who's watch 'black in america' on CNN 2nite?

[adio 5,000+ posts]

No, those numbers rely on the #1 statistical fallacy: extrapolation. As I said before, they are fallacious.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/jailrair.htm

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/jailrairtab.htm

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

I tend to think that you will see less of this attitude as you get older and you associate with professionals more simply because of your job. For example, I would think that you, as a student, see more of this than your parents do.

True, but where's that fine line that separates respect for succeeding from scorn for being a sellout?

 

[adio 5,000+ posts]

People tell me all the time (they only say it once, however) that I act white because I come from a household of two parents who are physicians, am majoring to be an EE and would rather make prototype circuitry instead of get yayoed up, and because I speak in a professional manner so I can be taken seriously. If acting black means that people are justified in calling me slurs, ****, I'll bleach myself any day. What people don't realize is that black is only a skin color, nothing more. It is not a personality, it is not a way of life or speaking. To tell a black person that they act or speak white is blatant backhanded racism.

u are DEFINITELY an exception to the rule. i don't even here about this kinda thing on tv or even read it in fictional books.

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/jailrair.htm
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/jailrairtab.htm

No no, I wasn't disputing the numbers themselves, it's the application to the general population that is fallacious. They are using an argument where since 5x more blacks are prisoners than any other race, and blacks are x amount of the population, then x amount of the population will be prisoners. You can't do that.

 

[adio 5,000+ posts]

No no, I wasn't disputing the numbers themselves, it's the application to the general population that is fallacious. They are using an argument where since 5x more blacks are prisoners than any other race, and blacks are x amount of the population, then x amount of the population will be prisoners. You can't do that.

u lost me. since blacks represent 13% of the US pop but account for 50% of prison inmates, then thats. really high

now if ur sayin something along the lines of 35 million blacks in the US versus the 900,000 - 1.5 million behind bars, then thats not lot, kinda.

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

u lost me. since blacks represent 13% of the US pop but account for 50% of prison inmates, then thats. really high
now if ur sayin something along the lines of 35 million blacks in the US versus the 900,000 - 1.5 million behind bars, then thats not lot, kinda.

Exactly. They are using percentages and not actual numbers to throw you off. If there's 35 million blacks and 1.5 million black prisoners (which seems a little high, but whatever), then that isn't the same thing as scaring you by saying that blacks only represent 13% of the population, but 50% of the prison population. The latter is improper statistics.

 

[WhoSayWho? 5,000+ posts]

True, but where's that fine line that separates respect for succeeding from scorn for being a sellout?

Honestly, I comprehend what you are saying but it is foreign to me, The black people that I encounter simply would not think that way. In other words, you probably come into contact with a broader range of black people.

On a related note, I used to look back on my pre-college days and marvel at how race relations improved from the time I first entered a truly integrated school (7th grade) through high school. I had this idea that we all just learned how to get along better over the years.

And then it dawned on me that I was wrong. What had actually happened was that over the years the classes became advanced and the black people that I had classes with were the high achievers and those that gave a shit about themselves and their future. They were the same people that I got along with from day one. The assholes were still there and they were still assholes. I just did not deal with them as much.

 

[Captain_Ahab 5,000+ posts]

This thread got me to thinking about my high school. My high school has graduated some VERY smart black people relative to the amount of blacks:whites in the school. The blacks who stayed in trouble, actually all were part of the same family or related. Throw out those, and based on a per race basis: I believe we had more smarter blacks than whites. But these smart blacks also were said to "act white" at our high school. I don't know if that is a southern thing to say that or not..... And I really do now know why I am typing this, I am just sort of thinking out loud...

But in the general area I grew up in, the blacks seemed to be just as successful as the whites minus the black families who stayed in trouble. Of course there are white families who stayed in trouble too. But generally speaking...From watching the shows, most of the places they talked about being so bad for blacks and stuff was up north (D.C. was mentioned several times). Isn't it a coincidence that I reside in the heart of the south and blacks around my hometown were really no different than whites? Yet some people still think abundant racism is still alive in the south.

Blah, sorry for the rambling. Just thinking aloud trying to contribute.

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

Honestly, I comprehend what you are saying but it is foreign to me, The black people that I encounter simply would not think that way. In other words, you probably come into contact with a broader range of black people.
On a related note, I used to look back on my pre-college days and marvel at how race relations improved from the time I first entered a truly integrated school (7th grade) through high school. I had this idea that we all just learned how to get along better over the years.

And then it dawned on me that I was wrong. What had actually happened was that over the years the classes became advanced and the black people that I had classes with were the high achievers and those that gave a shit about themselves and their future. They were the same people that I got along with from day one. The assholes were still there and they were still assholes. I just did not deal with them as much.

Wow, that's some eloquent shit right there. I agree with most of it.
It seems that these days, to be black is to be ignorant. That sounds a little iffy, so let me explain. Black people seem to love to revel in the fact that they've had something bad in their life. They might say something like "I've been in prison 3x" or "I've been living in the projects since I was 4". Am I supposed to respect you, or pity you? I do the latter. I couldn't care less that you killed a snitch or you avenged your brother's death. What would impress me is reciting Maxwell's equations or doing Laplace transforms while everyone around you is focused on the previously mentioned self-defeating ideals. But I guess that viewpoint makes me "less black" and more of a sellout, but so be it.

