Minorities making headway, and satisfaction with race relations are two very different things. A poll showing an increase in people's views of race relations without a solid definition of that, or why people chose it doesn't really give us anything.
America is good because of the good people who inhabit it. The government and their organizations are corrupt and have been since long before any of us were living our present lives.
https://theworldlink.com/news/local...cle_43e9eb32-a83e-11ea-99c1-6395257f990a.html pinheads with guns
I saw him the last couple of summers at the Oregon Zoo. The shows were incredibly touching with the entire audience singing every word. I'll sure miss them.
I'd agree if Trump wasn't such a divisive person. Since I have three young kids and a teenager (almost 18! holy fuck!), I am completely in the business of turning bad things into good things, ie finding the silver linings. I won't bore you with examples, but I will say that I think Trump's fuckedupness will unify this nation (or tear it apart. Don't tell my kids I said that!). In other words, instead of tuning Trump out, maybe it is good that we are all listening/hearing him (except @ABM, @magnifier661 , et al of course). What we are hearing is unifying us. The peace and love you and I want is what the crowds want. The loudest voices right now are seeking it. There is the potential for much positivity and growth following all this turmoil that we might not have reached without this low point in leadership. I don't know...
I sent this in a PM earlier to a friend. Not so much as an opinion, but just some thoughts. I’ll post it here, just cause it seems kinda relevant. have you ever done any research on Nero? He’s an interesting figure in Rome’s history. He was considered one of the most evil and ruthless Emporers. Much of what we know of his life is mainly from three authors. Its said he killed his mother, and his step brother, and that he started the fire in rome. He was completely villified too and committed suicide at 30 years old. I think of the US as having a lot in common with Rome and thats why I bring this up. There is a lot of evidence that he actually had nothing to do with the fires that engulfed Rome, and that he didnt kill his brother either. That those stories were more politics than anything. Whats rarely talked about though is that he killed Christians by the thousands and blamed them for the fires in Rome and used the fire to rezone and remake Rome to be more like what he wanted. I have two thoughts from this. A.). Whether its Trump or Biden or anyone, we should be wary of those who try to use Tragedy for political gain. Nero used the deaths of thousands in the fire to further his war on Christians some were his own guards. B.). Sometimes I actually think Trump is kind of like Nero. Im not sure if he’s guilty of all the things the media try to put on his shoulders. The politics are wild the last decade or so. Also though its hard to be incredibly sympathetic to either of these “men” as they’re quick to try to use tragedy to cause more tragedy if it fits their agenda’s. My hope is, is that if Biden wins and the Democrats win this November they do not let the tragedy’s of COVID19 or Floyd, or the riots actually make more tragedy’s. I am sort of scared though (maybe I have trust issues lol), that they will fuel divisiveness and anger and all the negatives into more tragedy. History often repeats itself and look at what happened after Nero (which I literally have never heard talked about politically). Legions refused to swear fealty to the new emperor, 4 emperors in succession and Roman civil war, and after all that it did not lead to a better Rome. So while there is part of me that definitely thinks well Biden certainly cant be worse then Trump (and none of this is saying I want four more years of Trump). I think after reflection on whats going on, I hope that as this country moves forward they (Both sides of the aisle), realize that while history may certainly not look back at Trump with any kindness, it turns out that Nero’s political enemies, well no one looks back at them with kindness either. Edit: I want to make it clear, I hope that wherever our country goes from this that history ends up looking at it as a positive thing and not a negative one.
Good post. I was just telling my wife yesterday that, perhaps, the nation/world needed an antagonist such as Trump to motivate the ranks - in whatever capacity that may be. He came to drain the swamp, but he's been taking a bunch of trees with him, as well. Sometimes, less trees means more overall vision of the area at large. But, log too many trees? I still do believe Trump has had our nation's best interests in mind (kind of an us against the world - thinking America has been getting screwed by China, ISIS, et al), and he has had to deal with the entire ranks of the democratic leadership from the get-go, yet his Costco-sized ego has gotten the best of him on more than one occasion. All that said, we have a completely charged-up situation right now and the world is watching. Speaking of this, my wife and I watched this yesterday morning...and probably the reason I made those Trump comments to her. It's a good watch... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-whole-world-is-watching-us/
Im sure the video has been posted that addressed this, but would you want to switch places with the average black person or other POC, ABM? Like, if tomorrow you woke up and instead of ABM the white guy living in the south, you were ABM, a black guy living in Nashville, would you be like "nothing has changed, I'm good."? Same job, same house, marriage, etc...but you were no longer white but were black. Would you welcome that? Do you think you'd be treated the same by others? And if not, why not? This isn't to say YOU treat POC differently, it's that POC are treated differently. Their actions are judged differently by people in power/authority figures, and average citizens.
