Tag Archives: Race

* “Acting White”

‘Acting White’

Against the notion that blacks victimize themselves by “acting black,” Princeton undergraduate Kristen Coke complains that “acting white” does not insulate her from petty racist insults. After all, she doesn’t act “ghetto.”

I’m not concerned about victimizations that occur when blacks “act white” in the presence of whites. In my world, there aren’t enough white people to matter. I’m concerned about the victimizations that occur when black people “act black” among blacks.

Continue reading * “Acting White”

* Firing-range instructor hands 9-year-old an Uzi. Now he’s dead.

Bookmarks:
9-year-old kills gun instructorRussian aggression in UkraineThird world elections: the loser cries foulA bullied child hails his rescuerIraq War Vet Was Warned Waffle House Wasn’t ‘Safe For Whites,’ Gets Beaten, Needs Brain Surgery
Continue reading * Firing-range instructor hands 9-year-old an Uzi. Now he’s dead.

* Bill O’Reilly: The truth about white privilege

At the risk of copyright violation, I’m reproducing the whole text; from here.

Published August 26, 2014 | O’Reilly Factor | Bill O’Reilly

By Bill O’Reilly

Last night on The Factor, Megyn Kelly and I debated the concept of white privilege whereby some believe that if you are Caucasian you have inherent advantages in America.

Talking Points does not, does not believe in white privilege. However, there is no question that African-Americans have a much harder time succeeding in our society. Even whites do. But the primary reason is not skin color. It’s education and not only book learning. Here are the facts.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for black Americans is 11.4 percent. It’s just over five percent for whites, 4.5 percent for Asians. So, do we have Asian privilege in America? Because the truth is, that Asian American households earn far more money than anyone else. The median income for Asians, close to $69,000 a year; it’s 57,000 for whites’ $33,000 for black — so the question becomes why? And the answer is found in stable homes and in emphasis on education; 88 percent of Asian Americans graduate from high school compared to 86 for whites and just 69 percent for blacks. That means 31 percent of African-Americans have little chance to succeed in the free marketplace because they are uneducated. They are high school dropouts.

Asian Americans also tend to keep their families intact. Just 13 percent of Asian children live in single parent homes compared to a whopping 55 percent for blacks and 21 percent for whites. So, there you go. That is why Asian Americans, who often have to overcome a language barrier, are succeeding far more than African-Americans and even more than white Americans. Their families are intact and education is paramount.

American children must learn not only academics but also civil behavior, right from wrong, as well as how to speak properly and how to act respectfully in public. If African-American children do not learn those things, they will likely fail as adults. They will be poor. They will be angry, and they often will be looking to blame someone else.

One caveat, the Asian American experience historically has not been nearly as tough as the African-American experience. Slavery is unique and it has harmed black Americans to a degree that is still being felt today, but in order to succeed in our competitive society, every American has to overcome the obstacles they face. And here is where the African-American leadership in America is failing.

Instead of preaching a cultural revolution, the leadership provides excuses for failure. The race hustlers blame white privilege, an unfair society, a terrible country. So the message is, it’s not your fault if you abandon your children, if you become a substance abuser, if you are a criminal. No, it’s not your fault; it’s society’s fault.

That is the big lie that is keeping some African-Americans from reaching their full potential. Until personal responsibility and a cultural change takes place. Millions of African-Americans will struggle. And their anger, some of it justified will seethe. The federal government cannot fix this problem. Only a powerful message of responsibility can turn things around. And that’s “The Memo”.

It comes down to this.

I ask anyone the same question I ask myself every day:

What will you do
today
to improve your lot
today?

On the other hand, many people are incapable of responsibility, for reason that they lack any understanding of cause and effect.  I will discuss this more in a subsequent post, How municipalities in St. Louis County, Mo., profit from poverty, currently scheduled for release November 29.

FOOTNOTE, 2014-10-24:  Remark from my diary:  “Responsibility presumes ownership of power. But ownership of power is impossible without a grasp of cause and effect.”

(Reblogged 2019-11-28.)

