b smooth 202
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Forbes article if I was a poor black kid
- Thread in 'General' Thread starter Started by thorrocksjs,
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I agree with most of what dude is saying
I think he falls short by thinking black kids with so many distractions and influences will actually go out of there way to excel in school that discipline has to come from the parents
This would be a better article for the poor black young adult
If you have access to internet you have access to infinite knowledge.
I think he falls short by thinking black kids with so many distractions and influences will actually go out of there way to excel in school that discipline has to come from the parents
This would be a better article for the poor black young adult
If you have access to internet you have access to infinite knowledge.
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Hey SCIENTIFIC METHOD,
Maybe you should do something called RESEARCH.
and then go back and correct that statement.
Instead your hammering away on the same nail in every thread you contribute to.
You never say a damn thing except the same tired generalization that black people blame white people for all of their problems in life..ok...there are black people out there who are %%@* ups...just like every other race..why are you programed to reiterate that instead of focusing on uplifting the condition of the community?
Have you ever heard of something called independence? America? What is history to you? The class antagonisms are simply right there...black people know white people are poor people to...so why do you keep protecting the white man like a good house ++%%%+?
Most people come in these threads with the same opinion every time, nobody is really changing everybody's mind. You come in the thread all the time crying and typing in progressively bigger typeface every time you respond to someone. What's the difference? How does that uplift anyone?
What do you want me to RESEARCH anyways?
Nobody is "protecting" white people by pointing out they aren't nearly as heroic as made out to be by people always on the "oh I can't do do it, can't match up to them, need to be held to lower standards then than them however do need them to swoop in and save us, ironically while we continue to blame them for our problems" pity train.
sillyputty
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I think the author is basically saying...Hey, you poor black kid...I know its hard right now...but until the calvary of justice arrives, heres what you can do in the mean time.
Hes not just saying that there aren't problems in the black community... and institutionalized poverty etc...
I think anyone who says this guy was ignorant doesn't really understand the amount of balls it took to write this...The lack of comprehension here is somewhat shocking to me.
This person OBVIOUSLY wanted to target this article to reach disenfranchised youths...something most "privileged" white people don't care about. So that alone speaks volumes. On top of that, nothing hes saying is really that out of the ordinary.
Success is success. Some have it easy. Some don't...
All hes trying to do is say that hey, I know your house is on fire but until the Fire Dept arrives, here is what you can do to make sure you get out of the building alive...but we're still on the way.
Everyone in here knows how rough we have it...so? Who cares? I mean at a certain point, where do we learn to OVERCOME?
We've gotten too complacent with ONLY highlighting problems...not enough solutions are in place.
Everyone attacking this dude wants to bring up the fact that black people have it super hard in society on top of trying to make it...so? I mean and then what?
Too much complaining and not enough action.
This article was the first attempt at trying to actually make solutions whereas everyone else wants to talk about the problems.
Hey, young black youth, I know your classroom is crowded, your lunches suck, you don't have a father figure, you have crappy teachers...but here is somethings you can use to cope and make the best of what you have RIGHT NOW.
Don't wait on us to make the change...you have more power RIGHT NOW than you think you do.
Thats WAY better than saying: "hey, don't you hate how white people are always trying to keep you down?" or "we're always being trampled on by society"
Victimizing them doesn't show them how to beat the game they're already playing...all it does is show them that they're destined to fail from the start.
Empowerment is the real tool of success here.
Because NONE of the changes we spend all this time going back and forth on will manifest themselves if some of these kids that are struggling to get by aren't motivated to use their own situations and get out of the dumps.
Thats how you motivate communities and empower neighborhoods.
They need examples of success from within the classrooms.
I'd rather tell a kid how to use free online sources to help him with his homework than to beat into his head how much his schools suck and his teachers don't want to see him succeed.
That kid can't change the system. Hes IN the system.
Those who have come from the system and have the means and voice to do so change the system.
