Affirmative Action Stupidity

[FireMedic65]

I am sorry for slavery. I really am. But here is a news flash. I DID NOT OWN ANY SLAVES! I am tired of people throwing the racism card and slavery towards people as an excuse to act like assholes. Yes, it happened. Yes, it was silly. But people forget it was a white guy who fought to free the slaves. I think a few people died fighting for it too...

[CBEMT]

So the fact that hundreds of thousands of young black men hustle on the street and shoot each other over "respect" and "turf" rather than go to school and APPLY THEMSELVES needs to be extracted from me on a promotional test? They're degenerates, so take a pound of flesh from me?

Are you on drugs? I'm serious.

Paternal ancestors: Ireland, nobody here earlier than early 1900's. Grandfather's name in the books at Ellis Island.

Maternal ancestors: Sicily, nobody here sooner than early 1900's. Grand-uncle's hand blown off by a grenade fighting for US Army in the city of his family name. Permanent resident of Arlington, VA.

So screw you and your racist retribution.

[Katiebug]

The only reason I got to go to college is because I was a single father. If not for that, I would not have gotten a grant or been able to afford it. HOWEVER, if I were a minority, I could have gotten college paid for just for being me. All minorities get a free ride through college just for being minorities. Us WASPs must continue struggling and paying for other's education with our taxes while never getting the same opprtunities.

Don't play the f'ing race card with me buddy. Minorities have more opportunity than the rest of us. Either take advantage of it or shut the f up.

When someone that is too lazy to achieve something on their own blames it on racism, it just makes me want to punch them in the face. Stop with the cop outs and get it together.

[Kaisu]

Bill HR40: Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans

Rep. John Conyers introduced the bill HR40 to the US House of Representatives on January 6, 2009. This bill was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, which Rep. John Conyers chairs. The summary of this bill states:

“To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure [concerning law] and de facto [concerning fact] racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.”

This bill will establish the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans and fund the commission with $8,000,000 of our tax dollars. The duties of this committee consist of the following requirements in examining two historical periods of the United States:

1) The first period of history to be examined is between the years 1619 to 1865. The Commission’s examination will include:

a. The capture and procurement of Africans;

b. The transport of Africans to the United States and the colonies that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement, including their treatment during transport;

c. The sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate and intrastate commerce; and

d. The treatment of African slaves in the colonies and the United States including the depravation of their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and destruction of their culture, language, religion and families.

2) For this period of history, the Commission will determine the extent to which the Federal and State governments supported the institution of slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of freed African slaves to repatriate to their homeland. (Italics mine – note that reference is made to State governments making the state sovereignty issue even more imperative.)

3) The second period of history to be examined is from 1865 to the present. The Commission will examine how Federal and State laws during this time period discriminated against freed African slaves and their descendants. Additionally, the Commission will examine the following for this time period:

a. Other forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed African slaves and their descendents.

b. Any lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery on living African-Americans and on the society of the United States.

4) Additional duties that the Commission is required to fulfill:

a. Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the findings.

b. Recommend appropriate remedies (italics mine).

c. Shall address the following issues:

i. Should the United States Government “offer a formal apology on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of gross human rights violations on African slaves and their descendants”?

ii. Do descendents of African-American slaves “still suffer the lingering effects” of slavery?

iii. Is any “form of compensation to the descendants of African slaves” warranted?

iv. If the Commission finds that “such compensation is warranted, what should be the amount of compensation, what form of compensation should be awarded, and who should be eligible for such compensation”?

Powers Granted to the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans

a. The Commission is to conduct hearings throughout the United States and has the power to “request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents” that they deem appropriate. If any entity or witness fails to produce the “appropriate” documentation, the Commission “may request the Attorney General to invoke the aid of an appropriate United States district court to require, by subpoena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or production”. (This is most probably directed at Southern States (the bedrock of Conservative values) who refuse to provide the “appropriate” documentation. Uh, do you think this violates the 10th Amendment?)

b. “Powers of Subcommittees and Members – Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action which the Commission is authorized to take by this section.” (No powers are specifically granted other than stated in a. above. This leaves it wide open for the abuse of power.)

c. The Commission is empowered to “acquire directly from the head of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the Government” and all indicated entities “of the executive Government shall cooperate with the Commission”. (Italics mine - Executive Government is not only at the federal level, but at the state level as well.)

