tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.comments2023-09-06T07:37:03.268-04:00The African-American PragmatistIam Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07060619313994706619noreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-83712353834888750242010-10-27T18:00:40.138-04:002010-10-27T18:00:40.138-04:00I had not heard of this case until I came to your ...I had not heard of this case until I came to your site. So, even though this is a horrible and sad story about the failings of our judicial system, I must congratulate you, though, on your wonderful blog. I am glad I found it.<br /><br />Now I return to Eric, and I must say that I am disgusted, and sadly not surprised. Our judicial system has great ideas behind it, but once again it looks as though there are two types of justice: for the rich and justice for the rest. And, yes, most of these stories that come out do also show that there is a long way to go with equality based on color, since does seem to be African Americans (or as in this young man's case: African) that are found guilty and later exonerated.<br /><br />Hopefully, our justice system does finally get itself straight. If you have an idea how we can accomplish this, we would love to hear it. I, myself, and fed up with the stupidity (and on this case I cannot call it ignorance, since should know better) of judging based on skin color. I do want to believe that more people believe as I do, and raise our children with that view: We are all the same, regardless of color, age, ethnicity, religion or anything else that are small compared to our likenesses.<br /><br />Do hope to see you back soon, and give us some more great stories and information.Brianhttp:http://www.thebrianspeer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-80030684072448370352010-10-21T17:54:13.192-04:002010-10-21T17:54:13.192-04:00This is absolutely, completely disgusting. This lo...This is absolutely, completely disgusting. This looks horrible on our justice system. Once again, it seems if you are a regular joe without millions of dollars to buy a verdict, then you are going to prison. I had not heard of this case, but after I read the article you linked, I researched some on my own. In March, 2010, his appeal was denied. This is a miscarriage of justice, and I hope to see it corrected soon. I have joined the facebook page for Eric, and I recommend everyone else do too. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.Brianhttp:http://www.thebrianspeer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-57726828977535777022010-10-21T16:25:03.410-04:002010-10-21T16:25:03.410-04:00The you listed at the beginning of the article was...The you listed at the beginning of the article was quite interesting. I knew that India was a big contributor of hair, but I did not know about the rest. Keep up the good work by teaching us important things, like the Korean hold on weaves, and the sad point that a few large corporations are part of the problem ruining peoples' hairBrianhttp:http://www.thebrianspeer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-86433984726447809212010-10-20T15:45:36.317-04:002010-10-20T15:45:36.317-04:00In this recession, I am afraid our middle class al...In this recession, I am afraid our middle class all the way around is going to disappear. This is a very scary time, and so many people have lost their homes. Hopefully, our road to recovery is just around the bend.<br /><br />By the way, I love the adding in to teach the reader things. Knowledge is power, and the power that is needed is to learn to accept each other. Cudos on your site and keep up good work.Brianhttp://www.thebrianspeer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-6750160637429644612010-10-20T15:39:50.144-04:002010-10-20T15:39:50.144-04:00Anji, I am sorry you had to run into an Owie (as i...Anji, I am sorry you had to run into an Owie (as i say to my 3 year old) to find out how delicate your hair is. Glad to know you are feeling better though. By the way, you are beautiful to me without curls.Brianhttp://www.thebrianspeer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-71100989485005950102010-10-20T15:38:10.346-04:002010-10-20T15:38:10.346-04:00Society is obsessed with beauty, and it is sad tha...Society is obsessed with beauty, and it is sad that women jeopardize their health to fit someone else's idea of what is attractive. Beauty falls in the eye of the beholder, yes, cliched but no less true because of that. Everyone finds something different attractive, and beauty magazines and other media outlets should not tell us how we should look.Brianhttp://www.thebrianspeer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-16500053381041407782010-10-19T11:22:38.087-04:002010-10-19T11:22:38.087-04:00Every orientation suffers problems due to trying t...Every orientation suffers problems due to trying to be beautiful, but I believe we are all confused, since true beauty is who we are. I know hard to believe it when what we see everywhere tells otherwise.Brianhttp://www.thebrianspeer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-20024509836334148652010-10-19T11:14:33.328-04:002010-10-19T11:14:33.328-04:00With the recession still hanging on, seems all mid...With the recession still hanging on, seems all middle class is in danger. So many lost jobs and homes, and no relief in sight.Brianhttp://www.thebrianspeer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-62627953301235173292010-10-08T14:52:45.756-04:002010-10-08T14:52:45.756-04:00Great article. I have been looking for informatio...Great article. I have been looking for information on this and it's rather hard to find.Brian Speerhttp://www.thebrianspeer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-54956261376659611242010-05-06T03:53:30.823-04:002010-05-06T03:53:30.823-04:00Maybe black women are more self-demanding..Maybe black women are more self-demanding..materialstitohttp://www.ibertestint.