racial inequality...

[Skud]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/25/black.america.report/index.html

I know that this is a dangerous issue, but I am getting tired of this inequality bit. In this article it says blacks are twice as likely to be unemployed. Well, from stats I've seen in local,state, and national schools, they are also about twice as likely to drop out of high school as whites, and more likely to drop out than Hispanics, many of whom are learning in their second language...same schools as the other groups are in. Might that have something to do with job prospects?

Also, in my years of driving, one group has overwhelmingly participated in outdoor sales of drugs, mob beatings (really only one group there), etc...I could factually say that over 80 percent of the 100s of problems I have experienced through the years...well. (an example from last week where I noticed four youths shredding a woman's purse in the bushes by a transfer point...tampons, sunglasses, IDs, all laying about in the field [really made me mad]...police were searching the area, I pointed them out...don't know if they strongarmed the woman or where she was) Should the police ignore those actions? I know this might be a weird concept, but I've been told that if you don't break the law you probably won't get arrested. Might these things have something to do with incarceration rates?

Now, with that said (I'm sure some are already bristling), I will say that in my formative years my parents semi-adopted a black youth...a program called a better chance. He lived with our family for his high school years. Graduated. Got a college degree, played professional soccer, and teaches history now (parental support and guidance are things that are seldom mentioned in these inequality articles). I have many close friends who are black...I've taken them to my land, steadily gone out with, played pool with, laugh with, joke with, etc (and many will admit that some folks use color to their advantage). I have for most of my life gone out of my way, bent over backwards for the underdog, the minority, the "oppressed". But upon repetitive dissings throughout the years for doing so, because, I assume, of my skin color or I am, in the minds of some, an authority figure (lol), I realized that no matter what I do, some will always blame me, and everyone like me, for their problems. And that is the point where I draw the line and say, grow up, pull your own weight, just like I'm trying to do. It is possible to better oneself. Actions have consequences...as does inaction. I am not trying to offend anyone with this post, but just trying to hold everyone to the same standards that I hold myself to...if that is unfair, well, then I'll remain the bad guy as always. Sorry.

[Trooper110]

Eh, I agree with you whole heartedly Skud. Quit playing the race card, pony up, work hard, stay out of trouble and succeed. You're never forced in to or out of anything if you truly want it.

[mapes]

Eh, I agree with you whole heartedly Skud. Quit playing the race card, pony up, work hard, stay out of trouble and succeed. You're never forced in to or out of anything if you truly want it.

I totally agree with the above statements. However I do think that there should be something done to help more in poverty stricken areas. Not just more police...although that isn't a bad idea. I seriously think that money needs to be spent in this communities that promotes better values. More funding for such programs as Girls and Boys clubs, Big Bro/Sis, After school programs, Junior Achievers and definitly anti drug and anti gang programs.

[Skud]

I totally agree with the above statements. However I do think that there should be something done to help more in poverty stricken areas. Not just more police...although that isn't a bad idea. I seriously think that money needs to be spent in this communities that promotes better values. More funding for such programs as Girls and Boys clubs, Big Bro/Sis, After school programs, Junior Achievers and definitly anti drug and anti gang programs.

I agree that such programs can help, even free public libraries abound. But I feel that what is being taught by the parents trumps them all. I remember two kids on my bus a few years back, high school age, during school hours. One asked the other: "your momma on Section 8 (living/housing assistance program)? My momma is and she say it's a picnic. She gets cab rides for free and only pays $100 in rent"

The other responded, and I quote: "no, we on the waiting list". I could have screamed...as they cruise the bus instead of going to school...

All the programs in the world can't undo that mentality once it's learned. Seriously.

[mapes]

I agree that such programs can help, even free public libraries abound. But I feel that what is being taught by the parents trumps them all. I remember two kids on my bus a few years back, high school age, during school hours. One asked the other: "your momma on Section 8 (living/housing assistance program)? My momma is and she say it's a picnic. She gets cab rides for free and only pays $100 in rent"

The other responded, and I quote: "no, we on the waiting list". I could have screamed...as they cruise the bus instead of going to school...

All the programs in the world can't undo that mentality once it's learned. Seriously.

