THE FUCK YOU THREAD

I agree wholeheartedly, here we have the problem of The Class System, you are more likely to never make that leap up here if you happened to have been born into a not so well off family.

Make things attainable for today's youth, something to work towards, if there is no hope of your situation ever changing, why the hell would you care about what happens with your life if it's a shitty one.

The whole pull yourself up by your boot straps philosophy does not apply in this day and age.

All further education should be free worldwide, with bursary's and other support for non well off students being a standard thing, not something you have to win in an overly cramped race.

Longer School days as standard (giving those low wage parents a chance to be free of childcare fees)
So many things could work, it's been piloted here children age 5-11 (longer school day till 5pm) ie they study until 3pm and the other time is attributed to sports and extra curricular activities.

Things like this make a difference, plus what Lippy said.

 

I was just dumbfounded at the lack of consideration for people who are living on disability or otherwise truly limited to the amount of work they can do, thus not having the ability to increase funds to move.

I expected more from the young tiger

:-|

 

Many people in my family made the jump from being poor (3 generations living under one cramped, roach infested leaky roof) to middle/upper middle class/upper, so my view on class mobility is a bit biased (ur addressing the uk class system but whatever ). I will say that in my own personal experience, I had a struggling mother who would skip Christmas or forgo robust back to school shopping (many school years I would just get a few pencils and composition books..no clothes...no sneakers) on multiple occasions. You can add on the fact that we grew up in a very racist area of the city, so that was yet another hurdle. Her approach to parenting really helped me, because she emphasized education, overachieving and self reliance over hanging in the streets and doing whatever nonsense misguided kids do.

That approach may not be for everyone, but myself and other family credit that type of guidance for getting me out of the fucking drug-infested projects (ie becoming another statistic) to where I am today.

So yeah it was part 'pull yourself up by the bootstraps/no one owes you a gotdamn thing' and part opportunity seizing. Philly schools have a ton of extra stuff kids can get into outside of school, that can increase their chances at going to college. Plus our low cost community college (typically a bastion for poorer students) was pipelining registered nurses into local hospitals where they ended up jumping into a very good entry level profession/pay grade.

So yeah you can't pull yourself up when there's nothing to grab on to. Fortunately I had the love of all things 'school' and a positive demeanor, combined with a decent job market

 

:smt023
You are lucky to have an awesome mom who taught you right. I've had many friends over the years here in Florida who came from really shitty families (drug addict/loser parents, etc.), and in many cases they ended up just like (if not worse than) their parents whom they'd always blamed for their shitty upbringing.

But it's amazing how much in life is determined by attitude/drive. I'm not trying to compare here or anything (having already been told how easy I have it simply due to being a WW), but as an immigrant who had been told since my move to the US so much and often of what I couldn't do or hope for, but accomplishing that and then some anyway (with more drawbacks and barriers than I would even like to admit), I can totally sympathize with your story and your determination for taking charge to improve your situation regardless of many outside circumstances. So a big "fuck you" to all the people who thought/said I wouldn't make it, but also a "thank you" for providing the extra motivation.

 

I just realized how many times I wrote 'so yeah'

Writing fail

As for you, white woman, you have it ooooo so easy

Jk

Everyone has a unique story to tell.....you can't assume some random black guy will have it harder than some random white guy, when you know absolutely nothing of their situations or backgrounds

There's just too many variables involved besides skin color and in today's society, anyone from any race can have advantages others don't

I grew up in philly and although racism and crime were rampant, there was opportunity to be had by those willing to take it. Magnet schools, sports programs, city-wide public transit, SAT prep classes, world-class libraries, community college to 4-year college agreements; just about anything you can think of. Compare that to some white guy living in a dilapidated town in Louisiana, with little to no resources, listening to me go on about how hard life is for blacks. Lol

 

So yeah ;-) I truly appreciate your open-mindedness. Although I can't speak much for "some white guy living in a dilapidated town in Louisiana," I agree with you on so many points...

 

Corny and classless.... she still looks like a manbeast too lol.

 

Local communities protest violence in their neighborhoods all the time, stop looking for the media to report shit, get involved and experience it yourself.

Complete bullshit, stop perpetuating lies to make your white brethen feel better. Philly has many stop the violence campaigns, marches, and activties to keep the youth off the street.

