Update III (12/23): This post is closed for comments and trackbacks. We’ve all said what needs to be said, so let’s move on.
Update II (12/22): WordPress (the engine behind this blog) has a feature that gives me the option of approving first-time commenters before the comments appear. If the comment is deemed worthy, I approve it. If not, into the void it goes. Critics get themselves all bent out of shape crafting the rudest comments, only to realize they’re not showing up. Love it.
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I get e-mail from black people (and a few whites) asking me if I hate black people. I usually don’t dignify the question with an answer, but I get the point.
I am more critical of blacks than I am of whites because, no offense, I care more about what happens to blacks. That is, I care whether they’re valuing education as highly as they should, whether they’re pushing themselves and their children to be the best and not wallowing in excuses or hurling unfounded charges of racism.
Having grown up black among black family and friends, I noticed a certain undercurrent that didn’t have a name. Whether a person actually suffered from racial discrimination or not, there was an urge to “keep whitey on the hook,” a term I picked up from John McWhorter. He articulated it so well in Authentically Black. We are never to allow whites to forget our historical grievances, whether an individual white person was guilty of discrimination or not. Most whites seem intimidated by blacks who do this. I dare say some of my white commenters are probably intimidated as well, despite their boldness on this blog.
I vowed to take the opposite approach. Rather than using this blog to bit** and moan about slavery, institutional racism and such, I’d use it to “keep blacks on the hook.” It’s a fresh approach and much more interesting than telling whites how racist they are. Blacks need to be reminded, constantly, of our responsibility in this mess.
For example, as we all know, black crime statistics are outrageous, especially considering our proportion of the population. Rarely, if ever, do you hear black people expressing disgust for out-of-control crime rates or lecturing other blacks about their responsibility to stay out of the criminal justice system.
At least I haven’t. I perceived the void and decided to fill it. That makes a lot of blacks angry, and a few whites, too. But that can’t be helped. Here’s the beauty of living in a free country: if you don’t like what I say or write, you can counter it with your own op-ed or blog or other form of communication. Free expression.
When I offer this advice to disgruntled blacks who e-mail me, they have an excuse at the ready. Big surprise, right? (Making excuses must be a reflex.) They’re “nobody,” they say, and I have this huge forum, so who is going to listen to them? Or (this is my favorite) my powerful white benefactors have propped me up so as to drown out the dissenters.
Whatever.
I’ve worked hard on this blog for two years. I didn’t sit around making excuses for what I can’t do, and I’m not here to clear up misconceptions about myself. It would be a waste of time because people who hate me will hate me. All I ask if that you examine yourselves before you start handing out excuses and pointing fingers at white folks. If you want a place to bit** and moan about whites, this is not it.
One of the government policies I hate is skin color preferences, which I’ve written about ad nauseam and will continue to do so as long as it exists. So-called affirmative action was intended to include more blacks in the candidate pool, but it has become the biggest entitlement program ever conceived. It has nothing to do with so-called racial discrimination and everything to do with lowered standards.
Apparently, it’s difficult to find black job candidates and potential university students with credentials comparable to whites. On the one hand, some blacks claim that credentials are comparable, but whites need a “push” to hire or admit. On the other hand, some blacks claim that “comparable” is relative. Just because a black person has a lower score, it doesn’t mean he’s not qualified for a job or admission. It is reasonable, however, to set hiring and admissions criteria, and if your score is below the threshold, you are, by those standards, not qualified. Unfortunately, some blacks — not all, thank goodness — see racial motives behind everything.
I hate “affirmative action” because it’s immoral, unconstitutional, embarrassingly unfair, and undignified.
If blacks with comparable credentials are being passed over, blanket skin color preference policies are not the remedy. Courts are where such disputes should be heard. If blacks are passed over because they don’t have comparable scores, we need to address the problem at a much earlier stage. We all know how dumbed down government schools have become. Get the socialist bureaucrats out of the front offices and demand better for your kids. Fight for school choice, support rigorous standards, and advocate excellence, not mediocrity. And for the love of God, stop making excuses. Discipline your children to turn off that idiot box and study. Embrace and reward studious behavior and penalize laziness.
Despite government policies designed to force equal outcomes, thanks to human nature, it ain’t going to happen. We each have different or varying degrees of talent, drive, and motivation. This is where “diversity” bites liberals on the rear end. In a society as diverse as America, individuals will never have equal stuff. You won’t find equal outcomes within the same biological family, for crying out loud, so how can you expect to find it within a diverse country???
Equal opportunity is the best we humans can hope for and what the Constitution guarantees. That document does not have the power to ensure equal distribution of material wealth, nor should it. I’m glad to know that more people are publicly expressing their distain for skin color distinctions imposed by government. In the news:
- Michigan Civil Rights Initiative Update: “A Michigan appeals court ordered the secretary of state Tuesday to place on the November ballot a proposal that would ban some affirmative action programs.”
- Are race-based scholarships on the way out?
- White firefighters to get $3.5 million: “A federal jury Friday awarded a total of about $3.5 million to six white Chicago firefighters who said they lost out on key promotions due to the city’s affirmative action plan.”
- Jury awards $135,000 each to four white fire captains: “The eight-member panel, which included one black juror, ruled unanimously that Dean discriminated against the men. They awarded $10,000 to each plaintiff in lost wages and benefits and $125,000 to each for emotional pain and anguish.”
- Dip in diversity: (Dumb headline, by the way): When schools dump quotas, which are illegal, they see fewer “minority” students in advanced classes. Again, it’s up to blacks to raise standards, not accept preferences.
Addendum: Yesterday a Baltimore Sun reporter interviewed me for a story about actor Morgan Freeman’s remarks. (See my post). Based on the story’s title, Some blacks take Freeman to task over CBS interview, the slant was already set.
The reporter kept prompting me to criticize Morgan and agree that Black History Month (BHM) is still needed, asking “But do you think we’re there yet?” I didn’t think “there,” wherever that is, was the point. BHM is ridiculous, but instead of being that blunt, I gave what I considered to be thoughtful responses to her questions.
As you can see, my quotes never made it into the article. The only interviewees with quotes included were those critical of Morgan and supportive of BHM. Zero “I agree with Morgan and BHM really is ridiculous” quotes in this biased story. Fortunately I’m not naive enough to believe the reporter set out to write a balanced news story in the first place.
Unrelated Update: Part II of Harry Potter and the Charmed Christians is up. If you want to discuss, please do so at Fantasy Fiction for Christians.
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There’s a James Brown number from the late 1960s which goes “I don’t want nobody to give me nothing / Open the door, I’ll get it myself”.
For just two lines, that’s quite a serious quantity of philosophy. Then again, he is The Hardest-Working Man In Show Business.
Ms. Barber,
You’ve written a fascinating entry on dealing with the potential for racial inequities due to society. For once, I can say that I’ve read an excellent rebuttal on the meaning of diversity as compared to how those that want to dictate terms on how to live define the term. Being a middle-aged white guy from a lower income upbringing, I like to think that I’m self-made. However, I also recognize that it is somewhat tougher for people that don’t look like middle-aged white guys to reach the level of society I now fit into. Affirmative action will not “fix” that issue. You can only work on equal opportunity issues, not legislate equal results for all. Some of my liberal friends see no distinction between the two conditions.
