Senator Tom Cotton: Send In the Troops

[puer.dei]

I just don’t see much empathy for business owners like this gentleman.

And yet, if you get down to the local level, there are many many reports of people chipping in ( and not just financially) to help these businesses recover. It’s just not going to be national news, because there are so many “small” stories.

 

[StudentMI]

Is this an application of subsidiarity? I hadn’t really thought of it that way.

No I’m saying subsidiarity is a great guiding principle. Sending troops down to the south to ensure integration was an instance of such, in my opinion.

 

[Hume]

The solution is to send in the NG where order can’t be restored without them and then promote ongoing dialogue.

From there?

It sucks, but people don’t hand over power and privilege. No one does. So disenfranchised minorities have no choice but to play the game of the empowered classes.

Get an education. A skill. Use it to make money and provide a foundation for your offspring.

Is that harder to do for minority communities? Often it is. But the only other option is to remove those in power by force. However, those in power have a modern military. The oppressed do not.

So play their game and be as good or better at it than “they” are. That’s the only real choice.

The best we can do to help them play is work to ensure the playing field is as fair as we can make it.

/end rant

 

[Peeps]

It sucks, but people don’t hand over power and privilege. No one does. So disenfranchised minorities have no choice but to play the game of the empowered classes.

Get an education. A skill. Use it to make money and provide a foundation for your offspring.

Is that harder to do for minority communities? Often it is. But the only other option is to remove those in power by force. However, those in power have a modern military. The oppressed do not.

So play their game and be as good or better at it than “they” are. That’s the only real choice.

The best we can do to help them play is work to ensure the playing field is as fair as we can make it.

I agree about the education. That’s the key to any hope of making a decent life in the United States.

And it’s not a game. Throughout history, those who pursue an education have managed to make contributions to this world and many times these contributions benefit mankind, the earth, the animal and plant kingdom, etc… Some of these people have been successful as the world measures success (money, fame, etc.). Many have not been successful according to the world, but everyone who acquires an education is better off.

I don’t agree that it is harder for minorities to get a good education. Throughout the last 40 years or so, many government, business, church, neighborhood, and individual (done by a single person or family) programs have been developed to help minorities get a good education, and many laws have been passed and enforced over and over again that ensure that everyone in the U.S. has access to a good education.

The same National Guard that protects people’s homes and businesses during the protests (when they turn into riots) has many times marched into schools with little black boys and girls to make sure they are able to get an education without danger or interference.

I think what keeps children and teens from getting that education currently is the pressure to join gangs and take the “easy road to wealth” by selling drugs. This temptation is not just to African American children and teens, but all the races, and it is a choice that for most, usually ends in violence and sadly for many, death.

Only two good parents (and hopefully grandparents, too!) and a strong church can fight to keep their children and teens from signing away their lives to a gang. I’ve read about parents who have actually moved a thousand miles away from their home city to keep their children safe from these humans who are in league with Satan. I think that’s an option that should be made available to families who want to have a good life and give their children opportunities to live an even better life. Sometimes a fight only makes things worse, as I believe much of the “fighting” during this protest is making things worse.

 

[petra22]

Unfortunately, in this world, this may be the best way to stave off looting and arson.

And lots and lots of prayer…

 

[Hume]

A reason why it is actually harder for many minorities to get that education is a lack of support structures and safety nets.

When I went to school, daddy covered all of it and if a sudden expense came up, he’d cover that too.

When dad got sick during my last stretch, I had other reasonably secure siblings available to share the burden of his care.

For a poor minority, a sudden financial or familial strain can easy force them out of school. They are likely to have fewer fallbacks than others like me.

That said, that’s their path forward regardless. It’s harder for them than it was for me, but if they want to claw out of cyclical poverty, getting a valuable skill (and not just via college) is their best shot.

And what makes it suck more for them is their climb will likely take more than one generation.

The first might not have been exposed to enough to know what’s possible, so they “improve” to a low or middle tier job. The stability they can maintain makes it more likely for their offspring to be doctors and lawyers and so on.

They often have a tougher road.

 

[StudentMI]

So what would you recommend as a solution?

As a little background I dropped out of college to care for a sick relative and lacked the money to go back.

