Baltimore riots and white privilege

[sue_nami]

• my friend said it very well.I thought this would be a good start to open a dialogue here.
  
  
  "Here's the thing: whether you believe white privilege exists or not, whether it's all the fault of those lazy black people or if it's systemic, that statistics reflect reality or bias...none of these things really matter. because people are fed up, jobs are disappearing (for white people as well as black), wealth inequality is on the rise, and the status quo won't hold for long. And honestly? Things are changing, and will continue to change. You can deny it, you can be angry about it, you can lock yourself in your gated communities, but eventually this stuff will affect you and it's gonna show up on your doorstep.
  Have you ever read any accounts of people going through revolutions in other times and places? It's not pretty. And those who can/will suffer the most are women and children. I don't look forward to starving, having people shoot each other over food, watching friends disappear for saying the wrong thing, and seeing people REALLY live on a survival level. It's not good for anyone.
  And the more people try to deny it instead of listening and trying to find a solution with other people (namely,the people who are rioting in the fucking streets), the worse it's going to be. Think about a pendulum that swings back and forth until it can slow down and find equilibrium. What happens when the pendulum is swung way to one side, and instead of being allowed to swing back freely, the side holds it tighter and tighter, until it finally bursts free, and beings to swing violently back and forth. That is exactly what's happening in this country right now.
  And the really sad part about it? Most of the people who argue for the status quo are suffering too. Their jobs are disappearing, their pensions are vanishing, they are tired of striving to keep up, they are stressed out and feel physically like shit and are scared and don't really know how things are going to turn out. And it ain't the fault of the black people who are rioting in Baltimore at the moment; they are angry and stressed out by the same fucking people who are causing ALL of us to suffer; the 1%. Incidentally, they think this is hilarious. Discussions of race keep the spotlight on the "other" and ignores them. I think that there's a different way to live, but it's going to take a lot of work to get there. And no, I don't know what exactly that different way to live looks like - none of us do, and that's part of what's so frightening.
  I don't know what the solution is, or what we need to do to heal and move on. I suspect it will get much worse before it gets better. But the fact of the matter is, you can embrace change, or you can have it forced on you. Personally, I prefer the former."
  

[Passion2015]

You know this is all relevant information. Lets look at the center of attention. Would we be seeing all this action and media coverage if a black officer shot a white un armed individual? Would we see it if a a black.person shot a white family in their home? Think about the eay each culture is brought up and taught about history's actions.

It all starts with the parents and the way they yeach their children.growing up. This doesn't matter the color it's all about how your brought up into this crazy world.

Media is about bad news and the more they thrive on it the more people think they have to act on it. I have more but you get the justnof it. Oh and what I mentioned in the beginning of shootings, it actually happened recently however, there was little news on it.

[Loxly]

There has always been, and always will be, income inequality. Do we applaud the 1% on their ability to generate their wealth or penalize them for being innovative, creative and at times without scruples?

During the age of the "Robber Barons" like Rockefeller, Carnegie and such. They were hated by many. Making their money off the backs, and sometimes lives of others. Yet they put people to work. Crap wages to be sure (except for Ford) but still folks could feed their families.

How many jobs has Zuckerberg created with his Facebook crap as opposed to Elon Musk? Should Zuckerberg pay more tax than Musk?

I grew up in an integrated neighborhood. Of the people I graduated with the percentage of idiots was the same for both blacks and whites. BUT... nearly all the families were fully functional (2 parents) middle class folks. Their fathers survived WW II and learned some trade or skill. Or went to college on the GI bill.

Those parents passed on a "work ethic" to their kids and those kids were successful. Somewhere along the way that fell apart after that generation. There is a glimmer of hope when you see that Mother in Baltimore smacking the shit out of her kid for getting into the riots. And there is where the problem lies. Not enough smack downs by the parents or responsible family member.

There are many great black community minded people that are trying to turn this around. They, along with a resurgence of family values, can turn this around. Other minorities have done this.

I remember seeing Joe Biden telling a black caucus that the Republicans wanted to keep them in chains. But what do you call a party that creates financial dependencies that you can't break out of? Continue to feed them the "drug" of entitlements with no withdrawl program?

