Attention African American’s struggling to find a job in today’s job market, George W. Bush’s miserable economic policies may not be the only reason for your unemployment. It could be your name.

According to a study conducted by the University of Chicago Business School, your name may have something to do with who gets the call back interviews. Researchers conducted an experiment to measure racial discrimination in the labor market by sending out the same resume with “white” sounding names and “black” sounding names in answering the same want ads. The research concluded that white names elicit about 50% more call backs than black sounding names.

White sounding names such as Emily, Brad, Todd and Jill do significantly better in the job market with the same credentials as Jamal, Tanisha, Tyrome and Lakisha. Proving that education alone will not alleviate the unfair racial prejudices some employers hold. It seems that absent affirmative action, white employers will choose white applicants. Although not the goal of the study, it proves that affirmative action continues to be necessary to provide some sort of equity in the job market. Unemployment for African Americans is double that of white Americans 11.8 percent compared to 5.5 percent for White Americans as of July 2003. Makes you wonder what are the names of the 6.3% difference.

While I realize many African Americans may have a tough time finding work, there are many caucasians who also cannot find a job. My name sounds fairly normal "Merry". That is my real first name. My last name is very Italian. I have applied at about 20 different jobs and NOT got hired. So while I see what you're saying, I think we need to stop playing the race card. There ARE caucasian/asian/latino people who ALSO have names that are different from your typical Jane's and John's,etc... This isn't something that only happens to African Americans. MANY are not hired. MANY are discriminated against. It's time we stop focusing on one group as being the most discriminated against. What about discrimination against people of size? Women? Punks? People with tattoos and piercings even! EVERYONE IS DISCRIMINATED AGAINST AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIFE! I'm not arguing that your post was not valid. I'm sure many will read it and say "Oh my! TERRIBLE!" But I think people need to open their eyes and see that discrimination exists all over and against MANY different people.

You have got to be kidding me. Are there fat people ghettos? Did florida disenfranchise the punk race? Are people born into tattoos and piercings? It never ceases to amaze me when people (usually white) try to minimize the very real systematic discrimination against black people by giving that tired line, "We're all discriminated against." Sorry, friend, black people are not disenfranchising whites; black people are not firing or denying loans to whites; and the most obvious, black people are not enslaving whites. There is an organized web of discrimination built on class, race and gender. It is not random. Just by announcing that your name is "normal" (i.e., white-sounding) shows your own complicity in racism. The sad thing is that as long as black people are used as the gage by which other groups determine their success, as long as black people are the last hired and the first fired (you seemed to have completely downplayed that whole statistic stating that blacks have an unemployment rate double that of whites), all working Americans will continue to get fleeced by their real threat, the top 2 percent.

PS This whole "race card" reference should really be put to rest. Not only does it have no meaning, it is inaccurate. No group has used race to garner preferences and privileges more than white folks.

Boo hoo fucking boo hoo

Aren't you the same idiot that posted this (http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/07/71177_comment.php#72495) about Africans discovering America?

I don't believe the Christopher Columbus thing, but you kow what!?!?!

LEIF ERIKSSON DISCOVERED AMERICA!!! Newfoundland to be exact is it? Vinland! You are wrong wrong wrong! Give me a link to all evidence you have proving this and I will give you links to all I have to prove otherwise.

Here's 2 to start:
http://icelander.virtualave.net/vik/vikings.htm
http://www.greenland-guide.gl/leif2000/project.htm

And yes there ARE ghettos, but I wouldn't call them "black ghettos" as you've chosen to say, because I happen to know a good amount of poor, white punk teens that live in these so called "black ghettos".

I bet you're one of those assholes who yells about BLACK POWER and thinks it's okay, yet if a white person yelled WHITE POWER you'd be all over them in a second and hit your quick dial button to call the ACLU.

Also, you eat meat or no? If the answer is yes, I will further discredit anything you say. Have a nice night!

then you must be carbon black to post such comment, BigBiggot.

"Aren't you the same idiot that posted this (http://la.indymedia.org/news/2003/07/71177_comment.php#72495) about Africans discovering America?"

What does that have to do with the fact that you totally missed the point (and accordingly could not respond) to the post I made on THIS subject?