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-90294990253278046702010-03-11T09:38:16.754-05:002010-03-11T09:38:16.754-05:00I wonder if all of the people working in the beaut...I wonder if all of the people working in the beauty trade are aware of the problem too. I'm a typical anglo saxon with blue eyes blonde hair and fair skin. Even moving to the south west of France I've noticed that products are geered towards darker skins and hair. I think I got burnt because the hairdresser just didn't realise. A nurse at the hospital told me that fairer skin is harder to stitch up because it tears easily. We all have our problems.<br /><br />BTW my eyebrows dropped out just over two years sgo because of stress, they are growing back very slowly.Anjihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-52703856554041145332010-03-10T18:12:20.515-05:002010-03-10T18:12:20.515-05:00Hi Anji!
It's been a long time (for both of u...Hi Anji!<br /><br />It's been a long time (for both of us)! Thanks so much for continuing to follow and comment--yours mean the world to me.<br /><br />Wow! I didn't know caucasion women suffered from this problem which is exaclty why this information needs to get out. <br /><br />One thing that really bothered me was that my wife's beautician never said anything about the possibility of this happening to her. I wonder how many more women are operating in the dark on this.Iam Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07060619313994706619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-53496649078720064252010-03-10T12:00:09.936-05:002010-03-10T12:00:09.936-05:00I'm so pleased to see you back again.
It'...I'm so pleased to see you back again.<br /><br />It's not just black women who suffer hair loss trying to be beautiful. I lost some hair at the front a long time ago when I was burnt by the chemical used in a perm. I hope that your wife can grow her hair back soon.<br /><br />“A women’s hair is her glory” I think that it's in the Bible somewhere.Anjihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-19613433953203716022010-01-12T06:25:21.840-05:002010-01-12T06:25:21.840-05:00I think he was a great guy....he wasn't a chil...I think he was a great guy....he wasn't a child abuser, in fact he was abused his entire life...by his father, by the kid's fathers, by his manager. That happens when you're too good.budget hotels in parishttp://www.clickbed.com/paris-budget-hotels-2-2.html?utm_source=laura&utm_medium=linkbuilding&utm_campaign=parisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-47595213335685560352009-11-21T17:02:34.470-05:002009-11-21T17:02:34.470-05:00Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium? ...Who knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium? <br />Help, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-75836464919096518352009-08-11T21:19:44.429-04:002009-08-11T21:19:44.429-04:00I think a large segment of African-Americans have ...I think a large segment of African-Americans have forgotten the lessons learned by the foreparents and have developed an unrealistic (and unhealthy) concept of wealth. Many of us value things and the appearance, and spend beyond our means - it's guns and butter (Ving Rhames made that famous in 'Baby Boy'). Perhaps it may because African-Americans have been deprived of their share of the economic pie that any slice of the pie is OK - even it's crumbs. Our foreparents understood the importance of savings and thrift, planning for major purchases, etc. However, those lessons are seemingly being lost with each generation of African-Americans.<br /><br />If we're looking for a government to fix our economic woes, then you are sadly mistaken. We are responsible in large part and we have to correct the problem in large on our own. However, this means returning to a type of lifestyle of yesteryears - for example, relying on your own money instead of paying a hefty sum of loot to someone else for the 'privelege' (or penalty) of using their money, which means in the long run, you have less money! Or leaving savings, stocks, bonds, and investments for our chlidren instead of an insurance policy which is exhausted by the mounds left behind to be paid off.<br /><br />IF IT DON'T MAKE DOLLARS, IT DON'T MAKE CENTS (SENSE) - that should be the new manta of the African-American community.<br /><br />How long can the African American middle class? Not long - if we continue to do what we've always done, we will continue to get what we've always gotten.SweetIceThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13353370100187583187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-7496091986187259902009-07-25T23:52:06.972-04:002009-07-25T23:52:06.972-04:00Anonymous,
