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Pat Buchanan's Letter to Obama

Helvidius

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Buchanan on Obama's race speech: "We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?" | Media Matters for America

Buchanan to Obama:

Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America.

Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.

This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the '60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks - with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants.

Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.

We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?

What are your thoughts on this letter? Is Buchanan right? Do you agree with some point and disagree with Others? Is he totally wrong?
 
I wholeheartedly agree.

But it is not a skin color issue. It is a culture issue. There is a "black" culture which have been born from welfare entitlements, drugs, and gangs. Many black people have bought into this culture. The media, the recording industry, and the apathy of the general public has supported it. The "black" culture does not endorse families, it endorses men sleeping with a lot of women, sometimes leaving several pregnant and never marrying. It does not endorse education and gainful employment, it promotes gaming the system or breaking the law in order to make a lot of money.

I have extraordinary respect for a man like Martin Luther King Jr. and I think he would vomit at the sight of "black" culture.
 
It's hard to talk about as a white girl without coming across as ignorant...I do get sick of being greeted with hostility by a black person because I'm white. Glaring at me, snarling at me, or acting hostile and telling me "get off my turf" isn't helping foster a society of acceptance and tolerance. I'm not necessarily demanding that the black community start praising the majority and/or elected officials for what has been done to "make it up" to them...but acknowledging that things have been done would be nice. As would giving me a flippin' chance to show you I really don't care about your skin color or ethnicity as long as you aren't a complete dick.
 
First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

Its the trademark Buchanan style: historically wrong, disgustingly ignorant and borderline racist.

There is merit in looking at affirmative action and weighing its continued usefulness. However, that is far cry from this race baiting crap demanding gratitude. It is especially pathetic considering that Buchanan did his best to squash every program he now wants to take credit for. There are no easy answers to racial issues, but Buchanan is part of the problem and not the solution.
 
Buchanan on Obama's race speech: "We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?" | Media Matters for America

What are your thoughts on this letter? Is Buchanan right? Do you agree with some point and disagree with Others? Is he totally wrong?

Let me address it piece by piece...

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

He has a point, but I don't like the way he makes it... I'll explain later.

Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.

Rev Wright is a racist, and he does not represent "Black Christians" or blacks in the religious community overall.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the '60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

White people may do a lot for blacks today, but it was force fed to most of them 40 and 50 years ago. In the 60's, most white people were forced by legislation and taxation to bring the African-American community into the mainstream, so in my opinion, that statement was a little exagerated, or maybe a bit misleading.

Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks - with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants.

I have a few things to say about that paragraph... First, there's no denying that's a true statement. Even though I feel Affirmative action is wrong, unconstitutional and should be abolished, I believe it was nessisary 40 years ago. Without it, I don't think Black people would have ever gotten treated fairly... but lets face it folks, affirmative action ran it's course a good 20 years ago, and it's time to go back to judging people based on their character and abilities, rather than race.

Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.

Not specifically for blacks, but for all who are in need.

We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?

Gratitude?

Let me ask you all something... If you pulled someone out of a lake who couldn't swim very well, would you expect their gratitude if you were the one who pushed them in to begin with? That goes two ways though... In the same way that I wouldn't expect gratitude in that situation, I also wouldn't expect that person to have a permanent chip on their shoulder either. I would expect them to realize that even though I was wrong for pushing them in, I did eventually do the right thing and pull them out, when I didn't have to do that.

You all get what I'm saying here?

Anyway, even though I'm a conservative, I'm not much of a fan of Pat Buchanan... He has always struck me as someone who has some underlying racism and bigotry issues going on... I'm sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, racism and bigotry have no place in the conservative movement, or in American politics in general.
 
He is correct pretty much, it isn't right to blame white people for what their ancestors did.
 
What are your thoughts on this letter? Is Buchanan right? Do you agree with some point and disagree with Others? Is he totally wrong?

well, we are indebted to m. Buchanan for taking up the offer, for his forthright honesty in putting his god above everything else and obliging everyone else to do so. a mere 600,000 (survivors of an estimated several million abductees) had to suffer torturous living in order for their descendants to enjoy the privileges of discrimination, lynching, desperate poverty and brutal treatment so that their descendants might have the opportunity to sacrifice their lives in the pursuit of wealth and worship a white god.