By the way, I like the spell-check option. It sure makes me appear as educated as I think I’d like to be.
I didn’t sit around making excuses for what I can’t do.
There’s a reason why you aren’t making excuses. Excuses are for losers. You aren’t a loser.
The saddest thing about too many people in the black community is the notion that someone who works hard and studies is “acting white.” Back in 1984, I was a substitute teacher in a small town Alabama school. While some of my students could barely read, there were two exceptional young men that impressed me with their drive. Last year, I looked them up on the internet. One is a civil engineer in Tuscaloosa and the other is a Thoracic Surgeon and an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan medical school. If I or anyone in my family needed thoracic surgery, I could only hope that he would be available to do the job. Allan worked his butt off to achieve what he did. Even though he was only 15 when I knew him, it was easy to see what kind of man he was going to become. He almost never made a mistake and he never, ever made excuses.
When some of my other students said that Allan was “acting white”, I had to bite my tongue. What are they saying? If working hard and studying to achieve a goal is “acting white”, what does it mean to act black?
Do you mean that people should interact with one another as individuals and not because of the color of their skin? Do you mean that people should take personal responsibility for their actions and not make excuses? That is very radical thinking. Thank you LaShawn for all you do. Keep up the good work.
A friend in the Army was a sophomore at Harvard University when he enlisted, returning to graduate when his term was up. He was and is the smartest person I’ve known and was certainly qualified to be at Harvard. Though he knew his qualifications were excellent he always wondered if he was accepted at Harvard only because he was black(ish.) That always bothered him and I’m guessing that he’ll never really know. I’d be pretty irked myself if I knew that someday I’d be called Mr. Set-Aside and there was nothing I could do about it.
I’ve always had a hard time believing that 90% of American blacks were on the left, naturally. There must be some subtle arm-twisting going on in the “black community†to make it happen that way. Back when I was an urban dweller, and took the bus to work (as a retail clerk) on Sunday sometimes, the bus was always full of older, extremely well-dressed, black ladies on their way to (or from) church–some with bibles in their lap. I don’t know too much, but I know these ladies sure as … heck … were not liberals. So, what happened to their kids? How did their kids get so liberal? That’s what I always wondered.
I grew up in a lower middle-class neighborhood where we enjoyed neighbors of all races, colors and creeds.
And when I say enjoy, I mean it. Most of the families had several boys – and for obvious reasons, we all wound up playing together on the same sports teams.
What I discovered from a young age was just like any “mutt” … our diverse DNA was superior to pure-bred neighborhoods any pedigree (that means all the same, rich or poor).
I was further blessed coming from immigrant stock that suffered quite a bit of racism coming through Ellis Island and while carving out a stake in either NYC or Philly. Both sides of the family built their success first working side-by-side, and then later hiring people of color. Which is why my parents had no problems with the friends I or my brothers brought home, or spent hours with at theirs.
This doesn’t make me an expert nor an authority on this topic – rather it just explains why I personally get really, Really, REALLY perturbed, no angry, no UPSET TO THE POINT OF WANTING TO SHOUT AT MY COMPUTER, when I read of blacks questioning the ‘blackness’ of others within their race – for they practice the same discrimination they railed against for the sake of politics.
That is looking at the color of one’s skin or voting card rather than the character of their heart!
What I hope is that someday is that blacks would one day shed the knee-jerk reactions against and instead listend to and admire the Michael Steeles, the Bill Cosbys and the La Shawn Barbers whom though critical at times, do so for the sake of character.
Trust me, I have several life friends of such character whom I’d put up against anyone’s claim to superiority by virtue of race, creed, color, religion and or political persuasion.
Larry J,
I have asked that question before and all I got was a blank stare. You ever get the answer, please share it with the rest of the class.
LaShawn,
I have read your site over the years, and I have long ago been fully convinced that you are an outstanding person … true royalty.
You are loved and supported by many African Americans out here, of which I am one. Somehow, I feel there are many likenesses between you and Harriet Tubman. I suspect Mother Tubman was vilified in her day by narrow minded folk just as you are today.
Stand your ground.
God Bless You.
Good post.
As an evil, white, conservative male (said tongue-in-cheek) I have one question that’s never been sufficiently answered, “What will it take where we won’t need special things based on race (e.g. – quotas, special programs, race-based events, etc.) any longer?”
Could this be a simple question with no easy answer?
Sometimes I feel like the best way to get past this race nonsense is to shame people away from being so damned petty and basically shame them into doing the right thing and assessing the real issues.
Usually I avoid emotional arguments, but to me, seeing black advocates and talking heads groveling and beggin without dignity at the alter of white guilt is so repugnant, that shame seems like an acceptable remedy. So I do it. I hurl out the insults, call these black liberals sellouts, cowards, and beggars, tell them that they sound like children and indigenes, and say everything short of disrespecting their mothers. Sometimes, I wish I could do that.
I say it’s just part and parcel with the war for America’s hear and soul. No doubt, the history of oppression against black people is real (if anyone wants to know what I mean, email me). Still, the weakness and poverty of the soul that I see is disgusting and I can’t stand for it.
Shame is the best offensive tool against this, I think, kind of like making the bad kid who might be mistreated at home sit in the corner with the dunce cap if he acts up at school.
Condescending? Maybe. Real? Totally.
RBMN says (edited), …” the bus was always full of older, extremely well-dressed, black ladies on their way to (or from) church — some with bibles in their lap. ….. I know these ladies…..were not liberals. So, ….. How did their kids get so liberal?
====
My take: The Moms with the Bibles aren’t liberals, really, but they are probably 95% Democrats when it comes time to vote. Most of “us” (as in ALL of us) would not fit neatly into a conservative/liberal box. I blame the Republican party for having not even TRIED to dialog with these Moms and find out what’s on their minds.
My Take II: For every Mom you saw on that church-bound bus, there are a few other Moms who weren’t going to church anymore. Then (and especially NOW) they may be working their second job at the grocery store, or caring for youngsters at home, or watching TV or sleeping in to get ready for another exhausting week; they may just be depressed about the heating bill and aren’t going anywhere. It doesn’t help that lots of the Dads were not around to help and guide the kids.
So, your observation is a good one — there is a serious disconnect between some members of the generation you saw on the bus and the generation you see just “hanging out” and depending on charity and social programs. But don’t assume the Moms on the church bus are the Moms or Grand-moms of the subculture that is not engaged in worthwhile pursuits.
Also, I don’t think either one of those “generations” would be easily pegged as “liberal” or “conservative”, left or right, or whatever, in the sense that we talk about that over here in the ivory (and ebony) tower.
I love the James Brown quote from CGHill.
I’d extend the idea a bit, though. The door has been opened (legally) for some time now. With affirmative action, though, the person is led in, shown to the buffet, someone helps his plate, then when he sits down his food is chewed, swallowed, and digested “for him.” Meanwhile, he’s still hungry.
