What will it take for white privilege to finally end?
What people call ‘white privilege’ - to the extent that it exists at all and isn’t just a perceived slight, like Don Quixote, battling windmills and believing them to be giants - is really just majority privilege. A culture is just a tool - it is developed and adapted precisely because it confers advantages. It would be strange indeed if it didn’t confer privileges to it’s proponents, because then it would simply be discarded. What do you call the privilege conferred by the dominant culture in China to the Han Chinese? Certainly not white privilege. Ever been to the United Arab Emirates? The dominant culture has HUGE structural advantages there, and most immigrants - excluding western expatriates - are little more than serfs. Do you call that white privilege as well? I should think not. This pattern exists everywhere, but less so in the United States and the rest of the western world than anywhere else. So let’s be clear - a form of privilege is a feature, not a bug, of a dominant culture.Specifically in the United States, my advice to those that want success would be to note this fact: if you complete at least a high school education, maintain a full time job, and wait until you are at least 21 years old to get married and have children, there is a 98% chance that you will not end up in poverty. Frankly, those are pretty good odds. Until and unless you’re willing to commit to that minimum amount of sacrifice, you have little room blaming white privilege for the failings of non-dominant cultures.
White Americans: how can we help black people to be equal to us and not live in ghettos or go to jail more often?
First of all, we can stop pretending that they have equal opportunity to us now. Then we can start where it really matters, at the bottom, with improved education systems in our inner cities. That means we have to start paying teachers enough that we can hire from the top third of graduating classes instead of so little all we can get are the bottom third. We need literacy programs for their parents, so that they can read to their kids and pass on an idea of the importance of education. And we must change things so that they do not drop out because they see no hope of getting a job after they graduate. That means creating jobs that do not require a college degree and more two year training programs for technical jobs. It will take a generation to accomplish, but that is the only way they are going to be able to break free from poverty and the things it causes. And we must stop denying the effect of environment on children's growth and ambition.
Why are there so many black men in jail?
I do not understand why a disproportionate amount of the American jail population is black men. I understand to go to jail one must theoretically commit a crime. So is it racial profiling in the catching of said criminals? Are black men just more prone to crime? It just seems crazy to me that 13% of the American population accounts for around 50% of prisoners. If they were on the straight and narrow they would never end up in jail, but they chose a life of crime is my theory. But its just my theory. No racism, just my thoughts.
Who got equal rights first black men or white women?
In the United States, black men got the right to vote half a century before women of any race got that right. Black men got the right to vote in 1870. Women got the right to vote in the US in 1920. Black men could also do things like open a bank account and buy and sell real property before women could do so. For instance, women had to have a male co-sign their bank account applications...and that male could withdraw every penny she had put in the bank, even if she didn't want him to. However, a black man could have an account in his own name, without having to have anyone co-sign. His money was HIS money. Women could not own real property in their own right. This was extremely easy for me to look up. Women are still prohibited from working in certain jobs in the US, most notably they are prohibited from taking combat jobs in the military. I'm not aware of ANY jobs that black men are still prohibited from taking in the US. I am not as familiar with the comparative rights of black men and white women in countries other than the United States.
Black women, how come black men who has goals in life and have good jobs aren't appealing to you?
I'm just wondering because it seems like alot of black women don't really like black men who can take of them financially and be a great partner in their lives. They will rather be with a guy who works at Micky D's and smoke bud all day before they date a guy who is respectful and can actually take them out to a nice dinner or show.
On Black Males and Prison?
I guess you are talking about the fact that our prisons are mostly filled by (inner-city) Black males and looking for some factors contributing to this? To begin with, blacks historically were handicapped by slavery and, once freed, laws were enacted to limit them financially. Blacks moved to the cities for better economic opportunities because they legally couldn't own land or afford property. Blacks would often be refused jobs, paid less, etc. until the Civil Rights Movement fixed some (not all) of these inequities. I believe that the centuries of economic/political pressures facing blacks led to the decay of the black family. Meanwhile, "white flight" was taking place from the cities as more blacks moved in (I was raised in the Detroit suburbs), as a result the tax base of inner-city schools suffered as the wealthy/middle class went elsewhere. Under these factors, black males have no role-models (due to no father figure), poorer educations and little hope/self-esteem- which all effect the moral compass and decisions made by inner city youth. Rap music/gangs preach that crime and violence are the only ways to survive and prosper in the inner-city and ,for many who have lost hope, they believe it; crimes are committed and the prisons swell with black males. Having said all this, I don't believe that the current justice system is set up to be racist (due to the civil rights movement) but seems so due to these past historic factors. Also, despite the hardships facing inner-city youth, I also agree each individual has a personal responsibility to act morally and within the laws. Despite the hardships they face, other inner-city black males follow the laws, get jobs, go to college, serve as role models, etc to better serve their communities in general and society as a whole. Crimes are committed by the people(of all races) that have given up on themselves and who are looking for an easy solution.
Why haven't i gotten a promise ring or a engagement ring?
Even though you have dated for years, you are only 18 and just started living together. Enjoy living with each other for awhile. There is no need to rush to the altar just because you two are of legal age now. What you can do, as it sounds as if he loves you and is committed to you, is start your wedding fund. Nothing to talk about constantly or just going crazy about. Just a separate account that you can deposit some cash into monthly or quarterly that will go toward your eventual wedding. This way, when the day comes you do get engaged, you know you can afford the wedding you have always been dreaming of. Make sure to explain to him that this is not to force him to ask for your hand, just a savings on you future together. I think it would be the mature and adult thing to do.