There's no longer room for excuses for black men

[Darkhorse]

[Winchester]

[Professor]

According to the US Census (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html), blacks own roughly 7.1% of all businesses in the country. They account for 13% of the population. So yes, there is definitely room for improvement.

However, I think that many on here are right. Once a black man is 30 years old, it's too late to change him. Start when they are kids. Educate them. Instead of spending money on trying to help the parents, help the kids.

[Spider]

Why is it too late to change a black man past 30?

[jimmyz]

"There's no longer room for excuses for black men"... LOL apparently we have 4 pages of room for excuses here. I'd like to know why whites weren't included. The white-trash whites. They make up the majority of welfare recipients and support the re-sale trade in homes with axles and wheels.

[The Comrade]

passive racism is fun to watch

[Darkhorse]

[Professor]

[spacemonkey]

The world will always have peasents, and they will be in all colors.

[Spider]

Meh. All I'm seeing in this thread is that "subtle racism of lowered expectations".

I'm not sure why adversity can't be a motivator for whatever group of people. Lots of groups of people have pulled themselves up in this country. We didn't make excuses for them, didn't coddle them...in fact they were treated like dirt much of the time...and they clawed their way up anyways. Its still going on.

Why one group should be treated different than another in this regard leads the mind down some ugly roads. We absolutely should give people a hand up, but we shouldn't base it on race. Base it on poverty. Base it on location. Base it on some tangible factor. But not race. It just legitimizes the idea that whatever race isn't as equal to the challenge as whatever other race.

Can't it be damaging to live life knowing that someone thinks you need a leg up just because of who your parents were? That they don't consider you equal to the challenges because of the melanin content in your dermis? That they have lowered expectations of you, and so feel the need to institutionalize advantages for you, for such a nasty reason? Can't that be a little demoralizing, carrying it around in the back of your mind?

(Please bear in mind the bolded before scolding me and telling me what a racist I am.)