Actually, I've thought it about it a lot over the course of my life. I had already shared a bunch about my life as an early teenager (and that letter by my sister I shared here). What I didn't share there was the fact that, indeed, I was abused by a number of the Black kids (mostly girls) while going to that church. Kind of reverse-racism if you will. They hit and spit on me. It was a large reason I left the church (and Christianity in general) at age 13. The really cool thing is, we reconciled years later. In fact, December of last year when we visited Portland for Christmas with the fam. Lots of tears and hugs. Hey, do you remember this book? I never read it, but always wanted too.. Black Like Me, first published in 1961, is a nonfiction book by white journalist John Howard Griffin recounting his journey in the Deep South of the United States, at a time when African-Americans lived under racial segregation. Griffin was a native of Mansfield, Texas, who had his skin temporarily darkened to pass as a black man. He traveled for six weeks throughout the racially segregated states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia to explore life from the other side of the color line. Sepia Magazine financed the project in exchange for the right to print the account first as a series of articles. Griffin kept a journal of his experiences; the 188-page diary was the genesis of the book. When he started his project in 1959, race relations in America were particularly strained. The title of the book is taken from the last line of the Langston Hughes poem "Dream Variations". In 1964, a film version of Black Like Me, starring James Whitmore, was produced.[1] A generation later, Robert Bonazzi published a biographical book about Griffin, these events, and his life: Man in the Mirror: John Howard Griffin and the Story of Black Like Me (1997).
The answer to your question is no. I wasn't born in Haiti, either. We're talking an ENTIRELY story there....and I certainly wasn't happy with Trump's remarks related to their country at large - even though, I do believe he was referring to their (lack of) government..and not the people at large.
Because, for all intents and purposes, Blacks are treated differently than Whites in this country. You know that, and I know that. It's once of the reasons I pointed out upstream in this thread that real social change begins in our homes, communities, and schools.
So you admit that blacks are treated differently, you (I assume) admit they've had a different experience of what it means to be an "American" and thus show patriotism different than you, but you continue to pass of judgement of others based on the fact you're thinking your way (the white way) is the correct way. Interesting.
My paternal grandfather (my maternal grandfather was a mean spirited, racist alcoholic fuck) gave my brothers and I that book in paperback form (along with Soul On Ice by Dick Gregory) when were 10 or 11 years old. He told us to read them and then we were going to have a discussion. So we did....and we did. They were real eye openers (and took some time for young kids to plow through). But I always appreciated that he had put stuff like that in our path. That grandfather was the perfect counterpart to the other (asshole) grandfather.....
Thats your words, right? Also your words, right? Because what Colin did, wasn't disrespecting the flag. This too? Those are your words, right? Because you basically are passing judgement on how someone else is allowed to be patriotic or express themselves. Yours again, right? Because you're, again, telling someone else who has a totally different experience in the US, to abide by how you have experienced being an American. You're also telling someone how they're supposed to react to oppression (when historically speaking, you are among the least oppressed group in the history of the US). "seemingly" based on your world view, not that of others. "other" non white statement... Who runs the schools....(hint: it's the government). Who has historically been racist in a lot of it's laws, beliefs, and actions? (hint: it's the government). Who runs the police? (hint: it's not our homes). No kidding, you see the flag as all that is right and pure about the country, and have never experienced what it's like to have fought for the country in a war only to come back and see "blacks only" and "whites only" signs, etc. You seem to be playing into the idea that they are just talking and no actions. The players do speak in schools, do stuff in the community "and the like". Again, so you're not basing what you consider patriotism based on your own personal experience and not allowing anyone who experiences it differently to express it, right? When you've taken away any voice that people have and have oppressed them for generations, yes. Live outside of your bubble, please. taking a knee for the sake of a taking a knee is so dismissive of anyone eles's American experience. When you are denied access to the higher ground in the first place... You seem to be forgetting that they're doing it already, and what makes you the judge on how they should protest or elicit change? They've tried for generations to effect social change in the country. I think that's enough evidence to show that you really shouldn't have told me to go back and read your comments. Your comments were nothing but a bunch of white privilege on display.
