Did I say that? My point was that we live in a country where the current thinking is treating employees well. I didn't say everyone did, but guess what? We can make all the rules in the world, it doesn't mean people will follow them either. There will always be jackasses out there screwing people over. Can I have some examples of how Wally World screws their employees over by the way? I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but we throw around blanket statements like they are fact.

I'd also like to point out that this country does provide a service that gives out;

1.Job training

2. Money for college

3. Housing

4. A more than living wage

its called the military.....lots of people who cant afford to/arent ready for college go in, do their time and come out ready to tackle life.


And I'll go ahead and save us a lot of time. If the retort is: Blah blah toting a gun in Iraq. Blah blah blood for oil, etc. Look, next door to the Army and Marines recruiter, they got the Navy and Air Force.

Shit, my brother was not all equipped to go to college. He went in the Nav, did his 5 years, got out and turned out pretty good.

If you would like to see Klan (and other hate group) activity, then kindly refer to the following map, noting number of hate groups in each state, provided by the Southern Poverty Law Center:



For specifics on the above, click: http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp

I only gave it a quick glance, but it looks like a week hasn't gone by since April '03 ( as far back as the list goes) without a "hate incident" being committed.

Lovely.

Steve

I'll still take these…

Seattle
Published on 08-26-2005
Racial epithets were spray-painted on the garage doors of a residence.

Bonita Springs, FL
Published on 08-25-2005
Swastikas and other hate graffiti were scrawled on a building and a sign at a local school.

Olathe, KS
Published on 08-23-2005
Fliers from the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan were distributed throughout a neighborhood.

…over violent incidents like James Byrd or Matthew Shepard anyday, to which I'm sure you'll agree.

Without attempting to sound like an apologist though, we should probably step back and realize that the Civil Rights legislation of the 60s is just 40 years old. These sort of things take time, and the evolution will never happen fast enough. However, we have made more positive strides in the past 40 years compared to the 300 years that preceded it. Gay marriage is a Civil Rights issue gets people up in arms these days, but in reality it's a matter of when, not if it will happen.

This picture is from the Klan's march on Washington in 1925:


I would be completely surprised if the Klan or any other hate group could put together this sort of demonstration today. They march here every 4-5 years. It's never a very big spectacle since they can only round up 20 or so guys to march.

And for those of you who believe that George W. Bush is a racist, he doesn't even come close to Woodrow Wilson, the admired progressive. Wilson actually re-segregated the federal government, which Lincoln had integrated in 1863. It think the vast majority of Americans would be appalled at that action today.

Changes are long overdue, but conditions are improving every single day. It's just not going to happen overnight. And when it does happen, there are still gonna be hatemongers like David Duke and Khalid Abdul Mohammad. There will also be people like Al Campanis who slip up and say some dumb shit on television. Give it a little time; it's getting there.

I'm just gonna bow outta this discussion on the economics. We can argue all day, but are unlikely to convince each other of anything. Both sides can piojnt to strong supporters with impeccible crediantials as back-up. Both sides have holes to poke and fairly standard comebacks. In the end, it comes down to where your personal values lie, and that's just not the kinda stuff that changes in an internet thread. Besides, there's just really no way to know for sure which side of the coin is right, especially considering the reality will remain a balancing act.

Racism? Yup still around...not as strong as it once was, but not going completely away any time soon. If you wanna care about racism...go do soemthing to help out a black community or stop a group from trampling on someone's civil rights. Otherwise, you're just spinning your tires and aren't helping things any more than if you were having this conversation with your grandma.

And, yes I have helped the problem when I've had the chance over the years...spent a few years writing grant proposals for underserved urban communities. We got some sderious dollars poured into some problems and got some stuff accomplished, but of course, its always a frustrating battle. When people have been down so long, its really hard to get them to even wanna get up.

Agreed. Though it is fun to argue, no?