$5 million is too little:' Activists tell California reparations committee to aim higher

What a bunch of "Bull." Yap! Ship all the whites that have arrived here in the last 400 years back to Europe and "give the land back." Makes about as much sense as electing Mickey Mouse or Goofy as your next Prime Minister.
 

You did, in your first comment.

And this thread is about Black people...Black residents of Calif.

You said Black people possess "human nature", which I understand as a natural inclination, that would make every one of them void of ethics, save for a tiny bit over 0%.
Then you understand wrong. We'll never get the chance to find out , but if you think millions of ANY people are turning down $5 million you're either very naive or an idiot
 
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The term "Asian" also includes people from India, who have been enormously successful in the U.S., while the poorer Asians tend to be the Chinese in the various Chinatowns in cities across America. Is that a product of IQ or culture?

I've worked with some really dumb engineers from South Korea and Japan, and really bright engineers from India. The South Koreans were Christian while the Indians were Buddhists, I believe. Did that make a difference?

I think it's more a product of your upbringing than anything related to race. Raise anybody of any race in a healthy environment and they'll have a good chance for success. And the opposite is also true. Look at the most impoverished urban centers in America and you'll find them dominated by Black people. Poor white people tend to be in rural areas. Poverty begets more poverty and abuse. Anybody raised in that kind of environment is screwed.
We will have to agree to disagree on this one.

My parents came from very poor beginnings in rural NC. My mother used to gather water from a river to wash clothes. My father lived in a boarding house with his mother, father and two brothers. He just happened to have a high IQ and went to college when he was 15 y/o. He knew he wanted a better life and knew he was the only one who could make that happen.

He left rural NC when he married my mother and ultimately moved us to Central Florida for a job opportunity. He became a financial advisor and retired in a high position with his firm. Our relatives stayed in rural NC and led modest lives. There was absolutely nothing in my father's upbringing that would have prepared him for success. His father owned a feed store. It was his own intelligence and determination that made him a success, not his upbringing.

So, I've had personal experience with this. I will add that I still think White Privilege exists in our society, but even some White men have to work hard to advance in society.
 
We will have to agree to disagree on this one.

My parents came from very poor beginnings in rural NC. My mother used to gather water from a river to wash clothes. My father lived in a boarding house with his mother, father and two brothers. He just happened to have a high IQ and went to college when he was 15 y/o. He knew he wanted a better life and knew he was the only one who could make that happen.

He left rural NC when he married my mother and ultimately moved us to Central Florida for a job opportunity. He became a financial advisor and retired in a high position with his firm. Our relatives stayed in rural NC and led modest lives. There was absolutely nothing in my father's upbringing that would have prepared him for success. His father owned a feed store. It was his own intelligence and determination that made him a success, not his upbringing.

So, I've had personal experience with this. I will add that I still think White Privilege exists in our society, but even some White men have to work hard to advance in society.
Someone can come from poor roots without it being accompanied by abuse. But combine poverty with abuse and you have a recipe for disaster.

Part of that is because when a child is abused and raised in a stressful environment, their level of blood cortisol is elevated, which affects brain development. The frontal cortex and hippocampal growth are stunted, and the amygdala grows larger than normal. They wind up with learning disabilities, memory issues, and are prone to depression and anxiety.

So your parents might have grown up poor, but they may have been raised by loving parents, so they came out of it okay. A lot of poor kids aren't so lucky. I'd be willing to bet the kid who was sleeping in the stolen SUV and shot by the cop from the back seat wasn't raised in a healthy environment. Kids raised in slums are screwed, even if they're not abused. Just that environment would create a lot of stress.
 
Returning to reality for a moment, it’s a little discussed fact that slavery in present day Africa is common.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_contemporary_Africa

It is also known, but seldom discussed, that as the Civil War progressed, there was widespread unease among the slave population that when the war ended, and the slaves were freed, they might be returned to Africa.

Also, back in the day large numbers of Chinese were brought to America to be employed as laborers in the mines and on the railroads, digging tunnels and laying track. They were not well treated and looked down upon. Today their descendants fill our universities, and Asian household income exceeds that of Whites. How can that be? The answer is simple, but lest I stir up some ill will I will just leave it at that. (-8
 
Many do. But they don't have to battle constant prejudice as they do.
History shows that the Irish, the Italians as well as the Chinese faced immense prejudice when they came here. They took menial jobs, worked hard, took care of their families, saw that their kids attended school and took advantage of the education offered. Things got better for the second and third generations of those groups who learned to speak English well and used their education to their advantage. Those groups blended and melded into the fabric of American life. They did not intentionally set themselves apart in American culture, they became part of the melting pot. It's not too late for any who feel apart to become one. This history shows the path.
 
