Anarcissie:
If you’ve read my past 3 posts you saw my acknowledgement of (in no particular order):
—prejudice
—racism that still exists
—a poor history to this point re: black senators
—more work to be done
—disparity of income, wealth and employment rates
—that it worsens during a recession
—the unfairness of it all.

So when you write: “All I’ve been hearing from Oddsox is how everything is getting better all the time,” well, that isn’t true, is it?

It’s important to keep one’s head above the sand and acknowledge the empty half of the glass.

But those who dwell on it and look only at the empty half are, themselves, in Denial.
And they play right into the hands of guys like Sirota who make their living off the discontent of others.

@FormerFed—

you write: “...Six black senators in 222 years of Congress is not a good record.”

You are correct, good catch.

Now: what is your over-under for number of black US senators over the NEXT 222 years?

Race is a malign fable.  However, since so many people like it, including its victims, we go along pretending it exists.  So it does.

But let’s pretend there were two really-existing, physically discernable races, the Green and the Purple.  The Purples were about 80% as efficient and productive as the Greens.  In that case, it would seem, the Purples’ incomes and net worth should be about 80% of the Greens’.  A situation in which the Greens’ mean income was a time and half the Purples’, and their net worth fifteen or twenty times the Purples’, would show that something besides the behavior of the labor market was going on.

We can call that something racism, or prejudice, or something else, depending on how we want to construe and view it.  But it isn’t the market, and it isn’t fair according to most peoples’ lights.  In fact, for observant Christians, Muslims and Jews of whatever sect, it’s downright ungodly.  According to market-worshippers, it also wastes our country’s talents, since the market has been distorted.  So theoretically everyone—liberals, conservatives, libertarians, leftists, rightists, theocrats—should be seriously concerned about it.

So are they?  All I’ve been hearing from Oddsox is how everything is getting better all the time.  Sounds like one of the Beatles’ stoner songs.

Anarcissie

I believe that Pangloss would state “that this was the way that life was ordained”, or from the book “all events are interconnected in this best of all possible Worlds, for if you hadn’t been driven from a beautiful castle with hard kicks in the behind, because of your love for Lady Cunegonde, if you hadn’t been seized by the Inquisition, if you hadn’t wandered over America on foot, if you hadn’t thrust your sword through the Baron, and if you hadn’t lost all your sheep from the land of El Dorado, you wouldn’t be here eating candied Citrons and Pistachio nuts.”

I think that Dr. Pangloss would have said “It was meant to be that way”.

Those that preach the “They are innocent of fault” Gospel have adopted a position that cannot be proven or refuted.

And this is where those who spout the “Science” of Philosophy ( or I should say Philosophers, who make claim that will be or will not be cannot be proven right or wrong - unless it does happen).

Applying this theme to the difference, if any, between the races, to speak that there is a difference, and even if it is demonstrable statistically by a Chi Square experiment , to speak such, is social blasphemy.

Anarcissie, have you seen the movie “Letters to Juliette” ?  There is an eloquent letter written to Claire by Sophie discussing the use of the word “IF”.

I just read (again) on a leftie mailing list that income and net worth disparities between White and Black individuals and families has increased in recent years.  So what’s with that, Dr. Pangloss?

@anarcissie—

“...a few stars…”?
Successful blacks.  Educated blacks.  Their numbers are legion, and rising.
(You haven’t tried the snake oil antidote yet, have you?)

Hit that link on my prior post.  You’ll see over 140,000 black college graduates in one recent year alone.  Are they all anomalies? 

And while overall black college graduation rates are still low (no denying), they are climbing.  At Harvard, Brown, Yale, Princeton, Stanford and 4 other colleges, the black graduation rates are 90% or higher.

Again, is there is still more work to be done?  Yes.
Is there is still prejudice?  Sure.
But ALSO look at the progress since Jackie Robinson.  Since Rosa Parks.  Since Martin Luther King.  Who would have predicted in 1950 that today there would be enough black millionaires to fill the Rose Bowl?