"I don't believe the Christopher Columbus thing, but you know what!?!?!

LEIF ERIKSSON DISCOVERED AMERICA!!! Newfoundland to be exact is it? Vinland! You are wrong wrong wrong! Give me a link to all evidence you have proving this and I will give you links to all I have to prove otherwise.

[...]"

You seem to be very passionate about this. So I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I don't know everything about the history of the Americas, but I will need a substantianal about of proof, i.e. archaelogical evidence for instance, to take you seriously. The first link you provided didn't work. The second led me to a sight that read like a legend or fairytale, no archaelogical evidence, eyewitness statements, linguistic connections, botanical remains, all of which is included in the accounts of the pre-columbian African presence in the Americas. And lastly, your hero, Leif Eriksson, is sighted to have allegedly reached the New World in the year 1000 A.D., a wonderful feet if true. However, the African presence has been dated back to at least 800 B.C. <http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Schomburg/text/ap_context.html>. I don't know what your goal is with this little sidebar you're on, what you hope to accomplish. But if you are truly interested in understanding the African presence in the Americas, I suggest going to your local library and checking out the book They Came Before Columbus, by Ivan. Van Sertima. He has provided extensive proof that has actually altered academia.

"And yes there ARE ghettos, but I wouldn't call them "black ghettos" as you've chosen to say, because I happen to know a good amount of poor, white punk teens that live in these so called "black ghettos"."

You are silly. The term "black ghettos" is mentioned no where in my post. That's your racist mind at work. But again, I count on you to miss the point entirely, that there are ghettos filled with black folks, many almost exclusively, but there are no fat people ghettos, real or imagined, that would warrant categorizing fat people the same as blacks.

"I bet you're one of those assholes who yells about BLACK POWER and thinks it's okay, yet if a white person yelled WHITE POWER you'd be all over them in a second and hit your quick dial button to call the ACLU."

Ho-hum, you're reaching for anything now. I may have to end this exchange soon. You're starting to sound like that gay drag queen KOBE who wishes he were black.

"Also, you eat meat or no? [...]"

Relevance?

"Have a nice night!"

Thank you. I will.

They Came Before Columbus by Prof. Ivan Van Sertima; He cites amongst other sources Columbus' diaries where he discusses the African presence in America
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394402456/002-9655852-7920858?vi=glance

Also see African Roots/American Cultures by Prof. Sheila Walker
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0742501655/qid=1059502002/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_8/002-9655852-7920858?v=glance&s=books

Be prepared to challenge your current world paradigm/ perspective.

"The second led me to a sight that read like a legend or fairytale"

You consider my beliefs to be a fairy tale? Well how can I ever take YOURS seriously then? You discredit me and i will discredit you.

And you saying nobody has used race to garner privilege more than whites. I think you are wrong. Nobody can use race for things.

If you show the most skill and education, you get hired. If you can behave properly, you get treated properly.

If you are loud and exhibit socially unacceptable behavior, people won't hire you or want you around.

Everyone is given the opportunity to better themselves. it's up to that individual to make it happen. There are schools, there is job training and it is available to EVERYONE!

African Americans CAN get jobs. The city I LIVE IN is mainly full of Caucasians and Asians, but there is a large number of African American teens holding jobs at juice bars and video stores here. I see a pretty well varied amount of people working and I somehow doubt your claims.

Do you also think we should continue having affirmative action? I would much rather we hire and accept people to colleges based on their SKILLS and INTELLIGENCE. Not based on some racial quota.

I'm sure you will disagree with me, but that's okay. I'm not looking to change YOUR opinion. I just want to let you know where I stand.

You got this info from http://www.blackstate.com ?

Well, it SEEMS that the site is somehow suppoed to be a good site for African American people and others to see about problems and news facing African American people. It SEEMS like it's a helpful site, but is it REALLY some kind of JOKE? I ask this because you'd think a site trying to do GOOD to people would have some USEFUL information on it. In the SEX area of the site it's nothing but goofy laws and humor crap. Most of it reinforcing your standard male/female relationship. Why don't they put HELPFUL information? Information about abortion, childcare, SAFE SEX!?!?!? What a WASTE OF SPACE that site is!