History shows that the Irish, the Italians as well as the Chinese faced immense prejudice when they came here. They took menial jobs, worked hard, took care of their families, saw that their kids attended school and took advantage of the education offered. Things got better for the second and third generations of those groups who learned to speak English well and used their education to their advantage. Those groups blended and melded into the fabric of American life. They did not intentionally set themselves apart in American culture, they became part of the melting pot. It's not too late for any who feel apart to become one. This history shows the path.

You might be surprised about that. It just doesn’t get talked about as much.

Good points. I made the mistake of seeing through personal lens. My ancestry is 100% European (mostly British Isles) who were all here before the Revolution except for one Scotch-Irish straggler circa 1802. Men in this group are pretty high up on the white privilege scale.
 
Also, back in the day large numbers of Chinese were brought to America to be employed as laborers in the mines and on the railroads, digging tunnels and laying track. They were not well treated and looked down upon. Today their descendants fill our universities, and Asian household income exceeds that of Whites. How can that be? The answer is simple, but lest I stir up some ill will I will just leave it at that. (-8
This was especially true in California, particularly during the Gold Rush. Not so much because there were larger numbers of Chinese in the west than the east, but life was more challenging here and there was a lot less oversight in matters of labor and laws.
 
Many do. But they don't have to battle constant prejudice as they do.
But what is the origin of that constant prejudice? Once again we get back to statistics. Statistics like crime, murder rates, incarceration rates, and neighborhood safety. Statistics that are directly related to median IQ. For anyone willing to look, the numbers are out there.
 
They already get reparations in the form of affirmative action policies, financial aid for colleges, welfare, job training... What they need is an overhaul of their culture — one that veers away from a culture of drugs, crime, unwed mothers, and a victim mentality, and focuses more on education, skills, and careers... things that will get them out of poverty, although with AI taking over, that might not work any more. Who knows.
WOW!! How racist can you be??!! You think "Black culture" is drugs, crime, unwed mothers, victim mentality and welfare....WOW!! Our people are not the only ones who abuse drugs and there are just as many Whites, if not more on welfare as Blacks. I lived directly across the street from an unwed mother's home from the time I was 10 to age 21. Several girls used to come out in formation to set the garbage cans on the street. In 11 years I only saw one Black girl. The stories for White girls who got pregnant: She's "away at school" or "living abroad" for a while. Of course they gave their babies up for adoption. That is until some started flushing their newborns down the toilet and dumping them in garbage bins.

If you were denied housing, not hired or passed over for promotions despite being qualified and denied loans or charged higher rates due to your skin color..perhaps you'd feel like a victim too. Not to mention if you saw your family members hanging from trees or severely beaten or shot and killed because of the color of their skin even though they were only going about their normal, daily business...sounds like victims to me! There are many, many hard working, highly educated Black people in the world. Some of them have contributed much to our society in the fields of technology, science, medicine, engineering, etc. How dare you judge our entire race by those who present negative images, which by the way have gotten highlighted more than their White counterparts, until fairly recently when all these White, affluent family murderers started hitting the news. I'm glad I have sense enough not to judge all Caucasians by the ones who are committing these heinous deeds.
 
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Good points. I made the mistake of seeing through personal lens. My ancestry is 100% European (mostly British Isles) who were all here before the Revolution except for one Scotch-Irish straggler circa 1802. Men in this group are pretty high up on the white privilege scale.
Annie, I appreciate your response to my post. I think we can all see things through different lens and have a good conversation. :)
 
A lot of rich people got enormous handouts from the government during the pandemic as part of the economic impact payments — enough to buy expensive sportscars and other high priced luxury items.

The rich can find ways to get out of paying back student loans and many go without paying any taxes, thanks to loopholes they get their paid for legislators to put into the tax code.
Does this trouble any of the folks who are so dead set against reparations? I share their thoughts regarding reparations but wonder where the outrage is regarding the above post.

The dollar "removed" from my pocket for reparations is no more or less than that used for hand-outs to the wealthy.

Let's remove the color of folks involved and then hear the same volume of "outrage" regarding the wealthy.
 
