I am Gen X, I grew up in an era where Michael Jordan was the greatest athlete, Eddie Murphy was the biggest star and Michael Jackson was hailed as the King of Pop. Jessie Jackson made a legitmate run for the presidency.
The civil rights act was 2 years before I was born. Every black American I grew up with had the same opportunities as me, and in many cases, moreso - my white ass didn't have a shot to get into an Ivy League school under the premise of diversity. I was going to be looked over for a cushy government job and there were no scholarships for just being born a poor white male
I'm now in my 50's. I say to any black American 60 or younger - you grew up in an era where you could voluntarily join the military and be treated as an equal (the marines hate everyone equally), could have your post military education or vocational paid for, could have attended any college in America you were academically qualified for (and some you weren't because of the color of your skin), and given preferential treatment for state and federal jobs.
It doesn't matter that your parent(s) were poor, it doesn't matter that your grandparents suffered under Jim Crow laws, or that a white cop pulled you over for a busted taillight last week - the America you grew up in offered you the same opportunity for success as it did any other American. Equal Opportunity does not mean Equal Outcome. If you worked hard, developed your talent and conformed to the norms of society, you got ahead - the same rules apply across the spectrum
So I whole heartedly say take that reparations mentality and shove it up your ass. Look around your community, look at your elected officials who represent you - what have they done to prepare their consituents for progress in this century? What have you done to break the cycle of race victmization. If not, then look around outside your community, there is no shortage of white people who have wasted that same opportunity.
Here's the real truth, if you are one of those people that squandered your opportunities in life, handing you a check for $50K won't make a damn bit of difference in your life. A wealthy white guy will have that $50K in his bank account within 2 years and you'll still be looking out your window at some [bleep] neighborhood talking about how something that happened 20 years before you were born is the reason you don't have a future.
Life is hard, its gets a lot harder if all you do is sit around waiting for someone to give you something you think you are owed instead of living a life being dedicated to responsibility.
If that attitude makes me a racist, then so be it, I welcome the label. There has to be a expiration limit on blacks using a tired excuse of racism as to why they won't integrate into society. I don't know when it ended, but I know it didn't go a day past Obama elected president.
Last edited by KFWA; 12/01/19.
