Friday, December 7, 2012

From the mailbag

Seems my little posts about Mississippi education and discussing them on WJNT got someone's attention. Here is the email I received this week:

I know what you compared, but I would hope you care more about fixing the problem than trying to prove a point by narrowly interpreting data.

What would you expect to happen when generations of people are denied education, the right to vote, civil rights, etc.? To answer for you, what happens is we have communities of people, families, etc that have been restricted from succeeding then conditioned to fail. Whites and blacks are the same, all things being equal, you get equal results. However, results cannot be looked at in a snapshot fashion, but needs to be panoramic. Our society is the problem and people have ignored that so long that now we are facing the consequences.

Compare people's race, educational background and sex. Without fail, education and exp being the same, the order from top down is, white males, white females, black males, black females. A white male w/ a high school diploma makes as much or more than a black male with a college degree. Sounds crazy, but look it up. So, whatever is the cause of that phenomena, is definitely part of the current and historical root of the problems in school. Nothing is all about racism, but Obama being President didnt end it. MLK asked why would you expect a dog that has been tied up all his life to be able to run with those that have been free all their lives?

You seem confused, but we are not eons away from total exclusion in most aspects of society for Blacks. My parents couldnt vote until 1965,and it was highly discouraged then. It took generations of exclusion to get us to this point and it will probably take twice as long to repair.

There are so many factors at play here. Whem Oliver North was funding Iran/Contra when he became aware of his people involved in selling drugs, what communities did they target? So, when you lose a decade of parents to crack in the 80s, do those schools and children benefit?

I recognize you care, but it may be beyond you to comprehend how complex these issues are. There have been far more and heavier ills heaped on minority communities than positive.

Actions have consequences. If we likened this situation to crops in a field, maybe it would be easier to see. Varieties of a crop are not made overnight. The traits that are encouraged thrive. You take a plant that has been ill treated, ignored and deprived for almost 200 years and it will be different than one that was nurtured. Listening to a lot of you guys, you would think whites and blacks have the same history, so what the hell is wrong with Blacks.

How do we work on the present state of affairs? First, we need to be honest about the causes. I say that because anyone that is dishonest about known history cant be trusted because they really dont care.

One reason Blacks dont trust Republicans/conservatives is because if you ask any conservative to tell you a racist conservative and they wont. Ask me to tell you a racist Democrat/liberal, I will give you a list.

What you dont seem to understand about race is that, you may not think about being White, but Blacks are reminded of race almost daily. Blacks are sensitive about race because our race is often referred to negatively. A distrust exists that alot of Whites dont respect or care about.

Just say Kent and Larry were genuises(a stretch, I know), but because of how disrespectfully they refer to Obama and other Blacks, most Blacks wouldnt take water from them in the desert. Sad, but true. All this stuff involves race. You would be highly insulted if anyone called Reagan an idiot. Now imagine that amplified if he was the first White President.

Everything in this country involves race at some level, especially schools.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

my my....where to you begin with talking points contained within this letter? If you buy into this diatribe of "white is evil" and "black is good" you are just plain to stupid to vote. Trust you say? You need to clean up your own back yard before you tell others how to clean up theirs. I don't think there has been another entire race of people in history that whine and complain like blacks do...

Kingfish said...

My only response is: Take that email to the Jews and see how far that gets with them. His parents got to vote in 65. That was fifty years ago. Guess at the rate he suggests it will take another 200 years.

Anonymous said...

Blah blah. There's no excuse anymore for black youth, they have more FREE opportunities than anybody else on earth (food, education, shelter, transportation, for God-sakes even freakin cell phones). What nobody can give them, however, are family values and a hard work ethic; they've got to do that for themselves and it's impossible when, as a race, they continue to foster increasing teen pregnancies, fatherless families, women having children with multiple men none of which are around to provide and guide. They continue to allow, and even encourage in some cases, their youth to ostracize their own who work hard and do well in school, holding them out instead as uncle toms. And committing a crime is a rite of passage to many in their culture, instead of being a stain upon their character. How is any of this the fault of anybody but themselves? Stop blaming someone else.

Anonymous said...

Really? The first 'americans' complained and whined...the difference is that they had the means to leave and then oh yeah they just took some other peoples land...

I really wish that white people could be black for one day...

