71 Comments
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Suzie's avatar

Racism itself is a psychological construct. that black people were less, savages even. It was used to justify slavery. After the Civil War, it embedded itself in government disguised by acts of benevolence to those who were “disadvantaged” and incapable of making it on their own. It morphed into the entire welfare system: low income housing, food stamps, the Civil Rights Act baked it in. There was an unwritten “understanding” implanted into the minds of blacks that they were and always would be “less”, always requiring the generosity of others for handouts and a hand up.

If you tell someone long enough that they are less sooner or later they’re going to believe you. Some are going to resent it, badly, (riots, crime), and others are going to defy it and become successful regardless of the imposed label (see Clarence Thomas AND Michelle Robinson).

If you do everything for your kid, coddle him, spoil him he’s going to turn out to be a lazy, entitled brat.

If you imbue him with a sense of responsibility, accountability, and encouragement for his own efforts, you produce a good and productive man.

None of this is rocket science. If someone wants to succeed they can and will, if they’re willing to do the work to achieve it.

But grievance and grift pays without having to lift a finger. The Marxists know that, the Jesse Jackson’s, and Al Sharpton’s and Obama’s too. Keep things stirred up, divisive and terrorized. At the same time keeping the very people you purport to be defending down and angry, and without hope. Just the promise of more “free stuff.”

How’s that working out for everybody?

William Slattery's avatar

Funny isn't it that so many comments parallel the same theme. We will survive!

Suzie's avatar

Indeed! Ending Affirmative Action has begun to strip the “mask of benevolence” off, in effect telling the kids, you can make it on your own now. You are no longer “Less Than”.

It always freaks them out at first, because they’ve been conditioned into getting whatever they wanted. Hopefully, eventually the light will go on for some when they see they actually can achieve it on their own - and always could.

Suzie's avatar

P.S. and the whole DIE movement is just Affirmative Action on crack!

“How dare you tell me I’m equal! If you’re going to stop just giving us stuff we’re going to come after you and take it!”

Lawsy0's avatar

Preach it, Sistah.

revmaddog1948's avatar

This article saddens me. I was raised in Gary and I'm still in touch with many black friends. They're beautiful capable people and mourn the gutting of our former shared neighborhood. But there are hardworking people of all persuasions, NOT racist criminal grifters, who do rebuild when given the chance. That gives me hope.

4DC's avatar

Very good. 100%. Our local Safeway Manager is from South Central LA. He has a picture of Clarence Thomas on his desk.

Danimal28's avatar

Preach. Immutable characteristics are just that.

Tony Niederberger's avatar

You have heard of reparations, yes?

Charles Browning's avatar

Saying what most are afraid to say. Thank you!

Richard White's avatar

I remember an interview with Michelle in which she said much the same thing. Her lack of self-awareness is astonishing. She said in one breath that the whites moved out because they feared what would become of their neighborhood when blacks moved in, and labeled them racists. Then in the next breath she says that as the blacks moved in, the neighborhood deteriorated. Meaning that the whites who left were correct. She clearly has no grasp of what she is saying.

But that's OK, because the reliably leftist media don't, either.

Marlan Hoerer's avatar

The media know but it is not pc to be honest about this.

Jeremy R's avatar

She was just confirming the stereotype, proving she is too dumb to handle the real world.

Schløngtäviøus Lårdmåster's avatar

That southern Chicago drawl. Y’all can recognize it anywhere. Rodham, with the suburban south Chicago drawl, occasionally reverts to it as well when she don’t feel no ways taaaahred.

Don Reed's avatar

! I would have voted for "My Mom," but the only riot Janet Reed ever had on her hands was me (her son). And that's why she moved out. I still wonder, after all these years, where she went. Say, can I vote for the Korean rooftoppers at the conclusion of the next column? They should be a team, like the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, or the California Pillpoppers. Try the veal.

