Then you can't explain it to me. When I played hoops, by your measure, I should have been Bobby Gross. Instead I wanted to be Mo Lucas. When I played baseball, I wanted to be Jim Rice, not Freddy Lynn. When I played football, I wanted to be OJ Simpson...okay that one turned out to be a big mistake However, my point is that my entire life I've looked to merit or to admirable characteristics, not skin color, and I'm puzzled why its so important to people. No one has explained it to me in a satisfactory way.
They don't. After my parents, my other role models were selected for their independence of character, their refusal to be molded and assimilated. Their insistence on controlling their own destiny. Their recognition of the basic difference between right and wrong. Their appreciation of beauty in the world. Mohammed Ali and Roger Maris were my only sports heroes. Eisenhower and Kennedy were my political heroes. Jimi Hendrix and Robin Trower were my guitar heroes.
You shouldn't be puzzled; it's pretty clear. As for his rise and why people believe identity politics are so important, it's two different concepts. One is how he got to run for the Presidency, and the other is why people think his election is so important. And did I say being black was his only quality? If it were, than Dave Chappelle doing his Rick James impression could conceivably be in the White House. I'm pretty sure I've complimented him on his intellect (although I think it's less than Bill Clinton's) and his speaking ability. I've also remarked on his discipline on sounding much more moderate than his voting record would indicate. A nice try, though.
I would deport them all, as they are here ILLEGALLY. There are a multitude of good reasons that we have procedures for them to go through to become legal citizens and it's really quite simple to do. If they can't show my country that small amount of respect, they are bad for my country in the bigger picture.
Sticks and stones, man. Grow a pair. Okay, how do you treat different races differently? How is it systemic? That's complete crap. Sports is a meritocracy. If you don't win as a coach, you're fired. As a general rule, West Africans have more fast twitch muscle than do Europeans. That's why they end up at running back or cornerback. My point is this country is a lot less racist and sexist than the media has portrayed it. Numbers are coming out that Obama being half-black actually was a net benefit. That more white people voted for Obama because he was black than those who stated they voted for another candidate because Obama was black. In other words, we're racist in a positive, not negative way. My question is why is it important at all? I just want the best person running our country. I don't think Obama was close to the most qualified candidate or had the best ideas, he just ran the best campaign. Give me Bill Richardson any day of the week on the Democratic side.
The sad part is that they actually help your economy by doing jobs noone wants to. And the process to become a legal citizen is expensive and long FYI. Next time, don't talk out of your ass.
Okay, and I actually played college football. I can assure you we played Kenny Gamble at RB not because he was black, but because no one could tackle him. Oh, and two of our linebackers were black while all of our wide receivers were white.
I would too, I just tell the ones I know that they will be the last ones to go. I wouldn't count on that ever happening though. I guess I am out of touch with the rest of this country myself.
Thanks for telling me about your experiences in highly diverse Oregon. Clearly you didn't read a word of what I posted. Obviously, I met no one different in DC, Chicago or NY. Yep, they were just like Lake Oswego. Edit: actually, it's pretty cool to hear about LO back when it was small. We moved there in 1973 when it was 14,000. Today, all the forests are subdivisions. I miss the old LO when it was a much more middle class place to live.
Talking out of his ass? How about the jobs they do that people DO want to do? Like welding your car back together after it has been wrecked? Good luck with that one, you won't crash it again if you know what is good for you.
People can be pretty thick headed. When I was a kid and my grandma got a new tv and vcr, she was a little stubborn about letting me program the clock and remote for her. She didn't like that a child was more skilled at doing something like that. I sometimes wish that people were more inclined to pursue careers that they are suited for instead of what they want to be just because that is what they want to be. I knew plenty of kids in school that wanted to be doctors because it sounded cool and they made lots of money. Well, I guess that is what malpractice coverage is for. My brother played football in school and the coach never let him run the ball until the last game of his senior year. He averaged about 8 yards a carry and went well over a hundred for the game. 97 percent of the kids on the team never even got that much of a chance. SORRY if I rambled, I just think aptitude should matter most in life.
Speaking of talking out your ass, that's BS. My wife manages a motel. The owner, an Indian, does the hiring. The clerks are all white. The maids are all illegal aliens, with splendid documentation, but illegals just the same. When INS comes to town they have no maids for 5-7 days until it's safe to come out. She likes them and says most are great workers, except when they don't show. A few don't pan out, and are fired. They are all relatives of each other and get hired that way. No Hispanics ever apply through normal channels or walk in. Many, many legal, white people walk in looking for a job. Seldom does a day go by without at least one. Times are hard and unemployment in Beautiful Central Oregon is double-digit. 1400 foreclosures and counting. Families are homeless and children are living on the street. They'll do anything. ANYTHING. Most of them use that exact sentence. "I'll do ANYTHING". People who HAVE jobs actually believe that crap because they think "I wouldn't quit MY job to be a maid. But people who don't have a job would certainly love a job as a maid. It's simple, clean, and not physically draning. Bus boys, waitresses, waiters, construction laborers, framers, wildfire crews. These are the jobs they take from the community. The bread and butter for jobs here, and some of the better paying. Kids get out of High School and are forced to move to the valley because their own community won't employ them because they are legal Americans. They have an education and they will eventually move on. THAT is why they aren't hired. Their modest High School Diploma has made them un-enslavable. They will have to be treated fairly and rewarded properly for their work effort. Labor and safety laws will have to be followed. An illegal alien is hired because they will keep their mouth shut, never complain, and never leave because they fear being turned in, found out, and sent back. You know, slavery.
Your whole post was great but this part is written so perfectly I had to point it out because it is so true.
Mt. Park was all forest until around 1967ish. I lived in what they now call the FAN. Next to Tryon Creek State Park. At Forest Hills Elementary, we put together and ran the campaign to save it from development and make it a State Park. A great lesson in community activism for us. I spent a good portion of my time in the park, and we had several underground forts, tree forts, and rope swings there. Those were the days.