* Donald Sterling sex tape

Bookmarks:
Donald Sterling sex tapePolice chokehold deathChild border crisis follow-upFacebook is cracking down on click-baitChronic lateness

Continue reading * Donald Sterling sex tape

* Obama and race: why Eric Holder’s words stirred such anger

Bookmarks:
The William Tell Show in the newsBody of girl, 3, found buried in Arizona backyard
Continue reading * Obama and race: why Eric Holder’s words stirred such anger

* Student Stripper Makes $180K a Year and Will Graduate Debt-Free

Bookmarks:
Student Stripper Makes $180K a Year & Will Graduate Debt-FreeTalking about race is no black-and-white matterThis Hummus Has Standards, OK?Mass murder, misogyny and moviesEven the NRA thinks taking assault rifles to Chipotle is dumbMcDonald’s update

Continue reading * Student Stripper Makes $180K a Year and Will Graduate Debt-Free

* Stupid psychics, and other briefs

Bookmarks:
“The stimulus debate continues”
“Lean not unto your own understanding”
Russell Simmons on silence and presence
Teresa Giudice update
“Enhanced interrogation” back in the news

Continue reading * Stupid psychics, and other briefs

* The Kimberly Leto murder; and other news

Bookmarks:
The Kimberly Leto murder
Controversial books
Governor candidate Mizeur’s crime plan

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The Kimberly Leto murder

February 3 – Police arrest two teenagers in killing of Highlandtown woman
February 4 – Woman’s death in burglary leaves Southeast Baltimore reeling

Random comments:
(1) We must get past the twin scandals of race and class.
(2) My greatest concern is to find out where these two young men “come from.”
(3) Had she had a gun, could that have saved her?
(4) Gorham-Ramos, at age 14, has a daughter?
(5) What was the sentence from the August 19 crime?  N.B., police identified Gorham-Ramos through fingerprints.
(6) Was Gorham-Ramos’ involvement with the August 19 crime sufficient basis to bring him in for questioning concerning the January 31 crime?
(7) I know from my own time in jail why, if at all possible, children should not be incarcerated with adults.
(8) Pinkney appears to have a mental illness, and was off his medications.  The treatment-resistant patient is always problematic.
(9) Does this neighborhood deserve a greater police presence than, say, Barclay?  Actually, during my time there, the police presence was pretty darn high; its visibility heightened by the inexplicable consistent police use of white unmarked cars and white officers.

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Controversial books

These have been on display in the main hall at EP, and I get to browse them while waiting for a computer. I have not read either one.

American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass (Harvard University Press, 1998)

“This powerful and disturbing book clearly links persistent poverty among blacks in the United States to the unparalleled degree of deliberate segregation they experience in American cities.”

Not to short-sell the book, this is wholly consistent with the politically correct proposition I questioned in “My Homeless Self.” I wonder how the authors account for that portion of the underclass which are white, and how they got there.

Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation

This was originally published in 2002. Author Molefi Kete Asante (born Arthur Lee Smith Jr. on August 14, 1942) has an impressive page at Wikipedia and appears to be a leader in all things Afro-centric.

He demands reparations.

This fits squarely within the definition of ideology I set forth in “The Gospel vs. George F. Will.” As I said there, it says, “‘We’ cannot be happy unless ‘they’ change their ways.”

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Mizeur’s crime plan calls for shift from ‘mass incarceration’ to prevention in Maryland

I have no desire to ally myself with anything liberal; and my first, personal, gut response to Heather Mizeur is to dislike her. And most critically, I have no idea what she means by “prevention.” Aside from all that, I find her proposals exciting.

  1. Incarceration — From what I saw in my own time in jail, in general incarceration accomplishes nothing, and does so only at a tremendous financial cost to the taxpayers.  My estimate is that as many of 60% of those in prison have no good reason to be there.  Be aware:  these are not nice people.  But there’s no need for them to be incarcerated.  And without having the exact figures, my guess is that my own 40 days in jail may have cost the taxpayers $10,000.
  2. Juvenile detention — I am without an opinion as to her plan.  The one individual whose advice I look forward to on this question is the Hon. Martin P. Welch, who may or may not publicly opine.
  3. Backgrounds — Click the link to see my previous remarks on this subject.
  4. Gun laws — OK, maybe she’s tossed a bone to the anti-gun lobby.  The proposal seems reasonable enough to me.  I hope to hear pro-gun folks’ opinions.

(Reblogged 2018-01-11.)