I'm from the hood. what did I do that others can't?

[cleanface coney]

Of course there are serious issues of culture and individual responsibility separating these groups, but nevertheless, unless these immigrants are from highly violent or authoritarian places, this is almost never true. Most immigrants to this country coming from Asia, for example, have no clue that their struggles and obstacles simply don't measure up to those of Black people already living here.

Black people are the primary targets of the police-prison continuum in this country, as the percentages prove. Let's also remember that the US police-prison system is massive. We currently have more people imprisoned than any country in the history of the world- the combined incarcerated populations of the Stalinist Soviet Union at the height of the Gulag period and Maoist China at its peak still can't match up to the number of people imprisoned in the US now, and the largest demographic among those imprisoned are the Black poor.

Furthermore, Black people's quality of life and mortality indicators are often comparable to those of wartorn, sub-Saharan African countries. Check the HIV rate in poor, heavily-Black areas, like the South Bronx, for example... it's worse than most poor countries in Africa who have HIV epidemics. On the whole, Black children face conditions that most immigrants do not, despite coming from the "global South" or "third world."

The truth of Black life is invisible to most people, including most of those who interact with Black people on a regular basis. Personally, I hear fewer Black people shytting on immigrants, than I hear European, Asian and non-Black, Hispanic, and even some privileged African immigrants shytting on American Blacks on a regular basis and asking why they just can't do what the immigrants do.

damn real shyt in this post

i think that the system is so stacked against young black americans
that it creates either a fukk everybody mentality or
a creates a chip on their shoulder which drives them to want more in life

just my opinion as a young black dude
but you either gone get motivated or left behind

 

[GetInTheTruck]

Of course there are serious issues of culture and individual responsibility separating these groups, but nevertheless, unless these immigrants are from highly violent or authoritarian places, this is almost never true. Most immigrants to this country coming from Asia, for example, have no clue that their struggles and obstacles simply don't measure up to those of Black people already living here.

Black people are the primary targets of the police-prison continuum in this country, as the percentages prove. Let's also remember that the US police-prison system is massive. We currently have more people imprisoned than any country in the history of the world- the combined incarcerated populations of the Stalinist Soviet Union at the height of the Gulag period and Maoist China at its peak still can't match up to the number of people imprisoned in the US now, and the largest demographic among those imprisoned are the Black poor. The percentage of incarcerated Americans is only growing, too, meaning that this system is actively growing despite crime rates remaining stable, so it's not as simple as saying that these people are getting themselves caught up in it by their own actions.

Furthermore, Black people's quality of life and mortality indicators are often comparable to those of wartorn, sub-Saharan African countries. Check the HIV rate in poor, heavily-Black areas, like the South Bronx, for example... it's worse than most poor countries in Africa who have HIV epidemics. On the whole, Black children face conditions that most immigrants do not, despite coming from the "global South" or "third world."

The truth of Black life is invisible to most people, including most of those who interact with Black people on a regular basis. Personally, I hear fewer Black people shytting on immigrants, than I hear European, Asian and non-Black, Hispanic, and even some privileged African immigrants shytting on American Blacks on a regular basis and asking why they just can't do what the immigrants do. I'm not suggesting we give people a pass for negative, self-defeating, or destructive behavior, of course. The point is that the conditions faced by the Black population are unique and cannot simply be analogized to those of immigrants, especially in a way that makes them seem easier.

All of this may be true but the unfortunate reality is that at this point it's more an excuse than a reason. Nobody cares, and you shouldn't expect people to care. There are many black people in this country who succeed DESPITE all of the facts you just laid out, so the natural expectation should be for MORE black people to succeed, not view black success as some sort of abnormality. You may not mean it this way, but the way you worded your post it's like I should EXPECT black people to be at the bottom rung of society, and I should EXPECT more and more black people to be funneled through the prison system...isn't that racism?

Those immigrants you mention who are looking down on Black Americans are probably doing so because they see all the opportunities in this country that a lot of Black Americans are not taking advantage of, especially when compared to the lack of opportunities available back in their home countries. The black experience is unique, yeah, but you can say that about every group....black people in America are not the only group of people in history to have atrocities committed against them. At some point it should be time to stop referencing the past, because quite frankly, it's pointless. At the end of the day, what's the solution? More money? More government programs? Reparations? I'm sorry, but I don't think any of that will help anybody until people want to ultimately help themselves.

