[Fzob]

Mr. Ferguson speculated that what Professor Ogbu saw was a clumsy attempt by black students to search for a comfortable racial identity. "What does it mean to be black?" he said. "What does it mean to be white? The community needs to help kids make sense of their own identity."

Perhaps some kind Freeper can help me understand this thinking. As I kid I never thought what does it mean to be white. Why would I? I was a poor white kid living on welfare that never thought for an instant my skin color had anything to do with who or what I am or what is my potential. Nor have I ever thought I needed to act white. What ever that means

Why would a black kid wonder what it means to be black? Who thinks up this nonsense? What value is there is framing your world in this way? Why is there a need to deconstruct your identity in terms of skin color?

[Nataku X]

I never wondered what it meant to be white, either, until I went to my first grad computer science class and found out that I stuck out like a sore eye in a sea of Indians.

[cynicom]

Why is there a need???? The only need is a political one. The socialists use them and far too many of them are willing to go along with the program. I grew up in poverty, no welfare.

[spintreebob]

As I kid I never thought what does it mean to be white. Amen

When I grew up, there were individualists and rugged individualists. I was raised with the idea that I must read and interpret the Bible for myself; that I should never trust other's interpretation. Max Weber referred to this in the Spirit of Capitalism.

I was oblivious to role models. The question was: What did God want me to be, and to do? I see a small number of my Black neighbors raising their kids exactly the same way. The pre-school kid is reading the King James Bible just as I did. Some Korean families near me also have that personal salvation and reading the Bible for ones self approach.

I see some Sikhs and Moslems raising their kids the same way. They are just using a different book. Maybe for others, the motivation is money and power, not religion.

Conclusion: A religious revival/awakening might be the solution. I'd like to see a study of the MillionMan March and PromiseKeepers (two arms of the same movement). A PromiseKeepers style religious conversion to personal responsibility might just be the answer to our social problems.