6 ms·

The problem is that white Americans don't have the same American experience as black Americans, which is where the divide comes from and it creates another cult

by warent 5y ago

The problem is that white Americans don't have the same American experience as black Americans, which is where the divide comes from and it creates another culture. It's been getting a lot better, but there are still two legal systems, two education systems, etc. My perspective as a white man is that when black people create something for themselves like this, it's reclaiming the power. Like how they use the N word with each other, or how Gay people use that word, it's a reclaiming. Taking the hurtful racist division and turning it into something empowering is the point. I have no idea if that works in the long term or not, but I always think about Morgan Freeman who said something like the only way we can solve racism is if we stop talking about it

bxjaii 5y ago
This is 100% false. Cops brutalize anyone who slightly offends them. More black people are disaffected by this, but it happens to us all. I am white and was nearly killed by a black officer in South Florida. He piled drived me head first onto a concrete floor on video tape. Prior to that, he choked me and threatened to kill me. I was in Miami to attend the VMAs with a billionaire, yet they claimed I tried to fight them. Eventually all charges were dropped. The cop was actually working private security when this happened. It’s just men, testosterone, and power emboldened by a badge. The cop — Mr. Ritchie — later won Detective of the Year, while his Sheriff went to federal prison. Reality is different than what you read in the papers.
- bubbleRefuge 5y ago
  From south florida and yeah there are allot of aggressive cops. Some of whom I grew up with. They have to deal with very dangerous and aggressive criminals on a daily basis and put their lives on the line. Its a tough job and its a grind, but we need them to protect us from criminal psychopaths in the community. We need to fix the root causes of crime: educational inequality, broken families, lack of opportunity, and the crime/poverty cycle. When and if this happens, the policing problem will go in the opposite direction.
  - JackFr 5y ago
    > They have to deal with very dangerous and aggressive criminals on a daily basis and put their lives on the line. Its a tough job and its a grind, but we need them to protect us from criminal psychopaths in the community. That is nonsense. I love cops in general. I am a cop supporter. I have known excellent cops. But cops enjoy a great license in the performance of their duties. Because of that it’s very important that we 1) hire cops of outstanding character, not just bullies who want a civil service pension, and 2) hold them to very high standards, a standard of behavior higher than you would an average citizen. If dealing with aggressive criminals turns you into one you simply don’t have the strength of character to be a cop. And good cops who tolerate bad behavior in their peers are not good cops.
vorpalhex 5y ago
If you feel that there are two education systems, eg one for Black people and one for White people, aren't you simply reinforcing that by having more segmented services? Separate but equal was a dismal failure in the US. I don't understand why it deserves a second attempt.
- LordHumungous 5y ago
  The reality is that most of the country remains extremely segregated.
- Joeri 5y ago
  There are apps that cater to comic book fans, are they promoting the comic nerd divide? What is wrong with a service that caters to a content niche? Separate but equal is only a bad thing when people cannot choose which of the two systems they select into. A black person can choose to get regular netflix instead of this niche service.
  - skyde 5y ago
    it’s bad because it create a bubble. It’s like the instagram for republican (parler). It turned into a social network for dangerous extremist very fast and is one of the reason the capital got attacked
    - sangnoir 5y ago
      I guess it's time to ban HN and force everyone onto reddit then, because HN is a bubble. I disagree with your implicit assumption that all bubbles are inherently negative.
      - skyde 5y ago
        While HN is a bubble it will not result in burning the country to the ground. The problem is when polarization create war between 2 camp.
weimerica 5y ago
> The problem is that white Americans don't have the same American experience as black Americans, which is where the divide comes from and it creates another culture. It's been getting a lot better, but there are still two legal systems, two education systems, etc. It's really more about how much money you have in your pocket, what neighborhood you're in - but please continue driving a racial wedge to further divide the nation and distract from our broken system's root causes.
- meiraleal 5y ago
  > It's really more about how much money you have in your pocket, what neighborhood you're in And the most important that you don't mention, the mobility. If there is no mobility and black people will be forever on the poor side, the elephant is still in the room.
- netizen-936824 5y ago
  Even wealthy black Americans get harassed by police more often than their equivalently wealthy white counterparts, sometimes simply for being in the neighborhood where they live.
- menzoic 5y ago
  If you want to focus on the root causes "money in your pocket" and neighborhood, look at the root cause for why there is a racial wealth gap and why neighborhoods have been historically segregated.
mikevm 5y ago
The thing is that no one has the same experience as anyone else. Do all "white people" have the same life experience? That's just absurd. Ask yourself this, what makes Blacks in America different than Jews or Asians? Heck, the Jews are probably the minority who has suffered the most historically (and still does, btw!), and they managed to integrate quite well. What has the gov't done to help Jews or Asians advance that it hasn't done for Blacks? Nothing. I think it's time to look for other solutions, rather than keep blaming the amorphous "white man" for all problems.
menzoic 5y ago
Freeman recanted that statement. You can't solve bad culture by not taking about it. It will just thrive. Imagine a corporation had a toxic culture. In what way could not talking about it ever fix the company culture? The toxic people would just thrive. Would sexism and sexual harrasment just end if we stopped talking about it? The only thing close to what he said that would make sense is if parents and media stopped teaching their kids racists ideals both consciously and subconsciously.
throwaway894345 5y ago
> The problem is that white Americans don't have the same American experience as black Americans This implies that there is a "white experience" and a "black experience" which is simply false and subtly racist. This is kind of the point of the parent's post--we've gone from understanding that variance within a race far exceeds variance between races to a mistaken belief that different races have such different experiences that we basically can't understand each other, that we're practically different species. Consider the white translator who was forbidden to translate the work of a black poet, the eminently qualified white school board volunteer who was forbidden from working with students because he wouldn't "understand the experiences of nonwhite students", or the anti-standardized-testing folks who argue that blacks are innately unable to compete in standardized tests. On that latter point, there's a popular analogy[0] circulating over the last decade that implies that different races are like different species of animal--chimps, goldfish, elephants, penguins, etc--and standardized testing is like a tree-climbing test. To put a fine point on it, these folks are implying that blacks are innately inferior at standardized testing while whites (and presumably Asians) naturally excel. [0]: https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/1376520062773903364 https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/137652006277390336...
- aeoleonn 5y ago
  Personally, I no longer attempt to try to understand left-ist talking points on race. It's typically an ignorant, naive, and irrational perspective. Hence it's a waste of time to try to understand. Simply too much mutually exclusive duality, such as "We are all equal. But my group specifically-- we're different and we need special things and special treatment!"
skyde 5y ago
I agree with morgan freeman this is also why I don’t think making a black tv channel and black churches and black university help it actually make the problem worse because it increases divide. As someone that grew up extremely poor. I am not aware of the two education system other than the “historically black university”. What do you call the “white education system”?
- menzoic 5y ago
  > I don’t think making a black tv channel and black churches and black university help it actually make the problem worse because it increases divide. You seem to not be informed that black people were expressly banned from many American universities as recently as the 1960s. Even after racial bans were made illegal racial discrimination was heavy, things don't change instantly just because a law is passed. The only reason black universities exist is because black people didn't have other options. Creating black univerisites couldn't possibly make the problem worse. The media is dominated by white writers and actors and as a result the large majority of content is based on white culture with storylines that appeal to white people. Black actors audition and black stories are pitched, but most don't get hired or funded. BlackOakTV is making a space for those who are rejected and can't get funding for stories appealing more to a black audience.