I mean consider that today only a few black folk have their throats slit, are chained to the back of a truck and dragged for miles until a head and an arm are severed. most only have to deal with passive racism... of the sort that has been expressed here.

this is certainly the most obscene thing he has ever said. it should be emblazoned on billboards across the nation. we should be grateful that this ignorant, patrimonial, religious elitist has emerged from the closet to remonstrate with the ungrateful descendants of slaves so we can see what the religious right really has in mind as social policy.

geo.
 
He is correct pretty much, it isn't right to blame white people for what their ancestors did.

that is not what he said, though. what he said is that Blacks should be grateful for what your white ancestors did... a lil different.

christ... what sickening thinking is abroad in this country.

geo.
 
well, we are indebted to m. Buchanan for taking up the offer, for his forthright honesty in putting his god above everything else and obliging everyone else to do so. a mere 600,000 (survivors of an estimated several million abductees) had to suffer torturous living in order for their descendants to enjoy the privileges of discrimination, lynching, desperate poverty and brutal treatment so that their descendants might have the opportunity to sacrifice their lives in the pursuit of wealth and worship a white god.

I mean consider that today only a few black folk have their throats slit, are chained to the back of a truck and dragged for miles until a head and an arm are severed. most only have to deal with passive racism... of the sort that has been expressed here.

this is certainly the most obscene thing he has ever said. it should be emblazoned on billboards across the nation. we should be grateful that this ignorant, patrimonial, religious elitist has emerged from the closet to remonstrate with the ungrateful descendants of slaves so we can see what the religious right really has in mind as social policy.

geo.

I don't support slavery or indentured servitude, but let's remember for a second that the tribes that the slaves originally belonged to were offering them up in exchange for goods and money. A foreign company was buying and then selling them to us. We weren't the only ones involved in the travesty of slavery.

Now, let's take a look at the fact that blacks living in Africa by and large live in conditions more poor than here. AIDS, malaria, tribe-on-tribe violence, under-developed communities, abject poverty. Many european countries are positioned similarly to American in terms of racist behavior and discrimination on the level that it exists. I couldn't find any information via Google on what sort of programs exist world-wide for the advancement of blacks and other minorities. I'm sure they exist, but I can't confirm them.

Racism still exists. It's terrible, and it's pointless. But the problem of racism is two-fold. On one hand we have ignorant whites who loudly and proudly proclaim their opinion on the inferiority of blacks. On the other hand we have blacks who assume every white is that loud, proud, ignorant idiot. Both sides need to put in some level of effort to improve relationships. We can't stand around pointing fingers at one another demanding that the other step forward before we lift our own foot.

That said, we have done quite a lot to put all races (not just blacks) on equal footing. Unfortunately, everything we've done involves throwing money at a problem and hoping it works. Scholarships, welfare, NAACP, EOE laws, AA laws...they're helpful in some way, but they're not solving the problems of ignorance, of generational poverty, of generational hostility and racism. If we raise black children telling them that they'll never accomplish anything because "the white man keeps them down" do you think that the average child is going to try to succeed? Should we not look to successful representatives of the various races to encourage the younger generation that they can achieve, and that race isn't a factor in that achievement unless they allow it to be? Should we not hold parents accountable to raise children who will be accepting, who will judge people as MLKJr invisioned, who will stop playing isolationist "us-against-them" games?
 
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gratitude?

why should someone thank you for doing what you're supposed to do, low-expectation-havin mofos...

Edit: Sorry if my initial post was a bit emotionally laden...I wholeheartedly agree with Grim's assessment. I'm very surprised, to say the least, good job buddy.
 
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the tribes that the slaves originally belonged to were offering them up in exchange for goods and money. A
more racist apologetics. and, no, people of one tribe would sell others from other tribes... in the same sort of tribalism that underlies racism itself. and you think that excuses the white slavers? stop listening to this ugly ****... use your own brain.
Now, let's take a look at the fact that blacks living in Africa by and large live in conditions more poor than here.
we can skip the details.. they live that way NOW... after hundreds of years of white slave trading and imperialism. much of what you are using as justification of that slavery and imperialism is in fact a PRODUCT of it. but again, even if not, it does not excuse what white slavers DID. that you neighbor does not properly care for his lawn does not excuse your burning down his house.

