I believe there are inequalities which cannot be legislated away. We will always be burdened with bigots, and no law will make them change.
We can enforce behaviors, but that is very dangerous ground, and I do think the federal government has overstepped in that department. I teach my children all about the black civil right struggle. I had given them detailed knowledge of the unholy horrors blacks had to endure to get the same freedoms we enjoy. But at the same time, I rankle at the federal government trying to control my behavior.
There is something more powerful than laws which we have not pursued enough.
Education. Contrary to what some people may believe around here, I have a great deal of faith in the intelligence of the American people. I think education is the solution to almost all of our problems, not just our racial problems.
But even where we have been educating people on matters of race, it has been mostly one way. Teaching us whites about tolerance, while overlooking or outright condoning the bigotry and hate directed at us.
In addition to conscious bigotry, there are also racial and cultural biases which cause people to treat those who are unlike them differently without being aware of it. White cops give black drivers more tickets, for example. I don't believe this is always deliberate, and that is where education comes in.
We all have behaviors of which we are unaware until someone points them to us. That is probably one of the biggest benefits of marriage. To have someone there to point out, "You behaved like an asshole just then."
I also think it is time for the black community to admit it has been fostering some incredibly self-destructive behaviors. Behaviors which are becoming downright cultural. Once behaviors become part of a culture, they are a real ***** to put a stop to.
To be honest with you Marc, I think at this point the black community is doing more damage to the black community than whites are.
And that feeds right into the bigots' propaganda.
Please expound. What kinds of things are the black community doing to themselves that are making it worse on themselves?
1) 80 percent illegitimacy rate, for starters. This is simply staggering. From this flows much poverty. And from poverty comes crime, drug abuse, depravity, and hopelessness.
2) Deriding success achieved outside the black community. The proverbial bucket of crabs. When one begins to climb out, the others pull him back into the bucket.
3) Choosing the wrong martyrs. A thug shot by the cops is not a hero. Michael Brown was a thug. He was not Emmitt Till.
4) Choosing the wrong leadership. Defending obvious criminals and bad actors in positions of power just because they are black. I realize this is not strictly a black thing. Far from it. But if you are in a disadvantageous position on an unlevel playing field, you do not have the luxury of choosing scumbags to be your mouthpiece. Whenever you re-elect a piece of shit like Marion Barry, or defend a crook like William J. Jefferson, you are communicating that's the best you can do. That is the wrong message. Not just the wrong message to the world, it is the wrong message to tell yourselves.
Numbers 1 and 4 are the two which break my heart the most.