Black America

[arkjarhead]

Exactly. There is a long history of the Klan in the south. Actually 2. Just depends on who you talk to. The first Klan was a group of Confederate Veterans who didn't like the occupation that occured after the Civil War. They were an unsavory group of fellows, but not as bad as the modern Klan. See the first Klan died out in the late 1800s. The modern Klan was reborn from the old Klan in the 1920s. These guys paraded all over the place. These are the guys who bombed black churches and hung people in their front yards. There are terrorist. Luckily this organization has pretty much died out, and hopefully there will not be a third rebirth. The Klan was intially founded by Nathan Bedford Forrest. He was a Confederate general. After the war he worked for the railroad. He was over building new lines. One of his camps was in eastern Arkansas. He named the town Forrest City. There never has been much Klan support or activity amongst the locals, but a few times every year a group of these unsavory people decide to come in, have a rally, and make themselves at home. They say they are defending the American way of life, but I don't see it. I just don't like to be associated with it. That is why I don't like blanket comments. It's no different than me saying the reason people from the north have a problem with George W is because he is from the south. We all know this isn't true. Just like we all should be intelligent enough to know not all southerns are racists. Although both comments may be true to a few people they are not true to all people. Just like we can't judge an entire race or religon, we can't judge an entire region. I think we have all traveled this country enough to know that each region is beautiful in it's own way. Each people are unique in their own way.

If you want to understand more about things like southern history and the like find a textbook about something like Arkansas History. Read about Reconstruction. It will really make you think. Did you know in the state of Arkansas we had black state Representatives and Senators in the late 1860s and early 1870s during the occupation of the South? Every southern state I'm sure had that. Because the white males lost their vote, and the black males were the ones voting.

 

[arkjarhead]

Robsdad,
Obama has a slight problem that just arised. Many may say it won't affect things, but it did in 2000. That is Ralph Nadar. Chances are he won't get any of the republican vote, but if it a tight race that small % of democrats he will get to vote for him could make a big difference in the outcome of the election.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Ark...we are in Dallas....if nothin comes here we are prolly going to Nicks in Carlisle again on Sunday...maybe seeya round???

 

[arkjarhead]

I sent you a pm.

 

[greg334]

Sorry if this offends anyone but I have to say it.

You know that once in America we actually had someone that thought that the only think that people should look at when they judge a person is the person, not the color of their skin. At one time we were on that very track to beat the inequality of the past but when that person died, our world was made a mess of from people who espoused his beliefs but did not lead by example.

I am sorry to say this but the problem with the country is shown in this thread.

If we have to ask the question - is America ready for a black president, then we still are not ready. We have not reached that point in our country to stop saying black or white, we haven't even gotten so far as to stop worrying about words, we are for the most part returned to an immature point in our country when we have to worry about symbolism and not real substance.

I am and will be offended by the thought that Obama needs to be elected because he is black. I am equally offended that the people who are involved with his campaign are on involved because of his race and his race only, not what he can do or did. I am not of his race, but I want to see him presented as an American as that person I mentioned earlier wanted, not as a Black American. For me I try to live up to this persons expectations in everyday life but I at least try to and for what it is worth, I try to understand what he was saying.

As for Obama, one reason that I do think he would not be a real leader is the point that he, like many others panders to people who want him to fill some sort of fantasy for them and become the first what ever in American's history. He has not as a person really shown what he can do in the senate, a place that should be easier. He has asked for our trust in him to be a leader but he has not shown how he can lead. It is not the color of his skin, or his middle name that really matter, it is his integrity and right now he has none.

I read the hatred of the sitting president, of how he ruined the country - well look around people it took more than the republicans and the democrats to do the work .... we let them do it. The same goes for race relations, we look at our selves as progressing through the past and forging ahead but in reality, we have failed. Sure you can say having Obama is a great leap forward but really is it? I mean look at the progress we as a country have made in areas that most of you ignore, most of you don't think are great leaps - is America ready for a reality check should be the real question.