I agree with you man. I think it takes parenting also(says the guy with no kids). The problem there is those kids have parents who suck...plain and simple or single parents who are working and have less time. These kids need to be exposed to people who can show them what someone can do with their life if properly motivated..

[Skud]

I agree with you man. I think it takes parenting also(says the guy with no kids). The problem there is those kids have parents who suck...plain and simple or single parents who are working and have less time. These kids need to be exposed to people who can show them what someone can do with their life if properly motivated..

I continue to hope for the best...but it seems like with the single teen parents thing we're actually going backwards, from the most recent stats. Add that to the numbers of folks getting fired or laid off, and...wow. The time has come in which we will ALL have to work together. And those who don't see that or admit that, are making things even worse.

Thanks for the thoughts though, and for seeing perhaps the main points that I am trying to make here. :wave2:

[Duke{CLR}]

I'm too tired to provide any linkage but there are people that believe that the cruel, but well intentioned, liberal programs inadvertently replaced the father by paying more money for more babies. The people saying this were black people (possibly Bill Cosby) who were trying to solve the problems that the black communities were having instead of looking for power like the reverends Jackson and Sharpton.

It all comes down to the family and if that breaks down society does and it's not limited to the black family either.

Give a man a fish feed him for a day, teach a man to fish feed him for life. Irresponsible welfare destroys families and leads to what we are seeing today.

[Hammy]

I totally agree with the above statements. However I do think that there should be something done to help more in poverty stricken areas. Not just more police...although that isn't a bad idea. I seriously think that money needs to be spent in this communities that promotes better values. More funding for such programs as Girls and Boys clubs, Big Bro/Sis, After school programs, Junior Achievers and definitly anti drug and anti gang programs.

Yeah, if we give them enough money, maybe they will stop beating, raping, and robbing. Great stuff! Reward the criminals, punish the citizens!:2thumbs:

[mapes]

Really ...:scratch:


The idea is not to try to replace families. All of the programs I mentioned do not reward baby factories. What they do is give kids positive role models and something to do other than hang out on the street and get sucked into gangs and become criminally bent.

The idea Hammy is to get to the kids before they become criminals. I guess thats really dumb idea. Instead we should just line em all up and shoot em

[Duke{CLR}]

Of course the idea wasn't to replace the father, it was the result of the welfare policy which gave out more money to single mothers for having more kids. When government throws money at problems they are rarely solved and it often makes them worse. The problem started long ago and the only way there will be any improvement is if there is some sort of movement within the communities effected and it needs to start at the family level. Locking them up wont work and throwing money at them wont work either.

[Dead...Again]

The necessary changes are going to have to come from within the black community. So many of the black "leaders" just propagate the lie that they are just being put down by the man. Any time a responsible black person tries to make a difference (a la Bill Cosby) they are called an Uncle Tom. As long as kids keep growing up without father-figures and watching their parents live off the government teat nothing is going to change.

I do think that some of the programs mapes mentioned can help. Every kid that can get a figure to look up to has a more likely chance to succeed. I also agree with Duke: a lot of the liberal programs supposedly aimed at helping these families actually made things worse.

[RyeWhiskey]

You need various, well thought out progams, drug testing for welfare, and things like Dead Again said. The Blacks that promote change are always though of as Uncle Tom's instead of people who might want to change their community for the better. The need to get over it already and move on.

I'm not sure if you guys have heard of project Safe, but there are programs out there that even help the worst criminals in certain areas. Our project safe in our are I noticed last night had three pages of offenders. Of that three pages of 20 or so offenders, I noticed three caucasians and 1 Hispanic. The others all were black.

Basically it's a program that takes the worst reoffending offenders and gives them a second chance, before a HUGE sentence. Law Enforcement brings them to community leaders and the community leaders offer them jobs, housing, etc to change their ways. There is more to this but I don't feel like typing it all. Considering 10 percent of criminals commit the majority of crime, that is the idea, remove one or two and you have stopped a great deal of crime. There are programs out there but like this one, they aren't liked by the offenders. Out of 10 maybe 2 will take up the offer, the other 8 continue to offend, and go to prison.