I've been watching this one from the sidelines for a while. I admit my view may be a little skewed by where I grew up. In the 70s where I lived there were very few black people. Those there were worked for IBM and their parents made rather more than mine. They were very bright kids with bright driven parents. But they had clearly made it.
Before I begin, I have some basic notes:
1) Slavery happened and it was evil;
2) Jim crow and segregation happened and they were evil;
3) Discrimination is less than it was, but still very much alive and well;
4) Walking/driving while black remains an offense in much of the U.S.
5) I think U.S. policing needs oversight. I think anti discrimination laws are a good thing. Scholarships for black students are also a good idea.
But, while white America has a long ways to go, so does black America. Currently, blacks who get good grades, get real jobs, etc. are looked down on by the black community in poorer neighborhoods for "looking white." That's like cutting off your leg before entering in a kicking contest. And in poorer areas blacks do criminally target Korean and other minority business owners. That's discrimination.
Black people in poorer neighborhoods could use some ambition and gumption. Other minorities have eventually flourished here. Blacks do not generally. But there was a time when it was just as bad if not worse to be Chinese. Now Chinese Americans do better on average than White Americans. That has to do with culture. A culture that says give up and don't try is not a good culture.
That is what the initial video in this thread was about. It was a rallying cry for black people to do well rather than give up. That's good advice even if the deck is stacked. And the young black man making that rallying cry is right.
Before I begin, I have some basic notes:
1) Slavery happened and it was evil;
2) Jim crow and segregation happened and they were evil;
3) Discrimination is less than it was, but still very much alive and well;
4) Walking/driving while black remains an offense in much of the U.S.
5) I think U.S. policing needs oversight. I think anti discrimination laws are a good thing. Scholarships for black students are also a good idea.
But, while white America has a long ways to go, so does black America. Currently, blacks who get good grades, get real jobs, etc. are looked down on by the black community in poorer neighborhoods for "looking white." That's like cutting off your leg before entering in a kicking contest. And in poorer areas blacks do criminally target Korean and other minority business owners. That's discrimination.
Black people in poorer neighborhoods could use some ambition and gumption. Other minorities have eventually flourished here. Blacks do not generally. But there was a time when it was just as bad if not worse to be Chinese. Now Chinese Americans do better on average than White Americans. That has to do with culture. A culture that says give up and don't try is not a good culture.
That is what the initial video in this thread was about. It was a rallying cry for black people to do well rather than give up. That's good advice even if the deck is stacked. And the young black man making that rallying cry is right.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