I'm a former Balti-moron. I know these areas. They were and can be good areas. There ARE tons of good jobs to be had if you have the education. Unfortunately many of the jobs are being filled by green-card folks.There are many government agencies and contractors in Baltimore. Medicare/Medicaid, Northrup Grumman, Lockheed Martin, etc.

One final note on Baltimore. I noticed the rioters had the good sense to by-pass the Italian neighborhood on their way to burning down the senior center being constructed.

[sifupsi]

I've edited out some of the chatter and left a few things in

Originally Posted by sue_nami

• my friend said it very well.I thought this would be a good start to open a dialogue here.
  
  
  "Here's the thing: whether you believe white privilege exists or not, whether it's all the fault of those lazy black people or if it's systemic,........ wealth inequality is on the rise, ....... you can lock yourself in your gated communities,
  ........ (namely,the people who are rioting in the fucking streets), ....... Their jobs are disappearing, ......... And it ain't the fault of the black people who are rioting in Baltimore at the moment; they are angry and stressed out by the same fucking people who are causing ALL of us to suffer; the 1%. ..... Discussions of race keep the spotlight on the "other" and ignores them. ......."

Sue, I think your friend is reading from some political talking point of Al Sharpton or something. I think it's ridiculous!

But I will say this.....they are entitled to their opinion, as am I. So here is my opinion.....

Peaceful demonstrations are great! The so called 1% have nothing to do with people burning down their neighbors stores. Nothing to do with stealing cars and driving them through fires set on the road. Nothing to do with burning hundreds of cars and throwing rocks at people (cops, news reporters, etc). Rioters (not demonstrators) are idiots. They are not protesting or standing up for anything. They have one purpose, to cause chaos. They are hurting their neighbors more than helping. How does looting a liquor store end in something positive? How does stealing the livelihood of store owners get back at the so called 1%?

It doesn't.

Sifu

[endurance]

Although I don't have too much sympathy for the wasted counterproductive energy shown by poor ignorant people, I think focusing on that is missing the bigger picture.

Wealth inequality is the biggest now since the 20s/30s and it has been very deliberately increased massively over the last 6 years. What we are seeing here is just a symptom.

The 1%ers may have exploited each and every crisis at the expense of the average joe, but there are a lot of others in between who have looked the other way at pervasive systemic fraud. Instead of addressing that, they are gearing up to beat the masses until morale improves. And this is what's going to happen - societal breakdown - and everyone who thinks they are going to hide in their castle guarded by their mercenaries is challenging history to come remind them that decapitation is austerity for the rich (someone else said that last part, I can't find the quote.)

[sue_nami]

Austin is a prime example of the disparity between the haves and have nots. how many of us non 1%ers are flat being run out of town by high cost of living? our town is the worst for this. where is the affordable housing? and i do not mean 2 or 3 counties away. This town is way out of balance and we need less 58 stories condos full of high end housing down town and more housing for the poor and middle class in the central city.

[Passion2015]

Sue,

I agree with you on the high prices in Austin. Property taxes have gone through the roof and have just came out for this year and up again. Yes Austin is driving people out of here however, it's still the choice of the individual on whether they stay or not and that's for anything they do in their lifetime. If people will stop blaming people for their circumstances and take ownership of their own, this world would be a whole lot better.

Damn, how did we start talking about this subject on a hooger board??? Lol

[Austin Powers]

Originally Posted by sue_nami

...people are fed up, jobs are disappearing (for white people as well as black), wealth inequality is on the rise, and the status quo won't hold for long. And honestly? Things are changing, and will continue to change. You can deny it, you can be angry about it, you can lock yourself in your gated communities, but eventually this stuff will affect you and it's gonna show up on your doorstep.

Yep, Ferguson and Baltimore are canaries the coal mine.
on our present course

[Mr Peabody]

Sue,
While I respect your opinion and your guts for putting this topic out there, I probably disagree that anything should be done to fix the problem.

What we are seeing in American Society is the results of 100 years of unintended consequences. We have a million laws out there were meant to "fix" something, but are instead used by someone as a competitive advantage to gain a monopoly and rig the system for gain.

As an example, those greedy CEOs are not taking a salary that is "Right" or "Fair", they are taking a salary that is legal. More laws do not make things better.

I don't believe in anarchy, but if you pared all laws back to the constitution, a society built on capitalism and mutual contracts could raise everybody's boat, similar to what occurred during the renaissance.

