BET channel seeking favors based on race

[forrestkc]

In an ideal America, we wouldn't continue this nonsence about promoting diversity, and placing people into groups, but everyone would simply be Americans. Many of the problems we continue to face come from the fact that we do continue to promote the idea of inequality, and victimization. It is amazing how that we are so many years past the days portrayed in "To Kill A Mockingbird," and yet we still have racism. It was only a couple of years ago, Robert Byrd, Democratic Senator from West Virginia repeatedly used the "n" word.

The solution is to put an end to a group mentality, and that means moving away from things like affirmative action. I don't have any desire to see entire groups dissapear through intermarriage, nor do I believe it is necessary to make things better. God created us with the color skin we have, whether it be white, red or black. We just need to stop viewing ourselves as African-American, Hispanic American, European American, Native American, etc., and come together as American. That is not possible when people keep intentionally creating walls of separation.

The problem is that people are different. We are a diverse society with many different cultures, religious beliefs, ethnicities, and traditions. Its not as though someone cannot be two or more things at once. For example, I am a human, a man, a husband, a father, a Christian, an American, and so on and so forth. As a parent, I have concerns that someone that is not a parent would not necessarily have and these concerns would be universal regardless of where in the world I live. As an American I have concerns that citizens of other nations may or may not have. As a human being I have concerns and needs that unite me with every other human being on earth.

You are a Southern Evangelical. That is something that defines you. You probably have concerns that a Catholic might not have and they have concerns that you may not have. What would divide you beyond that would be something of your own creation, not something intrinsic as to who you are. Otherwise, there is nothing intrinsic that prevents a Catholic and a Conservative Evangelical from coming together as a Americans. If they can't its their own personal biases. Therefore, the solution is not doing away with being Catholics and Conservative Evangelicals, but rather its dealing with the personal biases that might divide you. The same would be true with Whites and African Americans or Whites and Hispanics. There is nothing intrinsic about race or ethnicity that prevents us from coming together as Americans. If one is Hispanic and another White, the only wall of separation that might exist would be an artificial one based in the biases of one or both individuals. Thus the solution is to deal with those biases rather than ignoring diversity and demanding conformity.

[Guest LadyC]

I hold to the position that there should be no affirmative action, and there should be no laws in place that force any person to hire anyone they don't wish to. If I start a business with my money, I shouldn't be forced by the government to hire someone. I believe we should do away with all anti-descrimination laws, and let the chips fall where they may. If someone hates blacks, they shouldn't have to hire them. If a black employer hates whites, he shouldn't have to hire them. If a non-Christian hates Christians, he shouldn't have to hire them. If a Christian doesn't want to hire non-believers, they shouldn't have to hire them. The only exception would be when it comes to government agencies doing the hiring because that is at tax payers expense, but when it comes to individuals, we should be free to hire who we choose for whatever reason we choose, period.

i am totally with ya on this!

[pamiam]

I hold to the position that there should be no affirmative action, and there should be no laws in place that force any person to hire anyone they don't wish to. If I start a business with my money, I shouldn't be forced by the government to hire someone. I believe we should do away with all anti-descrimination laws, and let the chips fall where they may. If someone hates blacks, they shouldn't have to hire them. If a black employer hates whites, he shouldn't have to hire them. If a non-Christian hates Christians, he shouldn't have to hire them. If a Christian doesn't want to hire non-believers, they shouldn't have to hire them. The only exception would be when it comes to government agencies doing the hiring because that is at tax payers expense, but when it comes to individuals, we should be free to hire who we choose for whatever reason we choose, period.

i am totally with ya on this!

You know what's weird? I'm an example of an "American," whose parents left Kansas when I was young to make their lives in California, so extended family was fairly well eliminated. Left the Catholic church for a non-demoninational church. You can't tell by looking at me that I'm any particular ethnicity. Well, not really true, as I'm a tall blonde, so that rules some things out. Here's the thing, though. I'm so assimilated and unaffiliated that I feel a little sad about it sometimes. One of my favorite movies is "Moonstruck," and I just love that extended family thing, wacko or not. I was in Boston this year and felt the same thing in the Italian district where we bought pizza. One of my Jewish friends called me, "white bread." I love it when those black football players look at the tv cameras and say, "Hi, Mom." My sons are grown now but I'm sure they would never have thought to mention me if a tv camera was in their face. I'm mixing apples and oranges, but I think the results of social goals always come with unexpected, unintentional and unwelcome results. We aim for diversity, assimilation, demand tolerance, and experience a potpourri of belief systems that boggle our collective minds. I think I've sufficiently confused myself that I'll stop whatever it is I'm trying to say. At least I've admitted that I rather wish I'd been born in an Italian family. lol

[forrestkc]

Do you realize what you basically just said? It seems that you are basically saying that to be a true American, one must act white.

[georgesbluegirl]

Do you realize what you basically just said? It seems that you are basically saying that to be a true American, one must act white.

I agree. Yeah. Wow.

I also have a problem with this statement: "Diversity is destructive to this nation, as it is pitting one group against another."

We are a nation built of individual states, states that differ in how they govern themselves but still adhere to the basic principles upon which this country was founded. Similarly, we are a collection of sovereign individuals who all, through our citizenship, adhere to these same principles. Ultimately, those principles assert what makes me proud of our nation, the fact that we are free to be different from each other, to believe differently, to speak our disagreement, to live our lives expecting the respect of others and in return receive respect. The United States was never supposed to be monolithic, and our goal should never be homogeneity. That, I think, would be counterintuitive to our most core beliefs as a nation.

