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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SilentZ who wrote (801591)	8/15/2014 12:51:38 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1571229

It's not that it can't be passed down; but unlike alcoholism and addiction, where genetics play a large part, the psychic toll you're talking about is environmental; an African-American kid whose parent/parents do get out of that environment will fare a ton better than if he/she is born into that environment (though that kid will still likely face some discrimination in his/her life, even if he is elected President). I'm not saying that those historical factors don't have an impact -- they do -- it's that focusing on them gives us an out when it comes to doing anything about the situation because they make the challenge seem too daunting and arcane, when in reality, solutions exist and if we were to really enact them, it wouldn't take generations to see significant improvement. Take Reconstruction for example... blacks in the South came out of slavery and made huge strides in just a few years. They began to build lives for themselves, they started getting educations, and many got elected to public office. But there was a major backlash from Southern whites -- the rise of the Klan, poll taxes, terror, etc, followed by the Corrupt Bargain which ended Reconstruction after just over ten years, the U.S. troops had to stop defending Southern blacks, and Southern whites subsequently enacted Jim Crow laws, resumed lynchings (which you'll see below took a major nosedive around 1870 thanks to the Force Acts), and dismantled all of the progress that had been made. Southern blacks began migrating to the North in the early 1900s to escape the effects represented by the violence in those three blue bars below in 1890-1899, 1900-1909, 1910-1919, but as we know, unfortunately weren't terribly well-received in the North (not to mention hostile acts taken on a federal level by men like Woodrow Wilson and being largely left out of the New Deal), and we ended up with white flight and a lack of opportunity for blacks even outside the South. I agree with what you are saying.........all I am simply saying is that the impact their history has had on the current population of blacks has to be taken into account when viewing how we go from here. Some posters on this forum believe enough has been done to help blacks and that whatever benefits this country provides to them.........and they are not as excessive as some here seem to think........those benefits need to be withdrawn. I don't agree........I think its too early and there is more that needs to be done.