Originally Posted by: RaskolnikovHow does railroad slave labor justify racial prejudice against me?*

RESPONSE: It doesn't. My comments just attempt to show the big picture.


I mean, if we really want to bring history into this, I'm from Vermont... Vermont was a major artery on the Underground Railroad, the first state (actually, a repbulic at the time) in the union to abolish slavery, a hot bed of abolitionist sentiment and the state that sent (and lost) the most troops, per capita of any state in the union durring the Civil War.

One could argue that African Americans owe me something because of history.

RESPONSE: I don't understand this comment.

Personally, though, I think that's asinine. I didn't do those things. Nor did I participate in the slave trade or own slaves. I think I should be judged based on who I am, what I've done and (when I've done something wrong) what I've done to make it right.

RESPONSE: No one said you did, but I also assume you are not part of a big corporation with past ties to slave labor. (Although I don't really know you, I'm just assuming.)I'm not saying at all that any person of any color owes anybody anything. I'm saying that big corps that benefitted from slave labor should deal with the problem. Not white people in general which has been what our government has been doing for decades.

And I think it should be that way for everyone.


But that's how I was raised -- not everybody is raised that way and sadly, large segments of our population aren't really "raised" at all. Hence: A large part of this mess we're discussing.

RESPONSE: This point is the crux of what I'm saying. Think about this...if you were raised within a time where YOUR people (whatever that may be) endured the hardships that blacks have, do you think your family would have have just as much opportunity to succede.

PS: While the one link you posted that I checked was accurate for what little I skimmed of it, finding something on the internet doesn't make it true.

RESPONSE: I agree, but those are just small examples of well known facts, long proven and acknowledged in society.

*And how does it absolve individuals from abusing the welfare system only because they can or a [mostly black administered/run] city of neglecting its poorest [mostly black] citizens in the face of an imminent natural disaster and then dragging it's feet/being uncooperative with Federal offials in the aftermath? How does it absolve looters of shooting at rescuers and impeeding the rescue effort in progress?

RESPONSE: The people who do those bad things should NOT be absolved of guilt. You only assume I think that because people have been trained to respond that way. I merely stated my views on why things are the way they are. The big picture as I see it. Problems don't get fixed from the bottom up, they get fixed from the top down. It does not mean they are absolved. I'm not offering answers, just stating facts as I know them to encourage thought for real solutions.
-Believe me, I'm not a bleeding heart. I believe welfare is bad but only because it's set up to perpetuate that lifestyle, so the businesses that profit from those programs can keep taking our tax dollars with the governments' permission, who then in turn give "campaign contributions". Anbody with common sense can create a program that works to get people on track, but it will never happen because that is not profitable. The fact that it makes you mad is half the reason the government wants it in place the way it is now. Keep the people divided...to divert attention from the corruption behind the scenes.