You may read the entire bill by going to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/C?c111:./temp/~c111n6e2bn.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Bill HR40: Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans

Rep. John Conyers introduced the bill HR40 to the US House of Representatives on January 6, 2009. This bill was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, which Rep. John Conyers chairs. The summary of this bill states:

“To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure [concerning law] and de facto [concerning fact] racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.”

This bill will establish the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans and fund the commission with $8,000,000 of our tax dollars. The duties of this committee consist of the following requirements in examining two historical periods of the United States:

1) The first period of history to be examined is between the years 1619 to 1865. The Commission’s examination will include:

a. The capture and procurement of Africans;

b. The transport of Africans to the United States and the colonies that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement, including their treatment during transport;

c. The sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in interstate and intrastate commerce; and

d. The treatment of African slaves in the colonies and the United States including the depravation of their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and destruction of their culture, language, religion and families.

2) For this period of history, the Commission will determine the extent to which the Federal and State governments supported the institution of slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of freed African slaves to repatriate to their homeland. (Italics mine – note that reference is made to State governments making the state sovereignty issue even more imperative.)

3) The second period of history to be examined is from 1865 to the present. The Commission will examine how Federal and State laws during this time period discriminated against freed African slaves and their descendants. Additionally, the Commission will examine the following for this time period:

a. Other forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed African slaves and their descendents.

b. Any lingering negative effects of the institution of slavery on living African-Americans and on the society of the United States.

4) Additional duties that the Commission is required to fulfill:

a. Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the findings.

b. Recommend appropriate remedies (italics mine).

c. Shall address the following issues:

i. Should the United States Government “offer a formal apology on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of gross human rights violations on African slaves and their descendants”?

ii. Do descendents of African-American slaves “still suffer the lingering effects” of slavery?

iii. Is any “form of compensation to the descendants of African slaves” warranted?

iv. If the Commission finds that “such compensation is warranted, what should be the amount of compensation, what form of compensation should be awarded, and who should be eligible for such compensation”?

Powers Granted to the Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans

a. The Commission is to conduct hearings throughout the United States and has the power to “request the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents” that they deem appropriate. If any entity or witness fails to produce the “appropriate” documentation, the Commission “may request the Attorney General to invoke the aid of an appropriate United States district court to require, by subpoena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or production”. (This is most probably directed at Southern States (the bedrock of Conservative values) who refuse to provide the “appropriate” documentation. Uh, do you think this violates the 10th Amendment?)

b. “Powers of Subcommittees and Members – Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action which the Commission is authorized to take by this section.” (No powers are specifically granted other than stated in a. above. This leaves it wide open for the abuse of power.)

c. The Commission is empowered to “acquire directly from the head of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the Government” and all indicated entities “of the executive Government shall cooperate with the Commission”. (Italics mine - Executive Government is not only at the federal level, but at the state level as well.)

You may read the entire bill by going to http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/C?c111:./temp/~c111n6e2bn.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO REPARATIONS NO NO NO NO

There is no reason to pay people today for what was done 160 years ago. It's just more government liberals who think that government is the answer.

If any asshat senator and representative votes for this he should be ashamed.

It's just a vote buying scheme for our government to get the african american vote.

If they are going to pay reparations to the African American community then they had better pay reparations for the Native Americans.

This is an offensive plan to me and everyone I have met.

[Eydawn]

Reparations and affirmative action are not the solution to the problem that all of us can see. It is truly lamentable that many of our peers seem to be incapable of grasping just how important education is to altering one's social situation.

What are the reasons for this? Some would like to intimate that it is one's skin color or minority status or socioeconomic status that is the culprit. Therefore, if we just give people affirmative action... scholarships... No Child Left Behind... we will fix the problem.

