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The average age of these men is 70+. They would have been starting their businesses or making important contacts before the Civil Rights Act of 1966, an era wit

The average age of these men is 70+. They would have been starting their businesses or making important contacts before the Civil Rights Act of 1966, an era with limited opportunities for non-whites.

nhangen 16y ago
True, but why do we always, always, always have to turn everything into a race issue. I'm tired of "he's white" being the first thing anyone mentions. Forget about hard work or good ideas...it's all about being white right?
- rbranson 16y ago
  It's only a race issue because it started out that way. Nobody is turning it into anything that it wasn't already. The whole "turning everything into a race issue" is a copout used by those who'd rather forget the past and justify their ignorance. People too quickly forget that it was only two generations ago that non-whites were mostly deprived of civil liberties. The massive disadvantages of minorities and their families will continue to ripple through US society for decades, possibly centuries to come. Despite having 403 billionaires, there is only one black billionaire in the US, even though blacks make up 12.4% of the population. Do you think this is a coincidence?
  - nhangen 16y ago
    This is hacker news, if I wanted discussions like that I'd go to CNN or the Huffington Post. Why can't we focus on the good that these men/women did instead of their race? Of all the white people in the world, very few are rags to riches billionaires...why can't we talk about that?
    - shard 16y ago
      You make it sound like it's not possible to talk about both the good they did and the effect race has on their success.
      - nhangen 16y ago
        Of course it's possible, it's just not helpful to the discussion. It's like reading Outliers and then expecting a solution other than saying: put in 10,000 hours and then hope you're in the right place at the right time. Focusing on what they've done, rather than their race, gives others a chance to disassemble and possibly, duplicate what they've done. Race is used as a disqualifier, rather than a single factor...that's what I have a problem with.

The average age of these men is 70+. They would have been starting their businesses or making important contacts before the Civil Rights Act of 1966, an era with limited opportunities for non-whites.

nhangen 16y ago

True, but why do we always, always, always have to turn everything into a race issue. I'm tired of "he's white" being the first thing anyone mentions. Forget about hard work or good ideas...it's all about being white right?

rbranson 16y ago
It's only a race issue because it started out that way. Nobody is turning it into anything that it wasn't already. The whole "turning everything into a race issue" is a copout used by those who'd rather forget the past and justify their ignorance. People too quickly forget that it was only two generations ago that non-whites were mostly deprived of civil liberties. The massive disadvantages of minorities and their families will continue to ripple through US society for decades, possibly centuries to come. Despite having 403 billionaires, there is only one black billionaire in the US, even though blacks make up 12.4% of the population. Do you think this is a coincidence?
- nhangen 16y ago
  This is hacker news, if I wanted discussions like that I'd go to CNN or the Huffington Post. Why can't we focus on the good that these men/women did instead of their race? Of all the white people in the world, very few are rags to riches billionaires...why can't we talk about that?
  - shard 16y ago
    You make it sound like it's not possible to talk about both the good they did and the effect race has on their success.
    - nhangen 16y ago
      Of course it's possible, it's just not helpful to the discussion. It's like reading Outliers and then expecting a solution other than saying: put in 10,000 hours and then hope you're in the right place at the right time. Focusing on what they've done, rather than their race, gives others a chance to disassemble and possibly, duplicate what they've done. Race is used as a disqualifier, rather than a single factor...that's what I have a problem with.