How to Fight Racism

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In the middle ages Jews couldn’t own farms because they couldn't own land and couldn't become merchants because Christians got favoritism in those days. Many Jews became money lenders for this reason – there are rules in the New Testament against charging interest but no such laws in to Old Testament. Some Jews made a lot of money as money lenders and many wealthy Jews alive today are descended from the wealthy money lenders of the past. The people who see that there are plenty wealthy Jews and say “They must just be a greedy race” don’t understand history.

When the black slaves were freed they didn’t suddenly become rich. They had to start near the bottom. That is why the average black person in America is poorer than the average white person in America. The people who say that “N***ers are just poor because they’re stupid and lazy” don’t know history. I will admit that I think 90% of the poverty of American black people comes from racism that happened in the past rather than racism that happens today. The people who argue that “black people are poor because white people are holding black people back” aren’t telling the whole story because they maybe haven’t thought about history either. Racism against black people is bad but so is “white guilt” in a lot of ways.

There are also some people who seem to think that Native Americans have a natural tendency to commit crimes. These people probably have never heard of Native American boarding schools. Native American boarding schools were mind-raping institutions that Native American kids were sent to during the late 19th century and early 20th century. In these schools Native American children were punished for speaking their native languages and were abused sexually and psychologically.

“Among the worst examples is that of the Alberni Indian Residential School (British Columbia) where, during the 1920s, children caught "talking Indian" suffered the hideous ordeal of having sewing needles pushed through their tongues.”
-Ward Churchill

“Mel H. Buffalo, an advisor to the Samson [Cree] band in Hobbema, Alberta, reported that ‘every Indian person I've spoken to who attended these schools has a story of mental, physical or sexual abuse to relate.’”
-Ward Churchill

As you can imagine many of the kids who went to these schools became screwed up psychologically. When these kids grew up and had kids their kids sometimes became screwed up because their parents were screwed up. When people are screwed up they have a greater tendency to commit crimes.

Correct me if any of the above is incorrect but the point is that the best way to fight racism is to teach people history. Teaching history can even be used to fight racism against white people.

Exactly my sentiments. Well, I've never thought about the Native Americans, but all the rest I have. I find great irony in it all.

Passing lightly over all other ironies. I cannot spot you suggestions on fighting a phenomenon that Green Monkey theory predicts is inevitable.

Swift's dictum,

"So, naturalists observe, a flea
Hath smaller fleas that on him prey;
And these have smaller fleas to bite 'em,
And so proceed ad infinitum."

applies as well to race, sex, class and religion based variants of the Green Monkey. I doubt me greatly it can be eliminated without rewiring the race, though certain expressions may be blocked locally by carefulmonitoring.

If white guilt, as you rightly say, is wrong, then the first step, BEFORE teaching history, is to stop it being rewritten for the purposes of propitiating guilt.

It is true that blacks aren't poor because of modernity. It is also true that throughout history, if a slave was freed, his or her history was as well-endowed with hope and free expression as was any white person's. Booker T Washington springs to mind. It makes me wonder, actually, why there are very few modern equivalents of Booker T in this day and age. Oprah, well... Obama, not exactly the black story with his Columbia University education - NOT a disparagement. This is a bad thing holding people back, I think. For some perverse reason, racial minorities cloak themselves in the 'Story' of their people. The story of Obama, yes inspirational, is still one of high levels of education and the advantages that brings. The story of Booker T is much the same. Although Booker was self-taught, it matters not at all. The problem comes when poverty and disadvantage from both poor teaching of history as well as popular, indoctrinated, often racial minority inculcation that this is what you are and will always be. R&B artistry and American Football and Basketball are the black man's way out of the ghetto.

Makes no sense to me. But to me, really, it should be more of a mainstream issue in the African American community before it should be one of the wider American community, as it should be one in our own aboriginal community here in Australia, stop limiting yourself to what makes a good story. You are instantly, and irrevocably, limiting yourself and delegitimising the 'normal' minority groups with 'normal' jobs and 'normal' lives, which, despite what minorities tell themselves, is actually the majority of the minority experience.