 

[Mr. Somebody]

Why cant everyone be more like me.

O knock it off, friend.

You're stepping into demonic territory.

 

[the next guy]

Those aren't really excuses for people who don't even try to better their situation though.

abuse is. abuse is permanent imo

 

[daze23]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DIETlxquzY[/ame]

 

[Brown_Pride]

Those aren't really excuses for people who don't even try to better their situation though.

not an excuse but a reason as to why. How do you tell a kid to go to college when college isn't even in a list of possible futures? Some kids are raised by some horrible ass people and often cannot see outside the box, some require help to even recognize their situation. What becomes "norm" can be the limit of one's reality, and until illusion is broken it'll be what it is. Some have the innate ability to do this themselves, some require a kick in the ass, some require a gentle nudge, some require a comforting push. You can't look at life and try to prescribe a 1 size fits all solution, it's impractical, illogical and inhuman.

I like Zion am one of the few but i've worked with enough people in my time to recognize that my situation is unique.

Also, keep in mind this is all before we tac on emotional drama like being raped by daddy, having mom beat you daily, not eating, having to sell your body to eat, etc, etc, etc.

There's a reason you can inflict two people with the same tortures and some will break and some wont, people respond differently to the same thing. Life is the same way.

What was a source of strength for one, e.g. daddy touched my no-no spot so i'm going to NEVER allow that to happen to my children, can be the source of evil for another, e.g. daddy touched my no-no spot so i'm going to rape as many women as I can.

Life is a vast array of subtleties, recognize that and you'll understand people better.

 

[Brown_Pride]

All of this may be true but the unfortunate reality is that at this point it's more an excuse than a reason. Nobody cares, and you shouldn't expect people to care. There are many black people in this country who succeed DESPITE all of the facts you just laid out, so the natural expectation should be for MORE black people to succeed, not view black success as some sort of abnormality. You may not mean it this way, but the way you worded your post it's like I should EXPECT black people to be at the bottom rung of society, and I should EXPECT more and more black people to be funneled through the prison system...isn't that racism?

Those immigrants you mention who are looking down on Black Americans are probably doing so because they see all the opportunities in this country that a lot of Black Americans are not taking advantage of, especially when compared to the lack of opportunities available back in their home countries. The black experience is unique, yeah, but you can say that about every group....black people in America are not the only group of people in history to have atrocities committed against them. At some point it should be time to stop referencing the past, because quite frankly, it's pointless. At the end of the day, what's the solution? More money? More government programs? Reparations? I'm sorry, but I don't think any of that will help anybody until people want to ultimately help themselves.

I think you should expect varied responses to a very traumatic life...for better or worse.

 

[Outlaw]

Serious question..

I'm realizing my dreams, i made it to the final round interviews for the top companies in the nation. I'm not completely there yet, but I feel it happening.

I'm not smart. I don't have a high IQ. I'm from the ghetto, and I grew up poor.

I graduated with no debt in undergrad because i workEd 40 hours a week! And i still had 3.9! I just recently completely very rigorous school program and worked way more than 40 hours a week and i still got a 3.6.

I'm not special, i'm not smart. I did it without the support of the government or social welfare or my parents. Why am i wrong to expect everyone else to have the tenacity and balls to do what I routinely accomplish?

What makes me different? Nothing!


People make the beds they sleep in. I'm sorry. I don't fell sorry for nobody. I'm not an exceptional person and that is obvious. People have no excuse.

Some people like enjoying life you miserable fukk

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

You cant compare Americans to immigrants

My pops is a doctor... he is like one of two of his 15 siblings who did anything worth talking about. So people are comparing the absolute best of immigrants to the average American. Makes no sense.

The culture aspect is legitimate though because that influences the choices people make. There is no 1st & 15th in these countries... you don't work you starve

 

[Mook]

so youre poor and graduated undergrad with no pell grant?