"...Well how can I ever take YOURS seriously then? You discredit me and i will discredit you."

I know, can't be bothered with pesky things like facts.

"And you saying nobody has used race to garner privilege more than whites. I think you are wrong. Nobody can use race for things."

Slavery = Affirmative Action for whites that priviledged white labor over black labor

Naturalization Act of 1790 = Affirmative Action for whites, gave instant naturalized citizenship to all "free whites" over Asians

Homestead Act of 1862 = Affirmative Action for whites, gave away 270 million acres of Native American terrority to whites

The New Deal VA and FHA loan programs from 1934 to 1962 = Government handouts for whites, gave loans for homes 98% were given to whites

Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (the GI Bill) = Government handouts for whites, gave subsidized education and job training to whites

The War on Drugs = Affirmative Action for whites who are 76% of drug users but blacks and Latinos are 90% of drug possession arrests

Slavery = at least $1 trillion dollars in unpaid labor including interest stolen by whites

And I can go on...

"... Do you also think we should continue having affirmative action?"

No, I think Affirmative Action for whites should be ended and reversed immediately.

"I would much rather we hire and accept people to colleges based on their SKILLS and INTELLIGENCE. Not based on some racial quota."

I agree 100%. When whites actually EARN something, not trick and steal from others, then we'll all be better off. Bienas Tardes.

Boo hoo fucking boo hoo

I assure you I pay no attention to whining coloreds who believe whitey is keeping them down. Take your bitching somewhere else.

...."coloreds".....?????

You couldn't be more of a rube...what decade did you just drop from anyway?

Reputable study by one of the best business schools in America. Performed by white researchers.
Read the summary at the link below from the Business School itself.
http://gsbwww.uchicago.edu/news/capideas/spring03/racialbias.html

#1 - SLAVERY: I am not at fault for slavery. I have never owned a slave. And if you expect me to pay you back in anyway for the pain of going through slavery (Though YOU never PERSONALLY went through it, just as I have never owned SLAVES.) you'd better actually give me something in return. I don't give handouts to those undeserving.

#2 - everything up to the New Deal stuff: We are not IN the 1700's or 1800's ANYMORE! That is all over now. It doesn't involve you anymore than it involves me.

#3 - New Deal & GI Bill: May not have been right, but bad shit happens all the TIME. You had the civil rights movements after all of that. There was your fight. Over. Done!

#4 - WAR ON DRUGS: First of I must say, I doubt your statistics on this one. Secondly I must say this. Who gives a fuck who gets arrested for drugs? So non-whites get arrested for drugs more? BOO FUCKING HOO! THen maybe you're stupid ass shouldn't be holding drugs! Drugs are illegal, you CHOOSE to involve yourself with them, you KNOW the risk.

#5 - Slavery?: Again, slavery is over. Whites owe over a trillion dollars? To who? If there is 1 slave alive still maybe they can get whatever minimum wage was back then, but why the FUCK should anybody get that money back NOW! And don't come begging to the whites for a handout. Why don't you try to get some reparations from the African tribes who so eagerly sold people off for guns, alcohol and little trinkets!

#6 - There is no affirmative action for whites. There ARE however NUMEROUS programs set up for African Americans and other "minority" groups. Low cost college, job placement, work programs and extra points added to college grades based on NO INTELLIGENCE! In this day in age you get ahndouts galore for being anything OTHER than WHITE!

#7 - Whites have never earned anyhting? They've only tricked and stolen? So I'm assuming you think all the black crime doens't REALLY happen is that correct? Do African Americans NOT steal, rape and murder? You are seriously a delusional fuck! Haha! You have issues man!

....Well, it SEEMS that you have your HEAD so far up your ASS that your can see past your BALLS....but that's just my OBSERVATION...I'm not trying to CHANGE your perspective...If you WANT to keep your head up YOUR ass, it is UP to you...but there are opportunities for THINKING people to get their head OUT of their asses, but IT is up to THE individual to make IT happen...

...that Irish-monks were in Labrador/Nfld ~500A.D.; any guesses why they didn 't last??