Anarcissie, you can look at the down side and keep buying the snake oil Sirota peddles. 
Or try a refreshing, inspiring “Yucan-2.” 
Your choice.

I don’t see how a few stars negate a general problem.

@Anarcissie:

UGH! OMG!
You’ve just taken a big swig of Dr. Sirota’s patented formula “No-You-Can’t-But-It’s-Not-Your-Fault” Snake Oil, sold only in half-empty bottles.

Quick, don’t swallow, spit it out!!

Too late? 
OK, don’t panic, luckily, I have the antidote:

First, Google these people:  Cathy Hughes, Charles McMillan, Kenneth Chenault.  All successful blacks in business:  radio, real estate, consumer banking. 

Next, these 3:  Mae C. Jemison, David Blackwell and Walter Massey. Doctors all, and distinguished blacks in medicine, science and education.  All have their stories, all have faced racial obstacles, but all have succeeded anyway.
There are plenty more where these came from, of course.

((Sidebar: Ever notice that when successful blacks are cited (this article included), they’re only from sports, politics and entertainment—a soft form of bigotry by many, like Sirota, who aren’t shy about accusing others.))

Then read about increased success in blacks in education:  blacks earning degrees doubled from 1990 to 2004.  Masters degrees higher, too.  Both in raw numbers and in % of total degrees awarded. http://www.jbhe.com/features/60_degreeawards.html)

If that’s not enough, spend an hour googling “black entrepreneurs,” “black CEOs,” “black authors,” “successful black ______.”

No denying racism still exists.  And that disparities in wealth, income and employment only widen during a recession.  And it isn’t fair and it isn’t right.

But every now and then, try drinking from the full-half of the glass.

oddsox—Apparently we can’t, to go by results.  Every day we faithfully reconstruct ‘race’ and then use it to disadvantage those on the wrong side of the line.

Why do Christians, believers in a God of love even care about the color of their sisters & brothers skin? I’m a Christian & I’m constantly trying to promote unity & love among all races of people (believers & nonbelievers). I’ve even written a bestselling book “Diamond’s Fate” to further my effort…

bathroom vanities

@anarcissie:
No delialism here.  The disparity between blacks and whites in wealth and unemployment Have long been known.

But to Sirota, and (sadly) so many like him, the glass must always be half empty. 

Instead of “Yes We Can,” his article is his way of saying “No you can’t.”

Don’t buy his snake oil.

oddsox—Are you trying to give an example of ‘denialism’?  I don’t think we need any more.

The net worth of the average Black person is something like one fifteenth or one twentieth of that of the average White person. ‘Nuff said.  Sure, there are outliers.  So what?

Strange on 2 counts that Sirota would cite the US Senate as an example of “institutional racism and white privilege (that) dominate(s)American society.”

First, I wonder if Sirota knows that our first black senator took office in 1870.  Since then we’ve had black senators like Edward Brooke and Carol Mosley Braun.  Most recently Roland Burris, who was appointed to complete Obama’s term.  Surely we’ll have other Black Senators, what’s his beef with the Senate?
—-
Secondly, it’s strange—creepy, in fact—how Sirota habitually pays lip service to the accomplishments of blacks like Obama, MJ, Cosby, Oprah and Magic Johnson (never Clarence Thomas), but dilutes them as products of uncommon athletic prowess or of condescending, “transcendent” “post-racial” branding.  (read his book—or not)

And it raises the question: Why?  What’s his stake in this?  Why is it so important to Sirota that successful blacks are seen not as inspirations but as anomolies?

The four pillars of the religion of Conservative Amerikan Exceptionalism are Greed, Ignorance, Intolerance, and Bigotry! Denial is just the expression of these tenets.

Cliff Carson, August 30 at 1:03 pm:

I wonder why people say Obama is Black when he is obviously from a White mother and a Black father.