Its on US RIGHT NOW to do it...we can't blame the little kid for his own misfortune...its on US...and if we're not going to do anything RIGHT NOW then the best we can do is equip them with what they can use RIGHT NOW...
The good grades we can motivate that kid to get RIGHT NOW using these resources or even seeking them is going to pay off a lot more than us bickering over how much we get screwed in society.
Hes not just saying that there aren't problems in the black community... and institutionalized poverty etc...
I think anyone who says this guy was ignorant doesn't really understand the amount of balls it took to write this...The lack of comprehension here is somewhat shocking to me.
This person OBVIOUSLY wanted to target this article to reach disenfranchised youths...something most "privileged" white people don't care about. So that alone speaks volumes. On top of that, nothing hes saying is really that out of the ordinary.
Success is success. Some have it easy. Some don't...
All hes trying to do is say that hey, I know your house is on fire but until the Fire Dept arrives, here is what you can do to make sure you get out of the building alive...but we're still on the way.
Everyone in here knows how rough we have it...so? Who cares? I mean at a certain point, where do we learn to OVERCOME?
We've gotten too complacent with ONLY highlighting problems...not enough solutions are in place.
Everyone attacking this dude wants to bring up the fact that black people have it super hard in society on top of trying to make it...so? I mean and then what?
Too much complaining and not enough action.
This article was the first attempt at trying to actually make solutions whereas everyone else wants to talk about the problems.
Hey, young black youth, I know your classroom is crowded, your lunches suck, you don't have a father figure, you have crappy teachers...but here is somethings you can use to cope and make the best of what you have RIGHT NOW.
Don't wait on us to make the change...you have more power RIGHT NOW than you think you do.
Thats WAY better than saying: "hey, don't you hate how white people are always trying to keep you down?" or "we're always being trampled on by society"
Victimizing them doesn't show them how to beat the game they're already playing...all it does is show them that they're destined to fail from the start.
Empowerment is the real tool of success here.
Because NONE of the changes we spend all this time going back and forth on will manifest themselves if some of these kids that are struggling to get by aren't motivated to use their own situations and get out of the dumps.
Thats how you motivate communities and empower neighborhoods.
They need examples of success from within the classrooms.
I'd rather tell a kid how to use free online sources to help him with his homework than to beat into his head how much his schools suck and his teachers don't want to see him succeed.
That kid can't change the system. Hes IN the system.
Those who have come from the system and have the means and voice to do so change the system.
Its on US RIGHT NOW to do it...we can't blame the little kid for his own misfortune...its on US...and if we're not going to do anything RIGHT NOW then the best we can do is equip them with what they can use RIGHT NOW...
The good grades we can motivate that kid to get RIGHT NOW using these resources or even seeking them is going to pay off a lot more than us bickering over how much we get screwed in society.
b smooth 202
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So you want me to prove that people aren't born already with college degrees and 6 figure fortunes? What do you want me to break down percentages or something of people like a George W or any other offspring of a family in the 1% and how much of a minority of the majority he is and how most white people are middle class and working wage labor jobs, getting their houses foreclosed on, living paycheck to paycheck, just like everyone else?
What are you doing? Why do I have to justify myself to you to begin with? Who are you to me? I could list things, but what difference would it make? People would still find a reach to criticize, probably again try to say the people I associate with on that level aren't "authentic blacks" and are "house (*(&*&^s" anyways, since they tend to be more military brats than anything else and that's NTer's favorite criticism of me. I'm not "black enough."
Ironically, people on the opposite side of the argument from me make many more and harsher generalizations, however they do so in a coddling manner and while again using some victim or blame deference agenda so nobody has a problem with it then.
I don't even have so much of an issue with all the woe is me, the white man is holding me down stuff so much, if it more often came with an answer or was flipped to be used as a motivation tactic now, not to justify complacency. Ok, D. Whiteman doesn't want you to succeed, no say Eff him and go do so anyways, just to piss "him" off, right? Oh, no? Drop out and fall into all these things you allege "he" set us as traps for you to begin with? Seems kinda like forfeiting.
