This is a tough subject. And it's very difficult to overcome one's biases and media distortions sufficiently to make a rational examination what the bigger problems are. Having a background in engineering, I have a penchant for data and I tend to look there first before making decisions/opinions about big issues.
There is much more data available, thanks to the internet than I could possibly check out as thoroughly as I'd like but I submit to you that the following information is not only factual but logically fundamental to an honest discussion about fixing the problems being discussed today.
First, let's address the argument about Florida law being the reason Zimmerman was found not guilty. Please check out this article which seems to prove there's no significant credibility to that argument. Emotionally, lots of people want it to be true. Because of the national attention on the trial they want it to represent the racism that persists in America. Any clear-thinking person understands that significant racism exists in America but it'll be very difficult to get people's attention on it, much less do anything about it on the basis of claims that have no basis in fact.
Don't get me wrong. I want an honest discussion of racism and black/white crime but arguments that lack credibility make it harder to accomplish that. Making things up (that may sound good but are factually misleading if not outright wrong) as an argument for change will do more harm than good. If you want support from people for fundamental change, it's hard to make that happen when your arguments don't hold water. In fact, doing too much of that will make people tune out ('crying wolf' too often) and listen to your message less, not more. When your arguments begin losing credibility you lose credibility. Your argument on this subject and on others become suspect. And it can create a hostile environment which is very counter-productive to positive change. The false/misleading claims being made today take us in the wrong direction and distract us from real change. You want real change? Then let's talk truth with each other. Let's begin with facts regarding root(!) issues that are pretty undeniable. That's the only way positive, constructive and effective change can begin.
The other claim being made that begs clarity is that Travon Martin's death represents proof that "it's now open season on blacks by white Americans". That presumes that statistics will back up that claim ... which they don't by the way. [Approximately 90% of the crimes against blacks are committed by other blacks according to FBI statistics per table 5 on page 5.] While, to blacks it may feel like open season on them in the general pervasive racism sense, to claim that white Americans are looking for blacks to kill or purposely harm in some way is far over the top and completely lacking in proof. It's an emotional argument run amok from a reasonable argument that racism still exists and from the pain and frustration of that. You want to fix racism in America? Then let's start with a list of fundamental causes that are provable based on facts/statistics and go from there.
The biggest root cause of minorities' obviously(!) disadvantaged condition is arguably lack of education. In an increasingly technological world education has without a doubt become much more important to finding one's way into the middle class and beyond. With half of blacks not finishing high school, isn't it logical that poverty is more likely in their future than not? I don't buy the argument that poor teaching is the root cause of this. If you have a textbook you have all you need to learn something if you're motivated to achieve an education. I had some absolutely terrible teachers in the mining community where I grew up but I excelled in their classes. Why? Because, for example, I made it my mission to solve every(!) problem in my geometry book, not just the ones assigned by the teacher. I sat in the front row to avoid distractions and doing my homework was my top priority every day. When you make it your mission to become educated, bad teachers/schools will not(!) be a significant impediment.
Our country is full of examples how poor/minority students overcame both poverty and poor teaching to become successes. One of my personal favorite examples is Doctor Benjamin Carson who overcame fatherlessness, poverty, peer influence, black urban school education weaknesses, racism, and a bad attitude toward education to become one of the best pediatric brain surgeons in America. Every poor/minority child and parent should look up this man's story on the internet.
Becoming economically successful is available to everyone in this country and while blacks have some serious disadvantages, becoming educated is significantly a matter of choice, discipline (self- or parent-imposed) and commitment. Totally(!) because I began thinking of myself as victimized in geometry by a bad teacher I got an "F" mid-term grade. When I began doing the things I described two paragraphs above I began getting straight "A's"! The teacher wasn't the difference; my attitude was. Take personal responsibility for your education (or most anything else in life) and you can go very far in this country in spite of and far beyond whatever circumstances you choose to use as an excuse for not succeeding.
What's interesting to me is that a high school education is completely free! THE most key thing one can do to escape poverty and to some extent escape the effects of racism is to at least finish high school. Poverty is highest by a long way among people without a high school education and the fix for that is something that is 100% free whose necessary AND sufficient requirement is that you take personal responsibility for achieving it.
People talk about statistics in other areas like divorce, poverty, racism, and crime as 'the' problems among blacks and other minorities but one of the key reasons behind those problems is a lack of education and, therefore (cause and effect!), being trapped in poverty. What do you think would happen to the statistics in those problem areas if the high school graduation rate among blacks went from the current 50% to near 100%? The sad thing is, what they need most is completely free yet they won't take advantage of it by their own (poor) choice. The only requirement: personal commitment to become educated. Only you can fix your lack of education problem and to the high school level it is free. It's your choice. Commit to reading your textbooks and doing all the homework and extra homework. Do more than is asked of you in school and in life. Until/unless you do that, you are holding you back more than are other people and/or circumstances.
No one can put an education in your brain but it's key to a decent life now. No amount of federal intervention, welfare, change in laws, or even total elimination of racism can get you an education if you don't take personal responsibility for it. The path out of so many of these problems is totally up to you but you must stop making excuses (like Dr. Carson did).
Blaming white Americans (who clearly do still have a racism problem to some extent) won't get blacks any closer to a solution to their problems. If we somehow magically made all white American un-racist overnight but blacks' high school graduation rate stayed at 50% and out-of-wedlock births stayed around 75% would crime, divorce, poverty, etc change much? We're not tackling the one thing that can actually go far toward fixing the problems everyone's talking about and is absolutely free! But no one wants to hold our kids and in many cases their parents responsible for the choice(!) of becoming educated. The one thing in all of this chaos in blacks' lives that's FREE ... AND will go far toward fixing these problems ... gets nowhere near the attention it needs. Why?
While racism is clearly still an issue that we need to talk about and do better on, Travon Martin is not a legitimate poster child for the problems facing minorities, an uneducated child is.
No comments:
Post a Comment