The problem is that many people of lower social status who are also economically disadvantaged (minorities, impoverished whites, new immigrants) do not value education. Children are allowed to drop out of school to enter the workforce as migrant workers or McD's burger jockeys because it is an immediate result: Money to pay rent and put food on the table. If a child's parents do not value education, it is very unlikely that the child will value education. Throw into the mix a bad batch of educators who automatically dismiss those who struggle with making school applicable to their daily lives, and you've got a real serious self-perpetuating cycle, as those drop out kids tend to have children of their own at earlier ages and pass on the devaluation of education.

Much of our curriculum in basic public schooling is bullshit. It's boring. Teaching styles address only one form of learning. Many kids, even kids who have a lot of community and family support behind them, struggle with finding relevance in the curriculum. Add to that mix teachers who work the ghetto schools only because they have to and have decided to only put in as much as the kids put in, and treat the kids with the attitude that they are "stupid" or "slow" and you make it that much harder for a kid to buck a culture that places education at a lower value in the first place.

I suggest reading a book titled "The Freedom Writers' Diary." It shows just how much kids living in adverse conditions struggle with school and with learning to value education. It's hard to pay attention to American History when one is being shot at.

So what's the solution? I believe it lies in adult education campaigns to begin to persuade disadvantaged individuals that education is something they can grasp, that they are intelligent enough to succeed, and that education opens many many doors for them and gives them tools to work with. School is so utilitarian and uninteresting for most, especially with the bullshit rigamarole that goes along with simple things like using the restroom... but if you can teach parents that knowing the world around them with a deeper understanding helps them to break through the "barriers" that they are surrounded with, you can help them teach these values to their children.

It is natural, when you are taught from birth that "the rich" or "the White" or "the successful" are handed things that you aren't, to ascribe your own difficulties and barriers to be of their making. It's a natural response from ignorance. You can't fight ignorance with ignorance, however... you have to fight it with intelligence and good use of resources.

That's my 2 cents on the matter. I think Affirmative Action is a band-aid on the wrong wound, that really traps in dirt and makes things worse. I think reparations would be like squirting acid onto the same wound... it fails to address the problems of NOW and the cultural issues that we face NOW by focusing on some of the formative issues from history that are no longer applicable.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[Ridryder 911]

If they are going to pay reparations to the African American community then they had better pay reparations for the Native Americans.

Actually, we are paying for that too!... Way too much hand outs instead of hand ups... and we wonder why we have made them dependent upon the "system".

R/r 911

[celticcare]

Maybe they were brought here to avoid this

[Lone Star]

I tell you what -- you enslave the white race for the next 300 years, do not let them learn to read or write, dont let them attend normal high school and college --- then let them go to school for 40 years, and we will see how smart the second or third generation of whites is.

You deserve every promotion you lost --- or atleast your grandparents do.

Slavery was first introduced to the United States in 1619, and was abolished in 1865.

Segregation was ended in 1954.

Now, 55 years later, you're STILL trying to use slavery and segregation as an 'excuse'! The actions that ended slavery and segregation, provided for the right to vote, were not actions of only the black race! I think that it's time that this cry of 'entitlement' be dropped. It's time that the African race start accepting the consequences of their actions!

Yes, slavery was an 'abomination', just as the holocaust was for the Jewish. The main difference is that the Jewish do not use it as a 'crutch' to expect everything to be handed to them!

Let me guess, these statistics from the US Department of Justice are proof of the whites 'keepin the black man down' too......

[itku2er]

Annie, well put but the racism card or slavery card is pulled out any time that that person does not have anything useful to bring to the fore.

Also, like I said earlier, anytime the racism card is used, any useful dialogue is no longer possible.

I agree Ruff once you play that card it makes everything else mondane. But honestly getting back to the subject of the article the last time I checked standardized test are just that standardized when you set down to take it it does not know if you are black white purple or green pink etc etc, it is only worried about what your brain knows.

(wonder if I could say the NCLEX was biased because I am a white female and I failed it. Where as if I was a white male I would have passed it. Its discrimating against me cause I am a WOMAN! )