Thanks, LaShawn, for keeping such a thoughtful blog going.
“I am more critical of blacks than I am of whites because, no offense, I care more about what happens to blacks”.
LaShawn, you are perpetuating the very stereotype that you supposedly deplore with this attitude.
If you carry the idea to it’s logical conclusion, since I am white, I should care only about people with the same skin color as myself. The abysmal state of many schools frequented by black children should be of no concern to me, nor should I support state or national policies such as vouchers, that will benefit these children. And so on, ad infinitum.
We are all Americans, and should care about each other’s welfare because we are FELLOW CITIZENS, regardless of racial background.
Out of many, ONE.
It’s about time people started to act on that idea.
An affirmative action vignette: My son recently applied to Harvard, Yale, and NYU, getting a fellowship to NYU. When I called him a few months ago to tell him what I knew he would think was as cool as I thought it was–that DNA testing had revealed significant Native American and African heritage not all that far back–his hip and tongue-in-cheek comeback was, “Dad, why didn’t you tell me that before! I could have gotten into Harvard!” After a chuckle we proceeded to discuss just how cool that was and how sad it was that we knew so little about these folks. Only one downside: my son was named after an 18th century frontiersman whom I’d always admired for his leadership of Indian forces (Delaware) in the French and Indian War and his life-long friendship with a fellow British militia captain, the infamous Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), terror of the Revolutionary War frontier and Mohawk war chief. After that war, Brandt offered my ancestor all the land he wanted on the Broad River in Canada. What’s the problem? Well, those Native American and African ancestors knocked the admirable frontiersman out of my family tree! I have a feeling he and Joseph Brant would have gotten a good laugh out of that.
Amen La Shawn!
And, this is probably the best and most appropriate comment anyone can make on this provocative post.
I saw the 60 Minutes interview with Freeman and was heartened when he expressed such dignified indignation about our rich history being consigned to BHM! And, one would have thought his allusion to Jews would have been as instructive to fellow blacks as it clearly was to Mike Wallace.
Nonetheless, I shall never tire of pointing out to my people the racial insult inherent in BHM.
Hate black people? Indeed!
I had no idea that the attitude you’ve described is called “keeping whitey on the hook.” I’ve been the recipient of that attitude throughout my life. Eventually, I decided to label it as “provincialism” because cosmopolitan people don’t nix anybody, and provincial people only see the world within their narrow definitions.
Hi, LaShawn, on a related note, here are links to
(a) the Philadelphia school district’s decision to make taking a black history course a requirement for high school graduation,
and (b) a history professor’s perspective on it.
http://www.madminerva.blog-city.com/morgan_freeman_on_back_history_month_and_race_relations.htm
When I first heard about this, I turned to a friend and said, “There’s going to be no end to this. Now every group is going to want their own required class. Pretty soon we won’t be able to do math or chemistry because we’re spending all our time learning about the white man’s wickedness to (insert group here) in the past.”
And lo and behold, the next day in the newspaper I read an opinion piece demanding that Philly set up a Hispanic history course and make that a requirement as well.
Beth,
I care more about my husband than I do other women’s husbands. I care more about my children than I do other people’s children. I care more about my parents than I do other people’s parents. I care more about my sisters than I do other people’s sisters. Do I despise or disregard the others? No. If I can help them I will but certain people need to come first in my regard otherwise there is no foundation for community.
I critique because I care. So true. Interestingly, we don’t tolorate critiques from anyone, unless it is the old guy in the barbershop, or the town wino. If only then, because we can ignore them.
Morgan Freeman= Right. Bill Cosby=right. And Lashawn, even though you are no longer a member, I think you may have learned the proper definition of ‘excuses’ once upon a time. *wink*
Thank you for writing down what I have thought for years. As a white person, quite frankly, many segments of society would attack the same comments if made by me. I also want to mention how much I support Morgan Freeman’s comments. I once shared with a black friend that many whites hate black history month. She couldn’t understand why. I told her during Black history month any time she heard the word black to replace the word black with the word white and see how long it took her to feel excluded and angry. It took her once day.
LaShawn, thank you for responding to Beth. What is the mindset that says if you care for a certain group it MUST be to the exclusion of every other? Projection, maybe?
“Rarely, if ever, do you hear black people expressing disgust for out-of-control crime rates or lecturing other blacks about their responsibility to stay out of the criminal justice system.” – LSB
That’s only because you spend more time in the blogosphere than in the hood. The hood is not a place that many people choose to be. That’s not a knock on you, but just a fact of your life as an entrepreneur. It’s been said that writing is the loneliest craft.
I don’t live in the hood any longer, either. But remain connected through church, family, friends, and interest. There but for the grace of God go I. Number 1 topic of discussion and concern? Crime. Causes of crime. Solutions to crime. Why niggaz are always tearin stuff up so that Black folk can’t enjoy their own neighborhoods. Every Black person knows, and most Black folk recognize, that Black on Black crime is the worst crime in America. Just ask someone who lives in the hood, and leave the intellectualizing for the pundits.
I get your point, Dave, but don’t presume to know where and how I spend my time.
Excellent post, La Shawn.
As a Hispanic woman I share 100% your opinion of affirmative action programs. Affirmative action diminishes those who are supposed to benefit from it in two ways:
1. It makes the hard-earned accomplishments of those who have advanced through hard work and clarity of purpose by giving the impression that they couldn’t get there without it.
2. It cheats those who need the necessary tools to improve their lives, such as quality education at good schools, learning self-reliance and personal responsibility, discipline and perseverance, and so on, the opportunity to acquire such by lowering standards and providing a cosmetic “improvement” instead of a true substantial change.
Keep up the good work.
Monika Brooks
Oakland,CA
The views of LaShawn are provocative.
I wouldn’t have known you were black if you hadn’t said so. I guess my “blogometer” doesn’t have a “whites only” setting!
Love your writing, BTW.
La Shawn,
I get the same thing “You hate black people”, or any one of a number of ignorant, inane comments because I make the case that the worse enemy to black people are liberals, Democrats (pardon redundancy), and in many cases the person in the mirror. My brother got so angry at me one night that he lost his mind and became physically aggressive. Keep black folks “on the hook” La Shawn, because even though it can get rough, nasty and ugly sometimes, I’m doing the same. Regardless. More power.
Merry Christmas and may the Lord bring you and yours peace always.
-Victor
More power to The New Media
La Shawn,
Your wonderful writing does a great service to showing your spirit. A great gift it is that you have been given – a great gift it is that you are sharing through your writing.
As I read this piece, I kept being reminded of this passage:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28 – New International Version)
Hi Lashon:
Good piece.
I too agree that affirmative action isn’t a fix for the problem of discrimination, and would also like to point out that a lot of the people who agree with it not only want to see it stick around, but think it should be enforced more stringently.
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people at work telling me how hard it is to be black, and wanted to point out that, whereas they have something like affirmative action to depend on, I find myself in constant friction with my employer over accessibility issues due to my visual impairment.
