RW> I have done a little research on class mobility in the US.  If you 
RW> care to do the same you will find out that one of the fastest growing 
RW> classes is the black middle class.  So you have the poor blacks 
RW> moving out of 'poorness' and into the American dream.
RB> Well, you haven't done enough. While the black middle class
RB> may be on the rise  (partially due to the _children_ that
RB> middle class families invariably have),  it is because of
Huh?  How can having children move you up the class
scale?  It takes more money when you have children
because you have to feed/care for them as well as buy
your 'things'.
RB> affirmative action programs, which of course are being 
You mean the programs that do just the opposite of what
MLKJ wanted?  You know where a man is not judged on the
color of his skin.  I do believe that was his great
dream.
RB> dismantled on a nationwide basis. However, this does not
RB> change the fact that  most blacks live in poverty, nor does
RB> it change the fact that the conditions of 
Most blacks?  You mean 60-80% of the entire black
population lives in poverty (as defined by the
government)?  Sorry but I'd have to see some hard stats
because the ones I have seen say that the percentages
are more or less the same across all racial lines.
RB> poverty are getting worse, nor does it change the fact that
RB> the wealth  stratification is growing in leaps and bounds. 
Again this doesn't correspond with the numbers.  The
number of millionaires in the US has grown tremendously
in the past ten years.  These are not people who's
daddy died and left them a million or two.  They are
people who have invested their hard earned money and it
paid off.  They are also the former middle class.  Also
with unemployment so low wages have been forced up
which means people are making more money and there are
more jobs for the 'poor'.
RW> The difference between these groups and others is the fact that they 
RW> support each other rather than victimize each other.
RB> I see! So, according to you, it is the black community's
RB> fault that so many of  them are in poverty, and not so much
RB> the racism and discrimination and culture  of poverty that
RB> so many black activists claim. Am I right here? 
In one part, yes.  When was the last time you saw or
heard of a group of black businessmen pooling their
money and loaning it to a hard working but 'poor' black
man so he could start his own business?  When was the
last time you heard of a group of blacks pooling their
own money to buy up an abandon building and turn it
into a business?  When was the last time you heard of a
group of blacks forming a insurance pool to lower their
individual rates?
Now if you have ever heard of any of those compare that
number to the number of times you have heard black
leaders say that a black man can't make it because of
racism.  Or the number of times you have heard a black
leader say that everything is the fault of the white
man, the government, poverty, discrimination, etc.  Or
the number of times you have heard of one black student
tell another that doing good in school is "going
white".
You tell a man that he is worthless and will never be
able to do anything on his own enough and he will come
to believe it.
                      Remember:  Freedom isn't Free!
--- timEd-B11
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