World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[marurun]

Over-simplified, but there is an element of truth to it.

[ElkinFencer10]

Having grown up in a wealthy white school and now having taught in a poor black school, there is absolutely a difference in opportunity. It is an indisputable fact, once you've seen and lived in both worlds, that poor black kids don't have even close to the same opportunities that rich white kids do. I'm not saying there's an insidious cabal of white supremacists ensuring that white privilege remains the deciding factor in success, but we absolutely must recognize that equality and equity are not the same. We have mostly achieved equality in opportunity as far as the law is concerned, but equity is virtually non existent in this country.

As with maru's image, this is a simplification, but it's a very concise and poignant visualization of the problem.

[CRTGAMER]

Over-simplified, but there is an element of truth to it.

It is okay NOT to jump on the band wagon pulling for minorities to prove you are not racist
I post a picture of two known liked people having nothing to do with Politics at the Trump Tower and then get these Replies? Your Spoiler picture is utter crap, sadly many still think that way today which to me in itself is racist. Doing that just emphasizes you see people by color and not who they are inside. That kind of thinking just pushes people apart and pitiful excuse using race as an issue why one is not successful. It is offensive if I was handed a better opportunity or cut short because of my minority status, so wrong either direction and it does happen in BOTH directions.

I hate it when quota requirements of racial background for schools and jobs and should instead always be the person with the best skills. Being a mixed race myself I always put other on the question block, judge me for my skills and potential and not my race. I cherish my history for the races I think I am from my parents and grandparents, but will never use that as an excuse of failure or to get ahead. Nobody is pure one race so why even raise the fuss?

[ElkinFencer10]

Racism, from a sociological perspective (which is the realm of this discussion), is the use of institutionalized power to gain an advantage. In terms of opportunity, black people can't be racist because they have no institutional power to leverage over white people. White people, on the other hand, do and always have had absolute power in this country. Racism as in "prejudice based on one's race or skin color" is something everyone can have, but that's not what we're talking about here; we're talking about economic and political opportunity, and in that context, racism in America is a strictly white trait.

[marurun]

It is okay NOT to jump on the band wagon pulling for minorities to prove you are not racist

And if that's why I did it, you might be right. But it's not. Actually, no, I take that back. There is nothing wrong for pulling for minorities regardless of the reason. When it comes to seeking racial equity, I don't care what your motives are as long as you are furthering the right end. We are not a post-racial society. We still subdivide ourselves by race and allow shallow perceptions based upon skin color to affect our perceptions of others.

The rest of your post is nonsense. That whole "best qualified candidate" stuff is a smoke screen. It has already been demonstrated that black people with "black-looking" names get fewer resume views despite equal qualifications. Further, the embedded history of systemic disadvantages makes it much harder for black people to acquire the same qualifications as white people. So if we say qualifications are all that matters, not only are we lying, but we're also discriminating against folks who are at a systemic disadvantage. Stuff like quotas exist to attempt to combat the structural imbalance in equity.

As for the mixed race nature of most Americans, that may be true, but we still look broadly at skin color and easy cultural identifiers like names and modes of speech and dress. President Obama is half-white, and yet he is broadly categorized as black. He cannot be white because he's not white enough. He didn't have the option growing up to decide to identify as white, because other than his family, society at large wouldn't accept him as white. Because his skin is darker, his only identity option is black.

[ElkinFencer10]

Just three decades ago, being 1/32 black made you legally black in Louisiana. Being 1/32 white and 31/32 black didn't make you white; you were hella black. Being 1/32 black and 31/32 white made you black, though. The idea of a "post racial" America is bullshit, and that's never been more apparent than the past eight years with the purely race based vitriol directed towards our president by people both outside and inside the government.

