I'm not sure exactly what "crap" you're referring to, so I'm hoping you'll clarify that. I would agree however that a lot of the organizations intended to help fight racism often end up doing more harm than good.

Not even gonna touch that. Not with a ten foot pole.

The problem is that you are living in the era that has already benefitted from what black activist groups did in the past. As a result you only see the stuff that is very much designed in another era.
The cultural lag is the main problem. The leaders of the civil rights movement are the Old Guard. They still see the same problems.
The same is true of its old opponents, who have mostly been defeated.
But the opponents have found a new ally in young people who see the Old Guard's techniques as keeping the past alive.
A shift is needed in the racial discussion.

Think of affirmative action. It's purpose is to equalize opportunity. But what happens when opportunity is equalized as much as AA can accomplish? Then it fuels more reactionaryism than progress.
The policy is not entirely flawed. It's just anachronistic.


For one thing, "seperate but equal" is not possible.
For another it is a direct threat to freedom. Should people be forced to stick with "their own kind"? I can think of few things more totalitarian than that.

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How are you going to stop it in light of the first amendment? Prison sentences? Are you going to stop the Rotary Club, booster clubs, veteran's day celebrations, mother's day celebrations? Should non-mothers feel discriminated against?

clueless post.

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I believe they keep it going for people who are still racists, but will not admit it and don't want to be challenged on it.
Do I agree with most of the things they say or defend, no....but that has nothing to do with this.

I acknowledge that this is a complex subject with provocative questions coming out of it.

Here's a quick rundown of how I see the matter.

I don't see a problem with encouraging upward economic mobility via education. The general trend in this country is that you have a much higher chance of achieving wealth and socioeconomic stability if you are educated. Therefore, I tend to support programs that help poorer students get an education, whether they be black, white, brown, or yellow.

I also think that one of America's shining qualities is our diversity. We are a true melting pot where different races and ethnicities all come together to form a conglomeration of unique tapestry. There's no reason not to celebrate our heritage.

However, we are Americans first and foremost. I'm not a German American, I'm an American. These guys aren't African Americans, they are Americans. The vast majority haven't even been to Africa. Should they reject their heritage? Of course not. However, there is a deliberate cognitive distancing of oneself from this country when you insert a modifier prior to 'American.' You are emphasizing your differences from everyone not like you. Instead of focusing on what unites us, the land in which we live and breath and receive the freedoms and opportunities we love, it focuses on what divides us, the land from which our ancestors came. You are either American or you are not. The rest is divisive semantic foolishness.

I do tend to be frustrated by black only scholarships and clubs. Reverse racism smells no sweeter simply because 50 years ago a race was discriminated against. The only way to triumph over racism is to move beyond it; not dwell in the hurt and the pain. Yes, there is a cathartic healing process which must be undertaken which includes directly facing with brutal clarity exactly what happened. However, when you choose to dwell in that mindset instead of move past it, you become a perpetual victim and sacrifice your mental clarity. Everything you see is then interpreted through the prism of white oppression and racism. Your thinking will be warped.

The problem that I see with many of these organizations is that they often don't focus on moving forward but rather focus on the horrors of the past. It seems sometimes that they would rather beat white people with the guilt stick versus advancing true equality. Programs that are designed to cater and pander to one race only must be very careful not to cross the line into racism.

It's a simple but true concept that you become or move towards what you focus on. If you constantly dwell within the past and allow those experiences to negatively shape your worldview, you will be defined by what happened to you. I would much rather allow my future to define me instead of my past.

Just my two cents...

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What about businesses forming "affinity groups" for African Americans, latinos, Japanese, etc...? It seems idiotic to me to have a non discrinimation polcy, then form as a part of the company's own structure "affinity" groups for specific racial groups, to the exclusion of others. It is completely illogical!

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I live in North Mississippi, and the black controlled goverment of a local county was just found guilty of discrimination against whites in voting procedures, so racism existed in that case, but blacks benefitted from it.

So explain why race specific groups are helpful again? They are not unless you like the swinging pendulum, and really do not want true equality!

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You got derailed here, none of your examples are race based! Actually many of those organizations could help abolish racism because they are groups that focus on common ground other than race!!!

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I am specifically referring to race. I'm not talking about non-race issues here.

I repeat from an earlier post of mine: Would it be ok for white people to have the NAAWP - National Association for the Advancement of White People?

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It would be hard to take such a group seriously in that white people are the advantaged majority. Advancement for white people would mean at the very least keeping further civil rights from expanding or rolling some back.

The KKK exists as a legal organization. It is labeled as racist because it is. It is not pro-white. It is anti-Jew, anti-black, anti-Catholic. It's goal is the subversion of others.
The "advancement" of white people could only mean the subversion of others given the current reality.

On the otherhand there most certainly are groups that exist with names usually related to "fairness" or "equality" or "civil rights" whose main purpose is to remove policies like affirmative action.
These groups exist. And most people don't have a problem with them other than conflict of interest (obviously pro-AA groups oppose them, but don't question their legality)
But such a group could not claim to be for the "advancement" of whites as such policy change would not advance whites... nor does the existence of AA make whites a minority with fewer net rights!

If an organization exists to "advance" white people, it would be racist as it would be attempting to force inequality. That would be the only possible intention.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside