Am I the only person who doesn't like Black History Month?

[PPSh-41]

I have a few issues with this: 1) That article was written in 1993, almost 20 years ago. 2) He didn't even say anything, or provide any proof. He provided 1 personal experience in that whole article, and draws an opinionated conclusion based on it. That's called insufficient evidence. 3) I have to believe racism is dying. I'm part of a generation that, for the most part, doesn't even think about it. People are people. That's it. Call me naive. Call me misguided. But are you really going to try and disprove an optimism that world could really use more of? I'm giving you my point of view. I think it's a pretty good one, don't you?

You want some figures, huh? Well lets start with racism against the black populace in this country:

http://tinyurl.com/62f2evo
^^Notice the gap?

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104552.html
^^This only shows the gap up until '06, but let's face it: there was a 16 grand gap in median in income in '75, and by '06 the gap had "shrunk" to roughly 19 grand. I used "shrunk" because inflation actually outpaced the gap, effectively diminishing it. Take a look at the distribution of incomes as well - white percentiles consistently remain more skewed towards higher income throughout the sampling period. Being written almost two decades ago doesn't change the circumstances the average black man faces in America.

In addition, do you really think your generation doesn't care about race? Google search "racist" and check the news. This stuff shows up daily. Need I remind you that one of the biggest issues of the last campaign to decide the leader of the free world was whether or not the candidate in question was an "Arab"?

I'm not saying optimism is the bad way to go in this case, but optimism in the face of clear and undeniable evidence to the contrary is simply wrong and not "an optimism that world could really use more of"

tl;dr: The authors statements are supported by figures, and your opinion isn't more valid just because it's optimistic if it denies the existence of facts to be optimistic.

Jews have like a whole heritage year chock full of religious holidays and significant dates. Native American Heritage Month is November. It's actually not a very relevant criticism.

Someone's opinionated screed on WikiPedia is not that interesting as evidence, either. Let's face it: Black History Month is significant enough that most North Americans here, even those who irrationally hate or fear or resent or disparage it, know (sort of) what it is and when it is. The same can't be said of "National Cherry Month."

Wow... well, maybe I should have double checked my facts before I said that, thanks for the correction. My criticism does seem rather irrelevant now. Good point, I must say I am more or less convinced by your argument.

 

[Jake the Snake]

I have a few issues with this: 1) That article was written in 1993, almost 20 years ago. 2) He didn't even say anything, or provide any proof. He provided 1 personal experience in that whole article, and draws an opinionated conclusion based on it. That's called insufficient evidence. 3) I have to believe racism is dying. I'm part of a generation that, for the most part, doesn't even think about it. People are people. That's it. Call me naive. Call me misguided. But are you really going to try and disprove an optimism that world could really use more of? I'm giving you my point of view. I think it's a pretty good one, don't you?

You want some figures, huh? Well lets start with racism against the black populace in this country:

http://tinyurl.com/62f2evo
^^Notice the gap?

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104552.html
^^This only shows the gap up until '06, but let's face it: there was a 16 grand gap in median in income in '75, and by '06 the gap had "shrunk" to roughly 19 grand. I used "shrunk" because inflation actually outpaced the gap, effectively diminishing it. Take a look at the distribution of incomes as well - white percentiles consistently remain more skewed towards higher income throughout the sampling period. Being written almost two decades ago doesn't change the circumstances the average black man faces in America.

In addition, do you really think your generation doesn't care about race? Google search "racist" and check the news. This stuff shows up daily. Need I remind you that one of the biggest issues of the last campaign to decide the leader of the free world was whether or not the candidate in question was an "Arab"?

I'm not saying optimism is the bad way to go in this case, but optimism in the face of clear and undeniable evidence to the contrary is simply wrong and not "an optimism that world could really use more of"

tl;dr: The authors statements are supported by figures, and your opinion isn't more valid just because it's optimistic if it denies the existence of facts to be optimistic.

How do income levels confirm there is still racism in the world? Does it prove the effects of racism from the past can still be felt? Yes. Does it prove that it's a pervading mentality? No. Your facts prove nothing of how a human being feels.

As for Barack Obama, and all the stupid racist petty controversy the right wing has been spreading: They aren't MY generation. They're a bunch of stuffy old men brainwashing the stupid of America to think like them. They're propagandist, and they fear they monger comes in all shapes and sizes, not just racism. You had people in those town hall meeting exclaiming: "I'm afraid of Obama! He's a socialist!" I doubt that person even knew what the word socialist meant. It's just another thing FOX and the religious right use to instill fear in people.

You know what the general consensus about THOSE people are? They're idiots. And you shouldn't bother listening to them. Republicans fail to capture even a quarter of the youth vote. Actually, they only further prove my point.

I'll concede, I don't think all the problems racism has caused will be gone in 30 years. They might never be completely fixed. But with more progressive thinking taking hold, and the likes of people who are stuck in the old way of thinking dying out, I have to believe things are better and will continue to get better.

 

[tstilwell]

God, I love Morgan Freeman.

It is as simple as that, folks!

 

[Vicarious Reality]

It's easy to exploit apologetic people.

 

[Grospoliner]

Yes this is probably whites making up for what they did.

No offense intended, I can't help but feel this is the same kind of line of thought that deserves equal condemnation as the 15 year old black kid saying that he went through the slave trade. After all everyone who perpetrated, as well as experienced the North Atlantic slave trade died a century ago. I for one am as exasperated by people who believe they are entitled to something because an ancestor was enslaved as I am by the people who blame Anglo-Saxon descendents for the current and past states of the decedents of slaves.

However, I completely agree with you on the subject of Black History Month. Those historical achievements should be celebrated for what they are, but I think there are just as many more historical events equally deserving of study let alone the cultures they are attached to. I was always disappointed when learning that a history class would focus on the US, something that seems way too prevalent in my schooling (all decade and a half ago it might have been). If America was to stick with monthly thematic educational history events, then we should be fair and make every month based on a major culture, including Indo-European and Indo-American.