And every time these issues come up, my job is in jeopardy.
My friends and I joke around, and say that I’m a walking HR issue.
The situations either end up on the HR director’s desk, (who I then have to prod to make sure something gets done), or I have to start making legal threats.
So right on with this post, and I look forward to more of your thoughtful and intelligent writing.
You have found a new reader. Political correctness, particularly on racial issues, obstructs constructive, productive discussion of real problems, especially the hard, emotionally laden ones. We can’t resolve anything if some topics are forbidden or avoided. Kudos to you, La Shawn, for wading into these waters!
When I was applying to college, I wanted to know that I got in because I earned the right to be there, not because of my race or my parentage (I have no control over those accidents of birth). Doesn’t affirmative action take away the pride and perception that hard work and education (I do have control over these aspects of my life) would otherwise earn?
The first attorney for whom I worked, a brilliant man, made the concept of racism real to me because, despite his enormous success in his profession (and it was HUGE), he did not DARE drive a car that any one of his peers could drive because in Los Angeles in the late 80s a gentleman of color didn’t drive a Mercedes or a BMW without being pulled over by the LAPD FREQUENTLY. What always has stuck with me was his enormous amusement at the outrage I expressed when I realized this. I’ve never forgotten the experience and consequently, because of this extraordinary man, I became more aware of what the truly hardworking, responsible and contributing minorities must endure at the hands of the dunderheads in this country. The bottom line for me has always been “who is this person” and “what does this person stand for as a human being” and those are the qualities from which I BEGIN a new friendship or working relationship. All the rest is nonsense. If I like you, I like you. And if I don’t, it’s probably because you have been a jerk or nasty to me and it has absolutely nothing to do with ethnic origin or race! It’s just that I truly do not like dunderheads!
I agree with you Gayle. The individual to me is always more important than the collective. However, when I look at the big picture, I find myself stepping back and saying, hey, with our society, it’s not about the individual but the collective. We tend to lump people in groups for everything. I will always suffer the same fate as others who look like I do, whether it’s a security guard shading me when I go into certain stores, or someone clutching their purse a little tighter when they see me on the elevator. But still, I try to see people as individuals regardless of race, color, religion, etc. I just wish more people in the majority population would try to do the same.
Gayle,
It cuts both ways. A police officer whom I know very well once told me that he especially polite and courteous when he pulls over a black driver, and that he is far more likely to let that driver off with a warning where he wouldn’t do so if the driver was white. His reasoning was that he has been falsely accused of racism so many times and that he wants to reduce the number of false accusations against him.
General comments coming:
I just shake my head and wonder how I see positives and negatives while others seem to see just the negative or just want to focus on that, but not both.
In context, there was nothing wrong with what Morgan Freeman said. Those in my circle of the universe who heard the complete comment, in context, agreed with his comment. Most said that when Black history is accurately engrained in American history, then Black History Month, which is just designation, can “go away”. Wasn’t that the intention Dr. Carter G. Woodson creating Black History Week in the first place? Why does that bit of history get removed from the picture? Pun intended.
OK, now a specific comment:
Rarely, if ever, do you hear black people expressing disgust for out-of-control crime rates or lecturing other blacks about their responsibility to stay out of the criminal justice system
Strange, I hear it on an not infrequent basis. My circle of travel includes poor to well off and I hear it across the boundaries.
But, hey, I’m “liberal” and thus can be discounted.
Honestly, between the negativity coming out of public Black liberals and the comments coming out of public Black conservatives, it’s a wonder more Blacks don’t blow their brains out (drinking, drugging, or literally) in dispair.
Merry Christmas.
I suppose this article means you are not white. Laugh at me if you wish, but I never had a clue before this article. I have read a number of your posts due to links from other blogs. It was your comments and NOT your skin that made them noteworthy.
I guess that is why I am posting for the first time: It doesn’t matter what flavor the icecream is. Truth is Truth.
BTW …. This article should be posted wide and far. I spent over 20 years in the Navy (60’s, 70’s, and 80’s). Amazingly, race for the most part was not an issue of black or white… or any other color for that matter. My ship mates were shipmates because of their uniform and service and NOT because of their parents.
I support both Affirmative Action and Black History Month. I support diversity programs and multiculturalism.
Why do I support these things? Because I believe they are neccessary in an America that is only one generation removed from separate fountains. I believe they are neccessary in an American where according to multiple academic studies (Devah Pager, Princeton U.) a white ex-felon has better odds of landing the same job as an African American with no criminal record. I believe they are neccessary because racial profiling, redlining, blockbusting, and discrimination in the justice system still exists.
If the answer those here can provide to these issues is “get over it”, well…
I’ll stick to my opinions, with all due respect to Morgan Freeman.
–Cobra
[Harry Potter elsewhere...]How about if I want to agree with your anti-Fed decision on Intelligent Design? (No comments there?)
I hate this State Secular Humanist “religion”. And the secualr meaning of life.
Consume mass quantites.
MLK had a dream — judge folk based on character.
The one-and-only same “standard” for all — with some obtaining higher performance.
No discussion of ID in this thread. I may open commenting in the morning. – Admin
You know, come to think of it, I do hate black people.
And white people. And yellow and brown people. When they behave as victims, cowards, cretins or bullies.
There’s no shortage of people that barely warrant the label human being.
As for LaShawn caring more about blacks than others, that’s understandable. I care more about the folks I grew up with and around than ones I didn’t. For all of its flaws, NJ will always be my home, as an example.
/scotch
La Shawn, I am a self-proclaimed “evangelical” criminal defense attorney. I share the gospel message with my clients, then vigorously defend them in courts of justice. I cannot personally relate to the plight of black people (I am glaringly white), but I do see a few things in my day-to-day law practice that disturbs me greatly. First, as a percentage, blacks are most predominant (and I live in Wichita, Kansas), yet, also as a percentage, the number of Christian moms in the black community is huge. To be more precise, the number who claim to be Christians is huge. Why then are so many of my black clients fatherless? Or, to put it more accurately, the children of single moms who claim to be Christians yet make very poor decisions, from sleeping with multiple partners outside of marriage to putting their own children in harms way by welcoming very bad men into their bedrooms. It is puzzling.
First, moms and dads in the black community (all communities, for that matter) must marry. Second, the message that faith is more than words needs to be shouted from the rooftops. If you believe in God’s teaching, live them. Third, as you so eloquently put it in your article, black people must get educated, but in more ways than just “schooling.” It’s time for the black community to step up and act responsibly, and stop criticizing good men like Bill Cosby and Morgan Freeman who speak the words that must be spoken.
For example, as we all know, black crime statistics are outrageous, especially considering our proportion of the population. Rarely, if ever, do you hear black people expressing disgust for out-of-control crime rates or lecturing other blacks about their responsibility to stay out of the criminal justice system.
