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We've discussed this ad naseum before but I'll just say: when less qualified candidates for college entrance and professional jobs are getting preference because of skin color that is a handout. It's a discriminatory practice. You can absolutely argue that it's correcting racist, discriminatory practices of the past and that may well be the case. But it's still a handout to people underqualified for the university or position. And to bring it back to what I said earlier: the person in the video would disagree with your stance on affirmative action, which is why I was surprised you said it was a good video. But then, you only watched half of it anyway.
In other words, you agree with this part that I wrote: "Having said that, you can point to pieces of the law, or the way its been implemented and argue that they are handouts, and I would agree, and we'd both agree that they are bad ideas."
Now is this going to be the last time that you ignore that part of my position, or are we going to have to repeat this again?
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You had me up until here. If you control for education and income, what advantage do whites have in this country?
Higher incarceration rates for the same crimes
50% the rate of gaining interviews with identical resumes
The vast majority of racism from a position of power is directed against minorities, not whites (can you point to a single incidence of a black police department that has been unfairly harassing whites in its precinct).
That's controlling for education an income.
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EDIT: I'm being a bit hyperbolic here, and yes I do realize that the demographics and underlying racist views that everyone holds to some degree means that white people, in fact, do have a leg up in this country. That doesn't mean everyone can't be successful, it doesn't mean white people are holding other people down. It means it's likely a little easier for a white person to live here and be successful here. Just like it's likely a little easier to a Japanese person to be successful in Japan. But that doesn't not preclude others from being successful.
I agree, and its likely the attitude that this kid is taking, or the attitude that Neil Degrasse Tyson took. But to reference him, he more or less said, "I had so many obstacles to overcome, and was able to succeed, but its unreasonable to expect most people to do the same with those same obstacles." Being white is like wearing cleats in football. If you work hard and have talent, you can go pretty far without those cleats, but cleats sure do help.
What's unfortunate is that the concept of "white privilege," was supposed to help people understand what benefits they've had when they look down their nose at blacks. Instead it has made them angrier and more resentful. I don't get it........but then again, I'm not a very insecure person.
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I think hard work and proving oneself is what has incited real change in all other historical instances of race warfare. It's how the Irish and Italians did it, it's how the Asians and Jewish did it, it's how Hispanics are doing it. They've all been discriminated against in this country. Black people have a very different history than these other demographics, obviously, but that doesn't mean they can't be successful--our outgoing President proves that. The biggest issue for black people in this country isn't racist white people and bad cops, it's their own socioeconomic situations, single-mothers homes and drugs and gangs.
I don't disagree. Having said that, you should look up the history of how those gangs got started. It wasn't exactly a bunch of suburban middle class kids who just wanted to throw it all away and start gangs. It was largely a backlash against segregation. Again, that's water under the bridge, but I think its important to understand, blacks didn't create their own circumstances. And that's all I'm saying......its important to understand.
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
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