by warent 5y ago

bxjaii 5y ago

This is 100% false. Cops brutalize anyone who slightly offends them. More black people are disaffected by this, but it happens to us all. I am white and was nearly killed by a black officer in South Florida. He piled drived me head first onto a concrete floor on video tape. Prior to that, he choked me and threatened to kill me. I was in Miami to attend the VMAs with a billionaire, yet they claimed I tried to fight them. Eventually all charges were dropped. The cop was actually working private security when this happened. It’s just men, testosterone, and power emboldened by a badge. The cop — Mr. Ritchie — later won Detective of the Year, while his Sheriff went to federal prison. Reality is different than what you read in the papers.

bubbleRefuge 5y ago
From south florida and yeah there are allot of aggressive cops. Some of whom I grew up with. They have to deal with very dangerous and aggressive criminals on a daily basis and put their lives on the line. Its a tough job and its a grind, but we need them to protect us from criminal psychopaths in the community. We need to fix the root causes of crime: educational inequality, broken families, lack of opportunity, and the crime/poverty cycle. When and if this happens, the policing problem will go in the opposite direction.
- JackFr 5y ago
  > They have to deal with very dangerous and aggressive criminals on a daily basis and put their lives on the line. Its a tough job and its a grind, but we need them to protect us from criminal psychopaths in the community. That is nonsense. I love cops in general. I am a cop supporter. I have known excellent cops. But cops enjoy a great license in the performance of their duties. Because of that it’s very important that we 1) hire cops of outstanding character, not just bullies who want a civil service pension, and 2) hold them to very high standards, a standard of behavior higher than you would an average citizen. If dealing with aggressive criminals turns you into one you simply don’t have the strength of character to be a cop. And good cops who tolerate bad behavior in their peers are not good cops.

vorpalhex 5y ago

If you feel that there are two education systems, eg one for Black people and one for White people, aren't you simply reinforcing that by having more segmented services? Separate but equal was a dismal failure in the US. I don't understand why it deserves a second attempt.

