Where the heck is that ignore button when you need it???[/quote]
LOL. Yea at times it seems like that button would be a godsend. 
Porcelein Princessâah, yes, I plead guilty to the charge of stridency. Itâs one of the pleasures of internet posting, that one can be a bit naughtier than normal. These strings normally take on a life of their own, and in any case, February is over now.
Those who are so inclined are of course free to ignore me even without pressing a button. But I believe it is located at the top right.
that guys post may be fascist/racist but its kinda trueâŚif you calculate crime in america exluding âurban areasâ america is actually an extremely safe country, gang activity and the such is pretty much exlusive to cities and most of the victims are urban inhabitantsâŚI live in LA and in the last 2 years I have maybe read like 2 stories in the paper about âmiddle class peopleâ being murdered by gangs, it is exceedingly rareâŚunless you are a young male (and htis is much more likely if you are black or latino) you are fairly unlikely to be a homicide victimâŚthere arent that many random murders although the sensationalist media may have you believe otherwiseâŚmost murder victims in the US are people who have probably victimized other people and most likely deserved itâŚI have personal proof/knowledge of thisâŚI visited LA county morgue for a class I took and virtually every cadaver in the homicide section was covered in gang tattoosâŚto be fascist they basically deserved what they got.
Who deserves to be born to a poor uneducated mother who lives in a rat-infested slum surrounded by gangs, drug dealers, drive by shootings, unemployment and welfare, to have lived only briefly with your father and have memories of him beating your mother when he was drunk and molesting your sister? To have no decent role models, a lousy and violent school, no job opportunities and to be judged by the color of your skin?
Do some people deserve that? Why? What if you had been born into such circumstances? Plenty of people are born into such lives. Are you really better than them? Why do some people deserve such a fate?
uhh mainland china is much, much more ghetto than american urban centersâŚyet they dont seem to kill each other in droves and have gang violence⌠It might be on account of strict laws and/or strict gun lawsâŚperhaps the US needs a singapore style legal system. there are numerous poor immigrants from east asia and india that for the first generation or so grow up poor but do not commit crime on a mass scale or cause social problemsâŚI think its a stupid cop-out to blame living situations on your actionsâŚwhere as I sympathize with the left on politics, particularly on foreign policy I think they have some highly romanticized over-PC viewsâŚpoor people in america are still generally quite wealthy compared to third world countriesâŚfor example most residents in south central los angeles own cars, televisions etcâŚthese are actually status items in poor countries. these people make choices to do these crimes, I dont sympathize with criminals. a lot the more liberal arguments regarding urban problems assume that society has zero morals for example the âwhy would someone work a minimum wage job when they can become rich selling drugsâ argument about urban behavior, that assumes the person is a sociopath. I think that rationlizing these peoples actions is a worse injustice because it allows it to perpetuate with the notion that they are âmisledâ or âvictimsâ and justify their actionsâŚwhere as there are poor people in the states, they are ârelativelyâ poorâŚits not comparable to favelas and the such
wow this topic exploded way out of hand. I didnât expect that.
Thats because most white people are tired of being blamed for the problems black people cause themselves. (See MT above)
Interesting articleâŚI think I agree with most of what she has to say here.
[quote]In her new book, The End of Blackness, Debra Dickerson has a solution for our lexiconal conundrumâthrow the entire damn dictionary of race out the window. Dickerson lays out her thesis in the bookâs introduction: âThis book will both prove and promote the idea that the concept of âblackness,â as it has come to be understood, is rapidly losing its ability to describe, let alone predict or manipulate, the political and social behavior of African Americans.â
The idea that race has little social or political meaning is not a new line of reasoning in the debate around black America. But itâs usually employed by conservativesâof all racesâattempting to downplay the impact of racism, or black people cynically seeking to absolve themselves of social responsibility (read: Bob Johnson). Dickerson, to her credit, believes in discarding many of the pillars of black identity, not because it would further her individually, but because she honestly thinks that itâs the only path of survival.