What are you doing? Why do I have to justify myself to you to begin with? Who are you to me? I could list things, but what difference would it make? People would still find a reach to criticize, probably again try to say the people I associate with on that level aren't "authentic blacks" and are "house (*(&*&^s" anyways, since they tend to be more military brats than anything else and that's NTer's favorite criticism of me. I'm not "black enough."
Ironically, people on the opposite side of the argument from me make many more and harsher generalizations, however they do so in a coddling manner and while again using some victim or blame deference agenda so nobody has a problem with it then.
I don't even have so much of an issue with all the woe is me, the white man is holding me down stuff so much, if it more often came with an answer or was flipped to be used as a motivation tactic now, not to justify complacency. Ok, D. Whiteman doesn't want you to succeed, no say Eff him and go do so anyways, just to piss "him" off, right? Oh, no? Drop out and fall into all these things you allege "he" set us as traps for you to begin with? Seems kinda like forfeiting.
b smooth 202
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Nobody cares about YOU though....this isn't about YOU or any supposed standard of 'blackness' ....it's only about what you represent when you post on this message board...the sentiments you consistently reinforce...your ideology just seems OFF..
We've already acknowledged that there are poor and middle class whites...but who tried making the farfetched and unrealistic argument that every white person is privileged? Its only you who can't have a debate without falling back on generalizations...go read a book..or the news for that matter.
I ask you about the makeup and overall identity of class structure and of course you fall right back into protecting middle class white people again
sillyputty
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Originally Posted by B Smooth 202
Nobody cares about YOU though....this isn't about YOU or any supposed standard of 'blackness' ....it's only about what you represent when you post on this message board...the sentiments you consistently reinforce...your ideology just seems OFF..
We've already acknowledged that there are poor and middle class whites...but who tried making the farfetched and unrealistic argument that every white person is privileged? Its only you who can't have a debate without falling back on generalizations...go read a book..or the news for that matter.
I ask you about the makeup and overall identity of class structure and of course you fall right back into protecting middle class white people again....your a funny guy...you can dodge the great significance in the division of wealth and labor arbitrarily or in ignorance but that doesn't take away from the relevance behind it at all.
How is he defending anyone?
Dude said the truth.
A lot more white people are hurting than you think so don't get it twisted.
On top of that, you're perpetrating the same old story... "white people hate us and wanna keep us down..."
SO WHAT?
We already know that. It sucks...but we already know it. Its on every rap song and every TV show out there. Black people have it rough...but its that victimization that keeps them down.
Telling a smart kid that he'll never make it cause of someone else basically tells the kid that its futile to even try.
This article actually says, despite the world taking a dump on you, you still have more options than you ever realized and its all free and open to you.
No one is saying inequality doesnt exist. No one is THAT dumb i hope.
But they are saying: look we know things suck right now but you can't still be doing badly in poor situations. If they're that crappy you STILL have to perform no matter what.
Just because you played for a wack team for the past 10 years doesn't mean that you can't perform well in the 11th year. (Detroit Lions for example)
This article says, look we know black people get the scraps so heres what you SHOULD be doing in the mean time while society is trying to figure out a way to reach you guys.
Arguing over how disenfranchised black people are doesn't fix anything.
At a point in time, we're going to have to just overcome...literally. Thats what this article suggests.
The author doesn't overlook the struggles we face...hes merely saying look, don't wait on ANYONE to help you.
If you want it bad enough, you'll get it...but you will have to outwork those who have more advantages than you.
again, getting good grades is the best thing that they can try to do while society tries to figure out how to change things from the outside.
These kids can't change their own system. They're already in it.
The LEAST they can do is perform as well as they can with the tools they have.
Don't give "da whitemenz" any more of a reason to hold something against you by not doing the bare minimum. Handle your business at all times and your chances at success increase tremendously.
