Korean Job Discussion Forums

[caniff]

[travel zen]

African Americans have been so victimized (and still are) in America, that it would take about a century of money, social and other aids to compensate for government aggression and brutalization.

A money package is not nearly enough....

[caniff]

[travel zen]

The Canadian Gov years ago paid a sum of cash (chump change) to some families of Chinese railroad workers, or those working in the mines that died som decades ago.

I thought it was insulting to pay the money out, or recieve the money if I was chinese. I think it was about $61 000 or so. Its like a pat on the head and a 'don't worry bout it' attitude. Don't agree with giving money for life schemes by governments.

[caniff]

So what would be "enough"?

[Kepler]

A very interesting perspective on the history of slavery:

"Clearly, the ability to score ideological points against American society or Western civilization, or induce guilt and thereby extract benefits from the white population today, are greatly enhanced by making enslavement appear to be a peculiarly American, or a peculiarly white, crime.

"This explanation is also consistent with the otherwise inexplicable contrast between the fiery rhetoric about past slavery in the United States used by those who pass over in utter silence the traumas of slavery that still exist in Mauritania, the Sudan, and parts of Nigeria and Benin. Why so much concern for dead people who are now beyond our help than for living human beings suffering the burdens and humiliations of slavery today?...

"Before the modern era, by and large Europeans enslaved other Europeans, Asians enslaved other Asians, Africans enslaved other Africans, and the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere enslaved other indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere....

"While slavery was common to all civilizations, as well as to peoples considered uncivilized, only one civilization developed a moral revulsion against it, very late in its history- Western civilization. Today it seems so obvious that, as Abraham Lincoln said, 'If slavery is not wrong, nothing is not wrong.' But the hard fact is that, for thousands of years, slavery was simply not an issue, even among the great religious thinkers or moral philosophers of civilizations around the world...

"Contrary to the 'myths to live by' created by Alex Haley and others, Africans were by no means the innocents portrayed in Roots, baffled as to why white men were coming in and taking their people away in chains. On the contrary, the region of West Africa from which the Kunte Kinte supposedly came was one of the great slave-trading regions of the continent- before, during, and after the white man arrived. It was Africans who enslaved their fellow Africans, selling some of these slaves to Europeans or to Arabs and keeping others for themselves. Even at the peak of the Atlantic slave trade, Africans retained more slaves for themselves than they sent to the Western hemisphere."
http://tinyurl.com/38rhkwg

[Konglishman]

I do have to agree with Fox actually. Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that African-Americans are inherently lazy or whatever. That would be an inherently wrong thing to say. And of course, there are many successful African-Americans, but this is usually because their own parents taught them a strong work ethic instead of something else which I am about to mention.

Nonetheless, the problems that African-Americans are facing these days are more do to with the don't-be-a-sellout attitude that got started during the late 60's/70's period. Really, it is too bad that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated because in my opinion, his leadership would have likely prevented the don't-be-a-sellout from taking such a firm hold in African-American society. In short, the problem stems down to there not being good role models (who are alive and successful). Instead, African-American society eventually got rappers glorifying violence (okay, I know that is not always the case about rappers).

Fortunately, President Obama is now inspiring a new generation of African-Americans to work hard and to forget about this whole silly don't-be-a-sellout idea. And of course, some actors such as Will Smith have evolved into serious actors doing films that are very much about having a strong work ethic and overcoming obstacles (such as "The Pursuit of Happiness"). So, I expect that within a couple of generations, the don't-be-a-sellout idea will be on its way out of the consciousness of African-American society.

Now, while I do agree with Fox about it being silly to pay people for wrongs that were committed against them, I do think it would be a very good thing to see what we as a society could do address some of the inequities existing in it. However, this does need to be done through some handout. Rather, the key is education. I would advocate a New Deal approach which bring in top notch teachers, funding, etc. to schools that need it such as inner city schools or even places in poverty stricken Appalachia. After all, with a good education, a person then has the means to succeed in life and that is far more valuable than some handout.

[Steelrails]

As for role-models and the Africa-American community, my Urban Politics Professor gave us a surprise during the first week of class by saying he thought desegregation was a big problem.

His reasoning?

Before desegregation a black kid growing up could look at and see yes, some hoodlums on his street, but he could also see a doctor, a teacher, a dentist, a mechanic, and a merchant. With desegregation what happened wasn't just white flight, it was black flight as well. Nowadays the kid looks out and with a few exceptions, only sees people who are not really successes.

[Fox]

[Fox]

[Fox]

If we want to help the black community help itself, the first thing we can do is to legalize drug usage. This will lead to substantially fewer incarcerations, and the rate at which black males have been incarcerated certainly isn't helpful if our goal is to promote upward social mobility. It pulls familys apart (or in many cases, prevents them from even being formed at all, as per the "Baby Mama" situation), it reduces opportunity (once you've been in jail it's harder to get a decent job), and it creates the worst sort of community role-models: ones with a criminal record.

[kcs0001]

Just download or watch Africa Addio. I think that might bridge the cultural gap and help westerners understand African thinkers.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4540134202583442015#