Anonymous said...

The letter writer alludes to being some sort of panoramic thinker but apparently isn't aware of the blinders he, or she, is wearing.

Anonymous said...

I had a conversation with a lady who has differnet skin color than I do. She has a college degree, and a very good job with the state. I believe she works hard, tries to take care of her family.

In this conversation the topic of infidelity came up. And what she said flat out amazed me. She said that women of color, understand that there mens needs have to be taken care of. And if they can't do it they accept that there men will have them filled by another woman.

When you accept this type of behavior, do not blame whites or any other groups for your failures. Family values start at home but they help to determine who you are for the rest of your life.

Anonymous said...

SO... the WHITE Democrats bought slaves and did a couple a things to control them and keep them dependent. One was not pay them wages so that kept them dependent on the slave owner. The other was to forbid them an education. Ignorance is a great motivator to do as you are told. Forward 150 years... WHITE Democrats again get black people hooked on govt assistance. This keeps them dependent on the the govt. Having no work ethic makes sure their kids dont either, which insures that they dont try in school and are less educated. Less educated translates into a higher crime rates, higher drop-out rates and higher out of wedlock/teen pregnancy..now they do what they are told again by the WHITE Democrats. Poor and ignorant is a great way to control a group of people. Everything about the Democtat party is control and dependency.

Anonymous said...

Incredible that people who constantly hide behind race don't realize that besides being false, those attitudes become ingrained in the culture and server to foster an overall attitude of can't do.

As grandma said "can't never could".

I really wish there were an easy way to make these buffoons realize that for most conservatives(at least the ones that I deal with) it isn't about race at all. I can't recall a time when Obama's race was even a topic. His perceived complete lack of qualification and subsequent poor performance as president are the issue.

I'd vote for Condoleezza Rice for president tomorrow. Don't tell the majority of black politicians who enjoy and make their living from causing racial distrust and division, but she is a black female...and I've been white my whole life...

Anonymous said...

This person needs to do a little more research on white and black labor statistics. I work at a facility where the blacks with no high school diploma make as much or more than all the white females employed at the facility. So do the two black females working at this facility. You can continue to cry and whine and depend on those white democrats and you'll continue to go no where in life. There are a lot of black people sitting on the porch everyday who would rather draw a check from the government than to be responsible and report to a job every day. That's the mentality of the majority of the black race and Obama is just doing all he can to keep it that way. You are entitled to only what you earn and not what I make in a paycheck. Until that "frame of mind" is done away with, the black race will forever be poor and whine. Blacks are afforded the same education opportunities for basically FREE these days but continue to look at it as an opportunity to "get a check" for 6-7 years while attending college. Most are not there for an education but only to get a piece of the pie.

Anonymous said...

I see this as a very thoughtful letter. Not saying I agree with all of it, but someone is trying to dialogue with Kingfish and open communication without critism is always valuable. Continue the correspondence and let us know how it goes.

Anonymous said...

We all know the history behind race in America and the deep south. Seems that everyone, including Mississippi's African American citizens, would be better off to start where we are now, at this particular point in time and place, and move forward from here solving the education problems we have. Rehashing the 1960's is not going to improve a black student or white student or any other race's test scores and educational attainments or career prospects or income earnings.

Shadowfax said...

My first question is why didn't you include the name of the sender? Especially if he or she represents an agency or is a public figure.

Secondly, I did not know until I read the email that "we lost a decade of parents to crack in the 80s".

Lastly, like most people, I'm thoroughly tired of hearing the same tired excuses and po-mouthing about what existed 50-100 years ago. If I ask a morbidly obese adult why he is so God-awful overweight, would I expect him to say, "My momma fed me too much when I was a baby"? That would be equally as nonsensical.

Candide said...

There really is not a solution to this, you know. There's a huge elephant in the room, and we've been taught that it is impolite (or worse) to notice it. We have been carefully schooled to pretend cheerfully and optimistically that we can overcome all these sad problems if we only love one another more (and throw more money at the problem.

It DOES NOT MATTER why desegregation flat-out ruined the public schools. You can parse, debate, analyze that one up and down until you are blue in the face, but eradicate the fact you cannot.