Don't get it twisted. They ain't gonna straight up GIVE it to you. So what's your next move? Whine about it in sociology class with your white classmates?
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Black people have many legitimate excuses for the poor state of their community. But at the end of the day - so what? Someone's gotta make a move, either the disenfranchised step it up or the powers that be help out a little more. Sure, a combination of the two would be ideal. But that's not going to happen.
Winners don't care about losers. That's anything in life.
If ANY person (regardless of color) is born into a bad situation natural momentum is working against their odds of success. That's why poverty cycles the same way in white-trash trailer parks as it does in urban hoods (the hoods are worse but the downward spiral is the same).
You just gotta break the patterns, which is really really hard.
Winners don't care about losers. That's anything in life.
If ANY person (regardless of color) is born into a bad situation natural momentum is working against their odds of success. That's why poverty cycles the same way in white-trash trailer parks as it does in urban hoods (the hoods are worse but the downward spiral is the same).
You just gotta break the patterns, which is really really hard.
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You asked me a question about myself? How is that not about me?
What book do you want me to read and what news, because we watch the news all day at work except for when someone goes and scoops a movie from Redbox or something at lunch. Is there something in particular I should be looking for?
The dominating coverage right now with regards to class and oppression is all the occupy movements, which again feature people of all backgrounds. So it's not something specifically aimed at black people to get us.
And the argument all white people are privileged has come up in this thread already, and always permeates through these types of topics. It's also nothing but generations from all angles, even when you post something objective like a % people argue it though.
If self responsibility, taking the reigns of your own life, promoting of it along with education and hard works as the pillars to success and overcomance, are off then I don't want to be on.
What book do you want me to read and what news, because we watch the news all day at work except for when someone goes and scoops a movie from Redbox or something at lunch. Is there something in particular I should be looking for?
The dominating coverage right now with regards to class and oppression is all the occupy movements, which again feature people of all backgrounds. So it's not something specifically aimed at black people to get us.
And the argument all white people are privileged has come up in this thread already, and always permeates through these types of topics. It's also nothing but generations from all angles, even when you post something objective like a % people argue it though.
If self responsibility, taking the reigns of your own life, promoting of it along with education and hard works as the pillars to success and overcomance, are off then I don't want to be on.
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People complain that successful white people don't do anything or enough to help poor minorities. So a successful white writer (at a major magazine that is about and caters to successful businesses) writes an article explaining a way for them to rise up from adverse conditions, but he's discredited because he's successful and white?
Would you take financial advise from a poor person? Probably no. Would you take advice on how to be successful from a successful person? Probably... Well... obviously, most of you don't want to, and it makes no sense.
Let's assume you're right. We should complain that he spelled out a way in a simple terms for poor minorities to get ahead in life. Attack his advice because of his "lack of credibility" so you can feel comfortable justifying why inner city poor kids stay poor and dangerous. People seem offended by the simplicity of the article. The article was like a paragraph-outline, not an in-depth how-to... accept it as such and appreciate the help it provides. Inner-city youths don't have guidance? Don't know their options or how to get to them? Well, maybe--just maybe--this article helps solve those issues.
Would you take financial advise from a poor person? Probably no. Would you take advice on how to be successful from a successful person? Probably... Well... obviously, most of you don't want to, and it makes no sense.
Let's assume you're right. We should complain that he spelled out a way in a simple terms for poor minorities to get ahead in life. Attack his advice because of his "lack of credibility" so you can feel comfortable justifying why inner city poor kids stay poor and dangerous. People seem offended by the simplicity of the article. The article was like a paragraph-outline, not an in-depth how-to... accept it as such and appreciate the help it provides. Inner-city youths don't have guidance? Don't know their options or how to get to them? Well, maybe--just maybe--this article helps solve those issues.
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Agree
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he's right, but it's simplified too much.
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I'm so tired of all these armchair activists out there. Until someone actually COMES to these neighborhoods TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE nothing they say is even relevant.
