US a nation of cowards on racial matters

Jeez... just racial?

I can think of that and a half dozen more.
 
In the article this quote by Hilary Shelton hits it on the head:

Shelton said:
"Nobody wants to be considered a coward. We've learned to get along by exclusion and silence. We need to talk about it. People need to feel comfortable saying the wrong things," said Shelton.
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I think it is small everyday changes that will have the greatest impact on positive conversation. If I try to make my actions show respect for others this helps them to forget negative perceptions.

I think one key to improve civility all over the country is to encourage clarity in conversation and to avoid jargon where possible -- not just in mixed racial situation but everywhere as much as possible to encourage the practice. Standardize the language! It is not always easy to do this, but making a conscious effort in small things like this can yield big rewards. Everybody can contribute towards this.

Also, I didn't learn this until I was about twenty seven: dressing well is a sign of humility and shows respect for others. That is why diplomats wear nice clothes. Dressing well out of respect for others is a small thing that has a big impact, so it is to be encouraged.
 
"If we're going to ever make progress, we're going to have to have the guts, we have to have the determination, to be honest with each other. It also means we have to be able to accept criticism where that is justified," Holder told reporters after the speech.

In the speech, Holder urged people of all races to use Black History Month as a chance for honest discussion of racial matters, including issues of health care, education and economic disparities.
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OK, here's what I took away from the article. I've got no problem with being honest, as long as that honesty goes both ways. All too frequently what I see is one side being...if I may be allowed to be honest...hypersensitive, and quite assuming that everyone on the other side is by default guilty. In my experience, there is little sense in broaching the subject because it automatically turns into a shouting match full of unfounded accusations in which one side is guilty by default.

Forgive me but...the Alan Bakke case still reverberates throughout my being. I have been hobbled and hamstrung by Affirmative Action, through absolutely no fault of my own. Allow me to reiterate, *no fault* of my own.

I know intimately well what it is like to grow up poor. I know intimately well what it is like to grow up on the wrong side of the tracks. I know intimately well what it is like to survive off a welfare check. I know intimately well what it is like to be looked over for promotion for prejudicial reasons, and to work twice as hard just to get half the notice. I know intimately well what it is like to face many obstacles. From where I sit I can either surrender to the stupidity of others, or I can find a way to work around the stupidity of others.

Stupidity, I have found, is an equal opportunity condition that knows no race, religion, gender, orientation or creed.
 
Dream said:
In the article this quote by Hilary Shelton hits it on the head:

I think it is small everyday changes that will have the greatest impact on positive conversation. If I try to make my actions show respect for others this helps them to forget negative perceptions.

I think one key to improve civility all over the country is to encourage clarity in conversation and to avoid jargon where possible -- not just in mixed racial situation but everywhere as much as possible to encourage the practice. Standardize the language! It is not always easy to do this, but making a conscious effort in small things like this can yield big rewards. Everybody can contribute towards this.

Also, I didn't learn this until I was about twenty seven: dressing well is a sign of humility and shows respect for others. That is why diplomats wear nice clothes. Dressing well out of respect for others is a small thing that has a big impact, so it is to be encouraged.
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Alot of people cant afford to dress well. Im one of them..:p
Nice point though..I can see where that may have a positive impact.
They say the most segreated time in america is on sunday...Do you think this will ever change?
 
ok..this cartoon was published in the ny times....
Does anybody find this to be racists?
Please be honest.. See picture below.

Al sharpton did he wrote wrote something about it. here is the link

http://newsone.blackplanet.com/nation/ny-post-cartoon-compares-stimulus-author-to-dead-chimp/

Personally I feel he that if Obama is going to President, then he will have to deal with stuff like this and look past any overt or intentional racism....IMHO

Any thoughts?



 
juantoo3 said:
Forgive me but...the Alan Bakke case still reverberates throughout my being. I have been hobbled and hamstrung by Affirmative Action, through absolutely no fault of my own. Allow me to reiterate, *no fault* of my own.
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I am old enough to remember Allan Bakke.

I also remember applying for an internship at USA Today, and being asked if I belonged to ANY minority group. They pretty much implied I could make up my own if I wanted to. I told them no, I was as white as they come, and they informed me that the internship was not available to me.

And you know what? That one closed door didn't stop me. That one closed door was followed by countless open doors, opened a crack wider because I was a white male.

And Allan Bakke? He's an Anesthesiologist in Rochester, Minnesota. Yeah, those doors sure slammed shut on him. Poor guy probably never was able to buy that 4th Hummer he always wanted.
 
citizenzen said:
And Allan Bakke? He's an Anesthesiologist in Rochester, Minnesota. Yeah, those doors sure slammed shut on him. Poor guy probably never was able to buy that 4th Hummer he always wanted.
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Maybe so, but the whole point of the Bakke case was ability, and unlike how the Supreme Court *usually* operates, it was a one off deal. Anybody else who wanted to claim reverse discrimination had to take it to court case by case.

I don't begrudge anybody getting ahead in life. I don't see where anybody has to be held back in order to do so. The concept of win-win seems to me far more appropriate than win-lose.
 
YO-ELEVEN-11 said:
ok..this cartoon was published in the ny times....
Does anybody find this to be racists?
Please be honest.. See picture below.

Personally I feel he that if Obama is going to President, then he will have to deal with stuff like this and look past any overt or intentional racism....IMHO

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Had I not seen the caption I probably wouldn't have thought anything of it. But yeah, with a caption like that it does seem pretty pointed.