Steve  C's avatar

I agree it was a very hard call. As everyone can see by the results and I wasn’t allowed to vote twice like they do in Chicago

William Slattery's avatar

I've lived through those dicey years you've described. Growing up in Detroit I witnessed the white flight and the flight of anyone else who could afford it. When I hear Obama's CONSTANT rant about racism I think of all those among us who fled the violence, and lack of responsibility of leaders that failed to identify that this chaos was largely due to thugs who established themselves in broken homes, where education and hard work was largely ignored. A basis of a good society. Many of inner city ills are due to family breakdown in structure. Obama's, latched on to and continue using the race hustlers creed. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson who could shake down businesses for their own profit have become the Obama's mentors along with the race monger Rev Jerimiah Wright. THEY'VE MADE RACE HUSTLING INTO A NATIONAL PASTTIME FOR GRIFTERS LIKE THEY ARE!

Sophie's avatar

My husband grew up in Murray Hill, an Italian/Sicilian neighborhood. The Hough rioters did not breach Murray Hill’s boundary. Armed “family” men guarded The Hill. There was only one fatality that day. A Murray Hill resident shot and killed a black rioter. He was either not charged or found innocent. As far as I know, everyone living there stayed. My husband rarely speaks of that time. Not because he was traumatized; because no one in Little Italy feared outsiders.

White flight didn’t happen for my father-in-law who left in the late ‘70s because Nonnie couldn’t walk up the three flights of stairs any longer of their Random Road apartment. They moved to a condo in Mentor.

Don Surber's avatar

Well put. I grew up near Little Italy. You got that right.

Sophie's avatar

I enjoy your articles, in part, because you sometimes write about the Cleveland of my husband’s childhood--and my childhood a bit, too, as I grew up in the Portage Lakes area between Akron and Canton.

When you write about Cleveland and I share with my husband, he becomes animated and talks for hours about memories he otherwise wouldn’t have shared with me. So thank you, Mr Surber for your part in jogging both our memories.

Trumps Owner's avatar

I believe little Italy in Baltimore is also a safe haven in the dangerous hell hole Baltimore has become.

CactusMatt32's avatar

We grew up in East End of Houston. Mainly working white, but gained Hispanic and small black population. Easy commute to Pasadena and Deer Park refineries and Ship Channel. Part of old Harrisburg, capitol of Republic of Texas. Had some racial ‘rumors of Chicano fights’ in early 70s, but nothing like riots. Area was already integrated……and teachers were committed. My Spanish teacher had taught my mother. For whatever reason, not sure if HISD still offers that benefit, certainly not here in Dallas. Today Schools are thieves - robbing taxpayers and not educating students. For the TRILLIONS spent on education, perhaps school should only be for the ‘wiling’, if you don’t have the attitude to dutifully learn,, for your own benefit, don’t attend.

Tony Niederberger's avatar

You forgot something. The UNIONIZED cafeteria workers have been ordered to throw out any extra food they have rather than feed it to students who have NO food at home.

Mark's avatar

I Think pre President Michelle Obama left because of racist Jim Croce:

Well the South side of Chicago

Is the baddest part of town

And if you go down there

You better just beware

Of a man named Leroy Brown

Now Leroy more than trouble

You see he stand 'bout six foot four

All the downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"

All the men just call him "Sir"

He got a custom Continental

He got an Eldorado too

He got a 32 gun in his pocket for fun

He got a razor in his shoe

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown

The baddest man in the whole damn town

Badder than old King Kong

Meaner than a junkyard dog

Jeremy R's avatar

Well, Barry certainly is a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone.

Dennis Howell's avatar

Riots are not caused by specific events. They are caused by stupid people who react to their frustration with violence.

My wife grew up in a multi-ethnic neighborhood in Toledo, OH, near the old Champion Spark Plug factory. When her father moved the family to a small town 50 miles away in 1969, he kept and rented out the house because of rumors that Champion was going to expand and buy up a lot of property.

By the time we started dating in 1972 the character of that neighborhood had totally changed. More and more trashy blacks had moved in. I helped my father-in-law repair broken windows in his house 5 times in 6 months. Black drug dealers moved into the neighborhood, there were loud street parties going on till dawn, and respectable white, black, Hungarian, and Italian families moved the hell out just as fast as they could. White flight didn't cause the neighborhood to turn to crap, black thugs caused white flight. My father-in-law sold the place for next to nothing in 1975.