I'm black, but you don't see me going "Hey man, the hispanics need to get it together, they need to educate themselves and take their citizenship tests so they don't get pressed out for immigration, that's what I would do." You know why? Because it's not my place to talk on a person of whom I never walked a mile in their shoes.
I'm black, but you don't see me going "Hey man, the hispanics need to get it together, they need to educate themselves and take their citizenship tests so they don't get pressed out for immigration, that's what I would do." You know why? Because it's not my place to talk on a person of whom I never walked a mile in their shoes.
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If Gene Marks Were a Poor Black Kid Who Went to Ballou In 2003
Posted by Shani Hilton on Dec. 14, 2011 at 10:18 am
Some corners of the Internet were all a-flutter over this unfortunate and offensive article from a Forbes contributor titled: "If I Were A Poor Black Kid." In it, author Gene Marks explained that although he is just a middle-class white guy, if he were poor and black, he'd take advantage of all of the tech tools at his disposal and get really good grades (and Skype with the other kids getting good grades), and just basically work really hard so he could succeed.
Some of the problems with this, if they aren't obvious, are spelled out in a Washington City Paper cover story from 2004 (thanks to Jason Linkins for reminding us). It's the story of T.J. Boykin, a poor black kid who went to Ballou High in 2003 and is currently in federal prison in North Carolina:
Thomas “T.J.
Posted by Shani Hilton on Dec. 14, 2011 at 10:18 am
Some corners of the Internet were all a-flutter over this unfortunate and offensive article from a Forbes contributor titled: "If I Were A Poor Black Kid." In it, author Gene Marks explained that although he is just a middle-class white guy, if he were poor and black, he'd take advantage of all of the tech tools at his disposal and get really good grades (and Skype with the other kids getting good grades), and just basically work really hard so he could succeed.
Some of the problems with this, if they aren't obvious, are spelled out in a Washington City Paper cover story from 2004 (thanks to Jason Linkins for reminding us). It's the story of T.J. Boykin, a poor black kid who went to Ballou High in 2003 and is currently in federal prison in North Carolina:
Thomas “T.J.
Sir San Diego
formerly brolic scholar
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Ignorance, in the truest sense.
I wonder if the author thought he was going to get praise with his fail proof plan to get "poor black kids" out of the hood.
I don't doubt his intentions, but the arrogance and lack of reasearch that he approached his article with is... I honestly can't even call it shocking, because it's par for the course with people not exposed to the other side of life in this country.
Yes it does take some sense, drive and resources to get out of a bad situation, but how is that news to anyone? I think the same applies to white kids in a middle class environment. With no guidance, and more importantly, no examples of success or role models, what the hell does this author think kids in bad situations are going to aspire to be? Should they just look to TV for examples of successful African Americans and hope (with no plan to model) that they can reach those levels?
Luck?
Really? How could this man be so stupid? No planning, mentoring or parenting, just read, get good grades at schools where it is damn near impossible to focus and pray you get lucky.
I sincerely hope the author gets invited to witness and experience the reality he knows nothing about and accepts the offer. He needs a wake up call.
I wonder if the author thought he was going to get praise with his fail proof plan to get "poor black kids" out of the hood.
Yes it does take some sense, drive and resources to get out of a bad situation, but how is that news to anyone? I think the same applies to white kids in a middle class environment. With no guidance, and more importantly, no examples of success or role models, what the hell does this author think kids in bad situations are going to aspire to be? Should they just look to TV for examples of successful African Americans and hope (with no plan to model) that they can reach those levels?
Luck?
I sincerely hope the author gets invited to witness and experience the reality he knows nothing about and accepts the offer. He needs a wake up call.
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^ No, it's not worth the read. The kid killed somebody... If we can't use outlier success stories to show that there are options, outlier failure stories--like the fool in that one--shouldn't be acceptable to display the opposite either.
