Reply #41: Treaading carefully here. . [View All]

I don't know that affirmative action and civil rights 'changed' the already prosperings' lives. Bear with me. It's a fallacy that not a single black person voted in the Deep South prior to the Voting Rights Act. If you had money, were educated, had white 'friends' who get you the language test in advance - you COULD indeed vote. My Granddaddy and his dad are perfect examples (albeit Republican until the late 1930's) of the few who COULD vote. It's also a fallacy that all blacks were poor or 'poorer' than the whites in their communities. That's why we had situations like Waco 1, Paducah 1, and Rosewood. That 'class' of blacks - their children WERE attending college as early as the 1880's. They owned their own land, they were educated themselves and it all rolled uphill from there.

Affirmative Action obviously did not change much for those who were 'left behind' - or they wouldn't be left behind. . . and certainly the Welfare State that LBJ set up DID affect their lives. There was a time when black families stuck together no matter what, having babies out of wedlock was frowned upon, being in the 'Church' was not lip service . . . I could go on and on. That way of life ended amongst the poorest of many inner city (read NORTHERN blacks) in the mid 1960's.

I don't think it's the hardscrabble way of life - I think it's an active choice to not give a damn that's lead to the current lingo and way of life, mixed in with a system that rewarded people for not working (prior to Workfare) and/or having dad's in the home. It's an active choice to call 50 Cent the luckiest man alive - yet ignore the guy who puts in a 60 hour week and can't get ahead.

It's hard to feel guilt when you've worked hard, and you've had generations of people bucking the system to get around the system, so your hard work could get you someplace.

I do however believe this is an issue that needs to be managed by blacks. More of us need to mentor, tutor and actively engage in the lives of young people in these bad financial and societal situations. We need to do more. And that's the point of the book and the discussion. Those who are in my position (the bird dog seat) need to do more. We can longer say, "Well our kind of people . . ."