Lending at interest to a fellow Israelite or to a Gair Tzedek is forbidden in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is permissible to lend at interest to a stranger (foreigner).

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loans_and_ ... in_Judaism

ruveyn

How do Israeli banks make any money, then? Strictly from Palestinian customers?

Racism doesn't exist, in technical terms. <.< The term itself is proof of bad use of language, since we're all homo sapiens. =/

Speak for yourself.

And even I would not have made THAT quibble. My grandfather maybe.

So, are you saying you aren't of the same genus as I? Then get off my internet! :p (trolling, but you get the point)

I believe that italicized part is incorrect. Torah prohibits the charging of interest within itself, but interest can be charged with outsiders. Also, I believe some Jews became foraging recyclers when/where they were not allowed employment and ended up becoming wealthy in that way.

No racism here, but maybe a bit of religious influence where Anabaptists tend to dominate mental health care in some places after having first worked in asylums as conscientious objectors during wartime.

Jews arent wealthy because they've hoarded wealth from the middle-ages. They tend to be wealthy because they have an education culture and value success. They also will look out for their own and historically formed societies to help other jews. But in the early 20th century, jewish immigrants might be shopkeepers, boxers, gangsters, etc. Today, white collar professional is the norm.

Jews and Hindus dominate socioeconomically when you break things down by religious affiliation in the United States. Same reason for both. WIth a slice of self-selection on the Hindu side from the immigration of educated hindus to this country.

I could be of the same genus and not be Homo sapiens. A relic of neanderthalensis, perhance? Homo elegans? Or if I discover and name myself, Homo philologus?

Anyhow, who died and made you boss of the internet? This is a species blind forum.

Anyhow, if you are going to word quibble, my grandpa says do it right. Race is not available as equivalent to species, it is used for differentiates subgroups within a species. I would have to ask the brother who does not speak to me if it can be used as equivalent to variety or subspecies.

It is unfortunate that certain practitioners gave Rassenwissenschaft a bad name. There have been studies done on various blood groupoings and now I think DNA, and it is pretty clear that the races we "know" about are too simplistic. Africa and Asia and the Americas are far from homogeneous. To do the job right you would probably need say 6-10 categories - just a rough uninformed estimate.

race is pretty fluid
if you lined everyone america up by skin color lightest to darkest
you would be unable to draw a line were everyone on one side is considered
black and everyone on the other is considered white.
even if you excluded asians amerinds etc.
(wow that was elegant in my head)
i.e Colin Powel is lighter than Snooki
or a better example (since Snooki is not human)
John Turturro or my Little brother who can pass for Chicano.
-Jake

The same is true for Africa it self.

Slavery ended 150 years ago. There are no emancipated slaves in society. Blacks born in the last 50 years have had access to free education, minority set-asides and lower admissions standards. They're hardly in the same spot as emancipated slaves.



The causal link between slavery and black poverty is assumed. Even if slavery is somehow responsible for black poverty and academic failure, how would you demonstrate it? And why does slavery only affect certain blacks? There are blacks like Thomas Sowell and Chris Gardner who achieve success despite the alleged legacy of slavery.

Last edited by Telekon on 26 Feb 2011, 1:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

I think blaming the disparity on slavery is looking too far back and its a bit of a red herring.
The real question is "How much of the problems of black folks be blamed on Jim Crowe
and contempory racism?"
I don't claim to know the answer but they seem to be a better candidates and are closer to us in time.
Also although the achievements of individuals are note worthy thay are easily dismissed as outliers or antedotal.
Demographic data makes more sense when comparing groups.
-Jake

Stalin loved persecuting Jews, as did the rest of Russian society from the Revolution onward. Why? Because in order to live in Russian cities, which had strict quotas of Jewish representation, usually no more than 5%, they had to be highly educated to make their lives: Doctors, lawyers, engineers, pharmacists, nurses, etc.

As such, they made money. As such, it further reinforced the stereotype of the rich Jew. As such, they were persecuted along with the rest of the rich in post-revolution Russia.

The same can be said of Jews throughout Europe and the world. Not for the quota system ostensibly applying where they were, but rather where they came from forcing their highly literate and educated minds abroad.

Wow. Learning history as it really was is enlightening.