yes, racism still exists and yes anybody who is affected by it (we all are) is working in his own and his neighbor's best interest in working to better things... BLAMING the descendants of victims for the victimization, blaming them further for their inability to feel grateful for that victimization is not what i would call working to better things.

we have done quite a lot to put all races (not just blacks) on equal footing.

and failed. but we can discuss that separately.

ironically, i am taking valuable time away from my final exam term paper on Race in Media and Communications to respond here. Tess, whatever you consider to be the "right" amount of money to spend on social problems should not be the motivation for supporting this sort of abhorrently ugly view of slavery.
race isn't a factor in . . . achievement unless they allow it to be?

there is an inherent untruth in this that i would think patently obvious, especially in light of the comments in this very thread, but certainly i recognize the refrain from the right.

but, let's see if we can find a point of agreement - a black man who waits for the white man to make things better is likely to be waiting a hell of a long time, so, yeah, it is a far better idea to get up, bust your behind and get it done on your own. white conservatives love to preach this notion today, but you make quite clear yourself that the REAL interest is not in the betterment of black lives, it is saving white money. and please remember that if it IS possible today for blacks to achieve on their own, it was as a result of the same bleeding heart, lilly livered 'white guilt' that conservatives love to ridicule today.

and it is not new. Frederick Douglas was preaching the same message while slavery was still being practiced. Malcolm X was preaching it from pulpits when i was a boy and was reviled for it by these selfsame white conservatives. Reverend Wright preaches it today and you hear how he is reviled.

yes, certainly that attitude should be encouraged. but that 'they' should take greater responsibility does not mean that 'we' should abandon ours, not because we are white, because we are just - not out of guilt, out of a sense of moral responsibility.

that THAT attitude on the part of blacks might be seen as beneficial, though, does not negate the truth of slavery... it does NOT make slavery a generous contribution to black culture. it does by NO MEANS suggest that contemporary African Americans should be GRATEFUL for slavery because SOME of them today can buy a big screen TV.

geo.
 
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As long as there is race, there will be racism. Talking about race keeps race alive. As long as Obama talks about what was taken from the black man, he is keeping the races separate. As long as Buchanan talks about what was given to the black man, he is keeping the races separate. And as long as the races are separate, they will never be equal.

The only way to end racism is to breed it out.
 
Geo, you are an absolute expert in reading into things that aren't being said or don't exist. Money is not the answer to the problem of racial inequality. If it was, it would have worked. It hasn't, which means there are broader, deeper problems. I am not an apologist of slavery, but I recognize that slavery is a multifaceted issue, and it is important to understand and accept the entire premise of slavery, how it was instituted, how it function, and how it ended. "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it", right?

As for the rest of it..whatever. I very clearly said that both sides in this issue have a responsibility. I am quite frankly sick of people assuming that conservatives are anti-black people merely because we're conservatives. I fully understand that they are statistically under-performing, under-achieving, and under-represented. I fully understand that changes must be made. But simply placing black people in positions of achievement, or giving them a curve to boost their performance, or stacking the deck to get them representation is not going to work. Welfare and scholarships aren't working. EOE and AA are not working. We need to start with the attitude and education. We need to consistently and effectively encourage acceptance. We need to stop expecting less because we've seen less and start encouraging success.

You can preach all day about typical liberal talking points. Telling me that my unwillingness to keep spending in a broken system means I don't get or care about the problem. I understand full well what the issue is. I understand that 10, 20, 30 years of programs have brought about little improvement for the black race. I understand that we have blatantly disregarded and ignored the issues that exist...for fear of what, I couldn't tell you. I know that we can't fight against hostile attitudes and a blatant disregard for our attempts to raise people up and that they must take part in it themselves.

I want to bring about a state of equal socio-economic standing and acceptance. But what we've done so far hasn't done that. Why keep repeating a mistake?
 
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As long as there is race, there will be racism. Talking about race keeps race alive. As long as Obama talks about what was taken from the black man, he is keeping the races separate. As long as Buchanan talks about what was given to the black man, he is keeping the races separate. And as long as the races are separate, they will never be equal.

The only way to end racism is to breed it out.

Probably the one sentence in this whole post I agree with, lol.

Talking about racism keeps it alive? Maybe. But not talking about just keeps it under the surface.
 
that's about the craziest thing you have ever said.

congratulations!

geo.

