I don't have time to spend all day on here, so I'll just respond to this for now since it's the first response I've seen...
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Originally Posted by dopebeats
They did and look what happened. Folks fighting for equal treatment from law enforcement officials.
I never saw much of a fight to end systemic racism among police departments. What I saw was (FINALLY) outrage at unarmed black people being shot dead by cops who think they're judge, jury, and executioner. NEWSFLASH: This has been going on for DECADES. It's only because of cell phones that the public now has a chance to see for themselves how bad it is and always was. Part of the solution of course, involves immediately investigating and prosecuting these cowardly bad cops, instead of trying to cover up the shootings. But it also involves new training and breeding a whole new non-racist culture among entire police forces. It isn't just the cops who are racist. Racism permeates throughout the entire system like a cancer from the top down.
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The white collar dude that committed a 'faux pas' is really apart of the problem.
But what's problem? Is it that he's a racist? Or that he's not educated in racism? I've been arguing for months that some white collar dude who commits some fax pas is more likely ignorant of his privilege than he is an outright racist. This refusal of you guys to make any distinctions or at least recognize that there are varying degrees of racism is why we have Trump right now. People who don't consider themselves racist are sick to death of ppl like Fly calling them racists.
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Systemic racism doesn't work the way you think that it works. That black/brown kid that doesn't look like you,talk like you or even act like you might not get that job from the white collar dude because of this.
It's my understanding that the wage gap between blacks and whites has never been worse (another failure of the Obama era if you ask me). However, I'm more concerned with the disparity of education and opportunity between blacks and whites. A white kid growing up in an affluent neighborhood will receive much better schooling than a black kid growing up in an impoverished neighborhood. I have black colleagues who grew up in affluent or even moderate income areas who have very successful careers and make very good money. But minorities in impoverished areas have much less of a chance. The problem needs to be addressed well before a minority reaches working age. I honestly haven't researched the wage gap by industry/career. I'd be interested to know if black software engineers make considerably less than white software engineers, etc. Or if I black UPS driver makes less than his white counterpart. I know the wage gap between men and women by industry is negligible even though woman make .70 cents on the dollar compared to men overall. The problem is not wage discrimination, but that they're just not brought up to enter or have interest in these fields. With minorities, the problem is likely that they don't have access to the resources to become educated in these fields.
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It's the same when we apply it to law enforcement. That black dude driving a 82 Cutlass is going to get more attention from LEO than the white dude driving a 2010 Silverado.
It's worse than that. A black person driving the speed limit in a brand new Lexus is more likely to be pulled over than a white guy Pontiac who is speeding because I guess a black man in a new Lexus is suspicious. THAT'S RACISM!
But if someone were to cut in line in front of a black person, people here would scream that he's racist! Whereas, I would just assume it's just a jerk. This is why I contend I'm nowhere near as racist as most here who immediately scream racist anytime their poor sensibilities are offended. I view all minorities as being equal to myslef and don't jump to racial conclusions at every incident. Yes, racism is alive and well and there is much progress still to be made. But you just can't default to calling everyone a racist just because a recipient happens to be a black or brown person. That in itself is racism! It requires that you started from a point which looks down on that person and their race.
I jumped in when someone called Trump a racist for raising the birther movement. He might be a huge racist for all I know, but I have no reason to believe his birther rhetoric was motivated by racism. He's an opportunist. A blowhard. A con man who would use any trick available to gain attention. The more outrageous the better. This is a guy who discredited McCain (a white man) as a war hero. Stood back and encouraged his supporters when they'd chant "Lock her up" (a white woman) at his rallies. I see no evidence to reveal that Trump's entry into the birther movement was anything more than a despicable human being who would do or say anything to gain attention, become relevant and front page news.
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Throwing money at the problems aren't going to fix them. What you are really calling for is assimilation. In order for people to assimilate there has to be some feeling of inclusion.
I agree 100% with this. My argument is you are NOT creating inclusion by crying foul or shouting down unintended racist views. You are only increasing the gap. You are putting down minorities as though they can't fend for themselves against some white bread co-worker who unintentionally insults them, while pushing those who might simply disagree with the naming of the BLM movement further away out of spite.
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Since we are on a poker site, I'll just ask this question. Why should you not berate fish?
Excellent point. Because if you do, they leave the game. And that's exactly what many people with good intentions towards eliminating racism did when people like Fly wouldn't stop screaming that they're still racists. They said **** you and left the game. Now we have Trump. Thanks Fly!