Originally posted by Yoj:
The opposition to affirmative action comes from the assumption that the playing field is level to begin with. Historically, minorities had to be demonstratively MORE qualified than whites to have the same opportunity for a job
yeah i've heard every version of that song and it's still boring.
it's a competitive world and those who compete well end up winning, whether that's fair or not.
case in point: san francisco. san francisco passed very restrictive laws against asians during the gold rush and they just kept coming and working hard anyway.instead of whining about acceptance and belonging, they simply formed a thriving and prosperous community of their own.
even as late as the 1930's, asians were prety much limited to chinatown and couldn't live elsewhere, and still they just kept coming and working hard and learning.
eventually, the italians, russian jews and irish that dominated san francisco (and still do along with the chinese now) started to accept the asian community because they realized they were hard workers,pleasantly demeanored and kept their community very safe. additionally, they seemed to be extremely competent at their endeavors.
if you go to chinatown today - don't worry about the time or whether you are alone because you are going to be safe. crowded, but safe. poor people come here with nothing, and no knowledge of the language to this very day and go from scubbing dishes to owning a real estate empire (like j.l. fong my landlord) in a matter of years.
they have formed a self sufficient community that prepares their people for america at large and require no handouts or emotional boosts whatsoever.
in every company i've worked for, asians are on an equal footing in every sense (disregarding the usual nepotism and bellybutton kissing that effects all races)and in some cases people even take them more seriously because they assume they studied harder. (another stereotype of course even if it is positive)
in short, they earned it....through work and sacrfifice, not by any law making you accept or respect them.
another case - scott street projects. san francisco built brand new cheap low income housing in the 80's in a predominantly black neighborhood on scott street. they were great units and some of the only new housing around. day care was on site for working mothers, counseling services were offered... etc etc. those people payed next to nothing per month while the rest of us pay over a thousand for a hole in the wall.
they littered and grafittid that neighborhood into the ground in a few years. it is a dump now. every time i drive through there are people standing on every corner with their pants aroud their ankles making threatening gestures to the guys on the other side of the street with their pants also around their ankles and the community even has it's own police detachment to try to curb the constant violence crack and gang warfare.
in one night last spring two seperate and unrelated shootings resulted in death. if you want to compare communities drive through chinatown at 12am then go drive through the bayshore district or parts of the filmore district and tenderloin. good luck.
as long as that community model dominates - hard working blacks will abandon their world and take on that "white" persona as soon as they become successful and sympathy will be hard to come by for those that ruin their community and then cry for reparations and more handouts and field leveling tactics.
until diligent black men stay in their communities and act as role models for young fatherless punks and leaders for their community nationwide, clowns like sharpton will continue to dominate and the rational elements of the community will remain unheard.
black men: take back your communities!
[ 09-06-2001: Message edited by: mrfish ]