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these topics always go the same way. I think the issue most people are having is the "middle class white man" saying what he would do if he was a poor black kid or "here's what you people should be doing to better yourselves". Like someone else said, it's like the guy who's watching a movie and telling the character on screen "dont go through that door!"
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You guys just don't get it. Its really sad to see the lack compassion and understanding for people in these areas of the country.
You really wanna talk about will power, determination, and blah blah
Imagine if I told you and your family to go run a mile under 5:45 ....and if you don't make it you die. Thats it. Just go run. Some stronger people will make the time. Some people will quit knowing its no chance they will make it. Some people will just miss the cut by .1 secs.
Now Imagine if my family had 7:00 mins to run the mile. But got new shoes and 2 weeks to prepare with a trainer. Everybody won't make it still we have better chances. We will be more confident. We will be better prepared.
So you think this game of life is all about "how hard you work?" Hard work matters but you have some people with the odds so stacked they literally have a 1 in million chance of making it out of poverty.
I'm not saying "dont try" and be defeated. I'm saying I'm not surprised when a average kid from these horrible environments comes up short. I'm saying instead of only caring about the "best of the best" care about the "average student from the hood" too so he can make it out. A white C student was our president...
Also if you don't see how shallow this guy is then idk what to tell you. He "means" well but....thats where it stops. He needs a field trip to these areas to fully understand how hard it is.
You really wanna talk about will power, determination, and blah blah
Imagine if I told you and your family to go run a mile under 5:45 ....and if you don't make it you die. Thats it. Just go run. Some stronger people will make the time. Some people will quit knowing its no chance they will make it. Some people will just miss the cut by .1 secs.
Now Imagine if my family had 7:00 mins to run the mile. But got new shoes and 2 weeks to prepare with a trainer. Everybody won't make it still we have better chances. We will be more confident. We will be better prepared.
So you think this game of life is all about "how hard you work?" Hard work matters but you have some people with the odds so stacked they literally have a 1 in million chance of making it out of poverty.
I'm not saying "dont try" and be defeated. I'm saying I'm not surprised when a average kid from these horrible environments comes up short. I'm saying instead of only caring about the "best of the best" care about the "average student from the hood" too so he can make it out. A white C student was our president...
Also if you don't see how shallow this guy is then idk what to tell you. He "means" well but....thats where it stops. He needs a field trip to these areas to fully understand how hard it is.
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Apparently it's news to a good portion of the youth within our community, and it's news that not been well received for whatever reason.
Boykin's last year in school abruptly ended when he shot a kid who had been bullying him.
All this story proves is that Boykin unfortunately put himself behind bars, and now he's nothing more than a statistic that is added onto the growing 44% rate of blacks in jail nationwide.
If working even slightly hard to get even somewhat decent grades in school is an insurmountable task, I don't know what else to say. This is the same type of mentality that people use when describing the high school exit exam in California. "The test is biased against blacks and Latinos because it requires you to know elementary English"No one is stopping anyone from learning or seeking education. This kind of defeatist mentality is sad to see, but in the end I guess it benefits me as well.All the better for the rest of us who went to the same @#$%@ schools filled with gang violence and "no resources" and still managed to be fine just by working hard. Less competition for me in the job market
@ the example of "no one else in my family went to college; how am I supposed to be pushed to further my education?" Millions of immigrants who were halfway illiterate came to this country and put their kids through school.
People here all calling the writer sheltered when they THEMSELVES are the sheltered ones. You're telling me a kid in Brooklyn can't succeed in school because of negative influences and violence, yet little girls in Afghanistan are risking their lives going to school while Taliban members are chopping off their faces and attacking them with acid...
sillyputty
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Dude look...
We all get it...
But not one time in here did you actually offer a way to change things or make it better.
Are you going to complain about the odds or are you going to still play the game?
Most people lose in vegas...but we all still play the game.
I think the author was being EXTREMELY helpful...He said "I'd get the best possible grades I ever could" if he was a black kid cause society is going to already think he can't do it and he doesn't want to give them another reason to overlook him.
