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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!mcnc!idis!cadre!sm
From: sm@cadre.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.flame
Subject: Re: White greed
Message-ID: <321@cadre.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 17-Feb-85 21:10:45 EST
Article-I.D.: cadre.321
Posted: Sun Feb 17 21:10:45 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 20-Feb-85 20:25:20 EST
References: <170@nybcb.UUCP> <6545@rochester.UUCP>
Reply-To: sm@cadre.ARPA (Sean McLinden)
Organization: Decision Systems Lab., Univ. of Pgh.
Lines: 43
Xref: linus net.politics:6949 net.flame:7445
Summary: 

In article <6545@rochester.UUCP> gary@rochester.UUCP (Gary Cottrell) writes
(in response to an assertion that all white Americans living, today, enjoy
the benefits of slavery):

>...Blacks had their rights, etc. stolen...

>>   Not all white Americans have benefited from slavery. 
>>   I haven't received any inheritance from anyone, nor do I see how I have 
>>   benefited from slavery. My ancestors came from Ireland in the early 1900's. 
>>   They did not benefit from slavery either. So much for your simple fact &
>>   your "inteligent debate".
>>                                             seismo!cmcl2!nybcb!daly

>Come on, man! Use your head. Such anecdotal information ("well, my brother
>Ferd hasn't benefited...") doesn't prove anything. What michael is talking
>about can be proven *statistically*: Black people are still feeling the 
>effects of 300 years of discrimination. 
...
>gary cottrell	(allegra or seismo)!rochester!gary  (UUCP)
>		gary@rochester (ARPA)

There is no doubt that black Americans are not treated as equals to white
Americans in many aspects of our society (although sexual and racial
discrimination is not a trait seen only in white males). But it makes
little sense to attempt to counter these attitudes with unsubstantiated
statements. In particular, the unemployment data to which you are referring
can hardly be used to *prove* that a certain societal attitude is at
fault. (You might be able to show a statistical *correlation* if you
could survey employers as to their attitudes and compare that to their
employment records.) The original assertion was that all white Americans
should share in some sort of racial guilt for the attitudes of certain
(possibly even most) Americans who supported slavery in the past because
they, themselves, are enjoying the benefits of this.

You may or may not be able to offer evidence for this (there have been
points made for both sides of this issue). But statictics, powerful as
they are, are only useful when properly applied. Statements, such as the
one above, demonstrate ignorance of this at the expense of a worthwhile
cause.

Sean McLinden