And other evidence(DNA), that fillipinos were in Calif. ~ 1000B.C.!!! They mastered the Pacific with their catamarans and islandhopped on over

Man, you are giving the rest of us people of color a bad fucking name. Its funny that when I was posting to you as "Anna", instead of giving me a well-thought out response, you chose to believe that I was just PRETENDING to be black. You are wrong. In fact, you are wrong about a lot of things. You do have something in those names though...let me explain:

African Americans and Latinos from EDUCATED backgrounds are fully aware of the many spoken and unspoken "rules of engagement" when raising their kids. EDUCATED African Americans do not give names such as "Shitteesha, Starkiesha and Ponetta" to their little girls. Not if they want them to be taken seriously. Same goes for "TeRon, Tyrelle, and DaNard" for their sons. Such names might sound cool to hip-hop America, but then hip-hop America does not represent the power class.

Every post I read by you attempts to blame INNOCENT white Americans and just about anyone or anything except YOURSELVES for failure. ARE YOU A COLLEGE GRADUATE???? NO, hell no, FUCK NO! I have a white parent and a black parent. The blacks I know did well in school, dont get high, and their parents are not drug addicts or single parents with absentee fathers.

Sure there are ghettos. Some are white, some are Latino, some are Asian, and some are even BLACK! Then again, there are the middle and upper class neighborhoods which are well integrated and peaceful. Blame yourself for your failures, and attempt to correct them for YOURSELF. Wasting time trying to blame others will leave you tired and angry, and lacking in any accomplishments whatsoever.

There will always be the haves and the have nots. Race is not really a factor at all. It is, only if you think it is. GET REAL.

Mr. Anna, I thought I told you to find another black person to fall in love with. This one doesn't want to play with you anymore. I have given you and that other personality inside your head called Merry Hatebear too much attention already. Bienas Noches.

Nope, not me. Im not playing with you, Im trying to school you. You will get nowhere with your attitude, and your constant blaming "da white man". Your attitude is shared by those who are already locked up in prison. Better to see what the other blacks think before you forget to be teachable, huh? If you live in LA, drive up to Windsor Hills, or Baldwin Hills, or Ladera Heights and see how well-to-do blacks live and interact.

I am a mixed race dude, and I hate to see young dudes like you get all caught up in the "hate white man" hype. PEACE.

I thought the people who became Native Americans discovered America.

I thought that every immigrant discovered America.

I thought that America discovered itself when it kicked out King George, and then, lied to the Indians.

I thought I discovered America on December 7th, when they blamed me for bombing Pearl Harbor.

I thought that every American discovered America, over and over, with every war.

I thought the world discovered America when the military base opened up.

I thought the world discovered America at the movies.

I think blacks do worse on the melanin test than whites do. There must be some correlation between this test and the excessive levels of black people getting beat by the police.

Merry - maybe you're not up here in the lower reaches of the stratosphere of societ, but, trust me, discrimination is alive and well in the middle classes. Down at your level, where regular people work at the juice bar, it's looking ok, but you start going to board meetings, and the world is white like rice.

Your comment on school admissions is, frankly, stupid. School should be available to everyone, including those who aren't in the top 20% of society. Education should be accessible to 60% or 70% of society. Right now, school is a "weeder" that's used to qualify people for entry to the middle class. It's an unfair and anti-social institution.

Do they have a multicultural branch of the KKK?

It doesn't matter how much you side with the most conservative whites... you're still black.

Maybe you should go check out the extremely non-black areas like San Marino, Newport Beach, and Bel Air, and see how you get treated there.

No number of PhDs will erase the melanin from your skin.

Have you ever tried working with LaShrieka, Porshay and Tawana? Have you ever been forced to rely on them, or ask them to do something extra at work? If you have then you know why people shy away from hiring them. Guilt by association.

"Maybe you should go check out the extremely non-black areas like San Marino, Newport Beach, and Bel Air, and see how you get treated there"

Actually, I get treated just fine. Im not too impressed with Bel Air, because too many riff raff entertainers and musicians get in. I prefer Holmby Hills Estates (an enclave of Bel Air you probably arent aware of). Newport beach? Got rental property there for college students. San Marino? BWAHAHAHA! Too middle class for me. I live in Palos Verdes Estates (on the peninsula, not inland). Dont even try it.