 

Talk about of touch. The systematic issues that create poverty in urban communities occupied by blacks and latinos is what really needs to be addressed. Mentoring a kid to do what? Stay away from drugs and gangs? The reason they do that shit is mainly because of a lack of options and those lifestyles provide revenue for kids who don't have much to begin with. Taking them to shoot hoops and giving them homework help sounds good but does little to alleviate the major consistent problems.

 

Preach fam preach. It's like most of these mofos are too damn lazy to do a simple Google search

 

Your eyes will suffer.

You're right, Lippy is right, Petty is right.

The systematic issues that create poverty in urban communities occupied by blacks and latinos does need to be addressed. The issues that lead to the economic disparity in both communities is very different, but it should be addressed nonetheless. I think that goes without question.

Male figures DO need to remain involved. Preferably the fathers, but in their absence it is good to have positive male role models. When the primary successful male figures that black children see are athletes, actors, rappers and thugs that is what they begin to idolize, then relate themselves to and finally aspire to. Especially when these lifestyles are glamorized. We need more hard working father figure role models. More BM need to be 'that dude' that every black male actor has to play at some time in his hollywood career.

There are many, not all... but many who, regardless of their situation, are determined to 'pick them self up by the bootstrap' and 'make something out of themselves'. This is taking personal responsibility and accountability. This is where I struggle to condemn those who don't / can't, but am quick to applaud those who do. I still struggle with the idea that a child, born into a cycle of downpression should be expected as the norm to flourish... its just not natural. A rose is not expected to grow from concrete.



What is happening and will continue to happen is that we need more of those who have made it out and who have something positive of their lives to serve as positive figures and role models in the lives of the youth, because they can relate and therefore sympathize better than anybody. They should also drive the change in the system because they are the ones best in the position to make that change.

As far as I can see, you're all right... different pieces to the same puzzle.

 

communities occupied by blacks and latinos is what really needs to be addressed. Mentoring a kid to do what? Stay away from drugs and gangs? The reason they do that shit is mainly because of a lack of options and those lifestyles provide revenue for kids who don't have much to begin with. Taking them to shoot hoops and giving them homework help sounds good but does little to alleviate the major consistent problems.[/QUOTE]

Excellent posts!

 

So what do you suggest? Most of us aren't going to effect a revolutionary change on a large scale. The most many of us can do is reach one, maybe a few. And you never know: That "one" that someone reaches could be one who does effect great change one day.

 

On the issue of 'stop and frisk,' pat downs and metal detectors were NORMAL for any public school in philadelphia

I knew a school that would pull in random classes and do mass searches

Kids were literally slashing each other's faces, especially the girls

I totally forgot about what it was like growing up in philly

All of those efforts were designed to keep kids from doing serious harm to each other and I was glad that they were in place

But stop and frisk doesn't pull in the whole city so to speak......just the poor minorities so I can see what the beef is with that

 

With TDK it's like an all or nothing approach

Best to give up without even trying when it comes to dialogue with him

Bottom line...until that revolution occurs...mentoring, GOOD PARENTING, positive police presences (because safety is an important issue - here's to you Maslow), schooling and job opportunities will have to suffice

None of us would be where we are (assuming you people are actually somewhere lol) today if we ourselves didn't capitalize on some or all of the above

Everyone has a unique story to tell, full of their own trials and tribulations

 

U completely missed the point

I was talking about more publicity ie front page on yahoo or any random mainstream website where racial issues are the big ticket

When the sandy hook shooting occurred, followed by the nationwide response to it, many in my city (shown on the local news) were upset because we deal with the murder of loved ones daily, yet it seems like people are simply desensitized to it

You're entitled to your opinion tho

 

I remain ever hopeful...

 

And what the hell with the 'white brethren' bullcrap

Dude look in the mirror....ur on a website where you people idolize white women and jerkoff to interracial cartoons

Ur not exactly in the running for 'realist Blackman of the month"

 

I suggest that we volunteer more in our communities but not by mentoring. Skill development and local food intiatives to feed the hungry. We need to alleviate poverty and hunger so starting with that would be a good idea. Train these kids to take some of these in demand jobs rather than just hanging out with me to see how good I have it with no real advice on how to get themselves. Most times mentorship programs are more for the adults who get to feel good about themselves than the kids who return to the same shit conditions.

 

Remain shitty my friend