Why is it that when you reply to somebody within whom you disagree you have to some how insult or invalidate their opinion before you can counter, if you counter at all? I've noticed that you very rarely provide a civil reply, but rather lace them with veiled insults and childish talking points designed to belittle the opposing post. Then, you often fail to add anything productive to the debate. Why is that? I mean, I don't agree with a lot of what you say, but I'd rather argue the merits of your post or provide a different perspective than go line by line trying to insult your thought process or opinion. Besides, if you think you're right, wouldn't to better to try convincing people that your opinion is correct instead of chucking mud around?
 
that's about the craziest thing you have ever said.

Your join date says you have been here over a year. You should know that's not even in my Top Ten.

Talking about racism keeps it alive? Maybe. But not talking about just keeps it under the surface.

No. Talking about race keeps racism alive. As long as people regard it as something important, as some profound categorical divisor between men, it will continue to be important and it will continue to divide men.
 
Why is it that when you reply to somebody within whom you disagree you have to some how insult or invalidate their opinion before you can counter, if you counter at all?

I think he meant it as a compliment. I took it as one.
 
Geo, you are an absolute expert in reading into things that aren't being said or don't exist.
i have done nothing of the sort.
I am not an apologist of slavery,
then you should stop repeating the vacuous rhetoric of those who are. but perhaps it is 'apologist' you object to? i think perhaps you are not using it as I am.

I would never attempt to dissuade you from broadening your understanding of anything. but the legitimacy of your 'instruction' is in question here. and even more, the motivation of your instructors. the selling of slaves was slave trading no matter who did it. that virtually every culture on earth practiced it does not excuse any of them. we cannot say "they did it so it was ok for us to do it". but this is even worse than that... you are saying "they did it to themselves so they should be grateful that we did it to them even more horrifically than they ever did it to themselves".

again, we can discuss racism, good social policy.... "whatever" at your leisure. but if you allow your party idnetification to dictate that you absorb this sort of disgusting polemic you do yourself a disservice.

to say that blacks should be grateful for slavery is like saying jews should be grateful for the Shoah... after all... they got a country out of it, didn't they?

it is patently obscene, tess.

geo.
 
Buchanan on Obama's race speech: "We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?" | Media Matters for America

What are your thoughts on this letter? Is Buchanan right? Do you agree with some point and disagree with Others? Is he totally wrong?

Is this dumbass joking. Gratitude? So what are black people supposed to get down on their knees and thank white people? He's so stupid.

First, he singles out "white America" as some group with a collective identity that is responsible for giving blacks fantastic lives that don't actually exist since poverty is more prevalent among blacks than whites. This is a problem because when we refer to policies that were intended to help black Americans, it isn't about "white America" giving something to black America as a collective entity.

Second, what he's essentially saying is that America (in his dumb words "white America") should be praised and thanked for doing what it's supposed to do - work to improve the lives of fellow citizens.

Let's not also forget that many white citizens watched things like the civil rights movement go down kicking and screaming and lynching and shooting and burning crosses and shouting epithets. Let's not also forget that this amazing conversion to Christianity that he referred to was done in order to fix the animals and savages and that the road to "freedom and prosperity" for blacks was a long one that black people fought for - it wasn't just bestowed upon them.

What a dumbass.

The only thing I have to say about the race conversation is that all "races" need to start listening to, understanding and empathizing with each other. Until people like Buchanan and his fellow dumbasses start to acknowledge the legitimacy of anger and distrust among black Americans and until those who see racism in everything start understanding before condemning, nothing productive will happen in this "conversation".
 
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He is correct pretty much, it isn't right to blame white people for what their ancestors did.
It also isn't right to thank white people for what SOME of their ancestors did. Did you miss the part about "where's the gratitude?"
 
Your join date says you have been here over a year. You should know that's not even in my Top Ten.

heheh.
No. Talking about race keeps racism alive. As long as people regard it as something important, as some profound categorical divisor between men, it will continue to be important and it will continue to divide men.

sorry, but that is simply an excuse for ignoring a problem. "racism" or more specifically, "otherism", the seeing of others as less worthy is innate in social animals - it is what defines social groups. "US = GOOD", "THEM = BAD". without a delineating THEM, there can be no us. if they are not "bad" how can we be "good".

this thinking is literally built into the brain. all we have to do is select the qualifiers of THEM and we can proceed. Race does not even exist... we created it, it is entirely a social construct based on whatever criteria comes most readily to hand. The English once preached that the Irish were, literally, a different and inferior "race".

it is largely unconscious. it was very functional for a very long time. it is no longer. it we want to negate it we HAVE to become conscious of it. we SHOULD be talking about it if only to maintain our consciousness of it.

to pretend that it is no more is to force it underground where it festers.

geo.
 