On the melanin issue, my skin tone is about what yours (if you are white) would be if you got a light to medium tan. I dont have "kinky" hair, and I have caucasian facial features (narrow nose, etc). None of that is really relevant, but I thought you should know.

The only TRUE status is that which is earned by accomplishment, as measured by accolades, toys, income, zip code, car. EDUCATION (which allows one to accumulate the latter), and long term investment choices. Those are things you are probably not too familiar with. No amount of "whiteness" will give you that, no shade of blonde, and no ancestral background. Your comment actually made me chuckle out loud. Perhaps, one day, you might see what its like to live a life of luxury (although I find that highly unlikely).

"Have you ever tried working with LaShrieka, Porshay and Tawana?"

NO. Invariably, I find that they come from ghettos or impoverished, uneducated backgrounds, and I just cant relate...nor do I want to. My company does not hire people like that anyway, for the reasons I just stated. Perhaps its unfair, but its reality.

If one day, I ever meet a Dr. Shwaneisha Jones, or a CEO named DeRon Tyrell Jackson, then maybe my perceptions will change. Right now, I prefer my bigoted and elitist protection mechanisms which have kept those types out of my world. I will continue to use the central locking system in my Mercedes at crosswalks, and I will check my wallet every time "Skronetta Shawan Williams" bumps into me in the market.

Ever heard of Dr. Condoleezza Rice? Guess not, eh?
But that doesn't classify as an "uneducated" black name, right? I mean there are tons of white people named Condoleezza, wait I think I know about 30...ha!

Question: Will you check your wallet everytime you pass Dr. Condoleezza Rice (whose uneducated parents were teachers)?

No, I dont think I have ever heard of a white person named Condoleeza. That name is not nearly as offensive as Starkeisha, Poshay, Ponetta, Queneisha, Tawana, Moneisha. I dont expect you to see the difference. Personally, I find the "white" names Hortense, Hattie, Ethyl, Constance, and Bernice equally as offensive.

Once again, you miss the point: Condoleeza's parents are indeed educated. That means that in addition to her lack of an "iesha" tacked onto her name, she undoubtedly has refinement and etiquette on levels you would not understand. Those things one cannot simply "put on" like clothes.

Being biracial, I have encountered more racism from blacks than whites in the form of being put down for being "light skinded" (there is no such word as 'skinded'), for speaking proper English, and for getting good grades in school. Even now, less fortunate blacks who ask me for a dollar in front of a 7-11 get angry because I wont give them anything. One went as far as to say "damn, brotha! I can hear that change in yo pocket!". GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK. Blacks who value "acting black" over being sensible and pragmatic will fail in the long run, and blame "whitey" for their failures.

No, I dont think I have ever heard of a white person named Condoleeza. That name is not nearly as offensive as Starkeisha, Poshay, Ponetta, Queneisha, Tawana, Moneisha. I dont expect you to see the difference. Personally, I find the "white" names Hortense, Hattie, Ethyl, Constance, and Bernice equally as offensive.

Once again, you miss the point: Condoleeza's parents are indeed educated. That means that in addition to her lack of an "iesha" tacked onto her name, she undoubtedly has refinement and etiquette on levels you would not understand. Those things one cannot simply "put on" like clothes.

Being biracial, I have encountered more racism from blacks than whites in the form of being put down for being "light skinded" (there is no such word as 'skinded'), for speaking proper English, and for getting good grades in school. Even now, less fortunate blacks who ask me for a dollar in front of a 7-11 get angry because I wont give them anything. One went as far as to say "damn, brotha! I can hear that change in yo pocket!". GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK. Blacks who value "acting black" over being sensible and pragmatic will fail in the long run, and blame "whitey" for their failures.

...shit, I'd check my wallet after passing ANYONE from this criminal administration...

Of course, I don't have two nickels to rub together, but I'd check anyway.

I don't even have two pennies to rub together.

I don't even have two balls to rub together.

Neither do I!!!

SLAVERY:

The Excuse: “I am not at fault for slavery. I have never owned a slave.”

The United States of America is the richest nation in the world. The number one reason why it’s rich is slavery. If you inherit the riches, you also inherit the debt.

“everything up to the New Deal stuff: We are not IN the 1700's or 1800's ANYMORE! That is all over now. It doesn't involve you anymore than it involves me.”