White people, according to Dickerson, are victims of âaversion therapy,â in that they refuse to see their own complicity in racism. Furthermore, whites âassume their perfectionâ and exhibit âa continued refusal to see America as inherently, organically multiracial and multicultural.â White narcissism, for Dickerson, is only one leg in a historical conspiracy. âSimply put,â she writes. âWhites held hands across generations to hold blacks down long enough to ensure that their own heirs would ascend to as much privilege as possible while simultaneously keeping their hands clean.â
Butâas her very next sentence makes clearâDickerson does not absolve the black community of responsibility in all this: âBlacks need to accept this and then get over itâand get evenď he know-nothingness required to keep blacks tilting at the windmill of white approval is no less odious than whitesâ determination to remain first among purported equals.â For Dickerson, white racism is one giant head trip, and thus can only be as effective as black peopleâs gusto for white approval allows it to be. Black people, she writes, are âcomplicit in maintaining white supremacyâ because they hunger for âwhite approval or white apology rather than their own autonomy.â
While Dickersonâs rhetoric exhibits echoes of black nationalism, she turns an unforgiving eye to that philosophyâs more recent manifestations. âCarpetbagging Afrocentrists,â as she terms them, are at least as much to blame for the predicament of black America as approval- seeking blacks. âInstead of carrying out substantive studies of African history,â writes Dickerson. âThese charlatans imagine glorious achievements, such as the Bronze Age of African development, airplanes or routinized surgery.â Dickerson dismisses todayâs nationalist community roughly as âAfrocentric hustlersâ who are invoking âmytho-ancestors, so far outside the past, as to be in fables.â
At some points in her treatise, Dickerson journeys into interesting, and gutsy, terrain. Her critique of the Condoleezza Rice predicament is illuminating and saddening. Iâve written about my crush on the National Security Advisor and her counter-intuitive allure. But I suspect that Dickersonâs opinion, even in its overstated form, is closer to the truth. âTo white men, [Rice] is not a woman. To black men, sheâs not a fuckable woman; even the vaunted black penis cannot bridge the chasm between themď´er having thrived is somehow an affront to the black man. What black masculinity does to white men, black female competence does to black men.â
[/quote]
Well, I donât really know what to say. I like this forum a lot, but I am starting to become irritated with the amount of tolerance the moderators are showing for âhateâ comments. Some of the shit posted is just down right offensive and stereotypical.
By the way, Black history month isnât only American. Itâs celebrated in Canada, England and lots of other places around the world. There are activities in Taipei all month long, including fashion shows of traditional African wears, young black achievements, history classes and poetry readings. I havenât looked up the calendar because I am unable to attend this year, but last year was dedicated to Black inventors.
For Godâs sake!
[quote=âHonourâ]Well, I donât really know what to say. I like this forum a lot, but I am starting to become irritated with the amount of tolerance the moderators are showing for âhateâ comments. Some of the shit posted is just down right offensive and stereotypical.
By the way, Black history month isnât only American. Itâs celebrated in Canada, England and lots of other places around the world. There are activities in Taipei all month long, including fashion shows of traditional African wears, young black achievements, history classes and poetry readings. I havenât looked up the calendar because I am unable to attend this year, but last year was dedicated to Black inventors.
For Godâs sake![/quote]
This thread is also 2 years old.
Thank goodness for that!! I hit ânewâ and it came up. My point is that Americas problems with blacks are Americaâs problems. Using this forum to disrespect Black History Month with the mocking isâŚwell Iâd slap ya! A lot of generalizations, and bullshit posted that is simply unacceptable (at least to me).
I disagree with that notion. There is nothing wrong with people disagreeing with Black History Month, or any other event, so long as they do so within the scope of the Rules of this site.
Naturally, we are all entitled to rebut and or refute any comments containing bullshit and generalizations made here if we disagree with the same. However, none of us should be precluded from disrespecting anyone or anything or any notion that we might wish to disrespect, again, so long as we do our disrespecting in a way that does not transgress the Rules of this site.
I was only kidding about the âslap yaâ part, but some of what is posted offends me. Like you said, I have the right to post that too. This thread is not the first time I have seen people post blaming Americaâs woes on the minority populations.
Seriously, Black History month is important to a lot of us, not just blacks and not only to Americans. Not understanding black history month is one thing, but using it as an opportunity to bring up whatever racist, fascist thoughts lure in the back of oneâs minds is weak (IMHO).
