[laura]

Originally posted by LoboDelFuego
It doesnt matter to my argument, my point is that racism only exists in the minds of certain individuals (yourself, and others), and does not exist on a massive conspiratorial society-wide level.

as long as it exists in people minds and people are judged because of their race their is a problem. you really have no point. racism is alive, it is the reason that the majority of poor people are portrayed as minorities. it is the reason that welfare has a bad name. it is the reason that the prisons are filled with minorities. so if the certain individuals who are racsist have any kind of power ( and they do) then it does matter. it is a structural problem . it is an issue used to keep the majority of the population divided so that we dont have an uprising against the less than 1% who control the majority of the wealth in this country.

 

[BurlyShirley]

I think the bake sale clearly illustrated a very real problem.

Alienating people because of race is wrong (even if they are white). How where they being a-holes by pointing out that white people (in this instance) are getting the shaft?

To agree with affirmative action and disagree with the bake sale may be cause for a psych eval.

LoboDelFuego, you hit the nail on the head yet again; and ive been saying the same for a while. People simply need to get past it all and concentrate on working for a better life instead of hating on others and being offended by morons.

Laura, certain economic situations may be a result of past racism, but i cant see how you think that racism working in the opposite direction is OK if you're so AGAINST racism. If you're just anti-everything powerful, say so...but realize racism is a two way street. To help one or many races at the expense of another is a very racist thing to do; the bake sale clearly pointed this out.

 

[laura]

Originally posted by BurlySurly
Laura, certain economic situations may be a result of past racism, but i cant see how you think that racism working in the opposite direction is OK if you're so AGAINST racism. If you're just anti-everything powerful, say so...but realize racism is a two way street. To help one or many races at the expense of another is a very racist thing to do; the bake sale clearly pointed this out.

i never said that. the only thing i said was that racism is still alive and hurting people today. if you will read the whole thread, lobo stated that he doesnt believe that racism in a problem in anything today. i was arguing that it is a major problem. however i do not, nor have i ever believed in affirmative action. i think it drives us to the seperate but equal state and i dont think thats the way to go. and it is reverse racism, and since i am totally against any form of racism, then i obviously would be against that. but until now, i dont think i ever even voiced my opinions about affirmative action.

 

[DaKahuna]

There are studies (which I hope nobody makes me go find) that found that a good portion of the racial separation that is continuing to happen is caused by the choice to self-separate by the minorities.

I'm not trying to deny that racism still exists! I heard a very unfortunate story about the slew of negative reactions to the first black NASCAR driver. Reactions like "We aren't going to have any sports left 'they' aren't in." Truly unfortunate.
Racism is despicable, period. :angry:

However, I believe that the gap is growing because we choose to pursue our ethnic separation instead of coming together as AMERICANS. If we found more ways to help people to have a shared identity, we would grow closer together. Simple things like saying the pledge of allegiance in school have been lost. I know that seems like a trivial thing, but it is a small part of having a shared identity. When we were attacked on 9/11, I really doubt that anyone made any choices about who to help or not help based on race, we were all AMERICANS that day!!! Borders, language, and culture are what define a nation. I want to share that with ALL Americans, and I want them ALL to become Americans!

I also think that the destruction of the traditional family is a huge factor in the socio-economic situation of the minority communities. A SoCal based BLACK CONSERVATIVE (yes I use black, not the pc "Afro- American". There are really no Africans left in this country, just black Americans - I love everybody, but dislike hyphenated Americans!) radio talk show host, Larry Elder, grew up in south central L.A. and has talked extensively about the percentage of minority babies born to single mothers and the correspondingly high drug use rate and crime rate. Those figures are way, way above the average and are a result of personal choices, not racism or any lack of personal potential. Larry Elder coined the term "Victocrat" for people that blame all their ills on the fact that they are a victim of one thing or another. He calls these people to personal responsiblity, and that's not racism. It's a shame that I even have to identify Larry Elder as black to try to gain merit for his opinions, but that is the reality.

Everyone has probably heard this before, but you know we've come a long way when the top golfer and female tennis star are black and the top hip-hop artist is (still?) white.
Though personally I think it's a shame that the pro-drug, pro-gang, pro-female-abuse, pro-crime hip-hop scene is as huge as it is I don't find anything uplifting or uniting about it. Obviously there are a few exceptions to that in the hip-hop world.
I just believe that there are way too many people that honestly don't want to truly become American. They want to hide in their ethnic communities and continue speaking their native language (be it spanish or ebonics) and then expect us to cater to them. If all of the racism that most people believe is out there was actually true, why do the oriental races not seem to have the same difficulties with opportunity or achievement? Why don't they have the same levels of drug abuse and crime as other minorities? Because they work harder than most people, including most "whites". You also don't see them complaining and lobbying for increased ratios of tv stars, athletic stars or coaches, etc. They generally don't play the Victocrat game!
And they succeed!!!

The cookie prices are a fair representation of the concepts that are a reality in many economic areas today. I can't believe that some loser earlier suggested that those students should be beat down! That's unfortunately the predominant response to these issues, instead of challenging people to debate/backup their beliefs - just beat them down (because you can't debate them )

What would a Chinese person pay for a cookie?
If he didn't like the price, he'd go open his own cookie stand, never complain about it, enjoy the profits, and be thankful that he wasn't back in China (or Africa, or Mexico!).

I apologize that all my recent posts are book length, but I truly LOVE this country and hate seeing such important issues debated so shallowly.