I strongly feel before we hold Obama up as the second coming of JFK, we must address a bigger problem - why are the great accomplishments of the few ignored while the small accomplishments of others praised? One day I listened to Bill Cosby and Larry King make fun of Clarence Thomas. another time I listen to Randy Rhodes rip apart Condoleezza Rice, and I heard the main stream left commentators rip into Colan Powell, but I never hear the praise they deserve of their accomplishments. How many people can sit on the supreme court? How many can make it to Secretary of State? Can you? Was America ready for a black supreme court justice or a Secretary of State? It seems like those were questions that should have been answered first when they happened instead of is America ready for a black president.

 

[ratwell71]

Well said Greg!!!!!

 

[ratwell71]

It needs to be about the PERSON not the color or gender. These candidates have track records, research them before you vote.

My vote is for RON PAUL!!!!!! Whether he makes it or not. He is the only one that shares my values when it comes to health care, reviving social security, ending the war, etc...

 

[ratwell71]

Watch using generalizations like ALL, EVERYONE, MOST, etc., unless you have facts to back your statement up. You cannot say that ALL southerners are... Or that ALL blacks are... Or that ALL politicians are... If you have facts to back it up then say it within your statement otherwise you are just making false statements. Politicians have good speech writers. Get it!

 

[Turtle]

Greg pretty much nailed it. Is America ready for a black president? Probably not, because we have to ask the question.

If you look around the world, race relations are the worse in areas where integration has been forced upon the population. America is not unique in its problems with the races. Seamless integration happens one-on-one, face-to-face, when you are forced to deal with someone on the content of their character and not on the color of their skin. You cannot force that. People will integrate when they choose to. One peek inside a school lunchroom and see the racial and ethnic makeup of the various tables around the room should make that clear.

Is American ready for a black president? Not if he's gonna act black. Is America ready for a white president? Not if he's gonna act white. Is America ready for a dumb president? Not if he's gonna act dumb. Is America ready for a homosexual president? Not if he's gonna act homosexual. You can see where this is going. America needs a president, not a black one or a white one or a female one or a white one or a dumb one or a whatever one you want one.

If Obama gets elected, however, he's going to have to be one really good president, because the first hint of favoritism towards blacks and he'll polarize the nation unlike anything we've ever seen before. People who think race doesn't matter, color doesn't matter, they're delusional. It shouldn't matter, and yet it does matter. It matters a great deal, to everyone, whether they will admit it or not.

BTW, ARK: Need to dig a little deep into the history of the Klan. It was founded on Christmas Eve 1865 in Pulaski, TN by six Confederate veterans, as an opposition to Reconstruction. They went after mainly Republican leaders, both black and white, with one of the first casualties of the campaign being Arkansas Congressman James Hinds and three South Carolina State legislators. In 1867, in Nashville, Klan founders and officials attempted to more formalize the hierarchical structure of the Klan by drafting something known as the Prescript,which was written largely by former Confederate general named George Gordon. Gordon then presented the Prescript to former slave trader and fellow Confederate general Nathan Forrest in Memphis, who liked the proposal. A few weeks later Forrest was elected Grand Wizard, the Klan's national leader, but in later years he denied ever having anything to do with any kind of leadership role in the Klan. The Prescript was never adopted by any of the local Klan cells, as they preferred to operate on their own.

That particular incarnation of the Klan was effective eliminated in 1871 by president Grant and the Civil Rights Act of 1871, a.k.a. the Ku Klux Klan Act.

Incidentally, I get a kick out when people call southerns racists, especially when you hear it from the northerners. Yeah, lots of the south is racists. Memphis is easily the most racist place I've ever been. But at least it's equal opportunity racism, as the black hates the whites just as much as the whites hate the black. On the other hand, a close second to Memphis is Cincinnati, followed closely on it's heels by Detroit, then Montgomery then Baltimore, then Los Angeles. Yeah, the South is racist, but so is the North, and the East, and the West. But if you ask anybody, "Me? Oh, no, I'm not racist!."

The areas of the country that are considered to be the most liberal (North, West) have an inordinate amount of incarcerated blacks vs areas of the country that are considered to be the most conservative (South). Go figure.

Wisconsin, incidentally, has the highest out-of-whack black prisoner population, with blacks being 6% of the population, they have 10.64 ratio of black prisoners to white prisoners. That in and of itself means very little, as social and economic status and environment plays a large roles, however, 4.5% of Wisconsin's black population it sitting in prison at the moment. Iowa? 4.2%, Colorado? 3.5%. Arizona - 3.3%. Oklahoma, 3.3%.