If you're a black kid with bad grades FORGET IT.
There is NO do-over.
Then what?
All this complaining only goes so far... we know tyrone has a crack addicted mother and has old textbooks...well goddammit tyrone is going to have to still get A's no matter what.
If you excel in your environment thats the LEAST you can do.
I went to a high school in a county that experienced EXTREME white flight over my 4 years. Went from 30% black to 85%. I was one of the only black kids who ever did well in school. I didn't have it particularly easy. I just wanted to succeed no matter what. I knew the teachers didn't care. I saw fights and all that. I knew the system sucked...but I made a way and did really well.
I can't defend everyone's struggle but at a certain point, we gotta stop waiting on the world to change for us... we gotta rise up and get it done our own way.
Getting good grades is the LEAST those kids can do. The very least.
Stop listening to music about hustling if you're NOT about that life. Straight up.
WHY SHOULD IT ADDRESS THOSE THINGS?Originally Posted by spacerace
Originally Posted by famenycity1
Agree
completely ignoring the combination of institutional practices, racist attitudes, and private behaviors that have effectively produced a racial caste system that subjugates poor black americans to adverse conditions is why the article in no way helps to solve any issue. this article puts the burden of escaping low socioeconomic status on solely the individual rather than demand change from a the system that allows for these inequalities.
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We already know that sad song.
What about helping kids RIGHT NOW.
Kids right now in school can't change the system.
They gotta go to school tomorrow!
They got homework.
The LEAST these kids can do is learn about ways to better their OWN situation...cause no one will help you more than yourself. NO MATTER WHAT.
That list of websites was the MOST DIRECT FORM OF HELP i've EVER seen targeted to a youth CURRENTLY in school.
That article didn't talk to parents. It spoke to STUDENTS. It empowers STUDENTS to say "i can use this stuff to help myself"...I dont have to wait on them to march on the school board... I'm gonna beast it no matter what.
Talking about socioeconomic differences is the LEAST thing you can do. Giving students TOOLS is WAY better.
Sociology classes got ya'll confused...ya'll get the issues but ya'll ain't supporting the solutions. Thats only HALF the story here.
The author is aware ENOUGH of the issues to even write this article. Did you never think of that? Do you know the balls it takes to write about the misfortune of another population? ...AND give them help?
Its like me complaining about the government bringing drugs into the hoods but i'm not empowering addicts with their own tools to rise up and beat addiction. But ya'll wanna keep talking about where the drugs came from.
Play the cards you're dealt cause the dealer ain't gonna swap em out. Only talking about the craps game is going to get you so far.
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Originally Posted by famenycity1
Agree
completely ignoring the combination of institutional practices, racist attitudes, and private behaviors that have effectively produced a racial caste system that subjugates poor black americans to adverse conditions is why the article in no way helps to solve any issue. this article puts the burden of escaping low socioeconomic status on solely the individual rather than demand change from a the system that allows for these inequalities.
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So you think thats being helpful? Sitting at home and writing a "how to" letter to another race about how you would live their life?
Is borderline disrespectful to tell a a group of people...."hey go get good grades" thinking you are really making a difference and saying anything more than the obvious.
He didn't do anything to help. Do you know the demographic of Forbes magazine readers? Guess what it ain't poor black kids. All he didn't was make his "good natured" attempt look silly and give people who aren't poor blacks something to talk about. That's all he did.
Let me write a article in Muscle and Fitness magazine about what I would do if I was "an obese woman"....then all I will say is "I would workout, and eat healty foods" clearly overlooking all the real obstacles such as medical conditions, psychological issues, time management, pregnancy, etc. Do see how his article is pretty much a waste of time and is almost a slap in the face?
sillyputty
Banned
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Dude look...
We all get it...
