Quote:
Originally Posted by Streck-Fu
The black American community does far more to hinder their own progress by promoting behaviors that are counter to success; whether the supporting the gang, thug, pimp, womanizing, multiple children out of wedlock and unprovided for, etc.
The Man is not making them do this. It is an internal culture problem. When you have even the successful black Americans (I use this term because I have known many Africans and none wanted anything to do with 'African' Americans) in the Congressional Black Caucus calling any black person not supporting their entitlement programs an "Oreo: Black on the outside, white on the inside." the non black people are not the problem.
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I think the basic disagreement between your POV and mine is that we have different understandings of the "here and now."
You are more comfortable with a top-down perspective that allows the few to speak for the many. I am more comfortable with a bottom-up perspective that empowers the many to speak for themselves.
A chief advantage of your position is that it allows for the thumbnails that drives contemporary political discourse. That is, your approach lends itself to the identification of a "problem" and a "solution." The chief advantage of my position is that it is historiographically sustainable. That is, my approach lends itself to a dynamic in which the answers to a question prompt additional questions.
I understand that there is in America a broad, deep division between the two approaches. This gap generates a controversy all its own. In communities such as this one, many hold the latter approach--and its practitioners--in contempt. In other arenas, the contempt flows in the opposite direction. Ironically, a common feature of both discussions is an overall tone:
"That's the other guys' problem; they're idiots." How about that.
My objective is to support efforts to bridge the gap, to fill in the divide, and to seek reconciliation based upon empathy and respect. A very wise historian of the American south has told me that my efforts in both arenas are wasted and pointless.
He might be right.