Is America a Nation of cowards...
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Original Post
when it comes to race?
I don't think he should have used the word coward in what he was saying... that is for sure. But I get it.
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"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," Holder said.
Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."
Holder's speech echoed President Barack Obama's landmark address last year on race relations during the hotly contested Democratic primaries, when the then-candidate urged the nation to break "a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years" and bemoaned the "chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races." Obama delivered the speech to try to distance himself from the angry rhetoric of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Holder cited that speech by Obama as part of the motivation for his words Wednesday, saying Americans need to overcome an ingrained inhibition against talking about race.
"If we're going to ever make progress, we're going to have to have the guts, we have to have the determination, to be honest with each other. It also means we have to be able to accept criticism where that is justified," Holder told reporters after the speech.
In the speech, Holder urged people of all races to use Black History Month as a chance for honest discussion of racial matters, including issues of health care, education and economic disparities.
Race, Holder said, "is an issue we have never been at ease with and, given our nation's history, this is in some ways understandable... If we are to make progress in this area, we must feel comfortable enough with one another and tolerant enough of each other to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."
cont....
www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/18/ag-holder-race-makes-us-a_n_16793...
Posted at 11:31pm Feb 18, 2009 EST
Responses
MmeRubys
MmeRubys says:
ShaNic: that is true and a hard collective memory to move above, but if we live in the past we have the danger of repeating it.
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also if we don't remember it, it will happen again.
Posted at 12:28am Feb 19, 2009 EST
why do we have to become color blind?
it's just the same as being PC
i think we should carry our "Race" with pride, it make a person unique
Posted at 12:29am Feb 19, 2009 EST
I know some people are annoyed when I bring these topics up, but... it needs to be talked about. period.
Posted at 12:29am Feb 19, 2009 EST
MissEmmyGreen says:
why do we have to become color blind?
it's just the same as being PC
i think we should carry our "Race" with pride, it make a person unique
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well said.
Posted at 12:30am Feb 19, 2009 EST
"There's no possible way to see that cartoon from the New York Post with the policemen shooting the chimp and saying, "Someone else will have to write the next Stimulus Plan" as anything other than racist and sick, IMO."
i would 100% agree with that
Posted at 12:30am Feb 19, 2009 EST
MissEmmyGreen says:
of course it's unfair!
in CA we have a few grants offered to any group as long as they qualify; good grades, parent income, parents education ect
but for now i just cant see minorities go off to college with out the help of grants offered because of how our school system puts them in the corner
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It depends on the minority. When I was applying to colleges I remember someone coming from the UC system to talk to us. She said that if there weren't quotas on race, many white students would find it difficult to get into the school of their choice. She said that Berkley, for example, would have a huge majority of Asian students if they went on merit alone.
Philosophically, I agree that race should be a non issue. But it's too easy, as part of a privileged majority, to discount the problems of discrimination. It isn't part of our daily experience so it's harder to really appreciate what actually happens in the world versus what we think is happening, or what we think should happen.
Posted at 12:32am Feb 19, 2009 EST
The point is, Federal and State grants are for everyone, but private grants are not. My daughter received a scholarship this past year in relation to an award she received and scholastic achievement. It was funded by a private foundation, so they could award it to whomever they wanted based on their criteria. No one would assume they were biased.
Posted at 12:35am Feb 19, 2009 EST
They say there are plenty of grants based on need, but really, they're not. I've applied for financial aid for 08-09 and just applied for 09-10, and was denied.
Yet I don't have a job, my mom doesn't have a job... hmm.. When I had a job, everything I made went to saving up to pay my tuition so I could get an education, because I can't get any help.
Posted at 12:35am Feb 19, 2009 EST
MissEmmyGreen says:
why do we have to become color blind?
it's just the same as being PC
i think we should carry our "Race" with pride, it make a person unique
****
There's a difference between being proud of your race and being given privileges because of it.
Posted at 12:37am Feb 19, 2009 EST