In that case, we already have racial diversity (I've heard of a black doctor and a black engineer).

I have a black doctor. I've met black engineers. I've seen black rich people on TV. What is your point? Are you suggesting they got prospective stations in life through other means than them earning it?

 

The release of genetically altered mosquitoes has been ok'd to battle Zika in Florida.

Zika. You guys remember that? It was the title that brought me to this hot tempered political sunami of a thread.

As for politics, I'm gonna vote for a yuuge middle finger for all those guys in Washington to deal with.

And now a poem.

Republicans are red
Democrats are blue
And neither of them
Give a fuck about you.

 

I have a black doctor. I've met black engineers. I've seen black rich people on TV. What is your point? Are you suggesting they got prospective stations in life through other means than them earning it?

You need to take a sarcasm interpretation class.

 

I have a black doctor. I've met black engineers. I've seen black rich people on TV. What is your point? Are you suggesting they got prospective stations in life through other means than them earning it?

And because of that you think racism is dead and done with? Can almost bet the guy's your talking about weren't born in the "hood". The luck of where your born and to who has a lot more to do with things than you give it credit.

 

And because of that you think racism is dead and done with? Can almost bet the guy's your talking about weren't born in the "hood". The luck of where your born and to who has a lot more to do with things than you give it credit.

and many blacks out of the 'hood' can't sing and dance very well either. There is one major factor that affects black poverty and it's not race.
Its Black families with children that are headed by single women.

 

Its Black families with children that are headed by single women.

A dark, and ugly truth... and like you said, it really has nothing to do with race. It has to do with single-parent families. It's always a tragedy because the responsibility of raising children is overwhelming for just one person.

 

@shortbus no I don't think racism is dead. It's alive and thriving in all races. Every race can and does exhibit racism. Every race combats racism ... Whether it's within their own race or others. If you want to eradicate racism, kill every human on this planet. No people, no racists. Discussion closed.

Racism is taught. When we accentuate the difference, we contribute to the various ism's.

Race is not a metric I use to discriminate. I use character.

 

and many blacks out of the 'hood' can't sing and dance very well either. There is one major factor that affects black poverty and it's not race.
Its Black families with children that are headed by single women.

Now it's white families.

kv

Edit:

You also could say any family.

 

Now it's white families.

kv

Edit:

You also could say any family.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/09/the-original-underclass/492731/

From opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, they made the case that social breakdown among low-income whites was starting to mimic trends that had begun decades earlier among African Americans: Rates of out-of-wedlock births and male joblessness were rising sharply. Then came the stories about a surge in opiate addiction among white Americans, alongside shocking reports of rising mortality rates (including by suicide) among middle-aged whites.

 

and many blacks out of the 'hood' can't sing and dance very well either. There is one major factor that affects black poverty and it's not race.
Its Black families with children that are headed by single women.

Please... How is that different from a trailer park? or from any family born into poverty?

Example: I have an aunt, she married an older alcoholic against her mother's wishes, she became an alcoholic. He had a son from previous marriage and they had 2 daughters and a son together. Fast forward - both sons are dead, one at 15 the other at 30. One daughter did not finish school, the other is doing ok, I guess somewhere my grandmothers genes kicked in... That is my family. People are responsible for their own lives and for how they live them. If you are poor, you do not have to be a junkie or a thug. Neither do you have to quit school. All of these are universal people problems and not race problems. In fact, I think that ability to blame your failures on something like racism actually allows people to excuse their poor outcomes...

Politics has no place in people's lives. What is happening right now will not make anything better. I believe it started out as an attempt to embrace our differences, but now everyone just wants special treatment... Oh if only I was a black transgender one-legged lesbian, maybe my life would be good.

 

Please... How is that different from a trailer park? or from any family born into poverty?

IRT single mothers:

There is a world of difference but it's not in how poor you are in that dirt farm, trailer or black ghetto but what type of human you become from the the lack of a good father or decent father figure influence in this society. Sure having money, class and position helps but what we learn from our family at a young age influences us for the rest of our lives. I grew up in maybe one of the poorest counties in the state of Texas for minorities where the people there were the direct descendants of slaves that worked the farms and cotton fields. Those that maintained strong families worked together to teach their children in an old rundown blacks only school and busted their backs to send them to blacks mainly colleges in the state. We would joke that our Santa was from the south pole because the one from the north never showed up at our house. You're right, poor is poor but having a good nuclear family is priceless. I'm not saying single mom's can't make it work but the odd are surely against it.

