Showing posts with label black and white. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black and white. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

A Brief Conversation About Race...










OK, we’re supposed to be in this NEW “post-racial” world I keep hearing so much about.

Sounds GREAT! Almost sounds too good to be true.

Still, I keep getting mixed signals.

While I’m told we NEED “an honest discussion about race in America,” I’m also still being told that whites, especially white males should avoid talking about race, as they are usually apt to offend non-whites and non-males and, of course, it goes without saying, Liberal (guilt-ridden) whites....perhaps THEM most of all.

Really?...I mean, is that really true? If so, why should that really matter? After all, virtually EVERYTHING that ANYONE Left-of-Center, non-white or non-male says about race tends to offend the hell out of me...I just don’t whine about it when it happens.

So, it seems the “conversation” that’s wanted is the one where “oppressed minorities” list their grievances against “white males” and we beg their forgiveness and apologize for being so greedy, so oppressive, so white and so male.

The problem is, no one, at least no one on this end really wants to have that “discussion,” primarily because it’s inherently DISHONEST.

An “HONEST Conversation about race,” isn’t going to be very pretty, I’m afraid and it WILL almost certainly be offensive to those who believe in today’s “grievance politics,” that asserts that the various and sundry “protected minority’s” grievances need to be heard and respected.

I’m very aware of those “grievances,” but if those grievances deserve a hearing (and they've had one), then so do our side’s.

What I’m about to give you is the perspective of virtually EVERY sane, rational white male in America (sorry white Liberals, you don’t qualify as either).

WoW! 205 words and no real “discussion” yet. Man, this jump-starting this “honest conversation” really IS a lot harder than I’d originally thought it would be.

Let me start off with a brief DISCLAIMER: I am about to give a white, male perspective on race. I can’t give a non-white, or non-male perspective because I am neither of those things.

(I know, I’m stalling, right? I mean that wasn’t a “disclaimer," it was stating the god-damned obvious. I mean my picture is right in the upper left-hand portion of this blog, so...yeah, I know, I’m stalling again....Man, am I just GREAT at this stalling shit, or what?...)

OK, look, sometimes the best way, in fact the ONLY way to kick off a discussion like this is to just “let it fly,” or “come right out with it,” as they say. Alright, let me jump right in here with a list of just a few of the things that bother me about the current state of race-relations in America;

Yes, it bothers me that in most locales "urban" (a/k/a/ “predominantly black”) school districts get the lion’s share of the school funding, apparently as a reward for garnering the lowest test scores and graduation rates. I mean it MUST BE a “reward” because we all know that when those same “failing schools” turn over from predominantly black to predominantly Asian (as a number have in places like the South Bronx and parts of California), those same “failing schools,” with the same teachers, the same books and the same old dirty walls, suddenly see test scores rise and drop-out rates fall and THAT is often followed up with budget cuts, so that other or “newly failing schools” can get rewarded with more cash for failures.

In nearby New Jersey, over 50% of that state’s school revenues (funded primarily by property taxes) go to just 31 of the state’s 568 districts. Those “lucky 31” are, of course all “urban” school districts. So, while failing school districts like Atlantic City’s and Newark’s get 800% and 600% return on their property tax dollar (that’s $8 for every $1 and $6 for every $1), respectively back in education dollars, suburban communities, like Mendham average a paltry 4% (yes, that’s 4-cents for every $1 they send in) ...and YES, that bothers me.

And yes, it bothers me greatly that when covering the incredibly rare white-on-black violent crime, the races of both victim and suspects are routinely published, while the races of those involved in the far more common black-on-white violent crime are rarely, if EVER published. It leads one to erroneously believe that one of those kinds of crimes is somehow “worse than” the other. And YES, again THAT bothers me.

It also bothers me a great deal that when blacks do poorly on various standardized exams that’s called “disparate impact,” and is alleged to be “proof of discrimination,” But when blacks comprise 65% of the MTA or 80% of the NBA that’s called “a racial achievement.”

Worse yet, is having to hear some of the inane rationales some blacks give for their doing poorer (on average) than other groups on such exams, such as “Blacks are more social than whites and don’t have as much time for studying,” OR “Blacks value things differently than whites.” These are sickening excuses, because those things described are individual/personal failings, known as “lack of discipline” and “lack of focus.” They are NOT ethnic or GROUP traits, they are individual flaws or failings and it’s an affront to all blacks who DO NOT possess those failings and YES, that bothers the hell out of me!

It also bothers me that Police Departments across the country automatically file virtually all white-on-black violent crimes as a “hate crimes,” while only labeling black-on-white crimes as “hate crimes” when the evidence is both overwhelming and undeniable.