BTW, I havenât heard of any racial profiling in China. So if you want to compare the two, or any other nations I think you need to do so fairly. So as far as promoting ignorance and hate goes, well good for Forumosa and its rules. :bravo:
So if someone disagrees with the idea of setting one month aside for the celebration of one ethnic groupâs history, then that person âjust doesnât understand?â This seems like a variation of the well worn âYou just donât understand Chinese cultureâ line.
You havenât spent much time in the PRC, have you?
If I am wrong, then correct me. I donât have a problem with that. If I sound like the âyou donât understand Chinese cultureâ thing, I apologize. I hate that too, that wasnât my intention. I meant if someone is going to mock it, then perhaps they donât understand what it means to the people that celebrate it.
I donât care if it is a black, white, jewish, or whatever holiday. However much we try to convince ourselves, itâs not always our place to comment.
Thatâs my opinion. My point was that some comments in this thread offended me. There is such a thing as going to far. I think the moderatorâs have the right to draw the line somewhere, where they choose to draw it is Forumosaâs business.
Why should they have to celebrate Black History month in Taiwan? That makes as much sense as celebrating Estonian History month in Botswana. Does Taiwan have an Aborigine or Hakka History month? That would make much more sense given Taiwanâs ethnic demographics. I dislike this cultural imperialism of foisting North American holidays upon societies where the context is not the same. You know, teaching kids to sing âFrosty the Snowmanâ at Christmas in Taiwan, where most of the people are Buddhists and it never snows - that kind of thing bugs me.
Oh Lord, I know Iâm probably going to get flamed because I cannot put this in the words I want to put this in, but hereâs to hoping that people understand where Iâm coming from.
Be warned that this post is full of rantsâŚ
Youâve been warned.
I get bothered by the fact that a lot of âblack achievementsâ being simply because the person achieving them are black. Do not get me wrong before anyone starts stuffing words in my mouth, I think itâs important for children to look up to people of all colors for their achievements, but not simply because of their skin colorâŚlet me revert to metaphors and analogies since I seem to argue better using these devices:
When you celebrate the first black person in space who did not get there until 20 years after the first white American in space, you are basically saying âWe recognize your achievement only because of your skin color because a whole parade of white people accomplished this feat before you did.â It is like praising the slower child for doing something that the other kids his age had already accomplish long before him. I feel it only adds to our sense of inferiority that we should applaud ourselves for finally accomplishing what white people have already done. Itâs like treating someone special because you know they couldnât do it like the ânormalâ people could. George Washington Carver did many amazing things and was a prolific inventor. He is celebrated not because he was black, but because he was an incredibly intelligent and capable human being. That to me is someone that should be a hero to a young black child. Heâs not considered an achiever for following in the footsteps of whites, but because he was a leader.
Richard Pryor was a great comedian. And he was black. But he was not a great black comedian (as opposed to a great comedian who was white), he was a great comedian. Full stop.
I think what I am saying (but I could be wrong 
) is that when you quantify a personâs achievements by their skin color, you also say that the reason why we should be celebrating them is because of the their skin color, rather than because of their achievement. No one calls Bob Hope âa great white comedianâ or Buzz Aldrin âa white pioneer in spaceâ. Dr. Mae C. Jemison should be celebrated, not because she was the first black woman, or even a woman, in space, but because sheâs an astronaut and that in itself is an achievement. Martin Luther King was a great leader of the civil rights movement. Not because he was black, but because he was a great leader.
I think Black History Month is important to remind all of us of the great things black people have done and contributed to the world and to build confidence in our youth that they too can achieve greatness since there do not seem to be a lot of positive role models out there in their lives for them to look up to. But letâs celebrate the people who have made these contributions rather than just their skin color.
Now onto my next rantâŚ
As far as environment, itâs a known fact that most cushy teaching jobs (those in well-off schools and school districts with lots of resources) go to tenured, experienced teachers. Teaching jobs in impoverished schools and school districts often go to inexperienced teachers or teachers who are not dedicated to their work. As a reward for becoming better teachers, those who make improvements go on to the nicer schools where parents are more dedicated to their childrenâs education, the students all have goals that usually include tertiary education or trade schools, and the community has the money to provide the school with the resources it needs to produce the programs it wants.