LordHumungous 5y ago
The reality is that most of the country remains extremely segregated.
Joeri 5y ago
There are apps that cater to comic book fans, are they promoting the comic nerd divide? What is wrong with a service that caters to a content niche? Separate but equal is only a bad thing when people cannot choose which of the two systems they select into. A black person can choose to get regular netflix instead of this niche service.
- skyde 5y ago
  it’s bad because it create a bubble. It’s like the instagram for republican (parler). It turned into a social network for dangerous extremist very fast and is one of the reason the capital got attacked
  - sangnoir 5y ago
    I guess it's time to ban HN and force everyone onto reddit then, because HN is a bubble. I disagree with your implicit assumption that all bubbles are inherently negative.
    - skyde 5y ago
      While HN is a bubble it will not result in burning the country to the ground. The problem is when polarization create war between 2 camp.

weimerica 5y ago

> The problem is that white Americans don't have the same American experience as black Americans, which is where the divide comes from and it creates another culture. It's been getting a lot better, but there are still two legal systems, two education systems, etc. It's really more about how much money you have in your pocket, what neighborhood you're in - but please continue driving a racial wedge to further divide the nation and distract from our broken system's root causes.

meiraleal 5y ago
> It's really more about how much money you have in your pocket, what neighborhood you're in And the most important that you don't mention, the mobility. If there is no mobility and black people will be forever on the poor side, the elephant is still in the room.
netizen-936824 5y ago
Even wealthy black Americans get harassed by police more often than their equivalently wealthy white counterparts, sometimes simply for being in the neighborhood where they live.
menzoic 5y ago
If you want to focus on the root causes "money in your pocket" and neighborhood, look at the root cause for why there is a racial wealth gap and why neighborhoods have been historically segregated.

mikevm 5y ago

The thing is that no one has the same experience as anyone else. Do all "white people" have the same life experience? That's just absurd. Ask yourself this, what makes Blacks in America different than Jews or Asians? Heck, the Jews are probably the minority who has suffered the most historically (and still does, btw!), and they managed to integrate quite well. What has the gov't done to help Jews or Asians advance that it hasn't done for Blacks? Nothing. I think it's time to look for other solutions, rather than keep blaming the amorphous "white man" for all problems.

menzoic 5y ago

Freeman recanted that statement. You can't solve bad culture by not taking about it. It will just thrive. Imagine a corporation had a toxic culture. In what way could not talking about it ever fix the company culture? The toxic people would just thrive. Would sexism and sexual harrasment just end if we stopped talking about it? The only thing close to what he said that would make sense is if parents and media stopped teaching their kids racists ideals both consciously and subconsciously.

throwaway894345 5y ago

> The problem is that white Americans don't have the same American experience as black Americans This implies that there is a "white experience" and a "black experience" which is simply false and subtly racist. This is kind of the point of the parent's post--we've gone from understanding that variance within a race far exceeds variance between races to a mistaken belief that different races have such different experiences that we basically can't understand each other, that we're practically different species. Consider the white translator who was forbidden to translate the work of a black poet, the eminently qualified white school board volunteer who was forbidden from working with students because he wouldn't "understand the experiences of nonwhite students", or the anti-standardized-testing folks who argue that blacks are innately unable to compete in standardized tests. On that latter point, there's a popular analogy[0] circulating over the last decade that implies that different races are like different species of animal--chimps, goldfish, elephants, penguins, etc--and standardized testing is like a tree-climbing test. To put a fine point on it, these folks are implying that blacks are innately inferior at standardized testing while whites (and presumably Asians) naturally excel. [0]: https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/1376520062773903364 https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/137652006277390336...

aeoleonn 5y ago
Personally, I no longer attempt to try to understand left-ist talking points on race. It's typically an ignorant, naive, and irrational perspective. Hence it's a waste of time to try to understand. Simply too much mutually exclusive duality, such as "We are all equal. But my group specifically-- we're different and we need special things and special treatment!"

skyde 5y ago

I agree with morgan freeman this is also why I don’t think making a black tv channel and black churches and black university help it actually make the problem worse because it increases divide. As someone that grew up extremely poor. I am not aware of the two education system other than the “historically black university”. What do you call the “white education system”?

menzoic 5y ago
> I don’t think making a black tv channel and black churches and black university help it actually make the problem worse because it increases divide. You seem to not be informed that black people were expressly banned from many American universities as recently as the 1960s. Even after racial bans were made illegal racial discrimination was heavy, things don't change instantly just because a law is passed. The only reason black universities exist is because black people didn't have other options. Creating black univerisites couldn't possibly make the problem worse. The media is dominated by white writers and actors and as a result the large majority of content is based on white culture with storylines that appeal to white people. Black actors audition and black stories are pitched, but most don't get hired or funded. BlackOakTV is making a space for those who are rejected and can't get funding for stories appealing more to a black audience.