Debt, like wealth is inherited. All of the wealth inherited by white people through the purposeful discrimination against the black and brown (i.e., housing discrimination) has accumulated and appreciated in value. That means white people are still benefiting from governmental preference programs (or Affirmative Action for whites) enacted in the 1700's or 1800's.

“New Deal & GI Bill: May not have been right, but bad shit happens all the TIME.”

Now this is priceless. Allow me to translate this silliness.

When shit happens to black and brown people, the excuse:

“[It]may not have been right, but bad shit happens all the TIME.”

When one white guy gets turned down for college admission, a job, or career promotion, the knee jerk emotional response:

That’s preferential treatment. That’s a government handout. That’s reverse discrimination!

Please, no one’s fooled by your hypocrisy and racism.

“There is no affirmative action for whites.”

BwaHaHAAAAAAAAAAAA!

“Whites have never earned anyhting? They've only tricked and stolen? …You are seriously a delusional fuck!”

Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you. Sweatheart, it’s time to look in the mirror.

“Every post I read by you attempts to blame INNOCENT white Americans and just about anyone or anything except YOURSELVES for failure. “

“You will get nowhere with your attitude, and your constant blaming "da white man". Your attitude is shared by those who are already locked up in prison.”

“Blacks who value "acting black" over being sensible and pragmatic will fail in the long run, and blame "whitey" for their failures.”

Do you notice how most of White flights views are based on history, statistical data, and rational analysis, but yours are based on clichés, exceptions, unsubstantiated opinion and emotionality? Does it not concern you that many people with certain views are in prison? Is this not a “free country”? Are you aware that no civilized nation in history has existed who imprisons as much of its population as the US? What kind of barbarous people believe that carrying $10 worth of crack constitutes being locked up for the rest of his or her life, never to see ones family, friends, or children again? At what age 5, 6 or 7 years, when does it become the child’s fault that his or her parents don’t have any money and are not educated with middle class values? African Americans don’t have the mechanisms, don’t own the planes, the poppy farms, the gun or bullet manufacturing companies, yet are considered dangerous to society. Yet, no one has stolen more wealth, created more death and destruction through guns, bombs, poverty and environmental pollution than white/European people and they are “innocent”?

You need to wake up kid – the threat to our very existence as human beings (because violence and destruction will not remain isolated to people of color for ever) does not come from African Americans.

No wonder you get treated well - you can pass for white. I'm asian, and probably darker than you. I gain some benefits by being asian, but miss out on other ones. You're probably right about my never being rich. I've never been rich, but I did once walk away from an almost-six-figure salary. I bought bonds when people were talking stocks, and if I were investing today, I'd buy stocks because people are running to real estate. I'm not stupid, but, I'm not driven by greed either. Money only gets you so far in society, and after that, it's just a way to shield yourself from society, to go off an live in a psychological fortress, like you've done.

Maybe if you looked black, you'd feel differently.

Speaking of money and such, it's not only Blacks who have lost opportunities to own property. Until the 1950s, there were local restrictions on owning land and property (like boats) if you weren't a citizen. Asians weren't allowed to be naturalized as citizens. So, they bought property through their children (who were citizens). Property rights have been unfair for a long time.

PS - I bet you like the name Condoleeza because it sounds a little like "condo lease."

...white flight.

"The Excuse: “I am not at fault for slavery. I have never owned a slave.”

The United States of America is the richest nation in the world. The number one reason why it’s rich is slavery. If you inherit the riches, you also inherit the debt."

I have never owned a slave. No one in my family's history has, and we're been here since the 1700s.

Furthermore, I have inherited no riches -- material ones, that is. I have inherited, however, something far more valuable: a good work ethic and the willingness to use it.

You have as many opportunities as anyone else. If you choose not to use them, but instead seek to lay blame for your situation on something that has no bearing on your life today, that's your problem. But don't blame me for your lack of foresight, and don't hold me responsible for it.

http://www.zmag.org/racewatch/znet_race_instructional3.htm

you think everybody has the same opportunities? what fantasyland are you living in?

"The United States of America is the richest nation in the world. The number one reason why it’s rich is slavery. If you inherit the riches, you also inherit the debt." "

This is silly. he majority of the wealth and prosperity generated by the industrial revolution was centered in the north. Not the slaveholding south.

