As long as the blame ****** crowd can convince legislators that those never having owned a slave owe something to those that never were slaves, it won't change.
Those benefitting from affirmative action will say they only want to be judged by their qualifications yet are willing to accept race as being one of those qualifications when the ones they have don't cut it.
Now Conservative65
To be perfectly fair
it is true that because of slavery laws, where many slaves did not own property not even their own bodies which were by law the legal property of others,
whole generations are left 150 behind on the learning curve.
Where not only do they have no understanding or experience with ownership
but inherited RESENTMENT of laws and property as if this is "white man's culture"
So this very thing they are so against
is enslaving them as victims.
I would not blame a rape victim for going through stages of not trusting
men or wanting to be around them because it triggers this emotional response.
It takes SEVERAL generations to heal of this genocide.
Look at Native Americans with drinking and gambling problems.
How much of that was already there and how much was from the oppression
carried down, who knows? Only God knows where this ill will came from.
But the common factor to healing is FORGIVENESS which is a mutual process.
Just pushing blame back and forth
is like tossing the garbage back and forth over the same fence
where neither neighbor is actually getting rid of the problem.
We keep dumping it back in the other neighbor's yard
thinking it's their responsibility to clean it up. And they do the same.
And the garbage goes back and forth without fixing anything!
My family, one of white heritage, didn't come to this country until 1905 from E.Europe. We never owned slaves nor lived here until 40 years after slavery ended.
I wouldn't blame a rape victim for going through those stages. I would have a problem is the descendents of that rape victim blamed descendents of the rapist 150 years later.
The only type of forgiveness many who support AA want is for white people to sit down, shut up, and take the blame inlcuding those of us whose family wasn't here during the time for which they want white people to take the blame. I have nothing for which to ask forgiveness on this matter nor no forgiveness to give.
As for several generations, my first year in school was the first year blacks and whites went to school together at the same school. That was 3 generations back. I am also a former school teacher that quite often heard the "you're only saying that to me because I'm black" excuses.
As long as being white despite my family not being here during slave times means I should be expected to accept AA as a policy, I'll keep dumping the trash back. My family didn't create it nor should any of us be expected to dispose of it.
Hey Conservative
I hear what you are saying.
I agree it is racist to blame "all one group" for the actions of some members.
If the Blacks don't like to be assumed they are all "lazy thugs" who want to blame others,
why is it okay to say all whites owe privileges to the black slaves and not equally to white founders.
But look at the case of when that officer in Portland
said he was Sorry for all the mess that was scaring that poor kid.
Was he apologizing and taking on blame/responsibility for what other people did?
No, but he was generally expressing and sympathizing sorrow and regret that this violence is happening. It IS real, it is IS hurting people and relations on all sides, and it IS scaring kids, parents, and police where they don't know who might end up dead next. Of course, the officer could honestly say he was SORRY for all that, and NO it doesn't mean enabling others or taking on blame that doesn't belong.
The officer actually supports his fellow police,
and that's what makes his outreach to the boy so much more meaningful.
That's what we need, mutual acceptance that the problems are mutual.
It's not about taking on the burden of others and enabling wrongdoing etc.
It's about letting go of the whole situation and quit holding onto resentment and blame that isn't helping.
The same acceptance and forgiveness it takes to get EITHER side to "let go" of saying
the other side is more to blame. When we recognize we are in the boat together,
and nobody's problems aren't shared in one way or another by everyone who has to face similar struggles, but just in different forms.
Nobody's pain and suffering is greater than someone else.
Relative speaking, the greater problems someone may face in one area, the greater rewards
and support they receive compared with someone else. Nobody's situation is going to be exactly like someone else.
Where we make mistakes is trying to compare these and make them the same.
They're not.
Each person needs support to go through their growth including recovery
from whatever setbacks they experience.
==============================================================
BTW in the case of rape or murder, yes there are cases that have been made
to represent a whole group. Like the outcry against OJ Simpson and Pistorius.
People are blaming the justice system for letting richer people buy their way out of crimes,
and yes some people WERE blaming the reactions on RACE.
the common factor is when people "see" a person or issue as "representing" a
whole group, stereotype, whether race religion or political affiliation.
This is a mix of projection, and bad karma between those groups that
needs to be resolved and healed, or else the vicious cycle continues.
The infighting in the Middle East, the division between Jews Christians
and Muslims: how much of that is "conditioning" passed down from one generation to the next?
It's a vicious cycle, and the only way out is forgiveness, forgiving the whole mess
so people can start fresh, work together to repair the wrongs and problems inherited from the past,
and not add any more problems or grief to the pile so it quits growing larger and larger.
When an issue applies to a vast majority of the group, it's no longer a stereotype.
Much of the conditioning of the division between Jews and Muslims is passed down. Both side believe they have a very real claim to the land over which they fight. It's too long of a Biblical lesson. Let's just say it goes all the way back to Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael.
A. Hey, I commend and applaud your more inclusive view of where both the Jews and Muslims lay claim to the land.
That is the start of embracing and treating people as equal, by recognizing where they are coming from.
I WISH more people had this understanding you have, this is so needed, thank you!
==============
B. As for stereotypes, whether they are hurtful are not
can depend on how it is presented.
It can be true that a lot of Black people are known for having large full lips,
but to make fun of this as a negative stereotype is still hurtful.
A stereotype doesn't have to be false, there can be truth to it and it can still be used
to "represent" an entire group in a "stereotypical" way.
What was pointed out by a sociologist was that it makes a difference if a group
affiliation or association is self-chosen, such as a political party, or if it born and not chosen
such as race, gender, or culture one is born into and brought up in. making fun of someone's
CHOICE of politics is fair game compared to making fun of someone's disability, race or gender they didn't choose.
Having a sense of humor about oneself and one's own "group" makes a difference.
If I make jokes about how badly I drive, and can't park straight, as an "Asian stereotype"
that is different than if someone yells out the window at me:
"Hey quit squinting and Open your EYES and drive!"
If my boyfriend says that to me as a joke, that "maybe it would help if I opened my eyes all the way,"
I may laugh, but someone else like my sister may take it as offensive who is outside the situation.
I even discussed with my Goduncle how the LA comedian was taken
two different ways when she imitated the accents of Vietnamese Nail Salon ladies.
I thought it was cute and charming how she captured the sweet lulling way they spoke.
But my Uncle explained that many Vietnamese members of his business association took offense, were quite hurt by what they saw as making fun of the language and accents, and many nail salon owners
protested this comedienne and her video online.
I had to explain to him that the comedian did not mean it in any derogatory way,
but was being charming and the humor was intended that way.
It took him some work to understand the other viewpoint because
he only understood the viewpoint of the people who were offended
and thought the point was making fun of their language.
So this "stereotype" can work both ways, even if the ladies in the
nail salons DO have Vietnamese accents that sound just like that,
it depends how it is used and how it is taken if it becomes hurtful or not.
If people have a connection with each other, it is less likely to come across
as targeting another group. My bf wasn't trying to make a statement about
all Asians, he was just making fun of my personal driving and getting lost all the time.
And yes, to us it is funnier to think this is fulfilling a stereotype.
But to others, they may find it is in poor taste to joke that way,
and many have objected.