I wonder if the high crime stats have something in common with the attitudes that some blacks have toward educational effort and success. I’ve read stories were some black students tease other successful black students, chiding them for acting “white”. Is it possible that some portion of blacks look at the law the same way? That the law is the “white man’s” law and by obeying it they are “acting white”? It seems likely to me that the past lionization of some groups like the Black Panthers and others has had an effect here as well.The “victim” mentality likely is a factor here as well. If a black person believes all whites are racists, then he will believe his situation is hopeless. This attitude makes it a lot easier to hurt others, if you think everyone is out to hurt you.
Cobra, I’ve read Devah Pager’s study and unable to reach her (and assuming you’ve also read it), I’m a bit concerned with the lack of controls on the audit groups – especially since each was of a singular race. I’m also scouring the document to see if there weren’t other control tests run on the audit groups to make sure issues such as language, personality and/or physical appearance weren’t a factor. I’d also want to know how many of the employers were shite and had criminal records themselves?
Point is, you can cherry pick what you want – but there is nothing this middle-aged white-boy can do to help so long as blacks continue to throw oreo cookies at other blacks rather than face issues within their own communities.
#20 Bo: “With affirmative action, though, the person is led in, shown to the buffet, someone helps his plate, then when he sits down his food is chewed, swallowed, and digested “for him.†Meanwhile, he’s still hungry.”
Dang, Bo, that’s the best description of the problem I’ve ever read. Victims, err, I mean recipients of AA are still hungry – and they don’t even know what they hunger for.
Point is, you can cherry pick what you want – but there is nothing this middle-aged white-boy can do to help so long as blacks continue to throw oreo cookies at other blacks rather than face issues within their own communities. – Mean Dean
Au contraire, mon frere. There is plenty you can do. The first thing would be to stop using a false dichotomy as an excuse. The study merely documents what everyone already knows – that discrimination in hiring exists in America today. Living in denial won’t make it go away.
Check out a funny site dedicated to the absurdity and satire nature of saying “It’s All George Bush’s Fault!”
http://www.iagbf.com
http://www.itsallgeorgebushsfault.com
I hope that you don’t think this is spam. I really do think that you’d appreciate a site like this since we share the same idealogy. Hopefully you like it enough to blogroll
Regards,
Notta Libb
Mean Dean writes:
>>>”Cobra, I’ve read Devah Pager’s study and unable to reach her (and assuming you’ve also read it), I’m a bit concerned with the lack of controls on the audit groups – especially since each was of a singular race.”
Why do you find it so suprising? Are you in denial of American history in regards to African Americans? Are you in denial of statistics on housing discrimination, loan discrimination and hiring discrimination? There are volumes on any of these topics. That’s why I don’t have to “throw oreo cookies” at anybody.
I throw facts.
I will never bow down, or apologize to ANYBODY for being black.
–Cobra
Ms. Barber,
I have this saying “treat people like humans and not like people”. Take it anyway you want. I have read you comments for several months now and have compared them to other comments from other sites. I enjoy reading your opinions. While they differ from many of mine I respect your right to state them.
Sometimes I think i’m a conservative Republican (which i’ll never be) because I agree with many of the opinions you and my friend/fraternity brother Joseph Phillips (don’t tell him that) express.
Thanks.
La Shawn – you are the fela Kuti of Black America. Keep up the work.
I no longer want to hear complaints anymore.
It is time that Blacks accept whites the way they are – Bigots or Angels whatever! and give themselves what the whites do not want to give them. Whenever they lack the slightest ability to give themselves those same things, please hit them hard. Whites did not give them BET or Ebony.
No race will give black people the peace and love, pride and prosperity they want than blacks themselves. I am black and I am doing for myself in my corner.
Perfect example of why affirmative action is still necessary: Randall Pinkett (a very sucessful black man. With degrees and credentials coming out of his hiney and more intelligent than the man hiring him, he’s still asked to do what NO other reality show contestant has EVER been asked to do…share his prize (job) with a white woman who was proven on national television (with cameras running) to be less qualified. Of course, now he’s a villian because he wouldn’t give Becky a chance. Wake up! I applaud straight talking to Black people, but you are too smart not to see the irony in that. What do you think happens in boardrooms across the country where there are no cameras?
Yes Indeed hubby. I agree with you.
Any excuse anywhere is a threat to black people success.
Blacks need to take their destiny into their hands. If Both Johnsons made it, it is because they have accepted that whites are people who are culturally and legally brought up in bigotry. Whatelse can they expect so they tried to built their success defence system to be strong and move on with it. I do not care much about racist slurs but care much about how black kids go to school and keep their neighbourhood out of crimes.
Cobra & Bleacher Dave … you throw jingles and you didn’t answer the questions about the reliability of the study.
Which I for one find suspect – as my own hiring practices, and the hiring practices of my own family – and the hiring practices of my last 5 employers stand contrary to it.
Or is it that you prefer to throw cookies from the comfortable walls of academe as to those of us earning our daily bread?
I’ve done my part … there’s nothing else I can do so long as the credit card numbers of public figures like Michael Steele are stolen by political opponents within his own racial community.
Annette Comment 63:
You completely missed the point of why many people are upset about Randell’s response on The Apprentice. Randell was hands down the best choice given his qualifications and track record during the interview/show’s season. I would have picked Randell if I were in Trump’s shoes regardless of his color. I don’t believe for one second that affirmative action played a part in Trump’s decision. It certainly didn’t play a part in Randell’s teammates choosing to exempt him from firing after winning tasks as the project manager. However, Randell threw a huge covering of doubt over his own credibility with his response to Trump’s question in the closing minutes. Trump did not ask Randell if he wanted to share the title. Trump had already chosen “The Apprenticeâ€. Trump asked Randell if he should hire Rebecca. I perceive Trump’s question to Randell as an honor and a rare privilege. Randell let me down relative to the image he built for himself during the previous episodes. Randell had shown way less selfishness in general and way more respect for Rebecca in the closing episodes than he displayed in his response to Trump’s question. I never once heard Randell say that he felt he was entitled to anything because of his color, not even in his response to Trump’s final question. How would affirmative action have helped anyone in this situation? If anything the recent season of The Apprentice is a perfect example of why we do not need affirmative action. Randell’s race had absolutely nothing to do with his qualification relative to the other players in this recent season. I might go as far as to say that Randell is the most qualified Apprentice yet if it were not for his response to Trump in the closing moments of the season. Randell could have nailed my view of him as “the best yet” if he simply said, “Mr. Trump, I think you should definitely consider hiring Rebecca, but tonight is my night.â€
Makes sense,
“We are never to allow whites to forget our historical grievances, whether an individual white person was guilty of discrimination or not. Most whites seem intimidated by blacks who do this.”
I have found, as a white person, that not being intimidated or not backing down is very often in itself considered racist. In some circles, reasoned, principled debate isn’t allowed unless it includes bowing to the altar of “diversity” or “political correctness”.
It seems as if, in regards to the following three conditions: 1)I am white 2)I have nothing but goodwill for all of God’s children regardless of race and 3) I don’t believe affirmative action is in the best interest of historically oppressed minorities, I am not allowed to hold all three. “Diversity” suggests at most two out of the above three held simultaneously is the maximum.
