Chas_P, on 2017-August-25, 18:36, said:
The world will little note nor long remember what we say here. I have read these forums for many years and the only truly sane posts I have read have come from Ken Berg...a retired mathematics professor at the University of Maryland whom I've never met (but would like to). With that said, let me elaborate a little on my original thoughts in this thread. The point I was trying to make is that no matter how many marches are organized, no matter how much hell is raised, no matter how many memorials are demanded to be taken down, the "plight" of many African-Americans will not be alleviated until someone (BLM, Antifa, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, whomever) makes an effort to address the underlying problem...lack of education, unwanted pregnancy, unemployment, etc. My comments about "bad" white folks was intended for the KKK, Nazis, Skinheads, whatever they wish to call themselves. They are no better than (and probably worse than) BLM, Antifa, etc....nothing more than rabble rousers. I hope this clarifies my position which...like yours...is nothing more than musings on an internet forum. With all that said I bid you all a fond farewell. I won't be back here.
Chas,
I never said the "r" word to you; however, at every point in this dialogue I challenged your proposition that these statues and flags don't matter or are irrelevant.
The Georgia flag has been sowing seeds of division since 1956 and Georgia refuses to let go of its Confederate ties because the African-American (and other people of color) were an "element" and/or "problem" of the South. So Old Dixie created a social order that treated the "Negro" as an element that needed paternalistic guidance and treatment. There is a reason most African-American men were called "Boy!" in the South; it was a reminder of their subservient status as they were not men--even if the Supreme Court declared they were no longer chattel property. The euphemism "boy" to a colored man was not a term of endearment but a reminder of the caste system and his subservient place in the established customs and mores of the South.
Also, I agree that African-Americans need to make sure they avail themselves of any and all educational and vocational opportunities for upward mobility and financial security. However, in return, I request that the State of Georgia stop basing the funding of public education on property values since "the Negro" has missed out on about 170+ years of wealth building opportunities and has never seen any type of legitimate recompense for the seemingly inexhaustible supply of labor his ancestors supplied to fuel this nation's prosperity. Several public school systems in Black communities of Georgia are shamelessly underfunded since a lot of African-Americans don't have much property to support their school system's funding and overhead needs.
This is a vicious cycle and plays out in the quality of education that African-American children receive in Georgia. Programs and critical staff get cut and the children are left out in the cold to make ends meet in some creative way. Also, most of the communities outside of the metropolitan Atlanta area are rural and primarily white of several classes; therefore, there is very little political will to "right" this situation of funding for schools for African-Americans at the state level. See the 2016 red/blue Presidential election map below.
So, the solution is not as easy as you suggest. To stop the seemingly endless cycle of poverty plaguing African-Americans, we have to set the foundation for education funding correctly. The State of Georgia must stop playing racial political games with the funding of public schools that put African-American communities at a comparative disadvantage in terms of amenities, programs, staff, facilities, and resources.
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2016 Presidential Election Results by County