto.

Um........

Elitist much?



Okay...I couldn't resist. I had to edit for more.

In fact the government "breaks windows" every day that it doesn't fix. Wonder why people are all about flying planes into our buildings nowadays? To say that ANYONE deserves to live in a ghetto is a dangerous statement. I assume that you have never had to experience those conditions thereby making it impossible for you to understand what really goes on. The broken windows thing is actually theoretical, see? But if you cram so many people in such underpriviledged conditions with little oppurtunity for escape, that is what happens. And, yes, some people who occupy ghettos have the flawed mentality that there is no way out. But if you look deeper, you will see why that mentality is in place. Ask if you don't understand.

[Bamboozled]

Originally posted by damasa
On a sidenote, I would strongly encourage anyone (black, white, red, orange) to take some classes in African History, or something that I took, African American Literature. This course opened up my eyes in many more ways than I thought it could. This class taught me more in a semester than almost all of my classes have in three years. Sadly, I hated the professor at first because I thought she was giving me a hard time because I was white (one of only three white students that took that class during the semester). I later came to find out that she was interested in why I took the class and if I truly wanted to learn. Once she found out that I did, she began to "teach me" and I still talk to her about once a week.

Damasa, I too applaud your efforts. It is so easy to sit back and say that African Americans need to stop "bitching and moaning" about racism. It takes a certain kind of person to educate him/herself about the basis of these claims. Hopefully you took this course because you truly wanted to understand another culture and not just because it was the only thing that fit into your schedule. In any event, I'm glad that you benefitted from it. Your efforts may be considered small in the big scheme of things, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by madmax


No I wasn't kidding about the 40 acre and a mule comment. Anyone that wants 40 acres and a mule is looking for a free ride.

Why should the government fix broken windows that they didn't break? The individuals that broke the windows should fix them and if they dont fix them, then they deserve to live in a ghetto.

Maybe because they fix the "broken windows" in richer neighborhoods, even if it was the upper-class who broke them?

I know, for example, that the city I live in is sinking several million dollars into a fund for "sprucing up" the middle-class neighborhood that I live in. They know that if they do, property values will go up and they'll get more tax money; thus in the long run, they're the ones benefitting.

Would they ever do that for the "ghetto"? No, because the people living there are there because they can't afford higher property values & taxes, thus eliminating any benefits that the city would receive. The richest areas of town just get nicer and the poorest areas just get worse.

The same reasons justify why there is so little money from the national budget going into education, the environment, etc. It's always about what will make the government the richest in the end -- so they can ultimately just spend more on defense and business -- and it's not about what's best for the people.

[damasa]

Originally posted by Bamboozled


Hopefully you took this course because you truly wanted to understand another culture and not just because it was the only thing that fit into your schedule.

Yes, I took the class because I wanted to educate myself as much as I possibly could with this class, and at first I wasn't ready for the amount of information I was learnig. Once I started to understand, a lot more came to light and it made many things much more understandable.

[librasoul22]

Originally posted by sugar and spice


Maybe because they fix the "broken windows" in richer neighborhoods, even if it was the upper-class who broke them?

I know, for example, that the city I live in is sinking several million dollars into a fund for "sprucing up" the middle-class neighborhood that I live in. They know that if they do, property values will go up and they'll get more tax money; thus in the long run, they're the ones benefitting.

Would they ever do that for the "ghetto"? No, because the people living there are there because they can't afford higher property values, thus taxes, thus eliminating any benefits that the city would receive. The richest areas of town just get nicer and the poorest areas just get worse.

The same reasons justify why there is so little money from the national budget going into education, the environment, etc. It's always about what will make the government the richest in the end -- so they can ultimately just spend more on defense and business -- and it's not about what's best for the people.

GREAT POST.

[poodleNtraining]

Originally posted by madmax


No I wasn't kidding about the 40 acre and a mule comment. Anyone that wants 40 acres and a mule is looking for a free ride.

Why should the government fix broken windows that they didn't break? The individuals that broke the windows should fix them and if they dont fix them, then they deserve to live in a ghetto.

Having grown up in the "ghetto", I have to agree to an extent. That Broken Window theory is very true. I've seen it in this neighborhood. People are just content to live with this garbage. The drugs, the sex, the whatever, they just don't care. Now, the other side to that is the people who are in the ghetto by necessity, that just can't afford to live anywhere else. We were just looking at apartments, and they are EXPENSIVE even IN the ghetto. SO there are lots of people forced to live there. And you can't say well get another job, because if that's the case, you betta take a bag lunch to work and take cooking classes because McD's, BK, Wendy's ALL of them will be closed. SOMEone has to work there. ANd those that do need somewhere to go, butthe low cost places are triflin. And its not the government's fault.


But back to the subject at hand, I think that if all other groups imposed upon by the US have been compensated (Native Americans, Japanese, etc) then I don't understand why blacks shouldn't be. The 40 acres and a mule might be a bit much at this point, but there are other ways to face the issue. A#1, it should be mandatory for all school curriculums to include a section on slavery in addition to all other oppressions imposed by the US. We always wannna highlight the good and try to ignore the bad. It all needs to be put on Front Street. In addition to that, other financial reparations should be paid the black community as a whole, it would be too complicated to try and trace who's from a slave at this point in time. Besides its not as if there are a LOT of actual records anyway. But SOMETHING needs to be given to the community.

And all I can say to PM_Mama and other on her wavelength, is to get a heart and get a clue. If you were in an accident and someone wrecked your car, and their insurance company said they were gonna get you a new car on the same level as yours, and you had a Mercedes and they gave you a Yugo, you'd be at the courthouse filing papers ASAP. This is an even bigger situation, with the promise being even more critical. They said it, they owe it, end of discussion.