 

[Hume]

There isn’t a golden bullet for the problem. They have to find a way to claw out. It’s on them.

Enlist a let the army pay for it. Take out a loan and shop schools by affordability. Consider a skill that doesn’t require college. Gotta find your path of least resistance and push.

Not all of us are gonna get there. I realize that. Economy isn’t big enough and a new entrant in my field and area means I make less money.

 

[Peeps]

For a poor minority, a sudden financial or familial strain can easy force them out of school. They are likely to have fewer fallbacks than others like me.

If you’re talking about college, I can agree.

But I disagree when it comes to elementary, middle, and high school.

In our city, breakfast and lunch are FREE for ALL children (so that no one will be ashamed if they can’t pay).

Fees for books, school field trips, sports, uniforms, computers, etc. are waived for those who fall under a certain income, and it’s not that low of an income. No child can be denied participation in anything (sports, field trips, etc.) because they don’t have the money. There are funds for this.

ALL children are entitled to a ride to school–no one can claim that their car broke down, or their parents are still at work and can’t drive them. EVERYONE gets to ride the bus.

Also, ALL children who live in families with a certain (low) income are entitled to Head Start, which claims to get children prepared for school so that they won’t be behind the other kids.

I’m not sure if Drivers’ Ed is free to teens who come from a low-income family, but I think it is. In the U.S., driving is pretty much essential to be able to get to college, a job(s), etc., so IMO, making sure that teens learn to drive is part of helping people, especially minorities and those from low-income families, to have a valuable tool needed to succeed.

Maybe we’re the only city in the country that does all this–we DO have the 4th highest property taxes in the nation, and around 60% of those taxes go to our public schools.

But I doubt it–I think that many, in fact, most American cities have many programs in place to ensure that minority children, poor children, etc. will have access to a good education. And I think these programs are well-publicized to those who need them most, and easily accessible (in other words, you don’t have to jump through hoops to be hooked up with these good programs for your school-aged children and teens).

 

[Hume]

If you’re talking about college, I can agree.

But I disagree when it comes to elementary, middle, and high school.

High school is irrelevant. Good paying industrial jobs that only required a high school diploma left with the passage of NAFTA. Only a handful left and the huge availability of qualified labor has frozen their pay for a generation.

The starting pay at the local Corning Gorilla Glass plant in 1990? $10/hr.
The starting pay today? I think it’s as high as $11-13/hr. 30 years later…

High school qualifies you for nothing anymore.

But I doubt it–I think that many, in fact, most American cities have many programs in place to ensure that minority children, poor children, etc. will have access to a good education.

Respectfully, you may be missing my point.

These programs largely dry up when you’ve gotten your HS diploma or GED.

For every wonderful and exceptional success story that struck it rich with just a HS education (like my dad), I can show you literally tens or hundreds of thousands who failed to do the same.

Exceptional cases are exceptional because they’re exceptional - not the norm.

 

[Peeps]

High school is irrelevant. Good paying industrial jobs that only required a high school diploma left with the passage of NAFTA. Only a handful left and the huge availability of qualified labor has frozen their pay for a generation.

The starting pay at the local Corning Gorilla Glass plant in 1990? $10/hr.
The starting pay today? I think it’s as high as $11-13/hr. 30 years later…

High school qualifies you for nothing anymore.

If I gave the impression that a high school education will land you a job with a living wage that can support a family, then I apologize for my bad writing.

You are incorrect when you say that a high school diploma qualifies you for nothing.

It is required to enter a trade school to become a skilled factory worker. And in our city, there are plenty of financial aids available to students who enter our junior college’s trade school programs.

A high school diploma or GED is required to enter the military, which is another path to training and certification for higher paying jobs and trades. (I believe that our laboratory will hire people who have been certifed in the military.)

Although it is not always required, a high school diploma is often preferred when applying to drive a truck.

And of course, a high school diploma is required to apply for a college, even a community or junior college.

Even if a person is hired at a McDonald’s and then decides that they are interested in getting into managment–they will have a better chance if they have a high school diploma! And if they want to manage something other than one restaurant or a branch of restaurants, they will definitely need the high school diploma!