Tennessee 2%, Alabama 1.9%, South Carolina 1.8%, North Carolina 1.7%, Mississippi 1.7%.

Being friends with one or a handful or someone of another race does not absolve you of the racism in your genes. One day, eventually, racism will disappear from this planet, but it won't happen in our lifetime.

Obama has said many times that black Americans are "90% of the way" to freedom, justice and true equality. If he really believes that, he's equally delusional.

 

[hdxpedx]

Native -American---belonging To By Birth --wikionary
POINT IS "AMERICA" AMERICAN- FIRST for President..not some other country--HELLO? Clowns talking klan-they are stuck in the last century.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

"For some groups, the incarceration numbers are especially startling," the report said. "While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine."

The racial disparity for women also is stark. One of every 355 white women aged 35 to 39 is behind bars, compared with one of every 100 black women in that age group.

The nationwide figures, as of Jan. 1, include 1,596,127 people in state and federal prisons and 723,131 in local jails. That's out of almost 230 million American adults.

Greg and Turtle are correct...the above is an exerpt from the news..WHY do we even separate stats of colour???
Personally I would be called a racist..I was brought up that way...I would have a problem if my son or daughter dated black....I would struggle with it in my mind...I was raised anti black and anti American...I even struggle with you guys to some extent, very little extent but its there in a black hole of my mind....Heck I maried an American...BUT every onces and a while someone will post something and my mind will digress and says damn stupid American.

 

[Turtle]

Just remember, for every damn stupid American there's a clueless Canadian because their brains have been utterly occupied with ways to keep from freezing, and learning real stuff takes a back seat.

We separate stats of color (and colour, for you French-influenced folk) for the very reason they are an issue, because there's a disparity between them. Some people, especially blacks, will look at the pure numbers and see a larger percentage and leave it at that and proclaim widespread racism. The fact is, of course, if fewer blacks would commit crimes then fewer blacks would be in jail. But it's not even as simple as that.

Blacks tend to be concentrated in poor areas with limited income potential. And when you're in a depressing situation it's easy to get depressed, desperate, and break the law. When criminal statistics are broken down by economic background and status, the numbers are vastly more even. Meaning, poor blacks and poor whites break the law at pretty much the same rates, with blacks being jailed at only a slightly higher rate (no doubt due to the racism of the judges or the juries). It's also interesting that black on black crime, and white on white crime, happen far, far more frequently than interracial crime happens. Then again, racism being what it is, blacks tend to hang with blacks and white tend to hang with whites, so that makes sense.

One thing about the statistics that is pretty blatant, and utterly disturbing, is the dramatically increased frequency that blacks get the Death Sentence for the same exact crimes and circumstances that whites receive Life in Prison. But, what's most disturbing is, the disparity between Life and Death handed down by juries is equally spread across white and black juries. If you're black and you commit capital murder, you have just as good a chance at being sentenced to death by an all-black jury as you do an all white jury. And it's 5 times more likely that you will. That's chilling.

hpexpdx, calm down, take a pill or something. And quit letting people like Savage do your thinking for you. Last time I looked, Africa wasn't a country. It's a continent. Did you know John McCain is a European-American? Irish-American, actually. A hyphen, while silly, is just a way for people to better identify their ancestral or ethnic heritage. Technically, unless you have dual citizenship, a hyphen is meaningless, unless, of course, you want to attach meaning to something meaningless.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Turtle said"Just remember, for every damn stupid American there's a clueless Canadian because their brains have been utterly occupied with ways to keep from freezing, and learning real stuff takes a back seat."

Oh darned...don't even get me going on our beloved PQ and the French...!!!!!

 

[Tennesseahawk]

I know whatcha mean, OVM. They don't claim to be Canadian, the REAL French definitely don't claim them. No wonder Don Cherry hates em!

 

[dhalltoyo]

I believe America is ready for a black president and and black vice president on the same ticket.

My write-in candidates would be: Colin Luther Powell and Condoleezza Rice. That ticket gives you two black candidates and a black female candidate all rolled into one. What a deal! That trumps your Barrack Hussein Obama/Hillary-Rodam Clinton ticket.