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i have done nothing of the sort.

then you should stop repeating the vacuous rhetoric of those who are. but perhaps it is 'apologist' you object to? i think perhaps you are not using it as I am.

I would never attempt to dissuade you from broadening your understanding of anything. but the legitimacy of your 'instruction' is in question here. and even more, the motivation of your instructors. the selling of slaves was slave trading no matter who did it. that virtually every culture on earth practiced it does not excuse any of them. we cannot say "they did it so it was ok for us to do it". but this is even worse than that... you are saying "they did it to themselves so they should be grateful that we did it to them even more horrifically than they ever did it to themselves".again, we can discuss racism, good social policy.... "whatever" at your leisure. but if you allow your party idnetification to dictate that you absorb this sort of disgusting polemic you do yourself a disservice.

to say that blacks should be grateful for slavery is like saying jews should be grateful for the Shoah... after all... they got a country out of it, didn't they?

it is patently obscene, tess.
geo.

This is you reading something into what I said that wasn't there, and also doing exactly what I've asked you to explain (that is, insulting the point instead of adding to the conversation).

I am not excusing our role in slavery. I was merely making the point that there is more to it than just "we wanted to inslave black people". I never said the blacks should be grateful for slavery, nor did I take Buchanan to have said that. I never called for them to be grateful for anything, but perhaps to acknowledge that some people have tried to even the score, even if they're failing in doing so. You can act like you're taking some sort of high road, but really you're just making assumptions, distorting arguments, and providing nothing more than a self-righteous testimony on something that I never said or implied.
 
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I started this thread some time ago and essentially took the affirmative that racism between Whites and Blacks in American needs to die out. However, in making my position known I also pointed out that the social-economic politics that were implemented even after the Civil Rights Act was signed into law were purposefully designed to "keep Blacks in their place".

Until the mid-70's, many Black families were forced to live in housing projects - ghettos - because many major cities enacted laws that prohibited Black families from moving into residential neighborhoods that were predominately White. From there, you have school zoning that "pushed" Blacks into the poorest communities, forced Black students to attend poorly funded schools with teachers who in many cases were rejects themselves. In some cases where the educators were promising individuals, they were given the toughest assignments in some of the toughest schools - schools that communities had basically given up on. Rezoning (or what is now called "redistricting") was a way to purposefully redicted education funds from one community to another. It became easy to use poor test scores as evidence that Black students weren't learning, weren't meeting standards, and when schools in Black neighborhoods were run down and desparately in need of repair, it became that much easier to justify closing them and sending students to other schools sometimes in school districts that were farther away making it more difficult for parents to get their child to the "better school" they were now mandated to bus them to.

Taking a look at some social issues, one of the largest social reforms that gained national attention was the Memphis Sanitation Strike that ultimately lead to the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Most people believe this was just some run of the mill union strike where Blacks were protesting for equal pay and union membership, but the truth is the City of Memphis had purposely allow city trash collection to go uncollected for days in Black communities and would not hire enough workers to collect trash in Black neighborhoods. Black sanitation workers realized this and began to not only demand that more Blacks be hired - people who were very willing to do the work - but that Black neighborhoods stop being ignored because the trash that had begun to pill up was attracking rodents and creating health problems. Memphis wasn't the only major city that had this type of problem. It happened in cities such as Chicago, New York, LA.

Then you have the issue of equal treatment under the law where historically twice as many Black men have been detained within our prison system for lessor inclusive crimes than their White peers. Take for example the arrest for crack cocain versus powder cocain. The law cracks down harder for crack than it does powder cocain. Why? Because it became an epidemic for both (rich) Whites and (poor) Blacks, but you see more Blacks being arrested for it and given stiffer sentences for possessing an ounce of crack versus a White man getting busted for a gram of ****. Where's the justice in that?

There are so many injustices like these that have taken place against Blacks in this country - things that most Whites would be surprised to learn about. Unfortunately, people like Pat Buchannon seems to think that Black people should fall on their knees and thank White people for "all they've done for us."