First of all, this forum is for those ...Anonymous,<br /><br />First of all, this forum is for those who can communicate on a higher level than spouting racial epitaphs of others who do. Second, I highly encourage you to read my post "The Top Ten Things White Men Are Afraid of, But Shouldn’t Be."<br />Finally, about the only thing I agree with you on is that our President and his first lady are doing a fantastic job running the country and rearing their children. They are also doing a wonderful job of rearing their children, as so any other African-American families are doing each and every day.Iam Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07060619313994706619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-59425205914138145662009-07-25T11:34:44.967-04:002009-07-25T11:34:44.967-04:00In the words of Leland Mississippi Alderwoman Marl...In the words of Leland Mississippi Alderwoman Marla Brooks, We are not going anywhere. We are not going anywhere. Stop! Stop! We are not going anywhere. Leave us alone. Leave us alone. We haven’t done anything wrong… They are doing us wrong. There is a bunch of racist evil black integrationist Niggers up in here that’s doing us wrong. <br /><br />I can’t speak for Hispanics. But if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. Low graduation rates among Negroes have nothing to do with the absence of married mothers and fathers in the home. But here is the thing. Negro males and Negroes in general aren’t integrationist. And the low graduation rates among Negro children are a clear and present rejection of that philosophy. Let’s be real. The so-called educated integrationists Negroes don’t represent the interest of the masses of Negroes i.e. the children of a Negro mother and Negro father etc. They represent the interest of mongrels, the children of a white mother and a black father etc. And the educational system gives credence to that philosophy.<br /><br />The dirty little secret in the United States among the so-called educated integrationist Negroes and their collaborators has been exposed. Under the guise of indiscriminate love for everyone, they seek to annihilate the “ugly” black faces of the original Negro in the United States via education, interracial marriage/sex, and outright genocide. And it’s promoted by fostering institutional advantages to black mongrels etc. thereby encouraging the original Negro to loathe his physical appearance e.g. Michael Jackson. History shows us how the original black Egyptians were annihilated because of their failure to reject a similar educational system. It was used by internal and external enemies of Egypt to transform original black Egyptians into mongrel Egyptians. <br /><br />Using low graduation rates as the evidence, the original Negro males in the United States absolutely reject the leadership of the so-called educated integrationist Negroes and the enemy educational system they impose upon their families. But all is not lost. What a fantastic job our first “black” educated integrationist President of the United States, Barack Obama and Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates are doing with their children.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-10747825806625553642009-07-13T13:13:22.354-04:002009-07-13T13:13:22.354-04:00Dee,
You're absolutely right--the folks WHO a...Dee,<br /><br />You're absolutely right--the folks WHO are DOING the stereotyping are dead wrong. It's also interesting to note that many of the stereotypes about people of color are born of ignorance and fear. <br /><br />But can you see my point that black folk need to stop doing some of the things that are being portrayed in the media?<br /><br />Dee, thanks for visiting man...and keep on commenting!Iam Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07060619313994706619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-9507626972523281122009-07-11T19:26:48.630-04:002009-07-11T19:26:48.630-04:00I keep wondering if it's actually the who behi...I keep wondering if it's actually the <b>who</b> behind the stereotyping. You brought up "Birth of a Nation," a film ripe with negative imagery for the purpose of improving the image of the KKK.<br /><br />I know black people make fun of the same tropes, but there isn't that air of superiority and denigration about it. We wouldn't use the jokes to justify a sort of umbrella treatment of all blacks as a second-class.Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06085630623583652493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-33457628690636160872009-07-05T21:52:04.375-04:002009-07-05T21:52:04.375-04:00SweetIceT,
Well said. You know, I've heard th...SweetIceT,<br /><br />Well said. You know, I've heard the “blacks wanna get over" spiel on many occasions. What many fail, or simply refuse to realize are all the contributions African Americans have made to this country. And did I mention that America is a nation of immigrants?<br /><br />Again, its time we seek solutions and not rhetoric or blame. Maybe Affirmative Action is the answer to achieving resource equality--the ISSUE is what is?Iam Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07060619313994706619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-81126018542576591652009-07-01T21:48:31.912-04:002009-07-01T21:48:31.912-04:00Anonymous, African Americans want what everyone el...Anonymous, African Americans want what everyone else wants - equal access to equal opportunity. Most African Americans don't want a hand-out (usually too many strings attached) - just a hand up!SweetIceThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13353370100187583187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-62255994920695846662009-07-01T21:17:52.103-04:002009-07-01T21:17:52.103-04:00SweetIceT,