First time reading you.
Good writing… sensible opinions
I think I’ll come back.
(Got RSS?)
Thanks. Check the bottom right sidebar for RSS feed buttons. – Admin
Hi LaShawn
Greetings and Merry Christmas to y’all. I am an occasional reader of your blog and an admirer as well but I must take you to task for a comment you made on your blog. Below:
I hate “affirmative action†because it’s immoral, unconstitutional, embarrassingly unfair, and undignified.
While generally speaking there are circumstances under which you are right it is only in the ideal situation of a meritocracy that this would apply.
In principle I’m against affirmative action but as a somewhat benefactor I “can’t bite the hand that fed me”
Unbeknown to me I got my first job in corporate America through such a program and I was able to leverage such a start to a somewhat successful carreer. When I got on that job what I saw confounded me. Throughout that corporation there were layers of “managers” who simply pushed papers (95% white) who were unskilled and unmotivated. They mostly got their jobs through patronage or networking.
I moved on to many other jobs and everywhere I go the model is similar. Hundreds of white managers, lazy and unmotivated getting their job through patronage etc.
So if thats their tool for gaining employment whats wrong with us using AA? My only regret is that more Blacks are not college educated so that they can take advantage of what AA offers at the entry-level management level.
To conclude, In theory I object to most of AA but exceptions must be made to deal with reality. It may not be a purist stance but ever so often we all need to be pragmatic.
Mr kind Regards
Eric
‘I will never bow down, or apologize to ANYBODY for being black.’
Is anybody asking you to?
I emailed the writer of the article and asked why it was so biased to one side. He said that La Shawn’s comments were cut for space. Ok. So four quotes on one side and no quotes for the other side. Wouldn’t it be better to cut one from one side to give at least one point of view from the other side? I’m a non fiction writer so whether or not I agree with the article… I believe that the writer has a duty to attempt to write in a balanced manner.
If all you have is a skin, that is what you sell, kind like if all a woman has is a vagina…
The black skins I have known had people inside.
La Shawn,
Thanks again for venting. I am with you, as always, 99% of the time. The one percent is one I had disagreements with an ex girlfriend about.
It is not right to care more about black people than about others. I understand the inclination, but I cannot defend it. I even feel that way myself sometimes, but if asked whether or not it is appropriate, I must say that it is not.
Beyond that, you are DEAD ON!
I’ve always been troubled by the implications of my black friends that it is hard to be black in our society. Perhaps it is. I don’t know, I’ve never been black. But they haven’t experienced being white either. Sometimes life gets scary and tough for all of us. Nobody said the game was fair.
My white migrant-worker ancestors were tortured in Russia, and forced to give up their religion, and boys dressed like girls to escape conscription. Upon escape, they were deceived into believing the Oklahoma lands they settled were fertile, but instead were dusty and desolate. They learned to grow and pick cotton, and lived in dirt houses. I’m so proud to call them my people. I could never claim that kind of fortitude. And I don’t want restitution for what they went through, that would negate the victory of their survival. They kept moving forward, despite difficulties.
I guess what I am saying is that life is a challenging game no matter what your origins. Play it with skill and optimism. It gets people nowhere to always look back wards to see if the “opponent” cheated you.
If you can’t even bother to find out whether I’m a woman or a man (check ABOUT, genius) before you pontificate, your comment has no place on LBC. – Admin
Thanks for the unsolicited advice, Tony. Everything you wrote only adds to my anti-skin color preferences stance. Research that. – Admin
Bill Cosby and LaShawn, voices in the wind. The truth shall set you free, God bless you LaShawn. P.S.
They can post on any forum, including yours, and be heard.
Thanks for commenting, Rancher, but this blog is a forum for me, not for haters, dissenters, or even those who agree with me. Whenever folks complain about the lack of “free expression” on this blog, I direct them to Blogger.com. On their own blog, they can shout it from the rooftops.
– Admin
Thank you, La Shawn
A couple of years ago, my brother (conservative, white, like me) found himself looking for a job for the first time at age 52. He was downsized out the door by the European holding company that was cannibalizing their American assets to improve their own hemorrhaging bottom line.
He found himself being interviewed by a much younger black personnel manager at the company where he most wanted to find a position. Many young personnel managers don’t see value in older electronic engineers. This man did and my brother got the job.
My brother didn’t mention to the personnel manager that his children were adopted blacks . . . It wasn’t relevant.
You have done a wonderful job–personal responsibility is the way to achieve. If walter williams, larry Elder and Thomas Sowell were the most listened to and quoted Leaders, instead of the race baiters, Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton–I feel we would all be better Off. bill
Classy. Thanks for stopping by, now move along. – Admin
La Shawn,
I am a first time reader and will continue to read in the future. I DID read the ABOUT section and found what I consider to be a quite inspirational biography. Thanks.
PS linked over from Michele Malkin’s site.
La Shawn, You wrote such a good and honest discussion in this article. It’s these kinds of discussions that are going to bring people of all races closer together. Merry Christmas
We humans can be good, bad, smart, dumb, and the gamut inbetween, but the skin color coding has no relation to what’s inside. Thinking otherwise is just dumb.
Thoughtful, substantive, and clear post. I have to add that affirmative action, far from removing barriers to racial equality, erects new ones of its own. Treating races differently creates more mistrust, perpetuates races as viewing each other as different and adversarial, and refuels the fire of racism for the weevil-brained among whites.
La Shawn,
I’m a 44 y/o wasppp (presby pastor). I plan to print your article and use it as the focus of a discussion with our youth on the growing problem of thoughtlessness. Of course you know I do not mean a comment or action which is perceived as an insult, but the growing problem within our culture where people no longer think for themselves. There seems to be an inability to gather evidence, weigh it, and come to a logical conclusion. In a democracy, this is a very dangerous development. I wonder sometimes if this is not the planned outcome of public education. At the same time, I am encouraged by reading your blog. You seem to be able to see through the blather, and for that I am truly grateful.
Jack Tanner writes:
>>>”Is anybody asking you to?”
Yes. Everytime conservatives ask me to accept a system that discriminates against African Americans like me.
–Cobra
Ms. La Barber as always, like McWhorter, Steele, Sowell, and Petersen hits the nail on the head. While I believe that many years ago, there is no doubt that outright racism and bigotry was the reason for black’s inability to go for the gold, that is not now the case. Blacks as well as a lot of Mexicans thrive on the excuse that whitey is keeping me down. The playing field for blacks is well above that of any other race in this country with the exception of Mexicans. I live in California and California Universities fall all over themselves to meet quotas that most affect Blacks and Mexicans. If anything the quotas in the California University system affect ethnic groups like the Chinese and Japanese more than another other group. Asians have higher SAT scores on the average, yet blacks and Mexicans with lower scores are readily accepted over the Asian groups.
The economically most successful ethnic groups in the United States are not white, but Asian, West Indies, Indians (from India), Middle Eastern ethnic groups such as Saudis, Iranians, Jews, etc. They all are in a higher income bracket on the average compared to whites. If rascism and bigotry truly existed in this country then how does one explain away the fact that whites are not on the top of the economic scale.