Meanwhile those kids attending school in the more impoverish districts keep teachers that no one else wants and the teachers who donât know what they are doing, using what little resources the district can afford to give them. Can you imagine feeling motivated to learn and pursue higher learning when all the teachers you get donât want to be at your school, could care less whether or not you learn, and live for the weekend? What kind of message would you get about your self-worth when your own parents (or rather parent) doesnât or canât support you in your learning and your teacher would just as soon have you drop out so her class can go from 30 students to a slightly more manageable 29?
All of us on this website are lucky that we had someone out there who cared enough for us to inspire us to learn. I cannot say there is anyone here who did not have at least one really good teacher. And even if your home environment was not perfect, you still had someone in your life who believed in you. Not many of these kids get that. And if your life is devoid of hope, of the idea that you can escape the misery around you, then why bother getting better if becoming a part of that negativity is inevitable (or so you are led to believe)?
I am one who believes that genetics has nothing to do with how successful oneâs life can be. Environment plays a big role in who we are. If we are taught that XYZ people are inferior to us, then until some opportunity comes along to show us something different, we will continue to believe that XYZ people are inferior to us. If we live in an environment where we are treated as if we are animals incapable of achievement, then if no one comes along to tell us otherwise, we will continue to follow the path we think we are meant to follow. Many people in the US (and our other home countries) believe that life outside of their own community/country is not safe or is too difficult to survive in. They never leave their home country. I think that idea is similar to what impoverished people, who are never told that they donât have to live in poverty and can choose to improve their lives, go through. Granted, I was a linguistics major and not a sociology one, but I think itâs self-evident:
If you donât teach a child to be respectful at home, most of them wonât learn it on their own, ignoring the fact that they do learn something through school culture and outside of the home.
If you donât teach your child how to delay gratification, chances are they wonât be able to do it on their own.
If you donât teach a child that they are worthy of success and capable of achievement or push them to do their best, you cannot expect that they will do these things on their own.
Letâs face it, itâs much easier to be disrespectful, get what we want immediately, and be lazy than to be respectful, patient, and hard-working. But it takes discipline and love to help us understand why itâs worth having the latter characteristics. Unfortunately, not everyone gets this discipline and love. Especially in impoverished urban environments.
Rant over. Packing up the soapbox as we speak.
Peace. Shalom. Salaâam.
ImaniOU
Or worse yet, teaching children about Chinese New Year in an American elementary school when most of the people in the country are Christian and the student body is almost 100% caucasian. Or building a theme around the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom when the vast majority of the US is of a temperate climate and there are no native species of coconut trees on the whole continent. Hell, why are we even here teaching them English? Talk about foisting a culture on people⌠
Admittedly Iâve been out of the states for a while, but where do children in America celebrate Chinese New Year (outside of cities where thereâs a large Chinese community)? In my 12 years of public schooling I never even heard of it, or any other foreign holidays, much less taught to celebrate them in class. How many non-Muslims in America celebrate Ramadan, or even know when it is? Are there thousands of shopping malls in America piping traditional Chinese music (in Mandarin) over the speakers and hordes of stores advertising âOne week only! Chinese New Year, save up to 60% off selected items!â The comparison isnât a good one, because the pervasiveness of imported Western holidays like Halloween and Christmas are much greater in Taiwan than any Chinese holidays are in America. Plus, I hate Christmas music, and you would think that in faraway Taiwan youâd finally find a place to escape it, but noooooâŚ
And of course forcing kids who donât want to be there to submit to English class is cultural imperialism. Youâd have to be blind not to see that. If forcing your language upon a people isnât imperialistic, then imperialism doesnât exist. However, this is one case where I think that a little linguistic imperialism is justified, because if the world ever wants to truly to international, we all need to speak an international language, and English looks like itâs going to be that language. Kids need to learn English to get ahead and not be limited to this little island.
Christmas and Black History Month are different. Just because the Taiwanese like to import our language and certain other parts of our culture, doesnât mean that we should ram our entire culture down their throats wholesale. Rampant commercialism (Christmas) and American identity politics that are not relevant to Taiwanâs ethnic situation (BHM), these are Western imports that Taiwan does not need.