Racism isn't in the list

[Larry Pattis]

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

Election day simply needs to be a national holiday...one way to help insure that *everyone* gets the chance to vote.

Originally Posted by matthewpartrick

This is a pretty good idea.

Brain fart...of course, here in Oregon we have no polls, and no inconvenience of traveling even short distances to vote...unless you consider your own mailbox a "short distance".

The idea of a national holiday is certainly not new, not mine, and (ahem) not necessary in Oregon!

We have our ballots and voter-info brochures delivered by mail, well in advance of all elections...and we can drop the filled-out ballot in the mail, or drop it off (if we are in-town) in a special ballot-box (resembles a free standing USPS mailbox).

Nonetheless, and despite the convenience of vote-by-mail, we still have a fairly low voter "turnout"...ignorance and apathy seem to be a way of life in the good ol' U.S. of A.

It's the willful/intentional ignorance that gets me...

[CoolerKing]

I'm just saying, I think this thread is beginning to wear itself out.

[Larry Pattis]

Originally Posted by Psalad

This is a good read.

http://raceandhistory.com/selfnews/v...7,52881,.shtml

Please respond after reading it with your thoughts.

This is indeed an important and pertinent read, and it thrusts a sword directly into the heart of one fallacious argument presented here.

Too bad it's been ignored here by those who could benefit the most, perspective-wise.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

This is indeed an important and pertinent read, and it thrusts a sword directly into the heart of one fallacious argument presented here.

Too bad it's been ignored here by those who could benefit the most, perspective-wise.

Fear based perceptions are often fortified with the thickest walls and a mote. All the while suffering the delusion that the slits in the parapet afford realistic objective view.

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by GHS

Yes. I agree everyone should have equal opportunity in life. But I will present some facts and some personal observations addressing some previous posts. Someone said more money needed for poor school districts. Good. Example: More money is spent on the City of Paterson NJ school system than the ENTIRE Bergen Co. school system, somewhere in the neighborhood of 360 million dollars and only 3 of the graduates from the city went to college. Voting; It was posted that we should not oppress people from voting by having them get ID cards from the state, that are free by the way. But when I go to AC I notice that people have no problem standing in long lines to get ID cards to enable them to gamble. And they have to produce ID to get them!! No problem with that!! Please, see the reality and not the hype.

With all due respect (and I mean this very seriously: I don't intend to provoke or express disrespect) most people have their own experience of individuls of a particular race. Sometimes these experiences are the result of living in a neighborhood, sometimes it is the result of seeing a few (ot many) people in public places, sometimes it is the result of long-time intimate friendships, etc .

These experiences ought not be used to make generalized statements about the way "those people" are. To use one's experience of a few dozen people (or brief, superficial observations of a few hundred people) to make confident statements about the nature and capacitities of 20 million people is not valid, logically or statistically. And it certainly is not a valid basis for deciding what interventions might or might not be effective.

The ONLY basis for making confident decisions about what might work is to do research (like the research done on Head Start, which shows that it is effective). We can also make decisions that seem like logical extensions of the principles of our government (about making voting abundantly easy to do), even though we do not know if they will work, simply because such a step is consistent with the principles of the Constitution, and the Amendments, and Supreme Court decisions.

I hope you see and appreciate my point.

[Rondoraymundo]

The delusion of ego strikes again..................

[Fatstrat]

Originally Posted by Psalad

This is a good read.

http://raceandhistory.com/selfnews/v...7,52881,.shtml

Please respond after reading it with your thoughts.

Complete Balderdash. There's so much in this to pick apart that I could literally write a book on it.
1st the contention that Asians work brutal harder/longer hours in sweat shops to earn their higher incomes. While such sweat shops do certainly exist, I've made pick ups at some (in San Francisco). If this idea was valid, wouldn't it also apply to Hispanics?
Also the idea that the U.S. only allows immigration of worthy educated Asians who can step right in and contribute to society. Tell that to the two Mong truck drivers I work with that immigrated here pennyless as "boat people".
This is a completely biased and skewed OPINION PIECE that offers minimal if any actual factual evidence.

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by matthewpartrick

I'm just saying, I think this thread is beginning to wear itself out.

You are proabaly right. The posts are becoming more strident, more overtly hostile.

On a positive note: the thread has lasted more than two days without becoming unduly aggressive or "not nice", which I do take as an answer to my initial question. Any thread can become harsh and "hot". But race seems to do better than some topics, such as Equal marriage, Gay Pride, or Global Warming.

Could you (or another moderator) close it before it becomes necessary to delete it?

Thanks for your patient monitoring, and your periodic posts to support a better process.

[CoolerKing]

Closed at request of OP.