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There are people that deeply resent the presence of black people in this country, aimlessly wondering about STEM and inventive contributions to American/Western

There are people that deeply resent the presence of black people in this country, aimlessly wondering about STEM and inventive contributions to American/Western society by people with African heritage and concluding there aren't any, not realizing that there was a pattern of suppressing those contributions by people just like them, amplified over the last century.

threatofrain 7y ago
It's unfortunate because it appears that America is also losing its tolerance for speech about racial injustice, responding with fatigue and incredulity. The narrative of a racially equal country has lost its motivational energy, and meanwhile I feel that the story of black 2030 in America is looking very dim. America needs a persuasive national story about how race is going to work from 2020 to 2030.
- lolinder 7y ago
  The reason why I get fatigued when people bring up race and try to make sweeping national changes is that I see it as counterproductive. Until we stop dividing people into classes based on race these problems are going to persist. Efforts that set out to bring about "racial justice" actually compound the problem by reinforcing the idea that these artificial divisions have any meaning at all. The goal should not be a racially equal country, the goal should be a country where people don't think about race any more. By all means, let's work to lift the poor out of poverty and bring justice to the prison system. But let's do it because they are poor and because it is right, not because of the color of their skin.
  - rolltiide 7y ago
    trying to skip to that point is also counterproductive. there is lasting damage from prior behavior and many people are inspired by the SEO of mentioning the those adjectives such as African American or female. Otherwise the audience really wouldn't see it and wouldn't know. its just SEO. if mentioning that someone productive or accomplished was also black or a woman is not a search engine optimization for you then just ignore it because it wasn't for you.
  - cycrutchfield 7y ago
    It's such a privileged thing to say "Let's sweep over the horrendously long history in this country of racial oppression and discrimination, such things are not relevant to today's concerns. Everybody has equality of opportunity now, so therefore racial inequities no longer exist and we should ignore race entirely. This is post-racial America."
  - threatofrain 7y ago
    The credibility of the speaker matters here when issuing a call to ignore race. That's because across America there is an unwell stench of race, and that odor permeates any messaging on the matter.
cududa 7y ago
The fact that you’re getting downvoted speaks volumes to the HN zeitgeist...
- rolltiide 7y ago
  I understand a common thought: A lot of times it isn't because people disagree with the observation or have strongly held beliefs that it didn't happen while they go parrot crime stats as if it all happens in a vacuum. It's more so that they don't want to contribute to that train of thought, the idea that enough recognition has already been done. The idea that continuing to spend energy on this removes opportunities from them or matters they care more about. That approach still ignores the utility of having these discussions. The discussion can be about how to leverage the productive capital of society, instead of having apathy for people that aren't succeeding in supposed merit-based systems and hoping everyone just stops talking about it.

threatofrain 7y ago

It's unfortunate because it appears that America is also losing its tolerance for speech about racial injustice, responding with fatigue and incredulity. The narrative of a racially equal country has lost its motivational energy, and meanwhile I feel that the story of black 2030 in America is looking very dim. America needs a persuasive national story about how race is going to work from 2020 to 2030.

lolinder 7y ago
The reason why I get fatigued when people bring up race and try to make sweeping national changes is that I see it as counterproductive. Until we stop dividing people into classes based on race these problems are going to persist. Efforts that set out to bring about "racial justice" actually compound the problem by reinforcing the idea that these artificial divisions have any meaning at all. The goal should not be a racially equal country, the goal should be a country where people don't think about race any more. By all means, let's work to lift the poor out of poverty and bring justice to the prison system. But let's do it because they are poor and because it is right, not because of the color of their skin.
- rolltiide 7y ago
  trying to skip to that point is also counterproductive. there is lasting damage from prior behavior and many people are inspired by the SEO of mentioning the those adjectives such as African American or female. Otherwise the audience really wouldn't see it and wouldn't know. its just SEO. if mentioning that someone productive or accomplished was also black or a woman is not a search engine optimization for you then just ignore it because it wasn't for you.
- cycrutchfield 7y ago
  It's such a privileged thing to say "Let's sweep over the horrendously long history in this country of racial oppression and discrimination, such things are not relevant to today's concerns. Everybody has equality of opportunity now, so therefore racial inequities no longer exist and we should ignore race entirely. This is post-racial America."
- threatofrain 7y ago
  The credibility of the speaker matters here when issuing a call to ignore race. That's because across America there is an unwell stench of race, and that odor permeates any messaging on the matter.

cududa 7y ago

The fact that you’re getting downvoted speaks volumes to the HN zeitgeist...

rolltiide 7y ago
I understand a common thought: A lot of times it isn't because people disagree with the observation or have strongly held beliefs that it didn't happen while they go parrot crime stats as if it all happens in a vacuum. It's more so that they don't want to contribute to that train of thought, the idea that enough recognition has already been done. The idea that continuing to spend energy on this removes opportunities from them or matters they care more about. That approach still ignores the utility of having these discussions. The discussion can be about how to leverage the productive capital of society, instead of having apathy for people that aren't succeeding in supposed merit-based systems and hoping everyone just stops talking about it.