[Blu]

Reaching Alex Jones levels of absurdity in here. Elkin and Marurun are spot on with clearly defining systemic/institutional racism versus prejudice on the basis of skin color. Resistance to the fact it exists, let alone do anything about it, is a struggle. But once you arrive at that conclusion with race, it can be a soul-crushing reality to realize other parts of society do the same things (systemically create barriers) to folks with other historically disadvantaged identities. (Gender, Sex, Ability, Orientation, SES, Religion, Veteran Status)

For example, It took my partner years and years of hard work and determination to gain access to a STEM program to work towards a PhD in Biology. She's a first generation college student, from a working family, and she's a woman. She's had the deck stacked against her in many ways to make it to where she is. She's had detractors that said she should give up. She's overcome her own self-doubts. She's had to deal with folks making fun of her for having academic aspirations during her high school years (she wanted out of her small town, and it aligned with pursuing a career in science). She's had to figure out the concept of navigating college without the assistance (they love her and support her fully, they just don't always have the know-how for college) coming from her family at times. She was lucky to be granted into a Science Academy for part-days during high school. Fortunately she's had fantastic mentors that recognized her potential and provided her a boost, and she works harder than anyone, anyone I know. She doesn't consider herself entitled to anything.

Her story is one that lends to the notion that yes you can work hard, but there are many other factors that are baseless that have held her back and created barriers. So while she's been afforded opportunities that she's taken advantage of, in many ways she's had to work so much harder to get where she is than someone who has had less barriers in their way. That's what we're talking about by institutionalized forms of oppression. If you remove any of the opportunities or benefits that she's had (An Academy of Math and Science that grounded her in good scientific practices, good mentors, a safe neighborhood, her family being smart about affording her college), she wouldn't be where she is at now.

I use this example as it doesn't have to be polarizing (because race tends to be), but it is meant to portray an example of institutionalized inequality. She's faced barriers and attitudes that I wouldn't face if I were in her shoes, plainly put. Her experience is completely different than mine. I went to a DoDEA High School. Our resources were fantastic. I had amazing teachers. We all placed into high quality colleges if we wanted it. We had excellent ASVAB scores. We had literally 200 students for a Middle and High School, so our class sizes were tiny. I never had to doubt what my future would look like. My outlook and hers on life are completely different to perhaps some of the students from schools that pose immense challenges like the ones Elkin brings up. I've taught in schools where outlooks are like that, it's hard to motivate students when the resources (school resources, familial resources, job outlook) to help them see what's next just isn't there. It has a huge impact.

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No one going to touch the General Flynn bit? No? The man does not deserve any government post, let alone one tasked with our nation's security.

[Sarge]

Without going into heavy detail, I faced many of the same challenges as your wife, Blu, so I can empathize. Life isn't fair, but I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. It's made me a stronger person in the long run.

(And as a point of clarification: my parents were always supportive of my goals, and still are. They are, and continue to be, the most awesome parents in the world to me!)

[prfsnl_gmr]

No one going to touch the General Flynn bit? No? The man does not deserve any government post, let alone one tasked with our nation's security.

I thought it was hilarious. The hypocrisy is astounding.

[Blu]

Without going into heavy detail, I faced many of the same challenges as your wife, Blu, so I can empathize. Life isn't fair, but I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. It's made me a stronger person in the long run.

(And as a point of clarification: my parents were always supportive of my goals, and still are. They are, and continue to be, the most awesome parents in the world to me!)

Thanks Sarge. I think you're spot on, she wouldn't trade it all, and it's been lovely to share this journey with her. I think she's just flabbergasted thinking that the path that she's creating for herself would also help pave the way for others who would follow her. But that doesn't seem to be the case. She strongly believes that is part of her journey, helping others so they don't have to struggle in the same ways. But it's amazing how creating such a path yourself doesn't necessarily create it for others. So beyond mentorship, there's not much that already exists to help others up who share similar stories, backgrounds or experiences. Which I find is funny, because those who are parents naturally want that to be part of their children's journey, to have it a little bit better than they did. It's a natural feeling, but my perception is we don't consistently knock those barriers down.

Thanks for sharing a bit about yourself too. I appreciate it.