I have no problem with a black American being my commander-in-chief, if that person is a conservative who is opposed to centralized government.

After living in Arkansas from 1959-1961, I have a clear understanding of the traditions of man as opposed to true Biblical principals. During that time period there were “White and Colored” drinking fountains, restrooms, waiting areas, lunch counters, etc. Colored folks (I am using the terminology of the time period) were also required to sit at the back of the bus.

My brother and I lived on a military base, but attended school and church outside the confines of the base. Our parents believed that it would be a testimony of our Christian beliefs to attend an integrated school. That belief also allowed us to be inside of a school that was overturned by angry white protestors. That belief also had my brother being asked to sit on the back of the bus, because he has "Afro style" hair and he tans pretty dark during the summer months. I can remember my mother explaining to the lunch counter person in Woolworth's that my brother was actually white; she even had to show his dependent I.D. Card as proof.

We knew that it was wrong to judge a person by the color of their skin. Actually, the first person saved in the New Testament was the Ethiopian eunuch. Moreover, the Bible says that Jesus Christ is no respecter of person; which means that your race or color has no bearing on who makes it to eternal life or eternal damnation (literal burning hell). You either accept, or reject, and color, culture or country does not enter into where you will spend eternity.

Doug and I routinely drank form the “Colored” drinking fountains, ate in the “Colored” section of the lunch counters and sat in the back of the city buses. Why? It was a form of passive protest. Remember, we were reared on military bases, so many of our neighbors were of different color, culture and country. It was just natural for us to be accepting of all people and it was a public witness of our Biblical beliefs.

As I said earlier on, “I have no problem with a black American being my commander-in-chief.” I do have a problem with being blamed for everything negative that befalls a person of color. If you break the law, you might go to prison. That is not my fault. If you were born into poverty, there is a good chance you might live in an economically disadvantaged area. That is not my fault. If your parents are not able to send you to college you may find yourself employed as a non-skilled worker (Like the ones at GM who make 80K). That is not my fault. Anyone uttering a call to level the playing field for all Americans is someone who believes in Socialism; collectivism based upon the government running every aspect of your life. Fact: Not everybody can be at the same level of income. The failure of Communism is proof of how the workers will react when there is no reason to aspire? What is the reward for excelling if everyone is paid the same? That is why Soviet made missiles are rotting in the silos. That is why their cars are junk. That is why their infrastructure is cracked and crumbling. Fact: Jesus Christ told us over 2000 years ago in Matthew 26:11, “For ye have the poor always with you;” Wake up America! Some folks are going to be poor and some folks are going to be rich. We live in a capitalistic culture. Who cares if a CEO makes more money in 10 minutes than I make in a year? If I don’t like my level of income, thank God I live in a country where I have the opportunity to do something to increase the level.

You just sit back and relax; the government will take care of everything. Life will be so easy with the government rearing your children, storing your personal firearms, watching over your income; just sit back and amuse yourselves. Ah, yes, there in lies the crux! Amuse. Muse is defined as: “to think or say reflectively.” Amuse has the prefix “a” which means: “not or without.” So there you go: not thinking is amuse one’s self.

The voting public has been duped so many times you think they would get it right by now. America seems to be on the verge of falling for the oldest trick in the book. Play upon their emotions and they will stop thinking every time! Within the political rhetoric of Barrack Hussein Obama are subtle, and almost subliminal, references to the plight of those of color. You listen to his speeches and you come away “feeling” (never trust feelings!!!) as though you owe him your vote because he is black. We saw this same ploy with Martin Luther King. Our emotional strings were plucked and the burden of misplaced guilt was dumped on the hearts of Americans. Martin Luther King (I wouldn’t even call him Reverend out of respect for others) was a fornicating Communist, but we have a day set aside to honor him and streets named after him in many cities throughout this country. You read a book called And The Walls Come Tumbling Down (Harper, 1989) written by the Reverend Ralph Abernathy that depicts the extramarital affairs of Martin Luther King. You spend some time down on St. Helena Island in South Carolina, as I have, and talk with folks who really got close to King during his meetings at Penn Center where he planned strategy. Penn Center was the only facility in South Carolina where bi-racial groups could meet during the 50's and early 60's without being harassed. Penn Center also became a major retreat for civil rights groups. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his staff met here often to formulate strategies for social (more aptly named 'social engineering') change in the South and the rest of the Nation. During the King fiasco Americans were so unjustly burdened that they threw every social program known to man toward those of color, and created hundreds that never existed before that time, simply to appease this misplaced guilt trip. Look at the results of the failed housing projects, the failed educational programs, the failed welfare handouts, the failed cradle-to-grave mentality, ad infinitum. The Kennedy administration started the ball rolling and the Johnson administration opened up the floodgates.

