Please watch this link before reading further. It takes five minutes, and is worth the time for most people, particularly the black folks this is addressed to.
I want to underscore something: I have met a lot of really smart, switched on, motivated black people in my time. I have also met the opposite.
The issue with black people in this country, today, is CULTURE. I have ZERO DOUBT that most people born black in this country are very much capable of much more than they are usually asked for.
Do you help people assuming the worst of them, or the best? This guy, here, is assuming the best. He is an optimist.
And he has reasons for optimism. Blacks are not inherently stupid. I don’t believe this. They are TAUGHT to be stupid, by people who benefit from taking advantage of the bad decisions that result.
I seen no reason, no reason, no reason, that blacks in this country cannot be well off, live in nearly crime free neighborhoods, go to excellent schools, and be considered the cultural equal of whites not because somebody penalized whites for speaking the truth that they see, but because that IS the truth that they see.
If you look at people like Frederick Douglas, they were clever, inventive, eloquent, and decent. We can and should see much, much more of this.
I hate racists. Racists are the people who say: “It’s OK that you are inferior.”, or “Of course you commit more crimes: that’s just what blacks do. We forgive you.”
Can we not start accepting blacks into our generalized cultural dialogue in ways other than pretending that we aren’t racist?
Can we stop versions of “isn’t that cute?”
Here is my truth: I’m having trouble letting go of this Ferguson thing. The whole thing makes me angry. It never should have come to the mass destruction of (largely) minority owned businesses. Black people were crying tears of rage and frustration as a result of the actions of OTHER black people, who claimed they opposed racism. Bullshit. So much stupidity.
Hell: I’ve had a few. I will leave it at that for now. I’ll leave with a question: do YOU think you are helping black people? How? If you were doing the opposite, would you have the courage to admit it?