TallSilhouette said:
I like how this is the only form of discrimination mentioned in the video that you actually address, as if many, many more people and their families weren't affected (positively or negatively) by things like the Homestead Act, New Deal programs, sharecropping, redlining, persecution by law enforcement, segregation, general racism, etc.
As sundin said...what?! Who said anything about punishing white people? How does helping minorities do that? This worldview is so emblematic of the victim complex that fuels so much of right wing politics. See my response above about "punishment". How would you see it if somebody took your money for racist reasons, like only helping one particular race? If I were poor and this might have to do with racism of the past, I would not want to receive money for being white. Only for being poor. Because other poor people, who are not white, are equally as deserving of help.
And yet the racial wealth gap in this country remains massive. You don't have to be rich to have been positively or negatively affected by generational wealth disparities. How else do you explain the wealth gap? Culture? Work ethic? Family values? This is exactly how I explain most of it, yes. Culture, work ethics, family values. Did you know that before the wellfare state many statistics for blacks seemed favourable in comparison to whites? I wrote about that in a comment above. A government cheque clearly does not help the problem. In fact, it seems to have worsened it.
No one here is saying not to help poor people in general. Only one side is objecting to helping specific disadvantaged groups within that population. Perhaps this is a misunderstanding then. I certainly don't object to helping minorities. I just object to helping them because of them being a minority, black or whatever. You should get help because of the situation you are in, not because of your skin colour (even if you happen to be in that situation because of your skin colour, which I doubt very much.)
It's been true for pretty much all of American history. Why would that suddenly stop being the case now? Because the laws changed. I am not even saying that racism is just gone now. But not even children from the same family have similarly successful lifes. How would you expect that between groups of different cultures? Why are asians so successful? Because they get a leg up due to their race? Certainly not. How are jews so successful? Because their religious texts have the secret to a good career? Of course not. Why are black people who are just coming to the USA with nothing, more successful in one generation than most blacks who already lived their in the 6th or 7th generation? I think it is high time to admit that different cultures produce different outcomes and some are better for a successful life and some are worse. (And just to be sure, quick disclaimer, I am not saying that humans are better or worse because of their skin colour. They are better geared towards success because of their culture, which might coincide with their skin colour.) |
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