As a Navy veteran, I've travelled the world and have seen a great many things. There's no other country I'd choose as my first choice to live than the United States of America. But although I've never been beaten (whipped), never starved, never been homeless, and have had the good fortune to not only graduate high school (unlike my parents before me) and attend college, I DO NOT give credit to my success in life to White privilege. That thanks goes to my parents and my grandparents and their parents and those who came before them who suffered and sacraficed greatly so that I could be where I am today, and so that my Black children can have even more opportunities than that which was afforded me. That doesn't mean that I turn my nose up at every White person whom I come into contact with. How can I turn my nose up against what is now "the other half of me"? (For those who don't know, my wife is White and we have a bi-racial daughter.) Nor does it mean that I ignore the atrocities that were committed against my people. It simply means that (at least in my house which is a multi-cultural home) we talk about race relations often and we do so honestly. It means that my two White children (my wife's biological children who are my own in every since of the word and in love) receive a thorough education in Black history - the truth - so that they can better understand why many Black people are still hurt and angry at what White society did, has done and in some cases is still doing to oppress Blacks.

There was a report that came out recently concerning the inequity of disciplinary actions taken within the Huntsville City School system that clearly illustrated that Black students were discipline X3 as often as White children who committed the same offenses. I shared that report with my two eldest White children (because my Black children are grown and had moved out long ago) and asked them to share their views concerning the report. Their assessment: The report was accurate, but the treatment of Black students was wrong because "White kids do the same things - break the dress code, talk back to teachers, skip classes, cheat on tests, etc. Teachers tend to view Black students with a harsher eye than they do White students." Their words, not mine.

So, what can we do to change the perception of Blacks in America to convince Whites that "we mean them no harm?"

First, Whites need to stop looking at Blacks as if we want to live poor.

Second, Whites need to stop circulating the belief that Blacks are the primary recipients of social entitlements, such as welfare and food stamps. Per 2008 figures, 41% of White were on food stamps compared to 38% of Blacks.

Third, if you say education is the key, then stop denying Blacks educational opportunities. I understand the argument against Affirmative Action programs within our nation's colleges and universities, but considering that redistricting historically has been used as a tool by White politicians to make obtaining a quality education for Blacks and other minorities more difficult by diverting funding from Black communities, I see Affirmative Action in education at least as the best took Blacks and other minorities have to "level the playing field". I would love to see Black students get into more colleges based on their own merit including Ivy League school, but until we stop seeing dollar signs behind a student's transcripts and start seeing grades, ability to learn, desire and academics long before we see the color of one's skin and what their lineage is, Affirmative Actions must remain in place within our institutes of higher learning.

Fouth and finally, start seeing me and mine as PEOPLE and not this dredge on society. It is because of the actions by White politicians that have placed many Blacks into the poor economic condition they are in. True, some have ceased trying to improve their quality of life, but given what many Blacks have been up against for generations, can you honestly say you blame them? Some really don't know how to change the circumstances of their lives. That's why it is up to us - those who have done better for ourselves - to take another by they hand and teach them the way to go forward, not backwards.

So, to Pat Buchanan, I am thankful, but not to you nor to White American. My thanks goes to my parents who tried to teach me a better way. For two people who combined never had better than an 8th grade education, I'd say they did damned good.
 
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I am not an apologist of slavery

as i say, i think you have misunderstood my use of the term "apologist". it has come to mean "apologizer". that is a common misuse.

"one who speaks or writes in defense of someone or something " is the more accurate definition. Pat Buchanan is effectively acting as an apologist for slavery and all that slavery led to. And HIS rationale? Well, we saved them from their heathenism! an echo of apologists past:
“God assigns to every man . . . the precise place he is to occupy . . . [slaves] have been . . . redeemed from the bondage of barbarism and sin. Slavery [is] the greatest good. It [is] providence, through which [they] been made heirs of the heavenly inheritance. . . . it is the . . . duty of the church. . . . it is a real and effective discipline, and, without it, . . . the African race . . . can never be elevated in the scale of being . . . . ondage is [the African's] normal condition. We feel that the souls of our slaves are a solemn trust, and we shall strive to present them faultless and complete before the presence of God”

Rev. James Henry Thornwell, Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America, Vol. I, Augusta, Ga., 1861

geo.

(The term "rev" is used only with the greatest hesitance).
 
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