I remember the Hough riots well, Don, for my family had moved from NC to Wadsworth in January of 1966. By 1968 we had relocated again to a small town in NW Ohio from where my father was managing plants in NW Ohio, Evanston, IL and Wadsworth. In July of 1968 the truck drivers at the Wadsworth plant had walked out. A customer in Akron was running out of critical material, and Dad, who had what they then called a chauffeur's license, loaded a bulk semi truck in the NW Ohio plant,. and asked me (13 at the time) if I wanted to ride along on the 3 hour trip to Akron.

That turned out to be the day that the Wooster riots started in Akron. The factory we were delivering to was in the Howard Street area. Dad turned onto Howard, and a few blocks ahead we saw an over turned car burning and a crowd of about 150 black males blocking the street, drinking and raising hell. You can't turn a 65 foot semi around on a dime so Dad did the only thing he could. He told me to grab the air horn chain and keep blowing it. Meanwhile he hung a big split shift into a much lower gear on that long nosed Autocar tractor, floored the accelerator, and when that big Detroit Diesel roared and let out a big cloud of black smoke with every shift back up the ladder on the 16 speed tranny, the sea of black in front of us parted like the Red Sea.

Ronsonic's avatar

I can't pick one or the other in today's poll.

Both did what was needed with what was available.

Don't exactly see mom on the set of Zulu with Michael Caine.

Lawsy0's avatar

I clicked on Mom, because she was the rock, and the cornerstone, the shelter in the time of storm for our entire extended family. In my late 30's she would say, "You're not to big to be whipped!" She'd have made a great general. She was our Prime Minister.

Trumps Owner's avatar

I picked the Koreans because they stayed and defended their turf using our 2nd Amendment. The only thing that will stop the George Floyd riots is decisive and overwhelming lethal force. If we get more of this, we'll get a lot less riots in the future and society can once again thrive

Neera Goitein's avatar

She’s the racist!

Marlan Hoerer's avatar

The person seeing racism is the racist every time.

Don Reed's avatar

If these anarchists survive to hold a 2nd annual boola-boola, Big Mike should be the keynote speaker: https://dnyuz.com/2023/07/17/how-mariah-hanson-created-the-dinah-the-worlds-biggest-lesbian-party/

Mick's avatar

The Obama presidential center in Chicago took some land from a public park and is going to push out more black people than Michelle Obama has probably ever seen in the last 20 years. Additionally, hundreds of her and Barack's adoring white fans/cult members will want to move next to the Obama shrine and will then push out the rest of the black population in the area. How ironic that she's now pushing the blacks out instead of the whites.

Gail's avatar

Ah, yes, Carl Stokes, besides being a crap mayor, he went on to steal a screwdriver and a bag of dog food, on separate occasions. He felt entitled or was a kleptomaniac. I'll go with both. Who knows what else he stole. Let's name a courthouse after him! Welcome to Cleveland.

Schløngtäviøus Lårdmåster's avatar

Then came Dennis Kucinich, who said “Hold my Carling Black Label” and became an even worse mayor.

Don Surber's avatar

In between we had Perk and I voted for Voinovich in 1979,the only time I voted in Cleveland

Tony Niederberger's avatar

Yes sir, Michelle Obama practices what she preaches--she lives in the completely diversified area of Martha's Vineyard. How many other black families live there at any time of the year? ONE ??

Tony Niederberger's avatar

I wanted to write this separately, but it ties into the sleaze and filth that is the obama family. In a run-up to the 2008 election with Ms. Hilary barely leading obama, the Chicago Tribune posted this missive.

Back in the early 90's, a slick little street hustler by the name barry obama convinced Oprah Winfrey to "invest" 30 million in "Housing for the homeless." Three brand new buildings were built and all your ghetto trash moved into them (San Francisco and New York City, PAY ATTENTION). Within three years, the buildings had to be destroyed because all the wiring and plumbing had been ripped out and sold for scrap (Drug money). The buildings eventually had to be destroyed due to rat infestation.

Hell, I can't even tell you WHERE Michelle obama is from, let alone her husband, but this story is true. To this day typical of people who have been swindled, Oprah Winfrey denies it ever happened. If you can ever find a video of the interview, you will see Ms. Winfrey was in a panic as she was interviewed.