Watching Obama as he stands hand-in-hand with those who think they are at a rock concert, instead of a political rally, and hearing them sing “We shall overcome”; well, it’s like watching Martin and Jesse all over again. Unfortunately, if he gets elected, honest, and hard-working Americans will foot the bill again for Obama’s misguided social programs and government handouts.

Yes, let’s elect a black president. Just make sure it is a conservative one. I paid once for the Kennedy/Johnson/King/Jackson mistakes and once is enough!

 

[Robsdad]

First of all Rev: Do you actually believe that Colin Powell would run on the republican ticket after the snow job he got from the white house on Iraq. He put his reputation on the line in front of congress and the senate speaking on behalf of the faulty evidence the white house gave him to go on. They sent the only man to speak to congress that had any amount of integrity in Washington. Bush and Chaney would not have gotten to first base. And you must be kidding on let me tell you another lie Rice. She has told more lies in the last 7 years than Jorge Bushinez. Get real Rev. Take a chance on the Dems. There is no way in this world it can be worse than what your blessed conservatives have fed us conniving, cheating, and lying. You better pray hard about this one. I don't even believe God approves of McCain.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Robsdad... either you never were a Republican, or you are the biggest bandwagon jumper I've ever seen. You have a choice between the fast road or the slow road to despotism, and you switched sides to the former over one issue. Sorry to say, that's as fair-weather as you can get.

 

[hdxpedx]

turtle in the cross hairs +
My post doesn't have Africa, John Macain, euro-American,Irish American mentioned..
As far as Savage-- his web site is worldwide newspaper articles..The KOOLAID LEFT doesn't publish-- I THINK FOR MYSELF!
YOU DRINK cnn KOOL-AID and vote for your U.N.-AMERICAN-don't complain about the sky-rocketing commodities- like BIG OIL-and the left's answer instead of drilling---wheat/flour== food!! ETHANOL! CHECK THE CNBC COMMODITES BOARD...

 

[Tennesseahawk]

About the only thing left in the futures market we haven't used for fuel is pork bellies. I don't know why not. They definitely give ME gas! phew!!!

 

[tallcal101]

Ark,I was very specific in my geography for a reason. I did not make a general statement about the South.Please review the location that I narrowed my opinion about.There's a resaon for that specific stretch of Highway.I had business in a small town last year that happen to be close to the Georgia border. Nice place,I do a fair amount of business there.
On the way to the small regional airport,i stopped into a roadhouse for friggin coke or ice tea.

I kept to myself and sat away from the regulars.Ofcourse a new face created angst and curiosity.When the bar tender struck up a converstion,I was friendly and honest."Where you from Big Boy"? "San Francisco", here for business.I no sooner said it then the bar tender repeated it loud enough for the regulars to hear it.Within 60 seconds I was asked it I had AIDS, told queers we not welcome, and that I should probably being heading to the airport,for my own saftey.I was THREATENED Ark.I know you have been to California,were you ever told that Southern boys were not welcome and had your saftey threatened because of where your from?
I've been to Little Rock many times and never had any problem,as well as Alabama,Mississippi etc.Joking,OK,but threatened by ignorant morons with Confederate flags on their caps,well,only once.It left a lasting impression.Sorry if I offended you.

Hawk,I guess I'm not nearly as frightned by a nod towards Faracom as I am by another W type who has created a Mother of Jihads in Iraq where before there was NONE.They have killed 4000 plus young Americans and spent billions.Dumb white guys have cost us the last 7.5 years and I have little or no faith that McCain is any different at his core.
In this case the Devil we know is far more dangerous then the Devil we don't know.But I get
your drift and it should be clearified,paticularly regarding Isreal and the questions that this brings up.