Holy crap, dude, how are YOU thinking, except of ways to turn your eyes from the suffering of your fellow man? What am I repeating, except my own demand for a tiny bit of recognition from weak, wounded white deniers of history? If you can't admit that black people had their own holocaust, and it was white America that did it, then the monster gene has raised its ugly head for yet another generation.
No wonder all the various forms of anti-intellectualism have huddled together under the conservative tent. It is the last safe haven for those who not only advocate a revisionist history but a revisionist reality. God (if there is one) help you all for your tenacious inhumanity.
I didn't say that black people have no responsibility, so quit paraphrasing the words of your superiors unless you intend to comprehend what they say in the first place. I'm saying that black pride takes on a different meaning, given the context of history. But no, go ahead and interpret my rational words in whatever way makes it easier to believe that they've had a fair shot and that what they've struggled against wouldn't make any group of people into an underclass for generations to come. By all means, climb aboard the conservative denial train and make yourself feel better. Stroke yourself incessantly and repeat the words, "that was then, this is now". Pretend, even as you pridefully exclaim your own heritage that theirs doesn't matter.
Are you an idiot? Are you able to comprehend that what you describe is EXACTLY what happened to black people. They were "saddled" with guilt and shame at being black and were saddled with a sense of diminished expectations...for hundreds of years. How do you develop a positive sense of your self under those conditions? How do parents with no positive sense of self bequeath that to their children?
Look, I'm really tired of having to explain simple concepts to an unwilling audience of ignoramuses, so here's my last attempt for you. They didn't do those things to themselves, do you understand? There has been a long-term policy and culture among the white establishment that black people would not prosper intellectually, financially or socially. Do you deny that? If you do, you are guilty of the equivalent of masturbation of conscience. It may feel good to you but it won't breed any change in the racial divide. To the future of civility your self serving justifications for apathy are useless.
What facts of history are you looking at that allows you to gloss over the historical foundation of contemporary black culture? If we, as white people, are a product of our ancestors, and all they did and didn't do, then so are they. Their ancestors were cattle, though, in this country and you don't have the balls to admit it. If you did, you might have to muster a milligram of human compassion rather than adopt the default, conservative attitude of "I don't give a **** about anyone but myself".
Don't feel guilty- god knows you're not strong enough to handle it- but DO feel something. Understand that this situation was created, it's not the natural condition of black people to be victims and the end of slavery did not mean an end to oppression. Shame on you all for blaming black America for where they find themselves in this society. The self preservation instinct is an insidious component of any people who feel entitled to either exploit or neglect others. Too many survived the civil war, I guess. We'll have to do better next time.
