[RB]

Every racial group has had something terrible happen to them in history, but I've met a lot of people who think it's OK for blacks to be racist or to blame everyone else for their problems. Why do blacks think they are entitled to more than everyone else because of what happened to their ancestors?

User Detail :  

Name : RB, Gender : F, Age : 15, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, 

[Jacqueline-C21029]

African Americans do have a lot to be angry about. There ancestors were kidnapped from their homes, taken to a forgeign land, and sold into slavery. Several hundred years later slavery was outlawed and the slaves were freed, but it was another 100 years or so until African Americans were treated equally under the law. In many places, blacks are still discriminated against by our legal system. For instance, a black man is more likely to be sentenced to the death penalty than a white man when convicted fo the same crime. Jim Crow laws and terrorist groups like the Klan kept African Americans from from being truely free. They did not have any of the opportunities availible to them that whites did. This is not ancient history. Much of the discrimination, segrigation and terrorization is in living memory. Things are not as bad as they used to be, but as a country we have not achieved total equality yet. Its hard to not be bitter and resentful when your people have been persecuted and discriminated against for centuries in a country whose mottos are 'All men are created equal' and 'Life, liberty and the persute of happiness' and 'Freedom and justice for all'. Now, I don't think that this entitles African Americans to blame others for any problems they may have. Blaming others does nothing for the quality of your life. Individual people need to make their opportunites where they can, get an education, set goals and go after them. So what if someone doesn't want you to achieve your goals, do it anyway. And I don't think that most African Americans want more than everyone else, I think they want a level playing field so that they have the same opportunities as everyone else. We always have to keep the history of our country in mind because everything that has happened - good or bad - has brought us to where we are now.

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Name : Jacqueline-C21029, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 26, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Renee]

Blacks have a unique history, as well as a unique present-day social status, in that they are still, and have always been, victims of institutional and pervasive racism. That is the difference between blacks and 'other' immigrant groups. The difference, to put it in plainer terms by use of a hypothetical, is this: Yes, the 19th Century Irish immigrant had to live through tough times and faced discrimination, like the black sharecropper not even one generation removed from slavery. However, the difference is that in the year 2000, that Irish immigrant's Irish-American great-grandson will not be pulled over and detained 'driving while Irish,' nor will he be followed around a department store, nor will he be denied a home loan, nor will he be steered clear of residing in certain neighborhoods, nor will he face job discrimination or a glass ceiling within corporate America. That is why the black experience is different. The trials and tribulations brought on by our slavery, oppression and ongoing discrimination and marginalization makes our experience, and our reaction to those experiences, unique.

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Name : Renee, Gender : F, Age : 27, City : Troy, State : MI Country : United States, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Alma]

Both the issue and the answer given are behaviors I have seen stop racial equality in its' tracks in America over and over. It has to do with whose point of view you are viewing the situation from. Discrimination is a behavior that is directed towards someone who is perceived as 'different.' Be it color, religion, sexual orientation, etc. I have seen nasty behavior between Black and Jewish Americans(just to name a few)who are at odds about who is the most persecuted in this country. Who is discriminated against most is not the issue. The issue is that the discrimination takes place to begin with; and, that the victims waste their time fighting over who's the biggest target instead of banding together to teach equality to the whole. Human beings learn by example. If I as a lesbian say acting out my anger is justified(and trust me, I have a lot of anger)because I'm the biggest victim, I have just copied the behavior of the bigot who bashed me. What does that teach the child in the corner watching all this? That two wrongs make a right? Everyone who is treated badly because of a perceived difference is 'unique' and the wasted energy of claiming top victims status stalls the forward momentum needed to bring equality to all by TEACHING all. 'Each one teach one.'

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Name : Alma, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, City : Kempner, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : contract employee, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[HG]

The country was built on the backs of Africans with no payment except pain and violence. Even after 146,000 days, the crap keeps rolling along with no end in sight. That's why. Furthermore, we didn't ask to come here, but maybe some of us will leave with reparations. Who will get picked on constantly then? We need payment for physical, mental and racial abuse inflicted by the majority, plus all the mental illness caused by this mixing of groups that were never meant to be.

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Name : HG, City : Norwich, State : CT Country : United States, 

[Exton]

Racism is unacceptable regardless of the racial profile of the person posessing it; no rational person excuses discrimination that is based upon skin color and heritage. Moreover, the entitlement complex exhibited by some hurts their cause more than it helps it; if a person cannot help themselves, then society cannot help them, regardless of what they are entitled to.

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Name : Exton, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : nontheist, Age : 18, City : Medway, State : MA Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

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