Civil Rights Movement: Legacy

but are we talking about equal economic opportunities and material gain? those things ultimately arent really important, are they? at least i thought they werent the priority from the philosophical standpoint.

so true you speak, prothero-but what about the question of dignity and self respect? those things are harder to come by. for instance, in india i know the importance put on education-success and material gain, as well as height and white skin-all so very desirable in this part of the world. but i wonder why indian people dont see themselves as beautiful? and how can that be overcome? even when i tell them how americans spend gobs of money on tanning salons, they still want to be 'fair'.

how can an entire race or nation get beyond their own societally conceived notion of inferiority? if they cant do it on a national, racial or ethnic scale, how will they ever get to the individual issue? that is why the 'black is beautiful' movement back in the day was founded on what i believe is a good premise. i dont know how much good it did, maybe it only achieved a superficial change of attitude rather than anything ingrained. how long would it take to change that kind of thinking?

If I had the slightest idea of what exampels you are providing, then I could give some answers.

Unfortunaly I don't know anything of given examples.

I guess that leaves you with making a stark choice. Learn about them, or take this opportunity to be silent.

KA please stop being an arrogant prick.

Thanks.

These of course are much more difficult and subtle problems. It is one thing for the government to pass a law and declare discrimination illegal, it is quite another to change people's minds; both the mindset of being superior and the mindset of being inferior. I believe the India caste system is outlawed but of course in practice is still exists in many subtle and not so subtle ways. The same of course is true for racism in American, although I think the majority of Americans are not racist in modern times. We all still feel safer and more comfortable with people who look, think, talk and act like ourselves. There probably is even a genetic and a survival aspect to that. Increasingly though the world is getting smaller and cultures are bumping into each other. I think increased interaction and exposure overall tends to decrease discrimination and racism, for we find that the differences between us are minimal compared to the common experience we share as humans.

[QUOTE=salima;159230] but are we talking about equal economic opportunities and material gain? those things ultimately arent really important, are they? at least i thought they werent the priority from the philosophical standpoint. [/QUOTE] I tend to think that material and economic status operates according to the law of diminishing returns. So, for example if you are without shelter, safety, or food, those concerns will be paramount to you. It is hard to move beyond those concerns until they are satisfied. It is hard to be happy, to be productive or contribute to your community if you are homeless, hungry, cold and scared.

[QUOTE=salima;159230] so true you speak, prothero-but what about the question of dignity and self respect? those things are harder to come by. for instance, in india i know the importance put on education-success and material gain, as well as height and white skin-all so very desirable in this part of the world. but i wonder why indian people dont see themselves as beautiful? and how can that be overcome? even when i tell them how americans spend gobs of money on tanning salons, they still want to be 'fair'. [/QUOTE] It of course helps if you see people who look and talk like you being successful in your society. So the increased visibility of successful, say African Americans, will inevitably result in a rise in self esteem and notions of opportunity for that community in American society. One has to acknowledge how recently these changes have come about. 50 years ago African Americans could not vote, eat in segregated restaurants, most professional sports teams were dominated by whites, etc , etc. Today there are numerous successful African Americans in all walks of American life. This will undoubtedly continue and the progress has truly been remarkable. Much remains to be done but reverse discrimination, quotas and lowered standards for racial minorities are not the solution but only contribute to the problem and to the notion that differences between races are more important than differences between individuals (they are not).


[QUOTE=salima;159230] how can an entire race or nation get beyond their own societally conceived notion of inferiority? if they cant do it on a national, racial or ethnic scale, how will they ever get to the individual issue? that is why the 'black is beautiful' movement back in the day was founded on what i believe is a good premise. i dont know how much good it did, maybe it only achieved a superficial change of attitude rather than anything ingrained. how long would it take to change that kind of thinking? [/QUOTE]Black is beautiful and so is white, red, yellow and brown. Diversity is divine. The world is changing. It is becoming a smaller place. We are learning that our differences are insignificant in comparison to our common humanity and the problems that we share in our common human experience. Exposure and interaction breaks down the false barriers of dress, language, customs and religions. We learn the differences between individuals are much greater, more significant, and more relevant than the differences between races. We are all brothers and sisters we are all children of god. It takes time, it takes effort. Self pity and entitlement are barriers to accomplishment. The majority are not racists, not xenophobes. I have both hope and faith that we will learn to work together and go forward into a better future.

You have another choice? (I suppose you think you do).