Try again.

"I have never owned a slave. No one in my family's history has, and we're been here since the 1700s.

Furthermore, I have inherited no riches -- material ones, that is. I have inherited, however, something far more valuable: a good work ethic and the willingness to use it."

YAWN, you bore me. Do you not agree that the US is the richest country in the world? Was it born rich or did the wealth accumulate? If you are born in a rich country do you not benefit from its riches, namely having access to the social structures that make you better off than children born in poor underdeveloped countries? Here's an example: African Americans, while paying equal taxes as whites, were not allowed to enter public colleges and universities until the 70's. That means that all of the government sobsidized credentials (which are a form of asset) that whites accumalted up until that point are an inheretence that translate into greater wealth for whites precisely because it was withheld or stolen from blacks. Sweetheart, unless you want relinquish all of your inherited benefits as an American citizen you don't loose the debt either. Banks that never bother collecting debts disappear. So don't pretend that this is funny logic. Black folks are still calculating their collective backpay whose interest is just climbing. As for the collective work ethic of white folks, I just have one thing to say, HahAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, what on earth is that?

>>The United States of America is the richest nation in the world. The number one reason why it’s rich is slavery. If you inherit the riches, you also inherit the debt.

"...[T]he majority of the wealth and prosperity generated by the industrial revolution was centered in the north. Not the slaveholding south."

Who do you think you are fooling with this? The South paid huge taxes to the North which they fought tooth and nail against them over. And where do you think the wealth came from to start the industrial revolution which came, yes, after slavery? That's OK, son. You still get points for effort.

That was then, this is now. You want reparations? Good luck bleeding a turnip, cause if you try and get the government to agree with you, you got another thing coming.

http://www.murchisoncenter.org/reparations/intro.htm

you need to practice your debating skills 'White flight = white theft' sounds way more credible than you

it'll take time, but we'll get there.
people who oppose reparations today will
go down in history like the people who opposed
abolition.

You need to practice your recognition skills. I wasn't debating.

I'm not concerned. 'White flight = white theft' will only sound credible should reparationa happen, which they won't. Until then, it's just another unrealized pipe dream.

http://www.globalpanther.com/rep.shtml

hahahaha.... you sound so sure of that aaAHAHAHA
ahem.. hhhm
i know i know - it's so hard to see it until it hits you, right?
well.... you better keep hoping you're right because otherwise history is going to make you look really bad.

you're not trying to make any friends are you? hahaha

Yeah, I'm sure.

Tell everyone not to start spending in anticipation. They're going to be awfully disappointed.

here's why I think reparations are inevitable sooner or later:

1. other groups have already established a precedent for implementation of this concept. see: http://www.murchisoncenter.org/reparations/history.htm

2. if they don't do it sooner or later - the issue is never gonna go away and it'll just look worse and worse.

my guess is these fucked up white people are going to try and take the word 'reparations' and change ity to mean something pretty painless for them....

the longer you shun the term, the longer WE RADICALS GET TO DEFINE IT ACCORDING TO OUR OWN STANDARDS.

so have it your way.... either way you're looking worse and worse

http://www.murchisoncenter.org/reparations/movement.htm

Let me know how it goes. According to historical records, the Roman Empire owes me some cash. I would stand in the reparations line with you, but I'm confident it's going to be a long wait.

"Let me know how it goes. According to historical records, the Roman Empire owes me some cash. I would stand in the reparations line with you, but I'm confident it's going to be a long wait."

Are you even trying with these tired arguments? Do you current live under the Roman government that enslaved you? Do you currently pay taxes to the Roman government that enslaved you. Is that Roman government still profitting from the wealth it stole from you?

"Do you current live under the government that enslaved you?"

You were a slave? You gotta be at least, what, 150 years old. Congrats!

"Do you currently pay taxes to the Roman government that enslaved you."

No, but my ancestors were slaves to those who did pay taxes, and we descendants want reparations.

"Is that Roman government still profitting from the wealth it stole from you?"

Yes. The descendants of those who owned slaves and of those in the Roman Empire who permitted it are still alive, and certainly the wealth they accumulated over the years is money to which I am entitled.