 

[The Real]

All of this may be true but the unfortunate reality is that at this point it's more an excuse than a reason. Nobody cares, and you shouldn't expect people to care.

That's fine, but if I can ask, why does it sound like an excuse to you if it is indeed the truth? I'm not making any normative statements about the character of any particular Black person, or saying it's the absolute reason for Black people behaving one way or another. I'm just saying the odds stacked against different groups of people are not the same, so subjecting them all to the same standards (well, at the end of the day, it's still all about personal responsibility for everyone) isn't an accurate way to look at things. I think you yourself intuitively understand this, so I see some degree of dissonance in your explanation. It's as if you're saying, yes, some groups have it much harder than others, but who cares, at the end of the day I'm still going to look at it as if it's not that way because I don't care.

There are many black people in this country who succeed DESPITE all of the facts you just laid out, so the natural expectation should be for MORE black people to succeed, not view black success as some sort of abnormality. You may not mean it this way, but the way you worded your post it's like I should EXPECT black people to be at the bottom rung of society, and I should EXPECT more and more black people to be funneled through the prison system...isn't that racism?

Yes, those Black people are statistical exceptions. That's not a reason to assume that most other Black people could have succeeded just like them, though, which seems to me to be the assumption you're riding with here. And I don't expect Black people to fail, either, or set lower standards for them. I'm just describing the social reality at present, from an empirical standpoint.

Those immigrants you mention who are looking down on Black Americans are probably doing so because they see all the opportunities in this country that a lot of Black Americans are not taking advantage of, especially when compared to the lack of opportunities available back in their home countries.

I won't deny that there's some truth to this, but it also sidesteps the fact that opportunity in this country is racially divided.

The black experience is unique, yeah, but you can say that about every group....black people in America are not the only group of people in history to have atrocities committed against them. At some point it should be time to stop referencing the past, because quite frankly, it's pointless. At the end of the day, what's the solution? More money? More government programs? Reparations? I'm sorry, but I don't think any of that will help anybody until people want to ultimately help themselves.

As for clinging to the past- you'll notice I tried to avoid talking about the past- I didn't bring up slavery or segregation once, though I do think those, especially the latter, are still very relevant in discussing modern social formations.

I don't have one specific solution in mind, though taking responsibility is part of it- I was more addressing the way the problem is conceptualized.

 

[Broke Wave]

Conservatives always like to say they lived in the ghetto or grew up poor. The average income in my CURRENT neighborhood is 19k.

I'm still here, b

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Conservatives always like to say they lived in the ghetto or grew up poor. The average income in my CURRENT neighborhood is 19k.

I'm still here, b

Time to pull up those bootstraps, SPORT

 

[Broke Wave]

Time to pull up those bootstraps, SPORT

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

I know a few dudes who sold drugs, got caught with guns, done bids, and still managed to clean themselves up and live a respectable life and raise good children. I got a friend who caught a body in 1996, he got his own business now and makes more money than me. They were able to turn things around because they wanted to. Yeah, some people are going to get a raw deal in life but not that doesn't mean everybody in the hood should get a pass just cause.

Nobody said that nobody who was in the streets or convicted of a felony can make it to success. Though they are obviously the exception to rule. Most employees will toss your resume if they find out you're a felon. My boy is a convicted felon and he graduated with a science degree and turned his life around. Then he got canned after he got a promotion at his job where he had to work on a contract with the state because it's illegal to have a felony and work with the state in any capacity. His boss didn't like it, but had to fire him for legal reasons.

But that's neither here nor there. We're talking about Gundam since he made a thread obviously to brag about himself and shyt on other poor people who haven't made it out. He said he pulled a pistol on a white girl for no reason back in whatever year that was...I wasn't posting then. 2004? 05? If the girl would've pressed charges, he would've at the minimum done 6 months to a year in county jail or maybe got a felony and went to prison. I think his life would've taken quite a different path. He talks about working his way through college doing some manual labor job I think, but he probably wouldn't have even got hired if he had an assault with a firearm charge and jail time. He definitely wouldn't be interviewing with these top firms now. And he said he used to sell drugs. What if he got caught? I'm interested to hear his response.