Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 11 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 22 years, 12 months ago by
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Why is it that no one wants to acknowledge that the reason U.S. society ‘acts’ like whites are in the majority is that they ARE in the majority? According to statistics from July 1999, the percentage of the U.S. population with regard to ethnicity is as follows: White – 82.3%; Black – 12.8%; Hispanic – 11.5%; Asian/Pacific Islander – 4.0%; and American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut – 0.9%.
Yet I keep reading or hearing statements like ‘Bush’s Cabinet is racially diverse, but not racially diverse enough,’ or ‘There aren’t enough ‘black’ shows on television,’ or ‘There aren’t enough ‘black’ ______ in the country,’ or ‘When I look at advertisements, I’m reminded that I live in a ‘white’ country because I always see more white faces than black faces on them,’ or ‘A good school should be no more than 50% white.’
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Name : Brian-H, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : Brooklyn, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Network Admin/Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,I’m not sure what statistics you purport to quote, but your figures add up to 111.5%, which seriously calls into question their accuracy. That said, even if we acknowledge that white people comprise the majority of U.S. society, that’s no reason to marginalize minorities. America is supposed to be a ‘melting pot.’ What’s your problem with that?
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Name : Alicia31397, Gender : F, City : Pensacola, State : FL, Country : United States,What we see in the media and elsewhere usually doesn’t come close to those numbers you mention. Take how often non-whites are on TV shows. After decades of struggle, blacks are finally somewhere close to being represented in as high a proportion on TV as they are in real life, but no other ethnic groups are. Asians aren’t, Latinos aren’t, and so on. For example, the only person close to being American Indian on network TV is Chuck Norris (he claims a small amount of Cherokee ancestry, I believe), and he’s hardly typically native in appearance. As for the news media, as recently as 1995, journalists were more than 95% white males, nowhere near what it’s like in the general population. And Bush’s Cabinet … come on, just about every one of the few nonwhites who voted for him wound up there. In any case, they certainly are not typical of nonwhites in the opinions they hold. So in answer to your question, the reasons you still hear these complaints are 1) it’s the only way change has ever come about, and 2) the changes still have far to go.
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Name : ACC25085, Gender : M, City : W. Lafayette, State : IN, Country : United States,You do realize that your numbers don’t add up? The 2000 Census shows that roughly a third of U.S. residents are minorities, and minorities (particularly Hispanics) are the fastest-growing segment of the population by a large amount. And should non-white people be denied benefits and access to things just because they are not as numerous as whites? Black people complain about such things because we would like to see this country acknowledge that it is not all white, and that we have made and continue to make important contributions. What is wrong with wanting adequate representation? Also, for the greater part of this nation’s history, it has been a black and white country, so yes, we feel (at least I do) that we are entitled to our fair share of representation. There is a lot more to it than mere numerical superiority.
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Name : Gregory-H21597, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 23, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : law student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,There are only a handful of non-whites in Bush’s administration, and he purposefully makes an effort to ‘advertise’ these folks in order to create the illusion of diversity (how many of us remember Clinton’s foreign advisor?). But Bush’s administration is still largely white and male, just as both houses of Congress are still largely white and male. White males still comprise much of the leadership of this country in business, education and governmental spheres. Yet white males are the numerical minority. So I disagree with your assertion that whites as a whole are getting the short shrift in favor of other groups. For the most part, the ‘good ole boy’ network is still in full effect.
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Name : T.R., Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, City : Newark, State : NJ, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,There is nothing wrong with a melting pot, but there is something drastically wrong with blacks (the only ethnic group besides possibly Hispanics to do this) continually crying about being victims/minorities, etc. when they have more opportunities than anyone in this country. It’s a fact, and you know it. Also, why is it OK for blacks to have BET (Black Entertainment Television) while normal networks have to include more blacks in their shows? What if we had ‘White Entertainment Television,’ just for whites? Hell, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would be rallying around the station in a non-stop prayer vigil. All minorities have opportunity, and all minorities, just like whites, have problems. Why is it, though, that all we ever hear about is what blacks need from whites, or what whites are not doing enough of for blacks? Is that equality? Is that right?
