In a nutshell: “Society benefits when the maximum number of human beings are living the best possible life, and this should be the goal. The end.”
How about this for practical? I'm just spit-balling but that's where all great ideas start. If there is cultural damage due to slavery or prejudice or exclusion, then let's brainstorm how to fi…
In a nutshell: “Society benefits when the maximum number of human beings are living the best possible life, and this should be the goal. The end.”
How about this for practical? I'm just spit-balling but that's where all great ideas start. If there is cultural damage due to slavery or prejudice or exclusion, then let's brainstorm how to fix that.
1. Work on persuading the black community that education isn't white, that it is the thing that expands your universe, your options, and your possibilities - even your very humanity. Billboards? Websites? Other types of advertising? Use pithy slogans. How about: Don't hate, create! Too direct? (too bad because I own the domains for this slogan but have never had the time to build the website and media for a campaign plus I need a writer). How about: Get your mind on. How about: What do you wish you knew? I could go on. If these positive challenge messages surround black youth enough they will be influenced and over time their perceptions would change. Maybe they would begin to fight for themselves.
2. Provide free education for low-income people - whether in academia or trades - as a form of reparations.
3. How about a hotline - Ask me anything - that allows black youth to call a number and ask questions privately?
4. How about a problem-solving class using real-world examples that would build these skills in black youth or even adults?
5. How about free cooking classes? Free handy man classes? Free classes in anything that a parent typically teaches but which wisdom black youth don't receive because their parents are either working 3 jobs, drugged out, or otherwise unavailable to teach them. Create self-sufficiency and pride in oneself.
5. Provide free trauma therapy for anyone living in a poverty dominant zip code.
6. Provide free quality of life, money management, and/or family planning classes.
We could channel money into any of the above and get better results. These are just rough ideas and of course it would be challenging because - details. Plus, not everyone would participate, even at first. But some would. And as the successes mounted, it would spread. Also, some efforts would fail. But, good ideas have a way of achieving critical mass over time.
I'd rather see any of these initiatives tried than what's out there right now. Although, to be fair, there are some grassroots efforts that are having some success - see 1776unites.org for examples. Fund more of whatever is working.
Ignorance amplifies bias and leads us to make bad choices. We have to open ourselves up to new information if we want to better our situation. I don't see why we can't find a way to do at least some of the above of some of something else (don't care if it's my ideas just that it works). Just throwing money at the problem hasn't helped. Perhaps our approach needs to be more curated.
Most of my ideas are about teaching someone to have faith in themselves. I was a victim, I was hurt, I lost faith in myself. The way back was for me to lean on other people's faith in me until I could restore my own faith in myself. They had faith in me because I showed up and did the work. That's what it takes.
"I'd rather see any of these initiatives tried than what's out there right now. Although, to be fair, there are some grassroots efforts that are having some success"
Yeah, these are all good ideas, and as you say here, I think grassroots campaigns are really important because they can be better tailored to the communities in question and they have the advantage of being carried out by people who know the community and are personally invested in its success.
On a broader, more sociological level, I'd love to see less glamorisation of black criminality in music and in films (I think it's hard to overstate the impact this has on some black people's psychology and some white people's perception of black people), less "blaccents" from black characters, and more positive, intellectual black role models whose blackness isn't treated as a novelty or a talking point. Put smart black people in front of cameras, let them talk about their field of expertise, don't turn the story to racial issues or ask their opinion on the racial "scandal du jour".
I agree, black people, young black people especially, need to be taught to have faith in themselves. And also to believe that the world is for them as much as anybody else. There is sooo much messaging insisting that it's only for white people and in 2022, this is pretty much completely untrue.
Equality in education is achievable by decree but 55 years after civil rights we still don't have it. I'd bet that the policymakers who short-change black schools aren't even aware they're doing it sometimes.
But the other classes you mentioned are almost certain to fail because they require candor in admitting to problems and you need to overcome that before anyone will sign up. I foresee financial management classes with one or two students in the room. Getting people to avail themselves of this kind of help would require a massive public information campaign. It would need hard-hitting ads delivered by people who look and sound like their audience, and we don't have that many Maxine Waters,
The stigma against education is crippling. I remember in the USA going to visit a Vietnamese family; it was a Saturday night and the kids ranging from elementary to high school were all sitting at a table studying with their father there encouraging them. It didn't appear forced. OTOH this isn't all that common here in Vietnam.
