Hey Cambridge Police

[SallyLightfoot]

I've read some of Sowell's columns on TownHall.com. He's a conservative author and fellow of the (ultra) right-wing Hoover Institute. Sowell is partisan and has compared Obama to Hitler, and described Sotomayor as unqualified-- naturally, with no mention of Clarence Thomas or Sam Alito (who weren't at the top of their graduating classes, and were endorsed by republicans partly for diversity and 'empathy.' Heck, when Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor, he announced [i]from the very start[/i] that he planned to nominate the best woman, and don't get me started about the Harriet Miers qualifications for nomination.)

I can get on board with some of Sowell's more libertarian ideas, such as the decriminalization of drugs, and the evils of eminent domain (which is usually applied against poor people). To his credit, Sowell fought through a tough childhood to become a scholar and writer. However, he is one of a handful of prominent black figures who feel that their personal success somehow disproves the need for affirmative action. Pairing this with the fact that Sowell is black, conservatives love to trumpet his "tough love" message. His recent article, [b]A Post Racial President[/b], is no different nor more substantial than his other partisan-fueled words.

Christopher Hitchens, with whom I disagree on a lot of issues, writes a good summary of my take-aways from the Gates incident. This is more the type of article I would expect to see from conservatives and libertarians instead of fanning the flames of racism.

<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2223673/" target="_new">[b]A Man's Home Is His Constitutional Castle[/b]</a>, Christopher Hitchens
Monday, July 27, 200
http://www.slate.com/id/2223673/

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]

To his credit, Sowell fought through a tough childhood to become a scholar and writer. However, he is one of a handful of prominent black figures who feel that their personal success somehow disproves the need for affirmative action.

[/quote]

He's 100% correct.

So basically you're saying "only a handful" of successful blacks are smart enough to grasp the obvious. That's the most racist statement I've ever seen on this board. [:D]

[eight6]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]
<br>I've read some of Sowell's columns on TownHall.com. He's a conservative author and fellow of the (ultra) right-wing Hoover Institute. Sowell is partisan and has compared Obama to Hitler, and described Sotomayor as unqualified--

[/quote]

Partisan? Can somebody supply a list of non-partisan authors? I see an even handed treatment with regard to Obama's words, vs. his subsequent actions.

Was the Hitler comparison favorable to Obama, or did he come up short against Adolf?

[quote]

However, he is one of a handful of prominent black figures who feel that their personal success somehow disproves the need for affirmative action.

[/quote]

Silly him, you know better, right? You belittle his accomplishments (and the accomplishments of other prominent blacks) by comparing them with others not willing to put in the effort and overcome admittedly substantial obstacles.

[SallyLightfoot]

Right, so after generations of racism, discrimination and disenfranchisement, blacks and other minorities are on par in this country in terms of rights, access and opportunity. I see your logic: It's gotta be true-- even some black conservatives say so. Heck the fact that we have a (half) black president pretty much seals the deal: racial discrimination, you're a thing of the past. [xx(]

Success is a combination of access/opportunity, hard work and luck. I applaud the success of Thomas Sowell and others, but I think minorities (and women) generally do not have an equal shot at achieving the right combination as those in the majority.

I'm glad you have found a conservative scholar that you can safely agree with on race issues and criticism of Obama. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias" target="_new">That must feel satisfying</a>. And while I understand that conservatives generally disapprove of redistributing wealth, I'm reminded that, for some, this includes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_privilege" target="_new">privilege</a> as well.

[Frau_Blucher]

Motherfucker's gonna drink Bud Light. They're owned by InBev. They're motherfuckin' Belgian! That mother fucker!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/07/29 ... 6417.shtml

[Frau_Blucher]

Jungle monkey! They got some fucking Einsteins up there in Boston. Hahahahah!!!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaki ... spend.html

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]
<br>Right, so after generations of racism, discrimination and disenfranchisement, blacks and other minorities are on par in this country in terms of rights, access and opportunity.
[/quote]

Totally wrong. They've got it better than whites in terms of rights, access and opportunity.

Maybe one day, you'll pull your head out of your ass long enough to see things as they really are and post something that actually makes sense.

[Frau_Blucher]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Blir[/i]
<br>Jungle monkey! They got some fucking Einsteins up there in Boston. Hahahahah!!!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaki ... spend.html
[/quote]
I was too harsh on this officer. His lawyer done cleared up his meaning...

[i]Barrett's comments were taken out of context, said his attorney, Peter Marano. "Officer Barrett did not call professor Gates a jungle monkey or malign him racially," Marano said. "He said his behavior was like that of one. It was a characterization of the actions of that man."[/i]

All better. Let's have a Bud Light.

[MARV]

That Sam Adams makes a hella beer. Hella beer. That Harpoon is up there too. Big time.

<a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/marvymarv/?action=view¤t=tick.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/marvymarv/tick.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[eight6]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]
<br>Right, so after generations of racism, discrimination and disenfranchisement, blacks and other minorities are on par in this country in terms of rights, access and opportunity.

[/quote]

In a word...yes. I just don't see the same outcry from other minorities as I do from blacks. Why?

[quote]

I see your logic: It's gotta be true-- even some black conservatives say so. Heck the fact that we have a (half) black president pretty much seals the deal: racial discrimination, you're a thing of the past. [xx(]

[/quote]

[i]"I see your logic"[/i]...right, be patronizing; that's always a class comeback. I guess when somebody doesn't share your point of view being a smartass is the right way to go. Oh, and the smilie drives home the poignancy of your words.

