My Wednesday Rant (holla back black people)

John Brown
Lucretia Cofin Mott
William Lloyd Garrison
Underground Railroad - 'conductors'...the WHITE ones....

(to name but a minimal few)

Nevermind these people....our black ancestors could have completely gotten out from under the heavy thumb of slavery without them...

let me ALSO add an ex supervisor of mine who when out of her way to ensure I had classes that would help me move up the corporate ladder...

can't forget about those white teachers of mine who did everything they could for me (above and beyond & outside the classroom) to ensure I had all the tools necessary to get through school without mishap....

I'm not an 'uncle tom' or an 'aunt tomasina', but I just don't understand why your posts constantly pit white against black. Yes, the world in general needs an overhaul, but I think what we should be doing, as a 'human' race, is trying to get past differences rather than always dredging them up for discussion and rehash that is always about us against them...

Onyxell, sister.....a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Do you not know the difference bewteen the concept of GENERAL RULE vs. ABSOLUTISM? The fact that you can point out people who were not black, that were conscerned with black uplift does not negate the general rule, but it does negate absolutism. The problem is that I never made a statement of absolutism, but that of the general rule. Given that there are and were MILLIONS of people who live or lived as contemporaries of those you mentioned, you have obviously fallen way short of contradicting my assertion about the general rule.

Holl back at ah brutha

Also, SISTAH (I use the term loosely), one cannot be TRULY be concerned about the plight of humanity, without addressing the egregious economic inequality that exists in this world and how it came into being, so that we can implement a cure and solution. No matter what, there will always be conflicting interest that creates the “US” against “THEM” competition, unless equality is the goal of all humanity and not status and gluttony.

Big hug headed your way Ony.

Noah
Here have a drink and unwind, but don't forget to tip the bartender ;-)

Noah, your generalizations are quite often racist.

You start with a wish that is not for equality in rights but the "uplifting" of a group defined by race at the cost of those excluded from your group.

Then you proceed to demonize those excluded from your group and exhibit prejudice against them.

You happened onto one of the least racist enclaves you will find on the net. And you presupposition that everyone here is racist is offensive.

Your generalizations about those who are not black are just as bad as the racist generalizations people posit about blacks.

JL was right to say that if he were a white supremacist (as you accused everyone, white or black, on this board who have interacted with you to be) he would do exactly what you do. Because through your racism you do no race any boon.

yup!

Are you a Liberal? Democrat? Conservative? Independent? Republican?

Those matter more to me than your race. Here, I would never know your race. I wouldn't care about your race. In fact, I don't care about your race, age, religion or your mom. I do care about how you present an arguement and how you structure your politics.

I was digging what you were saying until the 5th paragraph. After that I said "oh".

HOLLA AT YA'!!!!

Does the fact that most of you attempt to uplift your family mean that you are excluding those who are not in your family? I think it does. Is that an ISM? If my position and goal were to maintain a group superiority of condition in effect or intent, then I would see my self as being deserving of a racist label. However, any right-minded individual cannot construe seeking he uplift of a people from inequality to a state of equality with others as racist or negative, which means that many of you are not in a right-minded state of being.

The issue here, as I see and value it to be, is not primarily whether or not my rhetoric divides. Rather, the issue is whether what I say is objectively and dominantly true, if not absolutely true. Truth should be a higher concern than the divisions it creates. The one to watch out for are generally the ones who want to circumvent or ignore truth, to preserve a false sense of unity and harmony.

Might I make a suggestion, Noah? Try not to be so pleonastic in your delivery. You could have made the same points in a brief, well-written paragraph.

In a way, yes.



Yes, it's nepotism.



Look, I don't fault you for wanting people with which you empathyze to have a better life.

But it's important to realize that said empathy is always working in the opposite direction for those to whom it's not extended.

Inequality for black people has it's roots in this as well. If a white guy is out to look out for the white guy then it's at the cost of the black guy.

If a black guy is looking out for the black guy then it is at the cost of the non-black.

I too want to see blacks get a fair shake and a better lot in life. But as has been said to you, to portray it as an "us against them" will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But that's just one side of the coin. The other is your frequent pre-judged opinions of blacks and non-blacks.

You frequently paint whites with the same broad brush, and that is an element of racism itself. You frequently even use the racist clichés ("you all look alike to me").

Beyond wishing well for blacks your stereotypical demonisation of whites is an issue worth exploring. It's racism as well. And it is counterproductive to your stated goal.



Well, you will ahve a hard time making the case for being the woner of truth. You frequently post demonstratably false claims.

So in a choice between what you call "truth" (which often isn't) and harmony I will pick harmony.

Raising societal issues is important. Being unecessarily abrasive and obtuse isn't.

What I'm getting at is that you can achieve more by losing some of the racism inherent to your position.

Noah
If I'm not in the right minded state of being, then I'd rather be here than there.

Here, take the whole bottle.

Let me speak for most of the people here. A big mistake probably, but I'm going out on a limb.

Let's say onyxelle, a black woman, a white man named Biff, and you come in to my office looking for a job.

All three of you are qualified for the position, and onyxelle is the least qualified,not by much, but the least qualified.

Biff is a country club white supremist fraternity puke, and you think white people are the entire cause of your downtrodden races' problems.

You are both more qualified than onyxelle.

Onxyelle gets the job.

Not being an asshole trumps everything else many times.

Hope you don't mind me including you in this little story onyxelle.

What most of you say makes plenty of sense and is righteous, if and only if the races were starting from the point of equality, which is not true. If I am in a race with someone who has a head start, running at the same speed as my competitor, I will never catch up. What I advocate is first equalizing the starting points, which is tantamount to what I am referring to as the black struggle. Once the starting point is equalized, then everything that you all mention is apropos for going forward. It’s just that simple.

Life is a struggle for most people Noah. I know it always has been for me and by looking at my avatar you can see that I'm not black.

Noah,

But equalizing the starting point is, itself, a tricky issue.

In the US most legal ways this can be done has been done. What remains is twofold. One is for the attitudes to change (and they slowly are) and secondly the "catch up" phase is needed.

Previous inequity has a way of self-perpetuation. But many of the ways to immediately right this are simply wrong.

For example, if we were to take the wealth in the world and redistribute it it would right many previous wrongs. But IMO it would be a wrong itself.

What I was getting at with you is that the legal equality has been established.

Some attitudes have not changed but I see most of your rhetoric as hurting rather than helping.

Lastly the effects of previous inequality take time to wear off. The situation of the black man in America has long been improving, there's miles more to go but this improvement was fought for by many white people, who are not racist.

Automatically assuming white racism isn't helpful.

You're not black but you're still a Canadian!

Craven is absolutely right Noah.