From the sound of things a black student who studied diligently would be regarded as some kind of weirdo. That is so wrong.
Parental involvement is critical. With each of my daughters on different occasions I had to teach the math lessons to make them comprehensible to them. While living in Saudi Arabia in the 80s (international school) I was informed that one of my daughters was far behind in learning her multiplication tables. I wrote a math game on a Commodore 64 which made it fun. She mastered all of her times tables before the other students.
When we adopted our orphaned niece a gave her an ABC Elmo doll to play with on the flight to America. The Thai language does not share our alphabet. First year, I did her homework, explaining with my broken Thai while she helped. Second year, she did the homework and I helped. Her English was already better than my Thai. Third year I checked her work. She was getting together with the other Asian girls from her school to study.
Having a parent capable of helping is huge. Having a study ethic is huge. My daughters had a double whammy. My thing was, don't come home with a report that you were capable of better. I didn't expect perfection, just honest effort. Their Asia mother expected A's. Motivation and help when needed.
The thing is, what if your parents have two jobs or you have one parent? I was a poor child of a single mother, I get it. What if your subculture doesn't value study and striving for good grades? Can a disadvantaged child go against the bad odds of poverty and a toxic subculture? Some do. If you are my age, going into the military was a way out. If you didn't get killed in Vietnam, you may have received technical training and there was a GI bill which gave education assistance, so your student loans were more manageable. I saw a bunch of that. It worked wonders for a lot of young black men in particular.
Schools have been fully integrated for a long time. I went to a vocational non-neighborhood high school where I was the racial minority before integration was common. There were black kids from the projects there to learn a trade so they could get a decent job. When my children came along, we lived in Georgia where there was no bussing because the neighborhood was integrated. My children went to the same schools with the same teachers and books. The only inequality was perhaps in the home. I realize in big cities where there was white flight the schools are not the same or equal, but there is no universal inequity by race, but rather by locale.
I don't write that to point a finger of damnation at anyone, but how do we fix "why you studyin'? You tryin' to be white?", "Math is racist" and other crabs in a barrel horseshit? Some of that is straight out of social justice warriors who infantize black people. SJWs need to do some self-examination. Are they venting or trying to solve a problem? Why try if you think the system won't let you succeed? I know that people want to go on and on about the system, but does putting that in young people's head help or harm? Can government or money fix this, or must we? If we are going to, we must do better.
It's not wrong. It's just not optimal. It's reactionary and dysfunctional and gets in the way of solving the problem.
Maybe your cynical take is true but we still have to try. I know there are human beings in poverty culture who haven't given up and would welcome something hopeful. Maybe only 5%, let's say. But if we help that 5% and they are able to bloom, that might inspire others.
And, if you don't like my ideas, how about we canvas the black community to get their ideas about what they feel would work? How about create a coalition or partnership of majoritarian money partnered with black cultural insight to develop a path forward?
One thing's for sure. Sitting around and wringing our hands or slinging barbs at each other has gotten us nowhere. And just throwing cash at it hasn't worked either. We need some creativity to solve this problem. We need to figure out what would spark people into caring about their lives again.
You can't move people from complaining and feeling helpless to a commitment of time and energy like taking classes, even if the classes are free. It's a good idea but it has to be done in a series of steps. Starting with convincing people that they can take some control over their own lives.
Well, then maybe start with that free therapy idea. Or free possibility seminars. I get where you are coming from but we have to hold space for possibility if we want to see change.
You have good ideas, Lightwing. I'll copy them to Word, on the slight chance that I can find them later.
I would add that Bob Woodson's other project gets right down into the inner cities and gets things *done!* https://woodsoncenter.org/
The problem is that the Woke Religion *owns* pretty much all the institutions in America. And it's their creed to elevate the victim narrative above all else, and virtue signalling as the means and the ends.
As Chris Fox "says" below, a change in a lotta aspects of the culture is probably gonna be required. That's a project over a generation or so. All that to say... It's why it would be best to start *now,* but that is not gonna be easy because "the Powers that Be" are gonna be *against* solving problems.
If there weren't problems, then there'd be nothing for them to do with their lives, right? Not just the virtue signalers, either. Who wants to give up the power and money in the DEI grift? I read the Industry is $6 BILLIONs worth a money.
IMO, it's probably gonna take a new political party to make much progress in the short term. I know.. I know... And ICBW, of course.