But the question I really have for anyone is this:
Muslims in this country are recruiting blacks to come on board their religion of peace train faster than any other ethnic group. We have people like Mumia, Farrahkan, Muhhammed Ali, etc who have all climbed aboard the peace train in what they believe is a retaliation to whitey. Muslims play on black’s notion’s that whitey enslaved me and puts me down. What I find ironic is that Muslims were about 50% responsible for fueuling the TransAltantic Slave trade – Slaves breed in Western Africa were marched to the ports in the Sudan were they were traded for rum, tobacco and cotton. The Muslims were the ones who put Farrahkan’s ancestors on the boats that went to not only the US, but Cuba and South America. On top of that the Muslims were responsible for the death of over 128 African Slaves in their lands during the height of the Africa Slave Trade. The majority of these Africans who died were young girls and women sold as sex slaves throughout the middle east.
So why do blacks so hate America, but join the ranks of a Religion that did more damage (and is still doing damage today) to their ancestors and country than the US ever did.
Cowgirl
La shawn, your article is great and I repect your opinion in regard to AA but what you should know is that if there had not been communism no white with his right mind would have given blacks AA program. AA must have been put there for blacks to deter them from looking at communism after the passing of civil rights bill since they were the disadvantaged people at that time. It is not because America loves them. Now communism is over, from every corner, there is the song – AA must be killed. AA for blacks in America is a luck in their badluck of being in America. For white government, you did not really deserve that but anyway they got to do what they got to do to save their capitalist nation.
Cobra writes: “Everytime conservatives ask me to accept a system that discriminates against African Americans like me.”
What “system” is that, Cobra? The American one that recognizes the worth of the individual and the value of hard work? The one that offers limitless opportunity to the self-reliant and has fostered the creation of over 800,000 black-owned businesses?
Although I disagree with a lot of what you say, I can’t fathom you hating Us. When I read your words, I just don’t get that from you. Funny how people think you hate them when you criticize them for wrong or errant behavior. Anyway….. keep doing what your doing because it gives people a place to exchange ideas, even if they don’t see eye to eye.
What Freeman said, is accurate, with the exception of the Mississippi Flag ? We are not to talk about race or a difference in color and this will all go away then in the next breath he brings up a huge divisive agenda especially in the South.
Now which flag is that, the Confederate Battle flag, the Stainless Banner, the Bonnie Blue flag, flown during the ‘war of Northern aggression’ which of these is offensive to anyone living today in 2005 ?
If not for a few bigots, better known as Nazi’s, who have corrupted the flag and what it stood for and then stood it side by side with the hooked cross of the Nazi’s
If this is the case then their are a whole bunch of Army/Air Force Forts/Bases in the South that ought to be re-named, for example, Barksdale, Hood, Benning, Bragg, Lee. Polk; I mean if there is going to be consistency then these names should be as reviled as the confederate Battle flag.
Then there are all those confederate cemeteries, with confederate Battle flags all over the place. That honor the dead of the ‘Lost cause’, and of course UDC, and the SoCV.
Where do we draw the line and where is that fine line of free speech.
It’s OK to call the President of the United States a liar, and mock him with likenesses of Hitler, but to fly a Confederate Flag, now that is offensive.
The ACLU defended the Nazi’s constitutional right to march through a predominately Jewish neighborhood, Skokie, of whom, were mostly Holocaust survivors but not a word about the ‘Stars and Bars’ still embossed on a state flag, ‘OH that is offensive.’
I agree with Freeman to a limited point, but other people have the same rights as he does.
By the way all these people who call for the dragging down the old Confederate flag seem to forget that 625,000 Americans died in that war, just so it could be raised. Because that too is free speech.
La Shawn, I was an executive in a small corporation when the affirmative action regulations were first published. Upon examination we had to acknowledge that our employment policies were discriminatory although not intentionally so. We posted openings on our bulletin boards and chose the best candidate. Our – mostly white – employees then took those notices home to their friends and family, and they became the candidates. I think you would call that networking. In response we advertised all future openings in the paper, and yes, we probably gave women and minorities a leg up for a while. I have long since retired, and can’t speak for present practice, but in my opinion affirmative action was beneficial for a time.
So why do blacks so hate America, but join the ranks of a Religion that did more damage (and is still doing damage today) to their ancestors and country than the US ever did.
The supposition is wrong.
If Blacks hated America as you so assume, Blacks wouldn’t “disproportionately” join the armed services.
If Blacks hated America, those who did join the service and/or those who have clearances, would have a higer rate of espionage than can account for the general population of those who hold clearances.
The NOI Muslims make up 0.1%, that’s 1/10th of 1% of Black Americans. Black Americans, overwhelmingly, are Christian. The next largest group of Black Muslims are no more than 1% of the Black population.
So, you just created a boogy man of about 1.1% of the Black population.
So tell me why your comments should not be considered race baiting.
I will bookmark this site for further reading. I like reading people with sense. I do, however, dislike reading about race relations, as a primary factor. Frankly, I’m sick and tired of hearing how a person’s choice isn’t his fault. I don’t care who says it. When someone makes a choice, they set into motion forces that result in consequences. If those consequences are uniformly unpalatable, wouldn’t you think next time a different choice would be made?
Apparently I am the sole holder of this outlook. Oh, wait, I believe Dr. Martin L. King,Jr. said something about “content of character”? Which doesn’t exactly address the issue of insanity, which is manifested in continuing to do the same thing, always expecting this time will have a different result. The argument I make is that the insanity of the foregoing is faked, because it works to keep a support system for the few that profit from it. Had they the “character” of which Dr. King spoke, there would be none of this.
Color or lack of same should not be an issue amongst free men. I refuse to let it be a factor in my life. I will resist abuse from ANY quarter, as should we all. The way our society currently plays the color game is abuse of everybody. That really is all I want to say about that.
I will read you and hope that you are more than a one trick pony. I can see you exercise good sense and have a well developed sense or personal responsibility. I just hope your interests include other issues that are of import to free men. Free men of any color, stripe, station, or culture have much more in common and in dispute than just color.
I do admire the rationality you have brought to this topic and hope to see more on many topics.
Everybody’s a critic! It would’ve been more fruitful, polite, and less presumptuous of you to have read a few posts in the archives and under different categories before posting this comment. But everybody’s overly eager to get in his 2 cents. Having said that, I do hope you return. – Admin
@92
Well hell, looking at it that way, THANK GOD FOR AA! BWUAHAHAHAA
Firstly we are all Americans, citizens of the United States of American, be us black, white, yellow, brown, purple or any other shade of skin color. Race should never matter. Cultures should be preserved if desired but not in a way that doesn’t make the American culture (language and all) our prime culture. Primarily important is that we all are servants of God and Jesus Christ and our lives really belong to Him and as such we are all brothers and sisters. Whether we acknowledge this or not this is where equality starts and ends. With that I will close by wishing you sweet LaShawn and everybody else a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Dark Star:
Please get my comments straight – It has nothing to do with race baiting – it is factual.