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

This thread got me to thinking about my high school. My high school has graduated some VERY smart black people relative to the amount of blacks:whites in the school. The blacks who stayed in trouble, actually all were part of the same family or related. Throw out those, and based on a per race basis: I believe we had more smarter blacks than whites. But these smart blacks also were said to "act white" at our high school. I don't know if that is a southern thing to say that or not..... And I really do now know why I am typing this, I am just sort of thinking out loud...
But in the general area I grew up in, the blacks seemed to be just as successful as the whites minus the black families who stayed in trouble. Of course there are white families who stayed in trouble too. But generally speaking...From watching the shows, most of the places they talked about being so bad for blacks and stuff was up north (D.C. was mentioned several times). Isn't it a coincidence that I reside in the heart of the south and blacks around my hometown were really no different than whites? Yet some people still think abundant racism is still alive in the south.

Blah, sorry for the rambling. Just thinking aloud trying to contribute.

Curious you mention this Nathan, because every time I've been in the south these days, there are two types of people: those who scorn successful black people and those who respect and almost look up to them. I'm not talking about white people, I'm talking about everyone. Nowhere else have I seen this attitude. I was in Nashville (not quite far enough, but close) a few weeks ago and I saw this shit all the time. First, there was the guy who refused to get in the same elevator as me and my sister because it "smelled funny". Minutes later, an old white woman came over to me and asked if I would like to meet her daughter. I mean, there doesn't seem to be middle ground, but then again, I don't live in the south so correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[WhoSayWho? 5,000+ posts]

Wow, that's some eloquent shit right there. I agree with most of it.
It seems that these days, to be black is to be ignorant. That sounds a little iffy, so let me explain. Black people seem to love to revel in the fact that they've had something bad in their life. They might say something like "I've been in prison 3x" or "I've been living in the projects since I was 4". Am I supposed to respect you, or pity you? I do the latter. I couldn't care less that you killed a snitch or you avenged your brother's death. What would impress me is reciting Maxwell's equations or doing Laplace transforms while everyone around you is focused on the previously mentioned self-defeating ideals. But I guess that viewpoint makes me "less black" and more of a sellout, but so be it.

Obviously we could all respect someone if they were saying that they cam from the proiects and, despite the obstacles, they made something of themselves. But I know that is not what you are referring to. It is that "badge of honor" that comes from saying my neighborhood was rougher than yours - and as a result I am a harder person. Don't fvck with me.

It truly is a shame that people look up to others because they have experienced prison. It is also sad that those people would in effect "sell" that to the kids who are observing. The fact is that if you could see a video of that badass as they spebt their first night in prison you would most likely see a scared, depressed shell of a person who would give anything to be in mom's kitchen.

 

[adio 5,000+ posts]

Exactly. They are using percentages and not actual numbers to throw you off. If there's 35 million blacks and 1.5 million black prisoners (which seems a little high, but whatever), then that isn't the same thing as scaring you by saying that blacks only represent 13% of the population, but 50% of the prison population. The latter is improper statistics.

well they're both true, but i see what ur saying. they're kinda in the wrong categories. idk how mnay prisoners are in the system but for one race to make up 50% of it, thats really high....... if whites make up 25 - 30% of the prison pop thats high too, but when you compare that to 200 million white people in this country, wow.

 

[adio 5,000+ posts]

Wow, that's some eloquent shit right there. I agree with most of it.
It seems that these days, to be black is to be ignorant. That sounds a little iffy, so let me explain. Black people seem to love to revel in the fact that they've had something bad in their life. They might say something like "I've been in prison 3x" or "I've been living in the projects since I was 4". Am I supposed to respect you, or pity you? I do the latter. I couldn't care less that you killed a snitch or you avenged your brother's death. What would impress me is reciting Maxwell's equations or doing Laplace transforms while everyone around you is focused on the previously mentioned self-defeating ideals. But I guess that viewpoint makes me "less black" and more of a sellout, but so be it.

i get that sense too.

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

Obviously we could all respect someone if they were saying that they cam from the proiects and, despite the obstacles, they made something of themselves. But I know that is not what you are referring to. It is that "badge of honor" that comes from saying my neighborhood was rougher than yours - and as a result I am a harder person. Don't fvck with me.
It truly is a shame that people look up to others because they have experienced prison. It is also sad that those people would in effect "sell" that to the kids who are observing. The fact is that if you could see a video of that badass as they spebt their first night in prison you would most likely see a scared, depressed shell of a person who would give anything to be in mom's kitchen.

I have nothing to say to this. Almost to the word what I was thinking. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/bowdown.gif.b85b23b82970bd22fb6b549c3392f016.gif

 

[adio 5,000+ posts]

wow. its so dope to make a thread where ppl come on here and think constructive thoughts. i am king of the black list