Caring white parents who could afford to do so snatched their darlin's right out of the integrated schools, where chaos reigned. Mine certainly did, after my dad got one look at the huge hulking black guys in my homeroom---one of them 18 years old, in seventh grade! I was lucky---I was sent to a Catholic school, not some bogus Citizens' Council place.

And parents do this today, decades later, and they always will, when faced with the alternative of having their carefully-nurtured children thrown right in with kids from the 'hood.

And the public schools will remain jungles where the masses of kids are shuffled from grade to grade, until they drop out or graduate, to begin the dreary and hopeless cycle all over again.

Pessimistic? You betcha. Is there some pie-eyed Dr. Pangloss who is *not*? Plenty of 'em sadly...all thinking we can fix this with talking.

Anonymous said...

Is the letter writer suggesting that black Americans have been conditioned/bred for inferiority? That it's inevitable?

It's a reprehensible idea, but when you go far enough into excuse making and self-pity, you eventually circle back to this noxious sort of thing.

Anonymous said...

The solution to the problem is, really, quite simple: Blacks are either going to have to be willing to get over the injustices of the past or they're not. Yes, it really IS that simple. For a solution to be had, there is no other formula.....and until that becomes acceptable (to both Blacks and Whites), we're going no where.

Just like we can't un-ring a bell, we can't do anything about what happened in the past. That being said, we could have tried to compensate for past wrongs, and we have.....in every conceivable way and in spades. Now, it's up to the Black race to decide: do we think we'd be better off by building upon both what we've been provided and what we can create or are we just going to be satisfied with what we continue to be given? Heretofore, it's been the latter....and in spades!

Anonymous said...

10:19 a.m. got it right. Why the terse overreaction by most of the folks on here to an honest attempt to give his/her perspective on a sensitive issue? This type of language about minorities is one of the many reasons why Gov. Romney got clobbered in the Presidential election.

Shadowfax said...

Candide; does it make you feel a bit superior to claim you went to a church-school instead of one supported by the citizen's Council? You'd be surprised how many Knights of Columbus members had tandem membership in the Council. Or would you? And what difference did it make who or which group supported the same initiative in various schools with slightly different names? You've bought into the tired notion that to escape public schools meant you and your parents were racists. And the way you justify your family's decision is to claim you went to a church-school and everybody knows those places are free from prejudice.

Anonymous said...

Since when was Obama black? He's only half black.

I personally know a Viet family that came to Orleans parish in the 90's. They didn't speak enough English to order at McDonald's.In a year, their business was thriving and an asset to the community as were they. Guess what? Their kids graduated at the very top of their class. The very top.They came to the US as young teens with very little English skills, knew nobody and they had little in the way of material possessions. They made it and made it well and continue to do so. One daughter is an attorney with a thriving practice in the area. I am proud and honored to call that family friend. It's AMERICA... The day for excuses is past.

Anonymous said...

This is a long, but an honest,well-written and worthy read.

http://croptimus.blogspot.com/2011/03/what-is-it-like-to-teach-black-students.html

Anonymous said...

December 7, 2012 9:16 PM = blah, blah, blah, blah

Anonymous said...

Just from what I've seen, the Black community worked hard over many years to achieve parity. Somewhere around the early 70's, after all of their efforts had succeeded and they had the exact same rights as every other citizen in the county, they seem to have given up. The hard work done for equal rights did not translate into hard work to make the Black community successful on its own.

I see it on the news all the time, some person saying we need more basketball courts and gyms to keep the Black kids off the streets and give them something to do besides do drugs, steal stuff, and commit violent crime. Something is seriously wrong when the two choices are a life of crime or playing basketball. Somewhere along the way there should be the desire to study hard and learn a valuable skill that will lead to employment. The government can't do that, it has to be done by the parents at home.

There is no one left to blame for the sad state of the Black population but themselves. Parental involvement is practically nonexistent while young Black women giving birth to multiple children starting at age 14 is not unusual. They aren't capable of raising kids and simply continue the cycle of poverty and dependence on government handouts. It is that parental apathy reflected in the piss-poor results in the educational system that KF pointed out earlier.

The original poster is correct, it won't get fixed overnight. But Blacks have every opportunity as Whites to raise well-behaved children and ensure they are nurtured and disciplined at home. At this point it is up to the Black community to start enforcing moral and societal obligations on its children in order to break the cycle of poverty, crime, and ignorance.



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