People of Color

Another WSF rant. Will not be politically correct nor pay attention to “safe places”. Many will find it offensive. So, if your tender sensibilities are in danger, fuck off, and go read someone else.

President Trump nixes the Paris Climate Accords. One of the Lightbringers crowning achievements. Never submitted to the Senate much less passed. Government by executive fiat.  Immediately come the cry of racism. Here are two examples.

http://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-bannister/aclu-us-exiting-paris-climate-accord-assault-communities-color

http://www.essence.com/news/trump-paris-climate-accord-environmental-racism-black-people

Or a cabinet appointment.

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/313860-sessions-is-a-looming-threat-to-people-of-color-and-the

You want racism? Keep people dependent on the government tit.

“Poor people of color have been kept down by the system forever, so us smart (mainly white) people need  to help them because, let’s face it, they can’t help themselves”.

So how do “people of color” respond?

   Buy into the meme.

   Wow, these chumps can be hustled.

   Fuck you, I can make it myself – get the hell out of my way.

Strange, isn’t it, those so committed to “helping” people of color are helping themselves at the same time? Ego, financially, or both.

I spent decades working on a commission basis, mainly in retail automobile sales. Brutal business, you get paid what you are worth.

One black woman is stays in my memory. She was a single mother working in the back office shuffling paper and living in near poverty. Had the courage to step outside and sell cars. She struggled. In four years she was a manager. It wasn’t her looks (Whoopi Goldburg’s ugly sister), her sex, or her skin color. She learned how to sell cars and became good at it.  She kept her manager position by her performance. Did her sex and skin color help when the owner was making a decision to promote? Probably, but her sales skills were what put her in a position to be considered for management.

I remember one occasion when she stood up for me. I was accused of racism. Her response?

“WSF puts the R into redneck, but he is no bigot”.

The failure rate in car sales is extreme. You either sell or you starve. No one is going to carry you. The people who succeed defy any demographic. Young, old, black, brown, male, female, sexual orientation, education or past employment doesn’t count. Do you sell or not?

I’m dwelling on car sales here to make a point. It is a place of individual ability and with few artificial barriers.

Now, here comes the yabut choir. It isn’t the same as when you were doing it. OK, tell me anything that doesn’t change with time.

On many social issues I’m quite liberal. Having two mentally challenged offspring tends to open your eyes. I’m all in favor of a “hand up”. Go ahead and tax me. Never, will I be in favor of a “hand out”. 

Those folks who put their asses on the line to make changes and improve the lot of the needy and downtrodden have my support and admiration. Those who are social justice posers, have my utter contempt.

What helps people the most? Jobs! Along with the means to secure food and shelter, job holders gain self esteem and the approval, sometimes envy, of others. How do you calculate that value?

My oldest son is autistic. He is a professional dishwasher and has held that job in a semi-sheltered environment for many years. He only works three days a week. He receives SSI. He pays rent in a subsidized housing unit. Is he a burden on society? Yeah. Does he do his best to be self supporting and make a contribution to his world? Yes. Not lazy, he sells newspapers on the side. The kinds of social programs that allow people like him to live dignified lives are what I support.

I’m old enough to have heard about the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from people who were in it. That program seemed to have succeeded in being a social pressure relief valve for its time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps

Today we have the Job Corps. I’m embarrassed to say I know little about the successes or failures of this program.

http://www.jobcorps.gov/home.aspx

The hideous reality of our inner cities and impoverished rural areas seem to be, sadly, part of our history and part of our present. Why? I don’t know but I’m sure, in part, because other people prosper from the misery. They, whatever the ethnicity, are the real racists.

I do have one unassailable advantage being Caucasian. No one will be sniping behind my back saying my success is due to affirmative action.