I think you have raised a good issue though, like the first article pointed out. Now that Obama is in the White House, we are going to have to come to terms with a lot of this stuff.

The bad part is, by virtue of being President, Obama is going to draw criticism. Just like Presidents before him. And I don't think the press should be censored from doing so. But I also think the press should be more substantive in their critiques. Using a monkey to cartoon Obama is as silly as critiquing Bush jr. by the size of his ears or his faulty use of language. In the big scheme it is getting the cheap childish giggle for those of minimum intellect. I think that speaks volumes as to how low the press has stooped.

The trick is, being able to critique Obama in substantive ways without drawing automatic cries of prejudice. America is gonna get some serious growing pains out of the next four years.
 
juantoo3 said:
I know intimately well what it is like to grow up poor. I know intimately well what it is like to grow up on the wrong side of the tracks. I know intimately well what it is like to survive off a welfare check. I know intimately well what it is like to be looked over for promotion for prejudicial reasons, and to work twice as hard just to get half the notice. I know intimately well what it is like to face many obstacles. From where I sit I can either surrender to the stupidity of others, or I can find a way to work around the stupidity of others.
so what do you tell the younger people in your family about what you have been through and how to over those obstacles?
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YO-ELEVEN-11 said:
so what do you tell the younger people in your family about what you have been through and how to over those obstacles?
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It's not often I get asked.

I like the way Colin Powell said it awhile back, about picking oneself up by their bootstraps and making things happen instead of waiting around for someone to do things for you.

My step-dad put it a little different...if you find yourself on the ground, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again.

:)
 
juantoo3 said:
Had I not seen the caption I probably wouldn't have thought anything of it. But yeah, with a caption like that it does seem pretty pointed.

I think you have raised a good issue though, like the first article pointed out. Now that Obama is in the White House, we are going to have to come to terms with a lot of this stuff.

The bad part is, by virtue of being President, Obama is going to draw criticism. Just like Presidents before him. And I don't think the press should be censored from doing so. But I also think the press should be more substantive in their critiques. Using a monkey to cartoon Obama is as silly as critiquing Bush jr. by the size of his ears or his faulty use of language. In the big scheme it is getting the cheap childish giggle for those of minimum intellect. I think that speaks volumes as to how low the press has stooped.

The trick is, being able to critique Obama in substantive ways without drawing automatic cries of prejudice. America is gonna get some serious growing pains out of the next four years.
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yep the growing pains have been there and will continue to be there...

IMHO..critiquing Obama is difficult on both sides of the coin...One thing that I cannot figure out though is..Why is race so important in a capatilists society?
 
juantoo3 said:
It's not often I get asked.

I like the way Colin Powell said it awhile back, about picking oneself up by their bootstraps and making things happen instead of waiting around for someone to do things for you.

My step-dad put it a little different...if you find yourself on the ground, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again.

:)
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That quote is in a song..I will find it give you the link...If you want it....let me know if you want...
 
YO-ELEVEN-11 said:
Why is race so important in a capatilists society?
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Race is not important in a capitalist society, or at least it shouldn't be, and certainly not a divisive issue. Racism is a lingering cultural artifact from a time when stupid people did stupid things to other people. We can't judge those in the past by the standards of today...*but* we can learn from their mistakes.

I found a pretty neat quote from an interview with Colin Powell:

If you could change something about your life, what would it be?
I don't know how to answer that because I never think about it. You can't change your life, you can't change anything that happened in the past. What I've always tried to do is to learn from mistakes in the past and always look ahead. Too many people spend time today thinking about something that went wrong yesterday or the day before. There's nothing you can do to change what happened, so learn what you can and then move on. And always try to do better. I am very happy with my life, even when I've had things go very wrong. I learned from those experiences. Life has its ups and downs and you grow with those ups and downs.
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General Colin L. Powell - Biography
 
juantoo3 said:
Race is not important in a capitalist society, or at least it shouldn't be, and certainly not a divisive issue. Racism is a lingering cultural artifact from a time when stupid people did stupid things to other people. We can't judge those in the past by the standards of today...*but* we can learn from their mistakes.

I found a pretty neat quote from an interview with Colin Powell:



General Colin L. Powell - Biography
Click to expand...

I will read this ..thanks
 
YO-ELEVEN-11 said:
Alot of people cant afford to dress well. Im one of them..:p
Nice point though..I can see where that may have a positive impact.
They say the most segreated time in america is on sunday...Do you think this will ever change?
Click to expand...
I cannot afford the nice clothes, but you see what I mean. Getting people started is 90% of success, so you just have to help them get started! Those who want to stomp out prejudice want to take action! They should be encouraged (baby steps), and this is a small sacrifice everyone can make that involves them on a personal and social level!

I suggest students should wear uniforms, and it should be expressly for the purpose learning to show outward respect for each other. In public places, encourage people to avoid using figures of speech that translate poorly, both for foreigners sakes and our own sakes! Avoid words that exclude others. Lots of countries do this, having a formalized language style to unite everyone. If you're Navy, try to leave out the code words around non-Navy people. Nothing wrong with those words, but let it be your part in uniting America. Its a mentality of unity! These odd rules are simple initiatives that destroy prejudices, and they're nothing new.

I think if our educational systems and our government institutions and religious places make a big deal out of these things, it will make a difference. If we can get people to make small changes, then the big change can happen.
 
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