@redstorm72 said:
I think it is more a cultural issue rather than a race issue. Heck, the Asians in North America didn't exactly have it any easier than the Blacks for most of our history, yet they had a culture that emphasized hard work and success, and they achieved it by and large. You can blame the white man for overarching societal trends all you want, but in the end, it always comes down to individual choice. It's a choice to drop out of school, it's a choice to join a gang, it's a choice to leave your family, it's a choice to commit a crime. And unfortunately, it appears black communities seem to ignore or even advocate these choices. It's easy to say, "well, they grew up in poverty, they had no choice", but they do. I have known dozens of people who grew up in poverty, but they worked hard to improve their situation and do better for their children. Are there racist individuals and polices? Most definitely. But things will never improve for the black communities until they take responsibility for their people and their actions, and strive to do better, not just blame others for their misfortune.
Of course they are choices but all choices happen due to external and internal forces. Did you ever stop and think why people drop out of school, join a gang, leave their family, or commit a crime? It's because their current situation is so shitty that staying in it is an even worse option than resorting to those awful things - that's the entire problem. I know it's easy to say "just work hard and improve your situation" but when you've been poor your entire life that's the only life you've lived, you don't know anything else, that fucks up your entire perception of the world and traps you in a vicious cycle.
Even if one is absolutely willing to better their life, how the heck do you go about that? Digging yourself out of a hole is a million times harder than you make it seem. Having no meaningful education because you live in the ghetto, well, can't look for a better job than your minimum wage at McDonald's now. Got kids to take care of and you can't find/afford a babysitter? Well shit, guess you can't get that GED or college degree you need for that better job. Don't have insurance? Better hope that you don't get sick or your car breaks down, and so on and so forth. There are hundreds of these little hurdles that prevent those living in poverty to better their situation and it wouldn't hurt to have a little compassion.
Keep in mind I am not talking about blacks only, that is a far more complex issue than posts in this thread seem to think - I am talking about poverty in general. I will say this thread is sad and the posts here indicate how the poor in general are still dehumanized by the general population.
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