Here's another thought. With our 18 Trillion dollar dept, the US is the poorest nation in the history of the universe. When the end of the gravy train comes, only the 99%ers will be affected as the Chinese claim ownership due to default on the debt. The 1%ers have the wherewithal to escape to a better place. The current US practice of simply printing more money is criminal. I guess my point is that there are more fundamental things to worry about. I would love for someone to show a financial scenario for the next 15 years which doesn't end very badly.

Thoughtfully yours, Mr. Peabody.

[Guilty]

Everything is whitey's fault.

[Ebony Jasmine Love Austin]

^lol^

Touchy subject so I'll do my best to keep it short and swe- ... honest.


I would never riot and steal to prove a point; counterproductive indeed.

I think the black community needs a reeducation and more education on top of that. We all need to teach our children how to interact with authority, and how to use recourses for upward mobility in order to reach sustainability.

So many people come to this country with nothing but lint in their stained paint pockets, culture shock, and language barriers... and STILL some how manage to build and sustain.

With regards to economic inequality (keeping in mind what Mr. Peabody mentioned; the systems is fixed and a very small percent will most-likely always hoard the majority of the wealth) there are still so many resources for the have nots to use as stepping stones to a better life. I think some just don't have the know how to find and take advantage of them in the right way.

Like anything the economy ebbs and flows and even the super wealthy can be cash poor at times like this. The have-nots being stifled by their circumstance might need to re-budget their lifestyle just as the haves "downsize" when they have to.

I know I sound apathetic (couldn't be further from the truth), but I am more about finding solutions for people & problems; not making excuses for them.

I never come to the sand box, aaaaah fresh air....

[Windinhishair]

Economy sucks, jobs shortages etc. blah blah

In reality any society that can afford to piss away $300 per friggin hour on nothing but a piece of ass is doing just fine.

In fact other cities spend considerably more for tail it seems.

When that pussy money is required to keep your family alive then maybe it's time to start preparing for revolutions.

Times aren't what they were back in colonial days. Modern society has become soft, self absorbed and disconnected through Starbucks, Ipads, smart phones etc..

When the shit does hit the fan which it inevitably will when the dollar collapses nobody will know exactly who to rise up against anyway as there is a huge mote and veil of smoke separating the masses from those unnamed few really in power.

The 1% demonstrations went global and still fizzled out in embarrassing fashion.

People got arrested for demonstrating against nothing but a general concept which is useless.

The presidents are puppets just like everyone else. Putting actual names and faces to those who pull their strings has to be accomplished before anything else and good luck with that. Titles such as Illuminati doesn't identify anyone.

Robbing, vandalizing and beating your neighbors is not a revolution. It's pure thuggery waiting for any excuse to spring into action.

[Cunt Hunt]

Ninjas is gonna be ninjas. That's why they drink Hennessy, that's why they smoke Menthols, because they's ninjas. They don't need a reason to fuck shit up.

[Ebony Jasmine Love Austin]

Originally Posted by Windinhishair

Economy sucks, jobs shortages etc. blah blah

In reality any society that can afford to piss away $300 per friggin hour on nothing but a piece of ass is doing just fine.

In fact other cities spend considerably more for tail it seems.

When that pussy money is required to keep your family alive then maybe it's time to start preparing for revolutions.

Times aren't what they were back in colonial days. Modern society has become soft, self absorbed and disconnected through Starbucks, Ipads, smart phones etc..

When the shit does hit the fan which it inevitably will when the dollar collapses nobody will know exactly who to rise up against anyway as there is a huge mote and veil of smoke separating the masses from those unnamed few really in power.

The 1% demonstrations went global and still fizzled out in embarrassing fashion.

People got arrested for demonstrating against nothing but a general concept which is useless.

The presidents are puppets just like everyone else. Putting actual names and faces to those who pull their strings has to be accomplished before anything else and good luck with that. Titles such as Illuminati doesn't identify anyone.

Robbing, vandalizing and beating your neighbors is not a revolution. It's pure thuggery waiting for any excuse to spring into action.

I feel you on this.

While I don't condone looting and thuggery,
I can't find many differences in the principles of

a) the ruling class robbing and stealing from the ninety-something %.
&
b)those who choose to loot and riot.

ijs

[David.Douchehurst]

Ah blames Obama.