RE: `capitalist' character values

From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Sat Jul 28 2001 - 03:26:52 MDT


Olga writes

> Remember - whites profited from UNPAID slave labor for hundreds of years.
> When a tourist goes to visit the White House, it is rarely mentioned - if at
> all - that it was built with unpaid slave labor. How shameful - both this
> historic fact, and the fact that not many people are aware of this.

You are quite wrong. I don't think I've ever meant anyone so
ignorant of history as to be unaware of slavery. It's usually
put forth as the reason that the Civil War was fought, "to free
the slaves". Abraham Lincoln is probably best known "for freeing
the slaves." Okay :-) maybe you didn't hear this growing up
because you weren't here.

>> Thomas Sowell documents in excruciating detail the horrible
>> results of affirmative action ...
>
> Washington, D.C.). Khalea told her parents that only the other three other
> black girls in her class were ever made to take "time out" (for disciplinary
> reasons) - the white girls, never..When the teacher was asked whether she
> thought it was odd that only the black girls and none of the white girls
> were ever made to take "time out" for discipline, the teacher's response was
> that, no, she didn't think it was odd at all. The teacher justified it, in
> fact, by explaining that, "Studies show that black parents rear their
> children to be more aggressive."

It could very well have been that this teacher was picking on
these girls because of their race. But when I taught school,
of the three black girls in my 4th grade class, two were the
biggest troublemakers (among the girls). The other one, Renee,
was as conscientious as any girl or boy there. I'm certainly
no racist (to the degree of pre-judging individuals, that is).

> If Thomas Sowell says that racism doesn't exist in the U.S.,
> he's lying in the grunt (and I'm certain he gets paid very well
> to tow that line, if that's what he says ...).

By no means does he say such a thing! No one denies that racism
exists. But some people call racist the belief that not all groups
are exactly equal to all other groups in every way, or that people
have a built-in (but not necessarily strong) preference for people
that resemble themselves.

> There seems to be so much concern about a little tax money
> going to undeserving, lazy, good-for-nothin's among some of
> you.

Some people have said that, not me. I just don't want to make
a bad situation worse. Do you appreciate that welfare actively
makes some bad situations worse?

Lee



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