[quote]

Success is a combination of access/opportunity, hard work and luck.

[/quote]

Of those three/four variables, I'd say hard work will carry most people to be the best they can be. The other variables in your list usually follow as a result of hard work. The ability to apply oneself to a task, and improve on the abilities necessary to perform that task make that person marketable. I see that as a universal truth, and can't see how one group is somehow shortchanged by that process, unless of course, it's the excuse used for not wanting to put in the effort.

[SallyLightfoot]

[b]eight6[/b]: "I just don't see the same outcry from other minorities as I do from blacks. Why?"

This question strikes me as incredibly naive or uninformed about black history in the US, and the distinctions of the black experience versus other minorities. At least get a Ken Burns documentary or two under your belt.

[b]eight6[/b]: "I see that as a universal truth, and [i]can't see how one group is somehow shortchanged by that process, unless of course, it's the excuse used for not wanting to put in the effort[/i]."

Got it. Claims of racism or discrimination by blacks is just a smokescreen for their failures, or playing the race card. Racism today only surfaces when it happens to the group [i]you[/i] closely identify with (i.e. "reverse racism"), not when it happens to groups you couldn't give a rat's ass about.

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Blir[/i]
<br>Jungle monkey! They got some fucking Einsteins up there in Boston. Hahahahah!!!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaki ... spend.html
[/quote]

Einsteins is right! Everyone knows it's "jungle bunny" or "porch monkey" ... not "jungle monkey". That man needs some insensitivity training. [}:)]

[eight6]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]
<br>[b]eight6[/b]: "I just don't see the same outcry from other minorities as I do from blacks. Why?"

This question strikes me as incredibly naive or uninformed about black history in the US, and the distinctions of the black experience versus other minorities. At least get a Ken Burns documentary or two under your belt.

[/quote]

Now I'm confused...so, you're saying there's racism, then there is racism "grande", such as what is practiced against blacks? Yes, what has happened in the past was wrong, terrible, ghastly, well, you pick the word. What of it? How is impulsively crying racism at every turn improving your lot in life as a black person?

Ken Burns did something other than the baseball thing?

[quote]

[b]eight6[/b]: "I see that as a universal truth, and [i]can't see how one group is somehow shortchanged by that process, unless of course, it's the excuse used for not wanting to put in the effort[/i]."

Got it. Claims of racism or discrimination by blacks is just a smokescreen for their failures, or playing the race card. Racism today only surfaces when it happens to the group [i]you[/i] closely identify with (i.e. "reverse racism"), not when it happens to groups you couldn't give a rat's ass about.
[/quote]

Not a smokescreen for their failures, just an excuse not to try to improve themselves. If your going to claim you "got it", at least get it right. Pretty presumptuous on your part to claim to know who I give a rat's ass about...it's almost like your pre-judging me.

Thanks for the lesson in tolerance.

[SallyLightfoot]

[b]eight6[/b]: "Yes, what has happened in the past was wrong, terrible, ghastly, well, you pick the word. What of it? How is impulsively crying racism at every turn improving your lot in life as a black person?"

Translation: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States" target="_new9">Black people</a>-- <a href="http://www.helium.com/items/813783-an-overview-of-the-jim-crow-laws" target="_new1">the</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_the_United_States" target="_new5">past</a> has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Study_of_Untreated_Syphilis_in_the_Negro_Male" target="_new4">no</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till" target="_new3">bearing</a> on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Byrd,_Jr." target="_new2">present</a>. STFU, get over it, work hard and stop making excuses.

[eight6]

[quote][i]Originally posted by SallyLightfoot[/i]
<br>[b]eight6[/b]: "Yes, what has happened in the past was wrong, terrible, ghastly, well, you pick the word. What of it? How is impulsively crying racism at every turn improving your lot in life as a black person?"

Translation: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States" target="_new9">Black people</a>-- <a href="http://www.helium.com/items/813783-an-overview-of-the-jim-crow-laws" target="_new1">the</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_the_United_States" target="_new5">past</a> has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Study_of_Untreated_Syphilis_in_the_Negro_Male" target="_new4">no</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till" target="_new3">bearing</a> on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Byrd,_Jr." target="_new2">present</a>. STFU, get over it, work hard and stop making excuses.
[/quote]


Um...right. As much as this may pain you to read...I don't care. I judge people based on their merits. I don't take into account nor consider historic factors because that sways my judgment of the person I'm dealing with. I don't care if you're black, white, asian or from Mars...I have expectations of you as a person, just as you no doubt will have expectations of me. Meet my expectations and we'll get along fine; don't meet them and we'll have words.

I like my system: I don't have to build in allowances/variances/breaks for the evils done to a particular group in the past. I don't have to feel like I'm mandated to provide some with an easier road to travel than others would receive. Everyone receives equal treatment, and isn't that the goal here? In fact, the only people I've come across in my life who object to my way of doing things are the few who expect that 'easy road'. I would rather not deal with them...I'm sure others more than willing to do so, and I gladly leave that task to them.

If you feel that the myriad of articles & documentaries you site as support for your views gives you a wider scope and a more in depth perspective on things, good for you. On the other hand, if the purpose was to "educate" me...no thanks. I think I can get my head around a concept like all men are equal without your help.