Posted on 06/17/2006 11:38:57 AM PDT by wagglebee
I work from time to time in Boston's great medical-educational complex, the center of which is on the edge of a black neighborhood. At work I have seen young adults who have pulled themselves up and moved out of the ghetto, and others who still live there and find themselves in a sort of bi-cultural bind--they "act white" at their jobs in the hospital, the jobs that are their keys out of Roxbury. But it is to Roxbury that they return at night, and they face the resentment of those who either haven't yet figured out a way to leave, or those who through weakness or pride or hatred would prefer to stay put.
When the cities were burning in the 60s, blacks and whites couldn't talk about this stuff. Now we can and do, and whenever there's anything that can be said to offer these kids encouragement and support, it is my observation that the conversation goes both ways, and no one resents any of it.
I suspect that the "multi-cultural" crowd prefers poverty to hope, so that they can keep their constituents in line.
I'm doing my part to attach a stigma to white kids acting black. It breaks my heart to see white people acting like ghetto trash...
You do get peer group pressures...some of it's based on kids sorting themselves out into groups on their own. Kids who've had problems in school tend to develop aversions to learning...they can be acted out in various ways, but kids who do poorly tend to hang together and reinforce each other's aversion, just like high performance students tend to reinforce the idea that it's just natural to do well.
If you asked me if I could make up a plan for an ideal world for adolescents, it would be to send them to work in apprenticeship/service work situations during the ages of 14-17, and only let them come back to school early if they tested well as being able to do well in an academic environment. And then when they reach college age, send them back to complete their education. What they need is more real-world interaction with adults and less crowding together in peer groups where they develop these "youth cultures" that doom a lot of them to unhappy years ahead.
Of course, that won't happen. But our ancestors had wisdom when they used to put their teens out to service (being servants or apprentices or squires or what have you). High school is bad for many people's mental health.
But then I'm a historical radical, I guess. Or is that ultra-conservative, since I would go back to something based on the 18th century model?
It is part and parcel of the entire inner-city culture of defeatism and victimhood.
It's like watching a barrel of crabs. One will try to climb out of the barrel and three will reach up and pull him back into the barrel.
I should have read through your post before I commented. I made the same barrel of crabs assessment that you did.
Great minds think alike.
A penny for your thoughts on this?
“For some people, it puts the problem back on the students themselves.”
What does acting black look like?
What is interesting is the "thug life" culture is hurting blacks in many sports. If you want to make NBA these days maybe you better act Virgin Islander, Canadian, Argentinian, French, Slavic or German as African Americans are no longer dominating the sport as they once did. If you want to make the Major Leagues, maybe you want to act Hispanic, African Americans in the majors are down significantly. The best African American non pitching prospect in the minors was recently suspended for hitting an umpire with a bat obviously if he had been a congresswoman he would have gotten a free pass.
Don't forget that it is OK to be stupid as long as you feel good about your self.
I believe that would be a good thing.
Courtney has a doctorate in physics, makes a moderate six figure income, drives a Bentley sports convertible, and can order in perfect English from her black friends when she stops by McDonald's.
You forgot owns a home, has money in the bank, has never been arrested and has two children by the same father who she is married to and has been since before her children were conceived.
"School boy"
"School girl"
I guess these are the same as "acting white."
:-( There's something inherently and deeply sad that SUCCESS is thought of as "acting white."
Yep, and the children are in PRIVATE school.
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