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Name : David A., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 31, City : Glastonbury, State : CT, Country : United States, Occupation : Service, Education level : 2 Years of College,The correct numbers are: Whites – 71.4%, Blacks 12.2%, Hispanic – 11.8%, and Asian – 3.9%, and American Indian – 0.7%. The Census Bureau records Hispanics as both black and white and then breaks them out separately. Thus, 82.3% of the population is white you include ‘white’ Hispanics. Regarding majority vs. minority opinion, I believe you have to overrepresent minority opinion and viewpoint just to get it on equal footing with the majority. In some cases the majority view doesn’t even have to be expressed to be felt.
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Name : Steve27631, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 44, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Corporate Cubicle Kind of Guy, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class,I’ll use myself as an example….I am in the military, My record says I am white. I have blue eyes, light brown hair, fair skin. But I am hispanic (my name is Gonzalez). People get labeled by others. And in some states, hispanics are the majority, or at least soon will be. Hell, Jeb Bush’s kids qualify as being hispanic (one of spanish descent!)
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Name : Frank Gonzalez, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pagan, Age : 33, City : Seaside, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : military, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,My jaw dropped when you said that amazing bit of nonsense. I doubt you could convince anyone black or Latino in this country of that, not to mention most whites too. We know the opposite is true: we have to be twice as good to get half as far as someone white. So it’s NOT a ‘fact’ as you claim. And just about everyone else but you knows it too. Oh yeah, I just loved the way you referred to BET as entertainment for ‘not normal people’ i.e. blacks. That says volumes about how hostile your own views really are.
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Name : ACC24038, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : W Lafayette, State : IN, Country : United States,One cannot be sure if David A. is just deeply misinformed and believes the many criticisms he levels against blacks, or if there are deeper reasons for his sentiments. If there are more than a handful of Americans holding the views articulated in his posts, then that very ignorance is a threat to our national security.
For one to have studied blacks as seriously as David A. professes in one of his posts and then come to the shallow and often silly conclusions repeated throughout those posts may be, on first sight, baffling, but no subject is that difficult to understand by a competent, open-minded student. The problem lies not in the subject (blacks in this case), but most likely the student, his flawed study habits, such as employing blindly obsessive biases, and an overall incompetency to handle the subject.
Things or people ostensibly void of any redemptive value (as David A. would have us believe blacks are) normally do not occupy our focus – the way blacks seem to occupy that of David A. Obsessing on a group while articulating nothing but negative sentiments and loathing toward that group is often a defense mechanism of converting something desired (but unattainable) into something discredited and despised. His spending ‘many years trying to dig deeper into the reason why blacks do some of the things they do,’ of seeing blacks as having ‘more opportunities than anyone else in this country’ while ‘continually crying about being victims,’ or of persistently vilifying blacks as loud non-tippers who are disinterested in education, all the while claiming to have at least ‘one black friend,’ may sound like ignorance run amuck, but the deeper reason for this avalanche of nonsense may be an envy of something about blacks that he, being white, will never have.
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Name : I. Moses., Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, City : Columbia, State : MD, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,You’re disgusted, aren’t you? Well, let me say this – there is no stipulation on BET that all the programming must be black. The programming is made up of such because that is the choice of the network. Because African Americans have provided much in the way of entertainment, many African Americans feel that what is regarded as ‘good’ or ‘worth viewing’ should be more inclusive. This is not to say that programming on the networks is not ‘good’ or ‘worth viewing,’ but that other programs that provide flavor to the industry should be considered. There are some programs I bet you have never seen, because you’re white, and I’m almost sure you would find them amusing or intense. I, an African-American woman, cannot say the same. Being a fan of TV, I’ve seen many a program that I felt was amusing or intense, though there were no blacks in them. It’s fine to be realistic, but let’s be realistic.
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Name : Angie, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Nashville, State : TN, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The census actually counts some people twice, Hispanics i mean. A ‘mixed’ Hispanic will simply be counted as ‘Hispanic/Latino,’ but one who is clearly black, for example, will be counted as both black and Hispanic. Or one who is clearly white, will be counted as both white and Hispanic. Many racial polls do this, pretty confusing eh?
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Name : Andres, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 25, City : Chambersburg, State : PA, Country : United States,
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