Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It cracked me up when I was listening to Democracy Now (a radio program) and they had Quest Love from the group The Roots (band on Jimmy Fallon's show) on the program and he was speaking of how people ask him about his poor or tough background or how he survived public school in Philadelphia and they are shocked to know he went to private school all the way through 8th grade and his only public school was the highly esteemed Philadelphia School of the Arts for high school. Also that he didn't grow up in "the hood" or "the ghetto" and that he had middle class parents.
Amy is a top notch reporter and her journalistic works show a lot of substance and depth.
The fluff stuff just doesn't cut it with Ms. Goodman.
Those are often celebrities. They will be mentioned because they are celebrities. I'm talking about ordinary Black people who are not famous or anything.
Hey, you and I often agree. I think it's mainly just that poverty is more endemic to the black community (duh) so more often you hear the "overcoming adversity" angle. They work that story line quite often in the press, if it's more often used on blacks I cannot prove nor disprove the scenario with facts. Then again, neither can anybody else.
Could be real, could be perception bias, could be something else. <shrug>
And people wonder why blacks are seen as thugs and criminals. Even in super peaceful Toronto its the same old crap. Shootings some of them completely random. All black perpetrators, all black victims.
Hey, you and I often agree. I think it's mainly just that poverty is more endemic to the black community (duh) so more often you hear the "overcoming adversity" angle. They work that story line quite often in the press, if it's more often used on blacks I cannot prove nor disprove the scenario with facts. Then again, neither can anybody else.
Could be real, could be perception bias, could be something else. <shrug>
Peace. Out.
We often do agree. I won't deny that there is more poverty among African-Americans, not to mention other problems. I know that there are "overcoming adversity" stories out there. In my own experiences, most of those stories have been about celebrities. I've heard a few about Blacks who aren't celebrities. However, I hear it much more when it's celebrities.
My problem is this. It isn't that the stories about Black-on-Black violence aren't true, or that there aren't issues. The thing is this. That isn't all Black people are. Black people are so much more than the media stories about Black crime. There is more to Black people than that.
I look at the media like this. It doesn't that there are relatively large proportion of Black persons committing crime. However, the media puts what sells out there. If it bleeds, it leads. That kind of behavior sells. Money is a big part of this. The persons who perpetrate those crime don't care how bad it makes them, or decent Black people look. Criminals have no shame.
We often do agree. I won't deny that there is more poverty among African-Americans, not to mention other problems. I know that there are "overcoming adversity" stories out there. In my own experiences, most of those stories have been about celebrities. I've heard a few about Blacks who aren't celebrities. However, I hear it much more when it's celebrities.
My problem is this. It isn't that the stories about Black-on-Black violence aren't true, or that there aren't issues. The thing is this. That isn't all Black people are. Black people are so much more than the media stories about Black crime. There is more to Black people than that.
I look at the media like this. It doesn't that there are relatively large proportion of Black persons committing crime. However, the media puts what sells out there. If it bleeds, it leads. That kind of behavior sells. Money is a big part of this. The persons who perpetrate those crime don't care how bad it makes them, or decent Black people look. Criminals have no shame.
So basically you are saying black people are losing the PR campaign and the media is only making it worse. What is presented to us is not representative of how things are or at least parts of it are greatly exaggerated. So knowing this and that the media is not on your side, what are you going to do about it? Giving up is not the answer because things will not get better on their own. And historically, disadvantaged groups cannot rely on other groups to give them fair treatment, they have to win it on their own. This PR campaign I mentioned isn't going to be won in a year or by one news event. It will take generations. But trust me, it will be far easier to be proactive and come down hard on those in the group that are falling behind (those inner city criminals everyone mentioned) than it is to convince every single non black person that "hey, we're not all like this."
So basically you are saying black people are losing the PR campaign and the media is only making it worse. What is presented to us is not representative of how things are or at least parts of it are greatly exaggerated. So knowing this and that the media is not on your side, what are you going to do about it? Giving up is not the answer because things will not get better on their own. And historically, disadvantaged groups cannot rely on other groups to give them fair treatment, they have to win it on their own. This PR campaign I mentioned isn't going to be won in a year or by one news event. It will take generations. But trust me, it will be far easier to be proactive and come down hard on those in the group that are falling behind (those inner city criminals everyone mentioned) than it is to convince every single non black person that "hey, we're not all like this."
I actually do feel that there are some advances being made. There are a lot of vocal black people who make a stink about extremely outrageous depictions. The one about the rapper here in Atlanta - "Shawty Lo" and his reality show about his 11 kids by 10 baby mamas was cancelled due to a large backlash against it. It was cancelled before it even aired.
So basically you are saying black people are losing the PR campaign and the media is only making it worse. What is presented to us is not representative of how things are or at least parts of it are greatly exaggerated. So knowing this and that the media is not on your side, what are you going to do about it? Giving up is not the answer because things will not get better on their own. And historically, disadvantaged groups cannot rely on other groups to give them fair treatment, they have to win it on their own. This PR campaign I mentioned isn't going to be won in a year or by one news event. It will take generations. But trust me, it will be far easier to be proactive and come down hard on those in the group that are falling behind (those inner city criminals everyone mentioned) than it is to convince every single non black person that "hey, we're not all like this."
The best that I can do is not act like a hood rat, and make sure my family members don't act like hood rats. I'm already doing that. Please remember that I don't live in the inner city. Never have lived there, never was raised there(the closest I ever came to it was a suburban apartment complex). I can only do what I can as far as the persons I live around are concerned.
I think coming down on hood rats will be just as difficult as convincing many non-White persons that most Black people aren't criminals. This is why. Yes, I think decent Black people should call out stupidity. And there are Black people who are doing this. Some who are famous, like Bill Cosby. And then there are some, who do call out stupidity, albeit only around other Blacks and not in public. This is what I've learned. The persons who should listen and act accordingly often don't do so. Some of those very hood rats would decry such persons as "Uncle Toms" or "acting White". It's a "darned if you do, darned if you don't" kind of situation. Don't call out hood rat behavior? One is seen as co-signing on that behavior. Call out hood rat behavior? The "hood rats" being called out often don't listen. Such persons have little to no shame.
If it will take generations, what do I do in the meantime? I won't live forever. I might make 80(I'm in my 20s).
I actually do feel that there are some advances being made. There are a lot of vocal black people who make a stink about extremely outrageous depictions. The one about the rapper here in Atlanta - "Shawty Lo" and his reality show about his 11 kids by 10 baby mamas was cancelled due to a large backlash against it. It was cancelled before it even aired.
So I do think it is becoming more common.
I didn't think about that. I remember signing the petition to get the show cancelled. It's bad enough there are so many bad images of Black people. A show like "Shawty Lo" will only make it worse.
This being said, it was easy because this was a TV show. It was purely entertainment. Also I would suggest that money was involved in this too. Chances are, the show probably had sponsors pull out of it.
Well if I posted a thread about an inner city junior high school chess club that has 2 Black master-level players that went on to win a HIGH SCHOOL chess tournament and another thread about some worthless gangbangers killing someone... which one would get the most traction?
It is obvious that a thread about gangbangers killing someone will get more traction. If it bleeds, it leads. Alot of these worthless gangbangers who do the killing don't care, and don't have any shame about killing someone. The two chess players that you know, well, I would have liked to have heard more about those persons.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