Because that’s how ‘race’ is defined in the United States.  It’s stupid, but ‘race’ is stupid, so it fits in perfectly.

jeandavid

I wonder why people say Obama is Black when he is obviously from a White mother and a Black father.

Why don’t we say he is white?  Some of my Grandchildren have an Arab mother.  But my Grandchildren are no more Arab than Obama is Black.

The Wal-Mart experience I related earlier needs some explanation:  By undeserving, I didn’t mean to infer that Black people were undeserving, what I meant by undeserving people was those who occupied Handicapped slots who are obviously and visibly not Handicapped.

When my wife could still walk, before she became confined to the bed, I would always try to get to a Handicapped slot so I could help her get to the shopping buggies inside ( at that time Wal-Mart wouldn’t let the buggies outside).

Therefore I became very aware of Who - those not handicapped, were taking the Handicapped slots.

And it is what it is.

Obama might as well be white. In the 1960s we called people like him Oreos.

The United States of America, has become a pathological culture. One in which it’s cultural psychopathology is it’s most salient feature..

We, wish things to fit in with our delusional thinking, and when that doesn’t happen, we react with anger, and blame. Then we search for someone who will re enforce, our pathology, so that we once again can feel comfortable with our delusions.

Yet, the facts, as unpleasant as they are, are right their staring us in the face…

Each person in America maintains his or her standard of living, because of the economic slavery of 5 others in the rest of the world.

We also have more people in prison as a percent of population than any other country, of which the largest percentage of the population is minority.

We, as a country are in 5 active wars, and preparing for a 6th.

We probably use more streat drugs, than all of the rest of the world combined - which is destroying Mexico our neighbor. And we probably use more psychotropic medications than all of the rest of the world combined. We also probably have more mental patients per capita than any other nation in the world.

We don’t nuture people in this coungry, we grow monsters, by the truck full.

And why, so a handful of wealthy, can live the lives of kings, control our government, and keep if from ever changing.

Sorry DMZ

I didn’t realize that you lived in another Universe.

I was speaking of here in America.

As a person who also has worked around and within the Government ( Including the DOD) I witnessed Race Norming constantly and if you say you and your husband didn’t, all I can say is I did.  And maybe we should hear from many others as to their experiences.

Every application or Contract I witnessed, and the number is legion, I saw set asides and Norming.  I don’t think my experience was unique.  And neither was the Wal-Mart experience.

But maybe my experiences are different from your experiences.

When describing your suppliers for Government Contracts are you saying you never used “Woman Owned”, “Minority Owned” or the others I’ll bet you are aware of?  I recall many Government Positions that compared the “rank” within a race instead of the “Rank” without norming as a means of deciding who scored higher on standardized testing to be selected for a position.

I’m not saying you are lying, I’m just saying my experience has been about 180 degrees different.

I have spoken the truth about my experiences.  I would love to hear others who have worked around and in the government relate their experiences on this subject.

The US was FOUNDED on racism.

Racism—in this case the propagation of the savagery and lack of souls of the indigenous people—was used to justify committing genocide against 20 million people in order to make off the land which they had stewarded responsibly for thousands of years.

Once the founding genocidal goons had the land, they decided they didn’t want to pay any more taxes to the king in turn, so they recruited a militia with promises that once the “war of independence” was won, that the militia could grab all the land they wanted west of the Ohio river—territory off-limits at the time due to provisions of the Treaty of Paris signed by Britain and France at the end of the French and Indian Wars (sic).

Also, once they had the land the founding genocial goons were able to dive into the slave trade and put people of African origin on the land to work it gratis.

With a foundation like that, and with the continuation of genocide against indigenous folks to this very moment, as well as the wars that the US government has waged against non-whites all around the globe for their natural resources, it’s patently clear that racism is the hub of the wheel in the US—from which all the spokes proceed.

Denial is just a fancy name for cynically lying through one’s teeth.