Now you're on to something! You s...SweetIceT,<br /><br />Now you're on to something! You see that the whole concept of Affirmative Action is not to choose a group, but to choose a system that does not exclude anyone.<br /><br />Great point!Iam Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07060619313994706619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-33026303343392257512009-07-01T21:14:42.770-04:002009-07-01T21:14:42.770-04:00That's just the point; things are not fair and...That's just the point; things are not fair and have not been since this country's inception. After all, how can someone "discover" a country that is already occupied by a people? Theologians, scholars, administrators, politicians, “Joe Six-pack,” and “Bro-man” realize that in America there is a thing such as white privilege, racism still exists, and there is still a glass ceiling for women. Are you saying that racism no longer exists in this country? That racial profiling does not exist? The customer profiling in stores does not exist? That sentencing laws in this country are not biased? Affirmative Action, as I’ve clearly stated, is not intended to be one of these, but to find as objective a way as possible to allow all to share in this country’s resources—especially in finding a job and going to school.<br /><br />In these tough economic times, I can see how some would feel put upon. And, as I have shown, attempts at applying the concept of Affirmative Action have gone awry. So, in something we do agree, discrimination, IN ANY FORM, is wrong. However, casting blame on someone else when one can’t cut the mustard is also wrong. Equally wrong are those who do not take personal responsibility and make the right choices to get ahead in life. In my years, I have not found those tendencies to be color specific, have you? <br />Also, your comment would seem to indicate that NO minority or woman could compete with a white male. Surely you don’t mean that. I’ll match my mental sinews with the best of them—I have a good education, a good job, and good friends (many of them white). No one gave me any of them—I earned them.<br />So, here’s my question to you. How do we put a fair system in place in an unfair and unequal world?Iam Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07060619313994706619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8677466632419988907.post-27434737832831925942009-07-01T20:55:22.816-04:002009-07-01T20:55:22.816-04:00Dee,
Great question! Here's my (although lon...Dee,<br /><br />Great question! Here's my (although long) answer.<br /><br />In employment, Affirmative Action is the set of positive steps that employers use to promote equal employment opportunity and to eliminate discrimination. You mentioned quotas. One of the basic tenants of Affirmative Action, as stipulated in President Lyndon Johnson's Executive Order 11246, sought to ensure that individuals have equal opportunity WITHOUT regard to their race, sex, or ethnicity. In this 1965 Executive Order, President Johnson consistently and repeatedly used the term non-discrimination and never once mentioned racial quotas or preferences. That is where the evidentiary proof cited in this case came from—an attempt to establish a preference for one race or another.<br /><br />In this particular case, New Haven established and advertised a promotion system it thought was fair to all. They did this to increase diversity in their management. But, when minorities did not fare well on the test, they scraped it. This was clearly in error on two fronts. I applaud their desire to increase diversity in their management ranks; they clearly rushed to judgment both in using a test as the ‘sole’ predictor of advancement and recalling the test due to a threat of reprisals from their African American fireman. They set a standard and then violated their own standard just to hire—that is discrimination, no matter who it favors. And so it is with all these cases, the plantifs were able to prove that those hired were hired simply because of their race or gender or not hired because of it. This violates the tenants of Affirmative Aciton which simply seeks to lower the stumbling blocks monirities and women have had in gaining employment and advancement. It’s a fine line, but one we tread until a better system is created.<br /><br />My advice, don’t seek to hire anyone group—seek to remove as many hindrances as possible (race specific test questions, economic standing, friendship, organizational membership, culture, gender, etc.)<br /><br />Thanks so much for visiting and commenting. Please keep reading, commenting and asking questions.<br /><br />And please follow this blog--we need your insights.Iam Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07060619313994706619noreply@blogger.com