 

IRT single mothers:

There is a world of difference but it's not in how poor you are in that dirt farm, trailer or black ghetto but what type of human you become from the the lack of a good father or decent father figure influence in this society. Sure having money, class and position helps but what we learn from our family at a young age influences us for the rest of our lives. I grew up in maybe one of the poorest counties in the state of Texas for minorities where the people there were the direct descendants of slaves that worked the farms and cotton fields. Those that maintained strong families worked together to teach their children in an old rundown blacks only school and busted their backs to send them to blacks mainly colleges in the state. We would joke that our Santa was from the south pole because the one from the north never showed up at our house. You're right, poor is poor but having a good nuclear family is priceless. I'm not saying single mom's can't make it work but the odd are surely against it.

Any thoughts on prevention or a cure?

 

Any thoughts on prevention or a cure?

Reversing the current pathology that IMO sees fathers for children is unnecessary for a decent society is something I freely admit is beyond my capability to fix after years of well meaning programs to help children and mothers that had the side effect of devaluing men in families.

There has been plenty of research and some progress in programs to promote families but it's hard to tell if anything works if the people making babies just don't give a damn.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3091824/

 

Reversing the current pathology that IMO sees fathers for children is unnecessary for a decent society is something I freely admit is beyond my capability to fix after years of well meaning programs to help children and mothers that had the side effect of devaluing men in families.

There has been plenty of research and some progress in programs to promote families but it's hard to tell if anything works if the people making babies just don't give a damn.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3091824/

"healthy marriage" - please let me know if you find one

Being a single mother is sometimes a choice forced upon people by government policies and prevalent belief systems. When I came to N. America I never though I would find such backwards thinking stemming from deep religious roots. So much for secular state.

 

"healthy marriage" - please let me know if you find one

Being a single mother is sometimes a choice forced upon people by government policies and prevalent belief systems. When I came to N. America I never though I would find such backwards thinking stemming from deep religious roots. So much for secular state.

There are plenty of marriages that are not 'perfect' but where the people involved don't channel their frustrations and aggression at each other on a daily basis in front of young children.

 

Another OT post.
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2016/08/07/insecticide-rains-down-on-miamis-zika-zone/

 

Any thoughts on prevention or a cure?

It's been 50 years since Moynihan identified and documented the problem (this came up in another thread, why is this here in Zika?). Since then, the white illegitimacy rate has surpassed the black rate that worried him back then. So what ever we've been doing isn't working.

I don't know the answer but you can point to a lot of culprits. Our culture now glorifies the same activities that were tabu just one generation ago, when I was a kid. In those days, it was groundbreaking when TV actors were shown in bed in the same room, in separate beds. The length of time of a movie kiss was limited by censors. I'm no advocate of censorship, but freedom of speech also requires responsibility for speech. In my lifetime, entertainment has been a race to the bottom. I really don't think we're better off because of it. And look at pop music! The Stones' famously changed the lyrics of "Satisfaction" for their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Now an artist might do the opposite just to get attention. Decades of television have shown dads as buffoons, the opposite of "Father Knows Best".

I think it's a partly a symptom of our own wealth. We can afford to behave badly. Just one or two generations ago, the breakdown of a family structure could literally be fatal for those involved. Now, the penalty is far less severe. That's very good in many ways, but we're seeing the downsides.

 

Actually, there is an opposing point of view. This "race to the bottom" started when women were forced to enter the workforce as a family could no longer survive on a single income... many nasty things followed, including those that made men feel de-valued. There is now a slow turn around in some areas as daycare is so unaffordable and family unit no longer exists (i.e you cannot leave your kid with grandparents) that stay at home parenting is slowly coming back for some middle class families. It is not an option for lower income class as they still have no money and have to rely on government support and whatever job they have. The race to the bottom is always driven by the race to gain the biggest profits.

I will stay clear of discussing how marriage is a completely artificial construct. It is very natural for it to fall apart at this point in time.

If you start to discuss morality, there are plenty of amoral people out there that came out of a two parent household. The problem is, it is not PC to discuss it, as they would have come from a proper home...

 

Actually, there is an opposing point of view. This "race to the bottom" started when women were forced to enter the workforce as a family could no longer survive on a single income... many nasty things followed, including those that made men feel de-valued. There is now a slow turn around in some areas as daycare is so unaffordable and family unit no longer exists (i.e you cannot leave your kid with grandparents) that stay at home parenting is slowly coming back for some middle class families. It is not an option for lower income class as they still have no money and have to rely on government support and whatever job they have. The race to the bottom is always driven by the race to gain the biggest profits.

I see it more as complementary than opposing other factors. Changes in the workforce, women working and gaining independence from the nuclear family are all factors.

 

I see it more as complementary than opposing other factors. Changes in the workforce, women working and gaining independence from the nuclear family are all factors.

The only thing worse than no father in the house is nobody in the house. There was a local newspaper story where one mayor pointed to the higher crime rate in his town was mostly in the after-school hours (3pm to 6pm) before parents get home from work. His town had a higher ratio of two-income families than the two neighboring towns that were compared.