American Citizenship for all Israelis and Jews Everywhere?

[Fontinau]

[Fontinau]

General note: Yes, I know this subdiscussion should have gone to Hell several posts ago. I apologize to all undeservedly irritated parties.

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[Mr. Perfect]

[Mr. Perfect]

[Rhapsody]

Is this thread another symptom of the USA falling apart?

[Simple Minded]

[YMix]

[Simple Minded]

Fontinau,

Here is a Simple Minded thought on the perception of racism in America:

I'm 51 years old, and most of my 50-80 year old peers will tell you the most oppressive people they have ever dealt with in their lives were their parents. Bill Cosby made a lot of money in the 1970's and 1980's talking about this era. It was funny as Hell, because we (whites, blacks, browns, etc) all lived thru it as children.

If your parents oppressed you (had high standards for your behavior, speech, manners, etc) as a child. You might be surprised as 20-something or 30-something, how nice society treats you, and how well society responds to your "acceptable" behavior.

On the other hand, if your parents spoiled you as a child, when you get to your 20s and 30s, and you think the world should re-arrange itself around your immature culture (your refusal to assimilate to society), you might think life and society is unfair.

I often look at my neices, nephews, and the children of my peers and think "These kids have have been raised in such oppulance, and shielded so well, they are going to be marginally competent, and perpetually unhappy as adults. It will be extremely difficult for them to build better lives for themselves as adults than the childhood environment their parents provided. If they never leave home, who would be surprised?"

I will not be a bit suprised 20 years from now to see data showing how the children raised in lower class, and lower middle class families are much happier, and more successful, than children raised in upper middle class or rich families. Same situation with the immigrants you mention.

The viewpoints of people of most people probably correlate better by age and culture, than by race or ethinicity.

Be very wary of statistics, they are very easy to manipulate to show one's presupposed opinion is true.

[Simple Minded]

[Colonel Sun]

[AzariLoveIran]

[Simple Minded]

[skyhook77sfg]

MR NOT SO SIMPLE MINDED


has stated a truism more often avoided than not...

"The INDIVIDUALS who CHOOSE to overcome the self-destructive cultures in which they are raised will have a better quality of life than those who CHOOSE to remain in that culture. That choice is made every single hour by every single individual. Race is irrelevant!!!!! "


if only there were more of the first...

there would be fewer of the latter.

we are, in sioux medicine man Black Elk's words.....

each but a blade of grass .

[Fontinau]

[Fontinau]

[Fontinau]

[CgDs]

[Simple Minded]

Fontinau,
LOL LOL, I am loving this dialogue bro! Loving it!

Don't worry abut hurting my feelings, you haven't! I grew up in an era & region of blunt communication. If you grew up in Boston, or lived there any length of time, you know the type. Similarly, I will not worry about hurting your feelings.

"Offense in always in the receiver, not the Transmitter!" Call it a verbal fight if you want, I can it an open and honest voicing of opinion. Nothing more! "Where everyone thinks alike, no one thinks very much!"

To shield another from your opinion, especially if you disagree with them, is a sign you neither respect their ability to judge matters for themselves, nor the validity of your opinion.

Regarding Azari, he is his own man. Sometimes I think him a fool, other times I value his wise perspectives. In other words, a typical human being. I refuse to judge anyone who has accumlated decades of knowledge on the basis of a few hundred or even a few thousands words. We are all long running videos, not snapshots of a frozen moment.

Regarding our previous discussion, don't be so quick to boil an individual who is a collection of thousands of variables, or a group who is a collection of millions or billions of variables, down to one or two variables, such as race, gender, age, nationality, etc. It requires intentional, purposeful strategy of ignoring circumstances and influences, ie: willful ignorance

That said, American culture has been in decline for decades, by many measures. If we limit our data points to a very few black individuals, compare MLK Jr. or Thomas Sowell, or Walter Williams, or Clarence Thomas to some of the more current "black leaders." The label of black, white, christian, feminist, etc. "leader" itself is horribly misleading. Who appointed the so called leader? Who do they speak for? None of the individuals in the ______ demographic group are herd animals. The media creates the title.

MLK Jr. was a fine man who spoke of the positive aspects of human potential. Judge an individual by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. No one can argue against that. That is a call to action for each person to their best self, and to expect others to judge you as an individual, based upon your actions, and no one else's behavior.

Now if an individual wants to label themself as a member of a demographic herd white, black, male, female, gay, straight, christian, jew, whtever, they lose the ability to define themselves! They are in effect saying judge me based on the actions of my herd label, not upon mine own behavior or merits. Very silly.

In additon, they also say my chosen culture as a ________ demographic herd animal, is in competion with the demographic herd animal culture label I choose to define you. Seems like a pretty stupid thing to do to me.

In short, show me your friends and activities, I'll show you your future. As Sowell pointed out, southern, rural, whites, and northern, urban, blacks both speak Ebonics. Both have similar cultures (brought over from the British highlands), both have similar levels of success, both cultures are voluntary. Both reap what they sow.

[AzariLoveIran]

[Fontinau]

[Fontinau]

[Simple Minded]

Fontinau,

LOL

How old are you?

[Simple Minded]

Fontinau,

OK, I'm over my laughing fit now.

Here is a bit of advice for you. If you are still in high school, don't get a cushy summer job in an A/C environment. If you are in college, drop out for a year. Regardless of what you do or how old you are, live someplace for a while where they don't use toilet paper.

Spend a couple summers working in the fields, picking crops by hand, along side the migrant workers. You might learn that people who have not been raised in the same environment as you have a different perspective. You might find out that what you call oppression or racism, they call opportunites to make their life better. You might find out that what you think is Hell, they think is Heaven.

and try not to get ticked off when they laugh at you.

Regarding helping out the less fortunate, if you are not in high school or college, what percentage of your take home pay do you donate to charity?

[AzariLoveIran]

[Simple Minded]