Black Americans are the fast growing segment of the total population jumping on the Muslim bandwagon here in the US. Most of the recruiting is done in US Prison where Blacks make up a disportionately amount of the prison population. This is due to not race baiting, but due to the fact that 50% of the violent crime in the US is committed by black makes between the ages of 18-24 – with over 90% of the victims also being black. Blacks make up only 12% of the total population of the United States.
By the way, please don’t start on the poverty band wagon. My father spent his childhood between orphanages and the labor camps along Route 66 during the depression. He never committed a crime in his life. Poverty doesn’t causes crime, moral bankruptcy does.
Farrakan, Ali, Mumia are Black Muslims who make racists statements about America and whitey keeping them down and enslaving them. Yet they belong to a Religion that has done more damage in the past and today to the African nations and Their African ancestors than another other nation, country or group of people that exists today or ever existed. These are all facts and have nothing to do with race baiting.
Obviously you run along the same lines at Jackson, Sharpton and the rest. When someone presents facts that you don’t like call them a racists. Great. You have no credibility, just the ability to call people names.
Cowgirl.
R and I had a conversation a few years ago.
He had gone into a convenience store to pay for his gas. The white guy behind the counter was rude and rotten. As R was leaving, he passed a black man on his way in to pay for gas.
As R drove home, he wondered if the black man, not knowing previously that the white man behind the counter had been extremely, unsolicitedly rude to R, would presume that the man was racist, if he acted in the same manner.
I have absolutely no idea what it’s like to be discriminated against simply because my skin is a different color. I will say that living in Utah and not being of the predominate religion, I have had a very small taste of prejudice.
I also think it takes greater strength to swim upstream, against the current than to float along.
Good for you La Shawn for being a woman of conviction and not a mere animal led by a ring in the nose.
Bravo! Bravo!
The goal of “affirmative action” *should* have been, as you say, to increase the opportunities for minorities to grab the rungs of the ladder of success, at which point they can begin the climb themselves.
After all, one does not end discrimination by merely changing the target and enshrining the result in policy.
Some guy had a dream once; something about being judged by the content of one’s character, not the color of one’s skin. Too optimistic, I guess….
Keep up the great work! Love it!
Thank you for your very logically argued thesis that American-Africans–as opposed to true African-Americans, namely newly immigrated people from the dark continent, who revere the immense opportunities offered by this greatest nation on Earth and therefore do not squander them–need to quit the race-bating gaming and focus on what every person, regardless of skin color, needs to do to succeed here or anywhere: study, learn, discipline the body with exercises, postpone immediate gratification of the senses, live within one’s means, grow in faith in an Almighty Deity, practice hope and charity, save for the future, and save sex for a lasting marriage in which the children can have a fighting chance for a positive life themselves.
You know, if you repeat a lie enough times, people may start believing it’s true.
By FBI Statistics, the most prevalent violent crime in America is aggravated assault.
>>>”For the offense of aggravated assault, whites accounted for 64.5 percent of the total number of arrestees for this crime category. Black arrestees accounted for 33.1 percent of the total, and 2.4 percent were in the category of other races. Further analysis of the data showed that juvenile arrestees for aggravated assault were most often white (58.5 percent); black juveniles accounted for 39.2 percent; and 2.3 percent were of other races.”
Far more violent white folks than blacks!
So you see, Cowgirl, maybe you can get away with those kinds of statements on Limbaugh’s messageboard, or Fox News Online. I deal in facts, and I will challenge you everytime.
As far as the “Muslim bandwagon” goes, think about it. Your in the midst of a blog full of commenters fired up to attack, malign, discredit and besmirch African Americans at every turn, to the point where Randall Pinkett, a married, ambitious, Rhodes Scholar graduate from M.I.T. can’t even escape the bullwhip of condemnation from this crowd.
You have commenters who declare that any criticism of America is “hatred.” You have commenters that actually BELIEVE that America is some sort of altruistic meritocracy and all you have to do is work hard.
You can keep your head in the sand all you like. I will stand up and shout for what’s right and just in this land.
–Cobra
# 97 DS
I have to agree, I had the same gut read. Let the apocalypse begin
There are blacks that hate America, but they are not alone. Hate is rarely in short supply.
Anyway, there is an element in the black population that is a prime target for Islamic conversion, by leveraging their anger at society. Kinda like the element that joins the neonazi groups. Or mime troups.
As for AA and diversity, I think that as a tie-breaker, they still have value. That is, when you have multiple candidates of equal skill/experience, I see nothing wrong with picking the person that brings something different to the company/team, by virtue of background/culture. This would of course vary from situation to situation.
But, I am also coming from the IT sector, where I am currently the token white citizen in the dept.
I landed on your article via a link from Michelle Malkin’s Web site. Your thought process and writing is most informative, interesting and, yes, educational. I intend to bookmark your site for further reads. Thank you. (No need to post, just wanted you to know that I appreciated your work.)
b
Bravo, La Shawn. I’m kind of doing the same towards militant deaf people who constantly bemoan that “hearies” (a futile attempt at a derogatory word towards hearing people) have oppressed them forever and they, too, don’t let “hearies” forget that. Oh, I have a hearing loss, too.
@91
Stop talking about Slave trade which only whites gave account of. For whites, Africans traded their people and they bought them. Even Arabs bought them too. All these are pure lies. I wonder what the Africans who witnessed all these must be saying in their grave today. Whites wrote the book the way it suits them so not to take the blame alone.
Who could say if whites were not abducting those slaves in thousands and selling them to Arabs and their European and American friends. At the time of slave trade, whites have already sophisticated weapons to conquer Africa and shoot any soul that could stop them from abducting those slaves.
Just for your info, whites never considered Africans human from the beginning they met. There was even one African woman, the French killed her and brought her to their museum to show the French public because they have never seen such creature before looking exactly like human creature. I forgot the name of the woman but make investigation and you will see what I am saying.
I will never buy your police story.
As for Asians doing better than blacks, yes they do because whites let them do. Go back to your history book and read about east African colonization during the british empire. British imported indians in their colonies and use them to make Africans work. They have already preference for these people and support them from the beginning. Something Africans never had from whites. Even when Africans do better, whites are so much astonished. It is like seeing a dog checking hands for them. There has never been any support from whites to Africans. It is all sad stories and it is the reason why I will never sit for white to decide for me. It is time blacks decide for themselves and that is why I like what La Shawn is doing.
As for blacks going to Islam, Christianity never offered them the peace that Islam does. Christianity slaved them, segregated them and blessed all slave owners and even the hardcore racist in America are fundamentalist christians.
For me the future is Islam and I am happy they find solace in it. Whites offer nothing and even their religion.
The African woman was dubbed “Hottentot Venus,” and they didn’t kill her, although they did treat her like an animal, studying her anatomy and exhibiting her like a side show. Another correction: the most “hardcore racists” in American come in all shapes, sizes, skin colors, races and religious affiliations. – Admin
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