Jeremy R's avatar

My little brother helped build an apartment complex in Denver. They started moving families in before the acceptance inspections. Suddenly people were complaining about no water. All the copper pipes were missing. The contractor was forced to replumb several buildings. Less than a week later there again was no water and he had to replumb again. This time he did it with cpvc. In return the fine folks slashed his tires and looted his trucks.

CC's avatar

Actually, Martha’s Vineyard has the largely black community of Oaks Bluff, where prominent & well-to-do blacks have vacationed since at least the 1930’s. The Obama’s live on the other side of the island isolated on a lush estate, but probably socialize with them.

That said, I'm not nor ever was an Obama fan at all...I don't know where to begin - I guess the Obamas lack of gratitude and grace is the nail in the coffin for me...the rest is just details, lots of ornery details..

Lawsy0's avatar

My best Elmer Fudd voice: Be vewwy vewwy quiet. The Obamas don't identify as Bwack.

Tony Niederberger's avatar

You are speaking of the Oak Bluffs area. I am aware of it, but have never been there-probably due to my very liberal ex of 20 years, who was more racist than I could ever be. Among her non-judgmental comments was this gem. A white woman pulled a very bad move in front of me at a light. She had a black male as a passenger, so my liberal loving ex climbed half-way out the car door and screamed 'WHY DON'T YOU LEARN TO DRIVE, YOU NIG*ER LOVIN' BITCH."

Don Reed's avatar

We'll assume that that had not been her response on the day that you had asked her to marry you.

Tony Niederberger's avatar

Don't be such a bitch. The term 'ex" carries many connotations, such as my ex sister in law, father-in-law etc etc etc. We were never married and we never would be, but liked to do things that only a conservative man would do with a liberal woman besides spend money, especially after 20 years.

Don Reed's avatar

I have inadvertently offended you; I had no intent at all to do so. Will you accept my apology?

Tony Niederberger's avatar

It takes a LOT more than that to offend me. Being the only straight waiter in a restaurant that had a predominantly queer clientele offends me. Don, you're fine and thank you. Tony

Oaf's avatar

There is always plenty of wickedness to go around in politics. Lyndon Baines Johnson, fellow-traveler of Communist Party U.S.A. is, all-time, the most wicked politician. The so-called race-wars and riots began not long after LBeffinJ dropped his Great Society bomb. Hiring all those "social workers" to go into peaceful black neighborhoods and foment anger in a thousand ways with a thousand different lies and prevarications. One of the prominent black leaders of the late 19th century (I don't recall the name) said, "If you really want to help us, leave us alone." LBJ and his communist bosses figured out how to produce the division that communism requires to establish "the dictatorship of the proletariat." It took a lot of fellow-traveling and fellow-travelers to make today's mayhem and misery happen. All of it began in Ann Arbor Michigan, May 1964 with the infamous Great Society speech delivered by the vile and evil man named Lyndon Baines Johnson. Every genuine Texan should make it a point to piss on Johnson's grave at least once in a lifetime.

revmaddog1948's avatar

I must interject a comment. These comments are refreshing. Thank you fellow Surbs!

Sambeaux's avatar

Born and raised in Memphis, a genteel Southern Cotton town on the banks of the Mississippi River. Left in 1968 for the “big city”, Atlanta, and later moved my parents to Florida. Today most whites have abandoned Memphis and fled to former neighboring farm towns which have exploded into major business hubs like Germantown, et al. For the most part “old Memphis” is festering hell hole perennially ranked the #1 murder capital of USA and recently #1 in deaths by car accidents. My old neighborhood is now a ghetto.

Funny thing, Memphis has been run by 100% Democrats for over 40 years! Their congressman for many, many years is Steve Cohen (who actually ate KFC during a House hearing).

Democrats=Crime, Riots, Ghettos. Who knew? Connect those dots Michelle!

PS: Watch Atlanta, a Detroit in the making.

Schløngtäviøus Lårdmåster's avatar

Sad what’s happened to Memphis. I fly out of Memphis, go to Bass Pro (had my truck broken into) and occasionally make the 50 mile trip to Costco. When I go, I am ready to leave.