The Virginia Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of High-Quality Posts

[Cold War Liberal]

Thinking black people and other minorities should have equal rights is condescending, but assuming someone you disagree with is not contributing to society, and dogwhistling that poor black people don't work, don't pay taxes, and are lazy, sexually loose, socially-deviant criminals is not condescending? Personal experience tells me that these tired, disgusting, and borderline libelous stereotypes are false.

So what accounts for the disparity in crime statistics by demographic categories?

I'm listening.  Perhaps if folks will respond earnestly to THIS question, it might lead to a solution to THIS problem.

Gee, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that in places like New York City, there are jurisdictions where black people are ten to twelve times more likely to undergo stop-and-frisk than white people. Maybe the fact that black people have consistently been given worse or no education until 40-50 years ago affects the culture. Maybe the fact that FDR’s redlining continues to affect the black community to this day* has something to do with it. Maybe the fact that “certain neighborhoods” - that just happen to be black, regardless of income, - to this day have a heavier police presence than white neighborhoods results in more blacks being caught committing crimes. Yet we continue to see black people and BLM stereotyped as “violent thugs who hate the police” because of a few dozen marchers. Yet we continue to advocate for these “law and order” policies. Now you tell me - have I responded earnestly to THIS question?


*Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/upshot/how-redlinings-racist-effects-lasted-for-decades.html

>Complains about how "no one wants to discuss how bad black people are!!!!!!!1!11!1!!11!!"
>Gets two actually it's five detailed, fairly comprehensive responses that thoroughly refute his view of 13%+ of the American population and explain why the few things he says about minorities that are true are the way that they are
>Doesn't respond

Huh. Maybe he's "listening," but Fuzzy Bear sure isn't "having a conversation."

[Cold War Liberal]

Wow, I'm actually surprised at all the people who care about representation instead of hiding behind all that "we must appeal to the WWC so we must not speak of identity politics" BS that has been the default Atlas mindset for so long.

Representation matters. I've lived 20 years on this planet as an Asian male, 17 of them in the United States. I have experienced racial abuse myself, whether it's other people saying "ching chong" to my face, or strangers assuming that I know complex math but not English. On the Internet, including these very forums, I see all sorts of abuse, saying how people who look like me should all be dead or deported because we eat dogs and are taking peoples' jobs. I can't speak for the experiences of other people of color on Atlas, or of women on Atlas, but I'm sure they have their stories.

Representation matters. To some, as I have mentioned, I don't belong in this country because I'm an immigrant from China. We're not American, even though we built the transcontinental railroad and advanced American science and technology to soaring heights. To some, black people like RFKfan are not true Americans, even though America was built on the backs of black slaves and black laborers, that American culture would be virtually unrecognizable without their contribution to music and the arts. Ditto for Hispanics, ditto for gay people, ditto for women. And what have we all gotten in return? Racism, sexism, all sorts of -isms. That we don't deserve a voice. That we don't deserve a leader who is one of our brothers and sisters. That we don't deserve sh*t except ignorance and disrespect.

Representation matters. In the past few weeks, we had a Black superhero smash box office records, a slate of Asian-American Olympians proudly going for the gold, and a young Hispanic woman as the face of a nationwide gun control movement. These people are more than just movers and shakers; they are inspirations. Black Panther was a huge force among Black people because it told them that they needed not to be slaves or criminals; they can be scientists and superheroes. Likewise when Linsanity was a thing; it told Asian-Americans that they needed not to be nerdy weaklings, that they can play ball just as well as their Black and White counterparts. And before that, on that one fateful day in 2008, the son of a Kenyan politician and a white woman from Kansas had a message. You too, no matter who you are or what color your skin is, can be president.

Representation matters. It is not a panacea. Needless to say, America did not become a postracial society after 2008, and it will not no matter who the next Democrat president is. Ditto if the next president of color or the first woman or LGBT president is a Republican. Neither Ben Carson nor Ted Cruz are friends to most black or Hispanic people (or anyone really). But representation does not mean nothing. The first woman, Hispanic, Asian, etc. president will inspire millions from historically underrepresented groups to go into politics and make change. That is not nothing. That is something. And it also sends a message to the haters and losers who think that America was made solely for straight Christian white men. We're here, we're American, and we're gonna roll.

[Cold War Liberal]

Social engineering doesn't work anymore.

There needs to be a balance.

What does this dog whistle even mean?

We are all equal.

This is what all of us being equal looks like...