Thanks, JT. And yes, I have donated to his org several times. He is inspiring good work and there are some heavy hitters supporting him like Glenn Loury and John McWhorter. I hope that the work he is doing gets amplified and multiplied.
In a nutshell: “Society benefits when the maximum number of human beings are living the best possible life, and this should be the goal. The end.”
How about this for practical? I'm just spit-balling but that's where all great ideas start. If there is cultural damage due to slavery or prejudice or exclusion, then let's brainstorm how to fix that.
1. Work on persuading the black community that education isn't white, that it is the thing that expands your universe, your options, and your possibilities - even your very humanity. Billboards? Websites? Other types of advertising? Use pithy slogans. How about: Don't hate, create! Too direct? (too bad because I own the domains for this slogan but have never had the time to build the website and media for a campaign plus I need a writer). How about: Get your mind on. How about: What do you wish you knew? I could go on. If these positive challenge messages surround black youth enough they will be influenced and over time their perceptions would change. Maybe they would begin to fight for themselves.
2. Provide free education for low-income people - whether in academia or trades - as a form of reparations.
3. How about a hotline - Ask me anything - that allows black youth to call a number and ask questions privately?
4. How about a problem-solving class using real-world examples that would build these skills in black youth or even adults?
5. How about free cooking classes? Free handy man classes? Free classes in anything that a parent typically teaches but which wisdom black youth don't receive because their parents are either working 3 jobs, drugged out, or otherwise unavailable to teach them. Create self-sufficiency and pride in oneself.
5. Provide free trauma therapy for anyone living in a poverty dominant zip code.
6. Provide free quality of life, money management, and/or family planning classes.
We could channel money into any of the above and get better results. These are just rough ideas and of course it would be challenging because - details. Plus, not everyone would participate, even at first. But some would. And as the successes mounted, it would spread. Also, some efforts would fail. But, good ideas have a way of achieving critical mass over time.
I'd rather see any of these initiatives tried than what's out there right now. Although, to be fair, there are some grassroots efforts that are having some success - see 1776unites.org for examples. Fund more of whatever is working.
Ignorance amplifies bias and leads us to make bad choices. We have to open ourselves up to new information if we want to better our situation. I don't see why we can't find a way to do at least some of the above of some of something else (don't care if it's my ideas just that it works). Just throwing money at the problem hasn't helped. Perhaps our approach needs to be more curated.
Most of my ideas are about teaching someone to have faith in themselves. I was a victim, I was hurt, I lost faith in myself. The way back was for me to lean on other people's faith in me until I could restore my own faith in myself. They had faith in me because I showed up and did the work. That's what it takes.
"I'd rather see any of these initiatives tried than what's out there right now. Although, to be fair, there are some grassroots efforts that are having some success"
Yeah, these are all good ideas, and as you say here, I think grassroots campaigns are really important because they can be better tailored to the communities in question and they have the advantage of being carried out by people who know the community and are personally invested in its success.
On a broader, more sociological level, I'd love to see less glamorisation of black criminality in music and in films (I think it's hard to overstate the impact this has on some black people's psychology and some white people's perception of black people), less "blaccents" from black characters, and more positive, intellectual black role models whose blackness isn't treated as a novelty or a talking point. Put smart black people in front of cameras, let them talk about their field of expertise, don't turn the story to racial issues or ask their opinion on the racial "scandal du jour".
I agree, black people, young black people especially, need to be taught to have faith in themselves. And also to believe that the world is for them as much as anybody else. There is sooo much messaging insisting that it's only for white people and in 2022, this is pretty much completely untrue.
Equality in education is achievable by decree but 55 years after civil rights we still don't have it. I'd bet that the policymakers who short-change black schools aren't even aware they're doing it sometimes.
But the other classes you mentioned are almost certain to fail because they require candor in admitting to problems and you need to overcome that before anyone will sign up. I foresee financial management classes with one or two students in the room. Getting people to avail themselves of this kind of help would require a massive public information campaign. It would need hard-hitting ads delivered by people who look and sound like their audience, and we don't have that many Maxine Waters,
The stigma against education is crippling. I remember in the USA going to visit a Vietnamese family; it was a Saturday night and the kids ranging from elementary to high school were all sitting at a table studying with their father there encouraging them. It didn't appear forced. OTOH this isn't all that common here in Vietnam.
From the sound of things a black student who studied diligently would be regarded as some kind of weirdo. That is so wrong.