I only endulged you in your silly analogy to prove a point. But you still managed to fail seeing comprehending it. So let me break it down for you: black Americans still live under and pay taxes to the same government that owes them reparations (ever heard of 40 acres and a mule?). The Roman empire no longer exists. Having said that, I have no problem with you attempting to mount a legal argument for reparations from a governmental power that no longer exists and you no longer live under. Whatever you do, it matters little to me. I know for sure that I am neither benefitting from nor harmed by the Roman empire.

PS Let me remind you that segregation laws, like not being admitted to universties, ended in the 1970's. All black people alive today have an identifiable connection to slavery.

I been tryin to tell these fool ass whiteys that black peoples be holded down by da white man. Dont EVEN try to go dere about black be equal with a white bitch. Dey be to the curb, gurrrl. And my mama tolds me to get me a white man if I wants to be somebody, cause I am somebody in this worl. She say dont go fo no blacks man becuz dey aint gots a DAM thang fo me, uh huh. Sheeeeit.

Dey shood treet me likes the black queen that I be. Buy me furs and a big teevee and a Caddillac with a real stero in it. With dem windows that you push a button to go down. When we go to Beverly Hills, them white devils will bow down and see me as a equal cause I am somebody in this worl! Uh huh. Sheeeeit!

Yeah, dogg. I aint no flossin mothafucka. Juss cuz I dropped out High School dont mean that I caint hold no job as a mothafuckin manager! Why I gotta be unda the white boy who went to his fancy colleg and thank he be somebody. I could OFF that mothafucka. Shit, after I got outta jail, my baby mama told me I could find a job, but they dont want no "con" they say. FUCK the white man. He at the bottom of everthang cause there was a slave in my family sometime. He owe me. Yeah, Boyeeeeeeeee! (holding dick)

"I only endulged you in your silly analogy to prove a point. But you still managed to fail seeing comprehending it. So let me break it down for you: black Americans still live under and pay taxes to the same government that owes them reparations (ever heard of 40 acres and a mule?). "

(chuckle)

Ever hear of REALITY? I think that reparations should be paid to Native Americans first. Actually, they have in the form of being allowed to open casinos. The Japanese who were interred during WWII? Certainly. Ever think about the fact that the first blacks who came here were slaves, and you are not??? Have you notices that the current Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor are the first African Americans to ever hold those positions??? The whites have chosen to share power at the highest levels of government with BLACKS. Not Hispanics or Asians, but with BLACKS. Reparations my ass.

You are just looking for a handout which is just an extension of the ghetto mentality of "damn my check be latethis month". Get a fucking job and EARN your reparations. You waste time whining about what you dont have instead of going out there and getting it. Nobody is stopping you except yourself. That attitude that feels that innocent whites are guilty of enslaving you is WAY 20th century.

Before you even say it...remember that Im black.

if blacks are given reparations i want to make sure that I buy up stock in the
companies that make "Thunderbird" and "Night Train" because there's going to be
one major run to the liquor store until the money runs out.

...with a few caveats.

1. Every reparations applicant must prove they would exist had slavery not occurred...i.e., the same genetic makeup, the same social, educational, nutritional factors that make everyone a unique individual would have come together to make the applicant identical to a person whose anscestors were never enslaved.

2.. Each applicant must prove they would have been better off had their anscestors not been enslaved. If your lifespan does not exceed 50 years; if you are not subjected to a short, brutal existence; if you are not forced to hunt food with a spear; if you are not subjected to undergo barbaric rituals such as genital mutilation; and if you do not take part in interminable civil wars, you are ineligible for reparations.

If each applicant can prove the above conditions, they will be entitled to reparations. In keeping with the spirit of the Emancipation Proclamation, the reparations will be made in the original terms: 40 acres and a mule. However, due to the effects of inflation, the current value is 14 square feet and a hamster.

The whole concept of "reparations" is kinda ridiculous to me. I can see paying a former slave, but not his or her decendants. The precedent would open the door for all sorts of shit. How about reparations for the Mexicans for "taking their land"?

Better yet, how about requiring that the descendants of the Spanish settlers pay the descendants of the Mayans and other natives to what is now Mexico.