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SecretMethod70 · 04-04-2008, 11:53 AM

Yeah, I'm really at a loss here.

First, we're supposed to accept that there is no instutitional racism keeping blacks at a disproportionate disadvantage to the rest of the population, and therefore there's no reason for Rev. Wright (and many others) to be upset about how black people are treated in society today.

Then, in one of your posts, you mentioned Bill Cosby in a positive light, which would seem to me that you are impressed by black leaders who are willing to say what you seem to believe: that black people are the cause of their own problems, and that they need to stop being upset at things like institutional racism and instead focus more on taking control of their lives and raising their children better. (Nevermind that Rev. Wright also preaches that, he just doesn't ignore institutional racism either.)

Now, you show us an example of a black man in a position of authority who wanted to try and use that position to encourage some of the black population to turn their lives around, saying "You will have to turn it around, and it's not the white man. You are the one committing these crimes."

So I just don't understand. It's racist when someone mentions that blacks aren't totally in control of their position in life because of institutional racism. It's racist now, when a black man tries to use his common identity to tell other blacks that they need to take control of their lives. You're beginning to run dangerously close to the "omg acknowledging race is racism!" attitude.

I'm really just at a loss here...because it's very clear that your mindset is so fundamentally different that it is literally impossible (and I'm not exaggerating here) to have any conversation with you in which you would come any closer to understanding the mindset of any of the people you disagree with on this issue. If you'll forgive the analogy, it's a bit like trying to speak rationally to a creationist about the importance of evidence on which to base assumptions, and their repeated response is that their evidence is that "it's in the bible." It's a totally different language, and no amount of wasted air will get them to understand that "it's in the bible" is not valid evidence for anything.

Most importantly....seriously, there's all this other stuff going on in the world and you feel that this is newsworthy?

04-04-2008, 11:53 AM	#30 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	Yeah, I'm really at a loss here. First, we're supposed to accept that there is no instutitional racism keeping blacks at a disproportionate disadvantage to the rest of the population, and therefore there's no reason for Rev. Wright (and many others) to be upset about how black people are treated in society today. Then, in one of your posts, you mentioned Bill Cosby in a positive light, which would seem to me that you are impressed by black leaders who are willing to say what you seem to believe: that black people are the cause of their own problems, and that they need to stop being upset at things like institutional racism and instead focus more on taking control of their lives and raising their children better. (Nevermind that Rev. Wright also preaches that, he just doesn't ignore institutional racism either.) Now, you show us an example of a black man in a position of authority who wanted to try and use that position to encourage some of the black population to turn their lives around, saying "You will have to turn it around, and it's not the white man. You are the one committing these crimes." So I just don't understand. It's racist when someone mentions that blacks aren't totally in control of their position in life because of institutional racism. It's racist now, when a black man tries to use his common identity to tell other blacks that they need to take control of their lives. You're beginning to run dangerously close to the "omg acknowledging race is racism!" attitude. I'm really just at a loss here...because it's very clear that your mindset is so fundamentally different that it is literally impossible (and I'm not exaggerating here) to have any conversation with you in which you would come any closer to understanding the mindset of any of the people you disagree with on this issue. If you'll forgive the analogy, it's a bit like trying to speak rationally to a creationist about the importance of evidence on which to base assumptions, and their repeated response is that their evidence is that "it's in the bible." It's a totally different language, and no amount of wasted air will get them to understand that "it's in the bible" is not valid evidence for anything. Most importantly....seriously, there's all this other stuff going on in the world and you feel that this is newsworthy? __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling Last edited by SecretMethod70; 04-04-2008 at 12:02 PM..