Parental involvement is critical. With each of my daughters on different occasions I had to teach the math lessons to make them comprehensible to them. While living in Saudi Arabia in the 80s (international school) I was informed that one of my daughters was far behind in learning her multiplication tables. I wrote a math game on a Commodore 64 which made it fun. She mastered all of her times tables before the other students.
When we adopted our orphaned niece a gave her an ABC Elmo doll to play with on the flight to America. The Thai language does not share our alphabet. First year, I did her homework, explaining with my broken Thai while she helped. Second year, she did the homework and I helped. Her English was already better than my Thai. Third year I checked her work. She was getting together with the other Asian girls from her school to study.
Having a parent capable of helping is huge. Having a study ethic is huge. My daughters had a double whammy. My thing was, don't come home with a report that you were capable of better. I didn't expect perfection, just honest effort. Their Asia mother expected A's. Motivation and help when needed.
The thing is, what if your parents have two jobs or you have one parent? I was a poor child of a single mother, I get it. What if your subculture doesn't value study and striving for good grades? Can a disadvantaged child go against the bad odds of poverty and a toxic subculture? Some do. If you are my age, going into the military was a way out. If you didn't get killed in Vietnam, you may have received technical training and there was a GI bill which gave education assistance, so your student loans were more manageable. I saw a bunch of that. It worked wonders for a lot of young black men in particular.
Schools have been fully integrated for a long time. I went to a vocational non-neighborhood high school where I was the racial minority before integration was common. There were black kids from the projects there to learn a trade so they could get a decent job. When my children came along, we lived in Georgia where there was no bussing because the neighborhood was integrated. My children went to the same schools with the same teachers and books. The only inequality was perhaps in the home. I realize in big cities where there was white flight the schools are not the same or equal, but there is no universal inequity by race, but rather by locale.
I don't write that to point a finger of damnation at anyone, but how do we fix "why you studyin'? You tryin' to be white?", "Math is racist" and other crabs in a barrel horseshit? Some of that is straight out of social justice warriors who infantize black people. SJWs need to do some self-examination. Are they venting or trying to solve a problem? Why try if you think the system won't let you succeed? I know that people want to go on and on about the system, but does putting that in young people's head help or harm? Can government or money fix this, or must we? If we are going to, we must do better.
It's not wrong. It's just not optimal. It's reactionary and dysfunctional and gets in the way of solving the problem.
Maybe your cynical take is true but we still have to try. I know there are human beings in poverty culture who haven't given up and would welcome something hopeful. Maybe only 5%, let's say. But if we help that 5% and they are able to bloom, that might inspire others.
And, if you don't like my ideas, how about we canvas the black community to get their ideas about what they feel would work? How about create a coalition or partnership of majoritarian money partnered with black cultural insight to develop a path forward?
One thing's for sure. Sitting around and wringing our hands or slinging barbs at each other has gotten us nowhere. And just throwing cash at it hasn't worked either. We need some creativity to solve this problem. We need to figure out what would spark people into caring about their lives again.
You can't move people from complaining and feeling helpless to a commitment of time and energy like taking classes, even if the classes are free. It's a good idea but it has to be done in a series of steps. Starting with convincing people that they can take some control over their own lives.
Well, then maybe start with that free therapy idea. Or free possibility seminars. I get where you are coming from but we have to hold space for possibility if we want to see change.
You have good ideas, Lightwing. I'll copy them to Word, on the slight chance that I can find them later.
I would add that Bob Woodson's other project gets right down into the inner cities and gets things *done!* https://woodsoncenter.org/
The problem is that the Woke Religion *owns* pretty much all the institutions in America. And it's their creed to elevate the victim narrative above all else, and virtue signalling as the means and the ends.
As Chris Fox "says" below, a change in a lotta aspects of the culture is probably gonna be required. That's a project over a generation or so. All that to say... It's why it would be best to start *now,* but that is not gonna be easy because "the Powers that Be" are gonna be *against* solving problems.
If there weren't problems, then there'd be nothing for them to do with their lives, right? Not just the virtue signalers, either. Who wants to give up the power and money in the DEI grift? I read the Industry is $6 BILLIONs worth a money.
IMO, it's probably gonna take a new political party to make much progress in the short term. I know.. I know... And ICBW, of course.
Thanks, JT. And yes, I have donated to his org several times. He is inspiring good work and there are some heavy hitters supporting him like Glenn Loury and John McWhorter. I hope that the work he is doing gets amplified and multiplied.