Why should white people be blamed for African American's collective social status?

And how?

This is an unwritten law: The reason the majority of African Americans are not doing well (interesting thing though, most liberal media willfully ignore that most any group isn't sailing in their own private yachts fishing tunas) is because of white people.

How — you might wanna ask? For starters, a lot of people think white people tend to hire white people. But that's quite far from reality. Various studies show that private firms hire proportionally far more African Americans than any public sector. For one thing, how many black people are there in the US congress? It would be an exaggeration to say it is "a handful", because there are far less than 10. Whereas Africans in the management level of McDonalds and Walmart is a common sight.

Well, at least a lot of black folks got here as slaves, right? Let's not forget that a considerable proportion of Africans migrated to the US out of free will, let's take one step further, let's make it controversial, let's throw away our emotion and whim and look into this problem with pure rationality and cold, hard logic: What would happen if, hypothetically, an African American weren't born in America, because his ancestor never got sold to America, and stayed in Africa?

He would very likely be facing constant havoc: atrocious sanitary status, zero infrastructure, no running water, no electricity, worse, the constant conflicts between local warlords may make a sure work of him at any given moment.

Yet he doesn't have to face that, he enjoys all the conveniences and the quality of life of the 1st world, he can go to school just like a 1st world citizen, had he worked hard, he could go to college with various funds and subsidies, he can study hard and eventually became a decent productive citizen:a Lawyer, a doctor, an engineer... all because his ancestor was shipped to America.

Please note this is definitely NOT a thread that attempts to justify slavery or slave trading: Sinister the analysis provided above may appear, slavery is condemnable in any social and cultural context. This thread is merely setting out to illustrate how ridiculous and groundless it is to attribute one racial groups' social condition solely to another group. All people were born carrying curses of their own disposition and physical condition: a boy maybe extremely talented in arts but want to be a mathematician; a girl who exhibited great reasoning ability and understanding of numbers may want to be an athlete. People are what they make of themselves, not born out of.

 

So unwritten that only certain white people seem to think it exists.....

 

Well, we did have this rapper come out in favor of slavery a few years back.

 

Ooooh kay... so could you be so kind as to provide a reason for African Americans' less than desirable social status?

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Whatever that link means, I find slavery not least bit acceptable.

 

It's a safe link, but here's the money quote:

Speaks for itself. Well, it's not like you're gonna find a lot of geniuses in hip-hop.

 

Tell my you are not serious. The kid (18 year old rapper) is clueless. If there were a machine of some sort that can make him experience what was like to be a slave, I'm sure he would take it back after just one tour.

 

Whites shouldn't be blamed. Blacks should get over it and move on. Glad I could clear that up.....you're welcome.

 

Maybe twenty years ago.

 

Of course "white people" in general shouldn't be blamed for the social status of African Americans but it would be equally wrong to dismiss the long history of racial segregation and discrimination in the USA, threads of which continue today, as one of the relevant factors in that social status.

Slavery in itself isn't really the key point since even long after it was abolished, well within living memory in fact, a black person in the US was treated as a second class human being, if one at all. You can't expect that kind of thing to simply disappear in a couple of generations and not at all without active positive efforts on all sides. Sadly, I see very little of that myself, from any side. I can only hope it is happening and just isn't as obvious from the outside.

 

The African tribal cultures have been adapted to a modern western society quite poorly. Multiple and ephemeral partners producing many offspring, violent confrontation to settle dispute, desperate resource grasping, Alpha male superiority mentality, and the "Chief" position have evolved into Baby mommas, gun violence, theft, and gang violence.

Caucasians are only to blame for bringing them into a society they were unprepared for.

 

I'd very much like you to present any creditable source on that claim. If that were true, you'd expect nation-wide riot anytime.

 

Could be that generations of slavery stripped black culture of a positive work ethic and led to lots of them to latching onto welfare. Back when I lived in NJ it seemed to me that Mexicans and Central Americans had a terrific work ethic, while Puerto Ricans, along with blacks, had less of a work ethic, due perhaps to welfare benefits and unionism in Puerto Rico. But, of course, there are plenty of unmotivated whites around, and plenty of blacks with strong work ethics. Down south here in Florida near the Georgia border, there are bakeries and barbeque places owned and mainly operated by blacks, that have reputations among both backs and whites as having some of the best food around, and blacks own and operate a lot of other kinds of small businesses around here.

 

No thinking person blames whites, but many whites get hyper defensive as soon as anyone mentions the problem of poverty among african americans.

 

That would assume then that europeans never colonized Afrika. So to re-phrase your question; what would Afrika be like if europeans didnt colonize it? That would be a better question in your initial post and an interesting discussion. As it stands, your question is very poorly framed.

 

First of all let me state out by saying PLEASE STAY ON TOPIC AND DO NOT INSULT EACH OTHER , let's have a civil debate here . Thanks and Happy New Year!!

 

I agree with you about the hyper-defensive mode, but why do you think that's typically the first reaction?

 

What have black leaders done to improve the situation of blacks. When blacks have so called leaders like Jackson and Sharpton that want to keep alive life before 1865, things probably will not get better. The fact is no blacks today are forced to pick cotton. Further, their fathers didnt, their grandfathers didnt and probably their great grandfathers didnt. What is really a shame is this country has spent trillions on trying improve the lot of blacks, and they didnt take advantage of it. Whats worse is "leaders" like Jackson and Sharpton demand more.

 

What happen to you brits these days, lost all your wits? Not all Africans were captured and enslaved. So there is no fallacy in my hypothetical scenario.

 

Colonialism is what has caused Africa most of it's problems. Colonialism and slavery are not the same thing, look at what the Belgium did in the Congo.

 

Before colonialism the Congo didnt have the wheel. Now after it has left, they have fallen into poverty and despair. Colonialism isnt always bad, just racism and plunderism.

 

Proof they didn't have the wheel? When has European Colonialism not resulted in plundering? Racism is sort of irrelevant since peoples with better technology and better weaponry always see the other weaker side as theirs for the taking. Race might be a justification, but in the end it comes down to one side taking by force what they want.

 

Wits?? whatever...anyway, the point iwas trying to show you was that Afrika was de-populated by about 18million ppl and was partitioned up among the european colonial powers and civil wars ensued. Do you believe this form of colonialism had absolutely no negative impact on Afrikan society?

 

Got proof they did? One is never called on to prove a negative.

Yes that kind of colonialism is wrong. Mutual colonialism can be good though. Look at the Tongan - British example, or our relations with Puerto rico. Exceptions to the rule for sure, but colonialism isnt always bad. Just usually. Nitpicking is my thing these days.

 

It a reaction to a feeling of guilt. As much as that group of people like to rail against "white guilt", it is they who experience a feelings of guilt.


Defensiveness is almost always a reaction to guilt.

 

Our courts sock it to black offenders more than white offenders. This institutional problem has been a problem for decades. We lock people up for a very long time for minor offenses. In this way, and others, the system is stacked against black people.