When they hear people say it, I think a lot of young people believe what you expressed–that a high school diploma is pretty worthless, and so they just give up. As poverty becomes harder and harder for them to bear through the years, it’s really easy to start blaming others for their failure to advance to a good-paying job–and one of the easy blame cards to play is “racism”–I can’t get ahead because I’m not the right color."

Baby Steps, Hume. Baby steps–in the United States, the key to pretty much anything is an education and that means earning the high school diploma. The diploma will probably not lead to a path to wealth and fame (although my favorite actor has only a high school diploma and has done well!), but it is required to take the next Grown Up Steps.

 

[Hume]

The economy doesn’t magically get bigger because everyone obtained more education.

The end-goal is where the number of black people and white people living in poverty and prosperity is proportionately the same.

Thus the question is about how can we support minorities so that they can achieve the same level of success as generally more secure whites.

 

[RidgeSprinter]

condemning does not save good cops from getting shot at / killed

True, but it is up to the Good Cops to put the Bad Cops behind bars.

My brother is a retired police officer. Once a police chief was announced that held the same “anti code of silence” beliefs, the head of internal Affairs was fired due to zero activity and my brother was asked if he wanted the job due to the same belief system. As of today, according to his accounting, 65% of ex cops that are still in prison are the ones he helped send there.

And he help put a couple of government prosecutors behind bars or had them resign.

 

[Peeps]

The end-goal is where the number of black people and white people living in poverty and prosperity is proportionately the same.

Thus the question is about how can we support minorities so that they can achieve the same level of success as generally more secure whites.

What I would like to see is the percentage of blacks who achieve financial security per their population, and compare it with the percentage of white who achieve financial security per their population.

I think you would find that many white people are not at all financially secure. Many are only a paycheck away from bankruptcy, and some ARE bankrupt and are living on prayers and charity.

Do you not have a “shanty town” in your city or town? A “hillbilly heaven?” Whatever you call it, it’s the place where the whites who have failed to “succeed” in finding a job that supports them and anyone that they are responsible for.

In our area, people call these white “Arkies” or “poor white trash,” and they are every bit as poor as the poor blacks, and possibly even more despised because there are no “Poor White Trash Lives Matters” advocacy groups stepping forward to make their situation known and to raise awareness of the difficulties that these people live with every day.

But don’t get the idea that all of these whites are Southerners or “hill folk.” In our city near the top of Illinois, there is a sizeable contingent of poor whites who just aren’t looking real likely to “make it” in this life. Many are women who got pregnant when they were too young, and then got pregnant several more times, and never did finish their education. Many are addicts, usually alcohol, but some are addicted to drugs, gambling, or even food–when someone tips the scales at 400 or 500 pounds, it’s not likely they’re going to be earning a huge income.

And some just have awful attitudes, believing that they have been “robbed” or gypped or cheated, and they blame groups like African Americans or Mexicans, or their former boss who had it in for them, or their ex-wife (or ex-wives) who robbed them blind, or even their church!

Have you never met white people like this?

And then there are a lot of decent, God-fearing, law-abiding, kind-hearted white people who are constantly on the edge of financial ruin. Some have a chronic health problem, and sometimes it is aggravated by certain behaviors (e.g., a Type II diabetic who does not stick with their wellness program), and sometimes it has nothing to do with lifestyle choices–it’s just their lot in life (e.g., people who suffer from various mental illness like OCD, schizophrenia, etc.–they did nothing to bring these on).

The point is, Hume, that there are plenty of people in the United States who got the short end of the stick, and they come in all colors. I think if you looked at the percentage of white people per population of whites who aren’t successful, you might find that it’s comparable with the percentage of black people per population of blacks who aren’t successful.

 

[Hume]

What I would like to see is the percentage of blacks who achieve financial security per their population, and compare it with the percentage of white who achieve financial security per their population.

That’s what I said. Hence the use of the word “proportionately”.

 

[Sarcelle]

That’s what I did.

Enlisted in the military, got out and went to school courtesy of the GI bill.

Took the first two years at the community college and then transferred to a state university to keep costs low and cobbled together scholarships, internships and grants to graduate without any debt.

 

[Hume]

Community college is hugely overlooked by most.

If they don’t get scholarships and need daddy to buy it, my kids are finishing associates degrees at the local cc before finishing bachelors at an in state public U.