If any reparations are to be made, let those who sold them into slavery be responsible for that, not you or me or anyone else today in this country. So-called descendants of slaves should take a page out of Alex Hailey's Roots and find those whose families were responsible in the first place. As for ponying up for discrimination, well, show me one ethnic group that hasn't gone through that in this country and still is. I am not necessarily referring to the black community either.
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They already get reparations in the form of affirmative action policies, financial aid for colleges, welfare, job training... What they need is an overhaul of their culture — one that veers away from a culture of drugs, crime, unwed mothers, and a victim mentality, and focuses more on education, skills, and careers... things that will get them out of poverty, although with AI taking over, that might not work any more. Who knows.
Absolutely shocked at this post, Ben, especially coming from you. Never saw you speak this way before.
 
WOW!! How racist can you be??!! You think "Black culture" is drugs, crime, unwed mothers, victim mentality and welfare....WOW!! Our people are not the only ones who abuse drugs and there are just as many Whites, if not more on welfare as Blacks. I lived directly across the street from an unwed mother's home from the time I was 10 to age 21. Several girls used to come out in formation to set the garbage cans on the street. In 11 years I only saw one Black girl. The stories for White girls who got pregnant: She's "away at school" or "living abroad" for a while. Of course they gave their babies up for adoption. That is until some started flushing their newborns down the toilet and dumping them in garbage bins.

If you were denied housing, not hired or passed over for promotions despite being qualified and denied loans or charged higher rates due to your skin color..perhaps you'd feel like a victim too. Not to mention if you saw your family members hanging from trees or severely beaten or shot and killed because of the color of their skin even though they were only going about their daily business...sounds like victims to me! There are many, many hard working, highly educated Black people in the world. Some of them have contributed much to our society in the fields of technology, science, medicine, engineering, etc. How dare you judge our entire race by those who present negative images, which by the way have gotten highlighted more than their White counterparts, until fairly recently when all these White, affluent family murderers started hitting the news. I'm glad I have sense enough not to judge all Caucasians by the ones who are committing these heinous deeds.
Hey, White people suck, too!
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But what is the origin of that constant prejudice? Once again we get back to statistics. Statistics like crime, murder rates, incarceration rates, and neighborhood safety. Statistics that are directly related to median IQ. For anyone willing to look, the numbers are out there.

Hogwash. My gastroenterologist and OB-GYN are black, aren't criminals and have IQs I'd imagine top yours given the quoted post.
 
Hogwash. My gastroenterologist and OB-GYN are black, aren't criminals and have IQs I'd imagine top yours given the quoted post.
I did not want to get into this, but your insults leave me no choice. Your doctors may well be brilliant, but median African American IQ is generally considered to be 85. Does this leave those Americans of Western European Ancestry the most intelligent among us — No. Ashkenazi Jews and East Asians win the IQ contest.

Some links you may find helpful …
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-iq-by-country

https://www.worlddata.info/iq-by-country.php
https://www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Black_vs_White_IQ_scores.html
 
I did not want to get into this, but your insults leave me no choice. Your doctors may well be brilliant, but median African American IQ is generally considered to be 85. Does this leave those Americans of Western European Ancestry the most intelligent among us — No. Ashkenazi Jews and East Asians win the IQ contest.

Some links you may find helpful …
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-iq-by-country

https://www.worlddata.info/iq-by-country.php
https://www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Black_vs_White_IQ_scores.html
What IQ tests measure are size of vocabulary, reading comprehension, ability to process analogies, capacity for logic... mainly things that are learned. They don't measure inherent intelligence other that what can be inferred by the test answers. Obviously, more intelligent people can learn those things more easily and to a higher degree, but if they don't grow up in an environment where they're encouraged to learn, they're not going to score high on the tests.

Studies show that people can raise their IQ scores by practicing IQ tests and by playing memory-based computer games. Studies of identical twins raised in similar environments were found to have similar IQ scores as adults. But if one is raised in an unhealthy environment or not afforded the same learning opportunities as the other, there will be a large disparity in the scores.

IQ tests are continuously updated to reflect increases in intelligence over the years. What was the average IQ a century ago would be an IQ of about 70 using todays metrics. People haven't significantly evolved genetically in 100 years. What's changed is educational attainment and access to information.

If certain races were genetically superior to others with regards to intelligence, there would be genetic differences, but none have been detected. The difference is in the environments in which different groups are raised. If there is a higher rate of poverty for one race than another, lower IQ scores in the poorer group would be expected since there would be a lower rate of educational level attainment and higher rates of abuse and stress, and that's what we see in graphs and charts comparing different races.

Here is a pretty good article on the topic:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/02/the-unwelcome-revival-of-race-science
 
Ben, this misbegotten argument is one that we both can only lose. Count me out and have a good day.
 


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