[Marnie]

The root for "diversity"is divide.

My father came to America from Israel and actually changed his name to Americanize himself. Why? Was it to be white? No, it was to be like the majority of people here. I hate to admit it, but the vast majority of Americans are white, or shades thereof. He learned to speak English (or American, as he calls it) without an accent. He cut his hair, shaved his beard and dressed like the average American. Did he do this because he was ashamed of his Israeli roots? No, it was to be an American. My Dad calls himself an American, not a Jewish-American.

I have no quarrel with ethnic groups who live together; that's pretty common, we all like be around people who are like us. But what unites us should be the flag and we should focus on what we have in common, not on what divides us, as multiculturalism does.

If you want to see what happens when minorities fail to assimilate, just look at Europe, Great Britain, especially.

[forrestkc]

The root for "diversity"is divide.

My father came to America from Israel and actually changed his name to Americanize himself. Why? Was it to be white? No, it was to be like the majority of people here. I hate to admit it, but the vast majority of Americans are white, or shades thereof. He learned to speak English (or American, as he calls it) without an accent. He cut his hair, shaved his beard and dressed like the average American. Did he do this because he was ashamed of his Israeli roots? No, it was to be an American. My Dad calls himself an American, not a Jewish-American.

I have no quarrel with ethnic groups who live together; that's pretty common, we all like be around people who are like us. But what unites us should be the flag and we should focus on what we have in common, not on what divides us, as multiculturalism does.

If you want to see what happens when minorities fail to assimilate, just look at Europe, Great Britain, especially.

So, once again, to be a true American, one must act white. Multiculturalism does not divide. Its bigotry, racism, and xenophobia that divide.

As I stated in a different thread, our adoptive daughter's name is Harper Qiong. We kept her Chinese Name because she is Chinese. She is a Chinese American. The fact that she is a Chinese American in and of itself will not result in her being any more or less of an American or any more or less patriotic than someone born in Kansas. Its a recognition that she was born in China and moved to America and is now an American citizen. She will always have a cultural tie to China because she was born and spent part of her life there. We are a nation of immigrants. We are a multicultural / multiracial society. That is a defining quality of our nation. It is what makes our nation great. It is the countless stories like hers that are the fabric of this nation.

However, going by some of the arguments presented on here, it seems to be a real American, we should start dying her hair blond and consult a plastic surgeon about giving her western eyes and features. That way she can assimilate and be a real American.

[Marnie]

Don't put words in my mouth. Dad came over in the late '60's, it was a different world then, and you know it. My point was that he did what it took then to succeed and get ahead. But he did it on his own, he didn't whine for help from government agencies or cry "foul" when he encountered bigotry. He was beholden to nobody. His sense of worth came from within, not from what label he wore.

However...I stand by what I said. Multiculturalism divides, it never unites. GB, France, Germany, even Canada, all were one time very proud of the multiculturalism, are now reaping seeds sown decades ago. There's no unity there.

Just an observation of the real world and what works in it. It's a wildly wonderful concept in academia, and if it makes you feel good to believe it, fine.

[forrestkc]

Don't put words in my mouth. Dad came over in the late '60's, it was a different world then, and you know it. My point was that he did what it took then to succeed and get ahead. But he did it on his own, he didn't whine for help from government agencies or cry "foul" when he encountered bigotry. He was beholden to nobody. His sense of worth came from within, not from what label he wore.

However...I stand by what I said. Multiculturalism divides, it never unites. GB, France, Germany, even Canada, all were one time very proud of the multiculturalism, are now reaping seeds sown decades ago. There's no unity there.

Just an observation of the real world and what works in it. It's a wildly wonderful concept in academia, and if it makes you feel good to believe it, fine.

Marnie, I don't just believe it. I live in it. We have a multicultural home. We live in a Multicultural city. On weekends we shop at the Asian Market, the Middle Eastern Market, maybe pick something up in the Italian Market.

Multiculturalism has nothing at all to do with government hand outs. Yes, to succeed you have to speak the local language and make connections. Thats anywhere. However, that doesn't mean that you have to drop your entire culture and past by the wayside.

I don't get these references to Europe and Canada either. Western Europe and Canada have violent crime rates that are a mere fraction of ours. They don't have near the problems living with each other that we do. If an individual has a problem with multiculturalism, then that is a personal issue that they need to work out themselves. You cannot nor should you not expect others to conform and "assimilate" simply because you have a problem with diversity. This is true across the board. Regardless of whether someone is white and doesn't like diversity, or if they are black and or hispanic and don't like it.

We are not, nor have we ever been a heterogeneous society. We don't even have an official language, but rather a default one. If one is looking for a heterogeneous society then move to Iceland.

xenophobia: An unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.

That is a disorder, not a virtue.

[Marnie]

I don't want to hijack this thread. So, I'll stop with this post. We'll never see eye-to-eye on this issue, besides I am having too much fun on the Lying thread. You will poo poo these articles I am sure, but for the sake of lurkers, I put them up.

Diversity and Multiculturalism: The New Racism

Multiculturalism's War on Education

How Multiculturalism Took Over America

Multicultural policies in Europe have largely failed...

The Failures of Multiculturalism