Xenophobia is a cornerstone of all cultures but especially the Western. The ideals of democracy , like the teachings of Christ are cherry-picked for careful splicing with the ethic of privilege and class. After all, the Western world is more of an economic enterprise based on competitive outcomes, than the social contract of universal freedom and equality that defines democracy.

Mr. Sirota

You’re article is flawed.  While you made some good points, you seem to have deliberately omitted some very damning things also.

Is it not evident that there are appointed positions for educated black people and un-educated black people?  (Does one race not be seen more prominently in certain Federal Jobs?  Look again.  And think “Race Norming”.

Are you not aware of Race Norming?

Race norm·ing (nôr m ng). n. The practice of adjusting scores on a standardized test by using separate curves for different racial groups.

Look at certain competitive occupations such as Medical School Applicants.

The Federal Government surely does find their workers, professionals, contractors, etc thru Quota systems and norming.

The only time they deviate from this is when they need to give plumbs to the sons and nephews of the elite.

All we have done since forming a cause to make multi-millionaires of despicable lawyers in the Integration scam is form a new class of those who are discriminated against.  WASP.

You want to see some un-deserving people?  Go park at Wal-Mart and watch those who occupy the Handicapped slots.  You don’t have to be a racist to see who take those slots.  Tell me it ain’t so.

I used to listen to Louis Farrakhan.  Now there is a man who told it like it is.

I’ve often wondered if racism is a big contributing reason why we don’t have universal health care in the US. Too many people are so easily manipulated by “welfare queen” myths. Of course there is a reason why they are so easily manipulated, and why variants of this myth get deployed time and time again.

rap

Such an eloquent statement of truth you penned.

I don’t agree with everything absolutely, but the theme of what you wrote is what it’s all about.

We are all in this together.  When the boats sinking we should all bail.  When something good this way comes, we should all share the blessing.

We are not all equal in ability, but we can all be equal in morality, as in the golden rule.

Punish the criminal for his wrongdoing, everytime.

Reward the entrepreneur equal to his contribution.

Help the needy and those unable.

Provide opportunity for the willing.

Provide all children a better world than we had.

Say it like it is, David! The material below was written this morning in response to an article on Islamophobia from the Center for American Progress.
__

Your piece on Islamophobia is excellent as far as it goes but while you talk about Islamophobes “creat(ing) a wedge issue for the upcoming 2012 elections” and “safeguard(ing) our national security and uphold(ing) ‘America’s’ core values”, who is questioning the assertion that the “2012 elections” are the only reason people fear religious influence in government? Are there other, deeper issues shaping our actions, issues we’re afraid to look at because they form the very structure of our lives? We talk about the need for change but how can that happen to any significant degree when we’re afraid to question our nature and basic motives?

What are “America’s core values”? When was the last time we actually had a public discourse to determine America’s common values. What are your core values? What are my core values? Who decides that competition is better than collaboration in our lives? Who decides that external social values and control are more important than personal value fulfillment and control? When we were growing up, we weren’t asked any of these questions or given an opportunity to vote on any of these issues. It was assumed that our biological elders knew what was best for us. When we fail to challenge these assumptions, we fail to take responsibility for creating our own reality.

When we fail to question the authority of society and its institutions, other people and their ideas, we deny our own power and responsibility. When we live in denial, we think in superficial ways and give up much of our ability to understand and resolve the dilemmas we encounter and create in life. When we experience prolonged frustration and hopelessness, we develop illnesses and society reacts by erupting in conflict and violence. We can do better than this. It’s time to look behind the labels we throw around so glibly and question the institutions we follow so blindly. It is our personal responsibility to decide if the values passed down to us are the values we want to express in our lives. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong, good or bad, guilt or punishment - there just IS; there is what works for us and what doesn’t, what makes us happy and what doesn’t.

Everything we do, we do for a reason. Until we know what those reasons are, and agree that they’re good reasons, we’re little more than clever automatons reacting to life in the moment. Instead of creating reality out of love for being and creation, we create it out of fear of suffering and death.

