Again, if we could only come together instead of finding new ways to divide ourselves....

i sort of liked the black panthers at times -others times maybe they were nuts ,but they would feed white kids as well as black poor kids in their breakfast programs

the mexicans lately some have this la raza thing which means "our race"some are just out for themselves

I liked what Rev. Wright had to say about being different....different does NOT mean deficient. :)

I think a lot of people are afraid of others who are different, but it's not just about fear of that person or mere hatred of skin color. It's fear of losing what they have and fear of having their space invaded. I think that is when the division starts. That is when people form into groups, and that is when wars begin - with both sides claiming to have God on their side. :rolleyes:

When we start to lose what we have and/or our space becomes invaded, we begin to look at others who are different as deficient. This justifies treating fellow human beings like animals and taking whatever we need from them. In an attempt to protect our belongings, we lose our humanity. Historically, we have always viewed people of color to be deficient. When we need something, we take from them - regardless of their suffering. :o

This justified the Tuskeegee experiment - researchers believed white Americans were more important than black Americans as human beings. This justifies the attempted genocide of American Indians that continues to this day. This justifies "slave labor" both here (migrant workers) and throughout the world - as if people of color were placed on the earth to serve us. This also justifies our "war on terror" and invasion of Iraq. :(

Hi Clouds and Kathy. Clouds I like how you found something positive about the Black Panthers! Everyone has positive attributes but most of us are better at seeing the negative then the positive! I just watched Obama's rebuttal to Wright and he still addressed his positives along with condemning. We are all like this. We all have negatives and positives. We all need to be seen as a whole package not just our parts. I think that if you keep looking you will see the positives with Mexicans. Here in Kentucky our horse industry could not function without them. Everytime that I eat my fruits and vegies I remember who picked them. They have wonderful close knit families and they could teach a lot of Americans about this. Finally, they could teach us a lot about healthy eating. They are one of the few groups in the grocery store who have a cart full of real food (I don't know if the 2nd or 3rd generations still eat well, though).

Kathy I agree with you totally. We divide ourselves because of the goodies that we want to keep for ourselves/our group.

And all of this change starts with ourselves. If we live our lives trying to connect with others at all levels we become a part of the solution. And this means connecting with those that we disagree with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskege...the_Negro_Male

blacks were the doctors too? nixon stopped it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor..._United_States

other stuff done on all races i guess and there was shad exp of nevre gas i think on navy ships


google shad eperiments

http://www.theterryandersonshow.com/

black guy discusses la life

Hi Clouds, I actually don't spend a lot of time delving into negative stuff. I like to spend my time on answers.....

It all comes down to the Golden Rule......Treat others as you wish to be treated.

And from the bible-love thy neighbor,the poor,the sick and the meek.

And The big one, Judge not lest ye be judged.

All boils down to that basically.

The thing that is hopeful to me is talking with white-ish people around 15-25 who grew up in mixed neighbourhoods, on mixed schools, racewise, in big cities. They talk about each other, mix with each other, without ever referring to race or skin-colour. They do things together with the one that likes the same subject, they dislike somebody because the person is aggressive or just plain boring, etc. You can hear them talking about a mutual acquaintance, several times, and when you finally clap eyes on the person the only thing you did not know is that the person is black. They do sometimes report on someone being from a specific culture in the context of getting married off or something, which they feel sorry for. I noticed the same attitude in an MBA course for ITC.

These young people are truly colourblind, and there is a lot of them, so take heart.

For me, the best approach that has worked is: Let go. I cannot and do not wish to impose my beliefs on others. Acceptance is key. I don't have to agree with all things my friends hold near and dear, and they don't have to mirror my "stuff."

In the larger picture: How much of things impact my life directly, and must all know about everything. I don't think so.

What's that saying or dogma? Choose one's battle's wisely.

I dig my heels in when I feel it can make a diff. Other than that? Live and let live.