Another response to Outside the So-Called Ethnic Box:

Don't give up your day job to become a comedian. <g>

>> And saved up to 10 million lives by averting an invasion of Japan <<

Yes, except exploding the bomb near Hiroshima might have saved 10 million American lives plus all the Japanese lives lost in the city.

>> Maybe you both are. <<

The simple reply to that is that, yes, all races can be racist. But white racism is worse than black racism, if only by sheer numbers. Actually, it's worse than sheer numbers would suggest, because American whites control more power per capita than other ethnicities do.

Therefore, focusing on black racism, claiming it's the problem, is intellectually dishonest. This focus diminishes or denies white racism. We can acknowledge black racism, but no one should forget that white racism is the most significant problem.

>> Take the LA Riots. As we all know, the rioters' made excellent Klan/Nazi party propaganda. Two incidents, though, are striking: 1) one of the black people who rescued Reginald Denny and drove him to the hospital left without giving anyone his name. 2) a black woman braved the gunfire to rescue a white journalist who was ambushed in his car and left with six bullets in his back. <<

Good point. I believe many of the rioters were Latino, which would blow a hole in any anti-black theory. If one wants countervailing evidence, I think studies show that blacks and Latinos are more religious and attend church more often than society as a whole. And that they've served in our armed forces and fought in our wars—since we allowed them—in greater proportions than other groups.

>> Check out Promise Keepers. They emphasize common values and beliefs as unifying factors, NOT accidents of birth. <<

Are there any branches in the inner cities? Or in rural farmlands and hills? Or on Indian reservations? Or in other countries? How about in Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Chechnya, Sierra Leone, or East Timor? Are Promise Keepers going to put their lives on the line, perhaps take a bullet, so the people there can have the same opportunities white, middle-class Americans have?

>> The idea that your destiny is determined by nature, or an accident of birth such as race, and not by your own decisions, accomplishments, efforts, etc., is strictly pagan. <<

The idea that your destiny is determined strictly by yourself is nonsense. If you disagree, go ahead and make yourself President of the US. Or an astronaut. Or a golf pro like Tiger Woods. I'll wait.

Fact is, success is determined by circumstances (not genetics) as much as by effort. For every feel-good story in Parade magazine, there are probably five of people muddling through life without achieving their dreams. Look at the failure rate for small businesses, for instance, which is something like 80%. We could find many similar examples. How many people who want, really want, to become actors or screenwriters or models or baseball players or rock 'n' stars actually do it?

>> The logical conclusion of that line of thinking is we humans are no better than animals, who are not in control of their destinies. <<

The rich, healthy person is a lot more in control of his destiny than the poor, sick one is. So is any person with the advantage of circumstances. Who's more likely to become a millionaire: a programmer who joined Microsoft because his best friend got him a job there, or a Rwandan child in a refugee camp? Who's more likely to win an Oscar: Henry Fonda's children and grandchildren or Wilma Mae Sanchez's on the Paiute reservation in Nevada? I could come up with an infinite amount of these scenarios, but a couple should suffice.

Race is one of many factors that imposes obstacles in a white-dominated society. It doesn't prevent success but it impedes it. Denying that is denying reality.

>> The logical conclusion of that line of thinking is we humans are no better than animals, who are not in control of their destinies. We are better than that. <<

Are we? Only one animal rises to the top of his herd/pride/gaggle. The others must accept an inferior role even if they're as smart or as strong (but not both). Sounds a lot like human society to me.

>> Aww, come on. How do you REALLY feel? <<

I think our anonymous coward made his feelings reasonably clear. <g>

The interesting thing to me is that he started off sounding similar to the typical conservative who rails against "balkanizing" minorities. Look where his views led him. I wonder how many others who complain about "balkaning" share his feelings but can't or won't express them.

He claimed "the world knows" the truth about blacks and other minorities. Does it? With your talk of Promise Keepers and so forth, you seem to agree that those who don't succeed are less intelligent, upstanding, or willing to work. In other words, that white Europeans earned their superior positions in America. How racist is that?

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