But not one time in here did you actually offer a way to change things or make it better.�
Are you going to complain about the odds or are you going to still play the game?�
Most people lose in vegas...but we all still play the game.�
I think the author was being EXTREMELY helpful...He said "I'd get the best possible grades I ever could" if he was a black kid cause society is going to already think he can't do it and he doesn't want to give them another reason to overlook him.�
If you're a black kid with bad grades FORGET IT.�
There is NO do-over.�
Then what?�
All this complaining only goes so far... we know tyrone has a crack addicted mother and has old textbooks...well goddammit tyrone is going to have to still get A's no matter what.�
If you excel in your environment thats the LEAST you can do.�
I went to a high school in a county that experienced EXTREME white flight over my 4 years. Went from 30% black to 85%. I was one of the only black kids who ever did well in school. I didn't have it particularly easy. I just wanted to succeed no matter what. I knew the teachers didn't care. I saw fights and all that. I knew the system sucked...but I made a way and did really well.�
I can't defend everyone's struggle but at a certain point, we gotta stop waiting on the world to change for us... we gotta rise up and get it done our own way.�
Getting good grades is the LEAST those kids can do. The very least.
Stop listening to music about hustling if you're NOT about that life. Straight up.�
So you think thats being helpful?� Sitting at home and writing a "how to" letter to another race about how you would live their life?�
Is borderline disrespectful to tell a a group of people...."hey go get good grades" thinking you are really making a difference and saying anything more than the obvious.
He didn't do anything to help.� Do you know the demographic of Forbes magazine readers? Guess what it ain't poor black kids.� All he didn't was make his "good natured" attempt look silly and give people who aren't poor blacks something to talk about.� That's all he did.
Let me write a article in Muscle and Fitness magazine about what I would do if I was "an obese woman"....then all I will say is "I would workout, and eat healty foods" clearly overlooking all the real obstacles such as medical conditions, psychological issues, time management, pregnancy, etc.� Do see how his article is pretty much a waste of time and is almost a slap in the face?
The problem here is that you're mad a white guy from a successful financial magazine said it.
Just be honest.
Cause NOTHING he said was wrong.
If you want to succeed in the world and you're not an athlete or entertainer, you NEED an education. Somehow. Someway. You need to learn stuff and be good at it.
All I see is people trying to discredit what we ALL KNOW IS TRUE because its in forbes.
Do you want to see it in the Source? XXL? Straight Stunting? KING MAG? JET? EBONY?
WHO CARES.
The author is smart enough to KNOW that black people struggle in the first place.
He KNOWS the way society looks at negroes.
HE KNOWS ALL OF THIS.
But he tries to help.
he says look, if your textbooks suck, here is something you can use
if your calculator sucks, here are some good ones
if your questions aren't answered, here is some place you can go.
All of that is more helpful than pulling tyrone aside and telling him how much his teachers hate his clothes, his mother smokes crack, his father aint around, the world hates him, hes going to always fail.
All you want to do is rant and rave about how this outsider is commenting on OUR problem.
You want to be victimized and free to moan and groan.
KNOWING is half the battle...now what are you going to do about it?
So what the governor redistricted you and now you go to a crappy school? You better be getting straight A's no matter what...cause thats ALL that matters. We all know you ain't stupid...you just need someone to tell you how to get ahead.
No one is saying these kids ain't smart either. Many of them are brilliant...they just need some one to give them the tools needed to get ahead.
I'm not sure if you even know this... 2 Chainz was in Forbes MAGAZINE a few weeks ago...
You wanna talk about demographic?
Clearly you don't even know the demographic that well.
I don't care WHO says it as long as someone does. Because if he addressed it to hispanics then none of you would be offended.
Knowing the odd stacked against you in vegas doesn't make the game any easier. Its about knowing how to make it.
I got homies that grew up in the hood in medical/dental school and others are about to be principals of schools.
Now what?
They knew the odds against them...some of them worked 3 jobs all while going to a top 20 school.
But no, its wrong for this white guy to try and help some of us with some tools we can use to pull ourselves up.
Ya'll mad at ya'll selves right now and its disgusting