That is an absurd double standard, especially in light of the fact that, each year, approximately 1.2 million violent crimes involving blacks and whites occur nationwide. In just over 90 percent of those cases, according to U.S. Justice Department figures, the perpetrators are black and the victims are white. Violent white felons choose black victims for fewer than 3 percent of their attacks, whereas violent black felons choose white victims about 56 percent of the time. Statistically, the "average" African American is an astonishing 56 times more likely to attack a white than vice versa.

And YES...that last god-damned statistic bothers the living SHIT OUT OF ME!!!

Whoops! I went a little ballistic on that last one – still, I meant all of that.

Moreover, I look forward to anyone who is either offended or incensed by this brief list to explain in the most painstaking of detail why I should NOT be offended by any of this. I will respond to all such responses with all the due haste, patience and politeness as the respondent accords to me.

First, some basic ground rules;

DO NOT tell me that any of the things I said here are “not true,” they ALL are.

DO NOT tell me something like, “You have to understand that blacks are rightfully angry at whites for...” because quite frankly, I DON’T have to understand excuses for vile ethnic bigotry and I do not choose to do that.

YOU CAN challenge any point so long as you provide links and documented evidence to support your contention...AND YOU CAN assert any opinion, no matter how odious and/or invalid, so long as you can avoid the tasty trap of invective and personal attacks.

Boy oh BOY! I don’t know if anyone else feels any better after reading this, but I sure feel a whole LOT better having written it and gotten some of that off my chest.

Man! I can’t wait for this honest discussion of race in America to begin!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

What’s All This About Race?







I get the impression from some folks that it seems I write more than a fair amount about race, even if most of the time it’s peripheral to my main points. That seems to make some folks a bit uncomfortable.

I suppose I do that because race/ethnicity remains a major issue in this country, probably far more than it should be. It's either that or I'm just a race-obsessed dipshit...I'll probably have to get back to you on that - it's a tough one.

At any rate, it seems that there are a number of people who are a might confused about the “facts of life” concerning race and other such matters, so I’ve decided to go over them right here, right now.

First of all, there have always been some whites who hate “other” people just because they ain’t like them. There’ve also always been some blacks who hate “other” people just because they ain’t like them.

What can I say? Life’s rough, grab a helmet. One of the more unsavory things about FREEDOM is that free people are free to like and dislike whomever they please for ANY reason, or NO reason at all. You can too, and I bet you do that all the time, even if you aren’t all that obvious about it. We all do it - we all often find it hard to explain why we like some folks and dislike others. The vast majority of us DON'T base such decisions on race, ehtnicity, religion, etc.But it's OK not to know why you like and dislike folks, it's called "freedom of association," and it's a wonderful thing, that is often misconstrued and attacked by people who naively consider themselves "freedom loving."

One thing I’ve never understood is why any reasonable, rational individual would care at all about what some trailer park, or housing project bigot has to say about them.

If you are one of those who cares about that, I’d say, “Get over yourself and don’t worry about it. In other words, go out there and get a life, they ain’t all that expensive, at least not near as much as you might think.”

To all those whites who say I “tend to sugar-coat things too much,” or I’m “not tough enough on black bigots,” and "I don't focus enough on black atrocities against whites," I can only say is that, “I vehemently disagree.” In fact, I disagree so much, that all I can really say is pretty much, “Go F*%k yourselves.”

And to those blacks who say that “I’ve got no business discussing race, since I’m white and all,” well, I vehemently disagree with that too. In fact, all I can say to that is, well, “Go F#*k yourselves too.”

Now, for all of you folks out there who don’t like my bluntness, please, by all means email me and I’ll invite you to my workplace where I will promptly and pleasantly whup your ass but good.

Now, IF you DO email me, please be aware of what your role is – YOU’RE the “ass-whuppEE,” and, of course, that would make ME the “ass-whuppER.”

I just want to be clear about what’s expected of you, that’s all.

If you email me and come to my workplace, I expect you to show up and say something like, “Hi, I’m a black/white bigot and I’m here to see you whup my ass.”

And speak up, after nearly a quarter century riding under a siren, my hearing ain’t what it once was. So, speak up and annunciate clearly and then I’ll know what you’re there for and I’ll commence to beating your ass the way an organ grinder’s monkey beats his drum...or his cymbals, or whatever, but either way, your ass will be beaten, please believe that. Oh yeah, and PLEASE, don't be a hard-ass, I HATE that, it makes my hands hurt!

Got it, get it...GOOD!

Oh yeah, and for your own sake, you probably want to keep this on “the QT,” or for you black folks, on “the DL.” You don’t want to spread around the fact that some broke down old fireman just whupped your ass but good, OK!
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Seriously though, this racial hypersensitivity is part of a broader personal hypsersensitivity that's a result of way too many of us taking ourselves waaaaay too seriously...and that's part of the even broader hyper-litigious society we live in, a place where way too many people mistakenly believe they have some non-existant right "not to be offended.
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What can I say about that, except, "Lighten up, Francis!"
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This has been a public service announcement. I’m just doing my part to increase the peace.
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