<< shinerburke,
You don't seem to understand that past history has consequences in the present. I'm not saying that being born any particular race victimizes any person in particular. However, like I said, equality of opportunity is a myth. I don't know what your situation growing up was, but unless I grew up in a ghetto, exposed to constant drugs and violence, amongst other problems, then there's no rational reason for me to believe that everybody has it the same.
Affirmative action is intended to level the playing field. Once that is achieved, then obviously policies should be reconsidered. One example is enrollment of Asians in American universities; Asians do not receive any preferential treatment (unless they're applying to Eastern Kentucky College).
Your argument that you make it based solely on self-determination is a crock, and ignores the inequalities in socio-economic factors, which do have some historical basis. The conclusion to be drawn from your "work hard" argument is that a kid who attends a rotting public school has the same chances of being highly successful as a rich kid attending Exeter Academy. Both kids just have to "work hard."
Many poor people work just as hard as well-to-do folks, and frequently even harder. By your logic, all low-income employees deserve just a tiny fraction of what Enron execs swindled from the company because they don't work hard. That logic is total BS. CEO Jeffrey Skilling worked so hard he doesn't recall details of what he did to rake in millions?
As far as the hypocrisy argument goes, I won't disagree with you there.
I didn't put words in your mouth at all; I quoted your words. Your argument was that as long as the media speaks of racially-biased victimization, racism will continue. You basically said that without such talk, racism has a better chance of going away.
As far as playing the race card goes, I do see your point. In an unrelated example, attorney Robert Shapiro openly criticized O.J. Simpson's "Dream Team" defense for playing the race card "from the bottom of the deck". >>
For crying out loud, the reason these neighborhoods that these poor, poor people live in are riddled with crime and poverty has nothing to do with racism or the inequities of the black man, it's because the people that live in that neighborhood choose to live that way and make their neighborhood what it is. It would be the same way in a white neighborhood if everyone was commiting crimes and living on the governments tit.
Ghettos are ghettos because the people who live in them make them that way, and it's not my fault that they are predominately black, that is the way they choose to live. I'm so tired of the race card being played when to me it is so obvious where the trouble lies.
People are not put in prison because of their skin color, and anyone who thinks they are ought to take another look at things. People go to jail when they commit a crime, and if you don't like that don't commit crimes, but don't go trying to make it right by saying that "yea, they commited a felony, but there are a ton of white guys who also commited felonies and didn't get caught and aren't in jail, so I think it's racism", because that argument makes you sound and look foolish. If you want to see racism at it's finest, watch a white man or woman try and walk through a predominately black neighborhood without being harrassed or worse yet, mugged. You will be hard pressed to find anyone who at the least, isn't yelled at and called names. Racism works both ways and things need to be changed so people can't use the race card to get everything handed to them and to get out of every bad situation they find themself in.