Instead of creating a world of predators and victims by letting thoughts of fear, separation and competition dominate our thinking, why not ask: What’s going to work best for ALL of us?

This takes YOU, ME and US (everyone and everything, all energy) into consideration. It not only accounts for the fact that we’re both one AND separate, it acknowledges that we’re not only the product of creation; we’re creation itself!

• What is going to work best for ALL of us in personal terms? (What is the best way for us to fulfill our own unique potential in support of the world AND ourselves?)

• What is going to work best for ALL of us in terms of business? (What is the best way for us to sustain the health and well-being of the planet and humanity?)

• What is going to work best for ALL of us in terms of education? (What is the best way for us to learn and grow? What are the most important things for us to know?)

• What is going to work best for ALL of us in terms of the environment? (What is the best way for us to treat nature and the earth?)

• What is going to work best for ALL of us in terms of peace? (What is the best way for us to treat ourselves as individuals and nations?)

Active and thoughtful participation in the creation of our reality is the change we’re waiting for!

I agree.  It’s true for racism and sexism.  I recall a cartoon I saw years ago of a very fat woman who met a friend on the street.  The friend asked how the hypnotist was working out, and the fat woman said “Terrific.  I only weigh 90 pounds now, and all my clothes are falling off me.”  The idea, of course, was that she believed this was true even though her eyes should have revealed that it was false.

A very small group in our society—maybe 30% of the public—are white males, working age.  They used to run everything, and now they only run 90% of everything so they feel threatened at “their” loss.  Men feel emasculated and humiliated that their wives work full-time and pay many of the family’s bills, that they do not have the job security or raises or benefits that their fathers had, and they don’t make enough money, in relative terms, to pay for the things they expected they would have in their lives.  So they are angry and afraid, because there’s no guarantee that it’s not going to get worse.

Who to blame?  People on the left can talk about the WTO, or corporations, or the supreme court, but for your average working person you might as well be talking about the man in the moon.  They look around for something closer to home, and who do they find:  non-whites and women working full-time.  So they connect the dots and say:  the reason I don’t have a better job or more money is because “my” job has been taken over by non-whites and women.

This obviously benefits the ruling classes because it keeps working people divided.  If all working people united, saw their common interests, we could take over the whole country and run it for our own benefit.

We probably need a really good explanation of how this works, an agreed version, showing how it’s worked throughout American history.  Then take that version and write it up in cartoon form (think Ariel Dorfman’s Donald Duck book), in a form suited for a 5th grade reading level (which is where some adults are), and in a popular serialized form to be run on blogs.

It should include an explanation that we, the people, made the government and the laws, and we can change them if we want.  Rescind the trade deals, for example, tax the rich, increase the standard deduction to cover the basic costs of a person living for the year, set a national policy of full employment, control immigration of workers and ban imports of any basics including food, cars, and clothes. 

I think that the left does not have a coherent communication strategy, which is why too many of our people are left with the lies spread by corporate America.

Anyone know what happened to Rico Suave or GRYM?  I feel like they would have
plenty to say on this topic.

Another Sirota column from his “long-on-complaint, short-on-solution” template.

David Sirota:                8/26/2011
    You are more intelligent than leading people
down this slippery slope.The reins of
Christianity/Religion have never been used to put a
stop to racism.Intellectually:a Christian is not a
racist,right? Wrong!
    Being a “Christian” has more to do with the
here - after,than the here and now.A “good Christian”
(whatever that means),knows they will be forgiven and
therefore,saved.It does’t get any better than this,
and has the potential,in moving forward,in becoming
another Inquisition.
    Thanking you for this opportunity to comment -
    James M. de Laurier

Whitey don’ know nothin’ ‘bout oppression. Not yet.

Just wait ‘til black folks get equality, or a li’l bit more. If/when that ever happens, THEN white folks will learn about ‘pression.

Both ‘Op’ and ‘De’.

‘Denialism’ doesn’t mean rejection of the facts, going by what’s written here.  It means belief in and attachment to different facts than the writer approves of.