There is a CNN special coming on later this month and - even before I see it - I have to respond to an email floating around.
This is the email:
Subject: High Priority ** Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:12:20 +0000 High Priority
** Did you know that companies in the US have said they would hire a white man with a felony record and no high school education BEFORE they would hire a black man with NO criminal record and a 4-year degree?
On July 23 at and July 24, CNN will premier a series, 'Black in America with Soledad O'Brien' and I personally challenge you to watch it WITH your children, especially your sons, if you have any, uninterrupted.
The aforementioned statistics and many others will be revealed during the series.
A friend had the privilege of meeting with Soledad O'Brien and actually SEEING this premier, and what she saw brought tears to her eyes and anguish, frustration, and a sense of helplessness to her soul. The first night the series will focus on Women and Families and the second night is dedicated entirely to the plight of the Black Man in America.
I beg and p lead with you PLEASE , PLEASE, PLEASE watch and internalize what you see and hear; no matter HOW disturbing the information revealed. Feel free to pass this email on or go here for more information: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/black.in.america/
This is my response:
Not all black people nor all white people nor all brown people are perceived the same in America....nor do we all live the same life or have the same issues, values, etc.
We are as varied a people as any other group. We do not all share the same "black experience" in this country.
We share experiences based more on our socio-economic conditions than any racial or ethnic heritage.
This is a basis of the "Drop the Dash" campaign. It is trying to get "us" to see that we have the opportunity to be less a product of our birth environments than a product of our work and determination to overcome any obstacle thrown in our way.
There is no reason why we cannot be anything we choose....live anywhere we choose....or succeed at whatever we choose.We are republicans and democrats....conservatives and liberals...rich and poor....intelligent and dumb.....bourgeois and ghetto....and all the things in between.
We are Americans and its time we stop letting them - the media and politicians - group us all together like a breed of animal.
The saddest part is that WE buy into this bull and help promote it thinking we are doing "our people" a favor.
Our people need to understand that we all do not share the same experience in America anymore.
Once we get away from the thugs and ghetto, we mistakenly fear "forgetting where we come from" because some redneck cop may treat us all the same.Meanwhile, we condone the thugs-life, ghetto-fabulous baby-mamas, and multi-generational welfare mindset.
What happened to pulling ourselves up by our boot straps like our parents and grandparents raised us? When did WE drop the ball?We are our worse enemy.
We do more to keep ourselves down than any redneck with a badge could ever do against us.
When you watch the CNN special, make a note of everything that does NOT apply to your life.
If we believe our race can still hold us down in America, it will. But it is ourselves that is holding us down....not "The Man"!
I look forward to the special and I truly hope they have all aspects of our race/ethnicity reflected...conservative and liberal and moderate.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
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About me...
- dolarbil
- Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- Just someone who doesn't want his children to have to fight the same race and ethnic battles that his parents did. It's the 21st century, isn't it time we all got along?
2 comments:
The CNN "Black in America" report was only half of the truth about being black in America. What did this younglady not notice that there are several African Americans who are very prosperous in the United States? Where were they in her report? It seems that the only successful African Americans that she could find were those who were considered to be white on some level. I'm sorry, but it is my opinion that she turned a blind eye to all of the hundreds of thousands of successful black professionals as well as working class in this country.
Had I not ever seen or come to know a black person ever, after seeing her special, I would be shocked to find that there more than a dozen who could afford a car, a plane ticket, a restaurant meal or anything else. Yep! Just what we needed as one of our own is running for president. D- for you, try to impress your bosses with the whole truth next time.
It was less than half the truth. We span all aspects of society like every other ethnic/racial group. To be frank, I get tired of hearing the failure rates of black Americans with no qualification based on education, socio-economic group or region.
The black rednecks in America as just as pathetic as the white rednecks in America. There are more black rednecks proportionally to black Americans so ALL stats about us are skewed. There are more non-redneck white Americans so they're numbers are not a valid comparison to ours.
Break the numbers down by socio-economics and I believe it will show that those in the lower and below income level are at the top of the "issues" level...in all races.
I believe you will see that 90 percent of blacks and whites in the same socio-economic levels live the same, succeed the same, and stay out of trouble the same.
I do not know of more than 1 out of 10 of my black neighbors whose child did not graduate high school and/or are being monitored by the justice system. I know of at least 1 of 10 of my white neighbors that dropped out of high school and/or are being monitored by the justice system.
it is not about race...it is about socio-economics.
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