Support NeoGAF

[Firest0rm]

"Note: The Muslims were the first religious group to enslave and trade Africans as slaves - 800 years before Columbus allegedly discovered America."

Where the hell did this guy get this from? Arabs were the first not Muslims, its was practiced by Arabs without any relation to the religion. One of the first Muslims was black. He was the first person to do the Athan, which is done by the cleric of a Mosque. Its done five times a day to notify citizens the time and also to remind them of prayer times.

 

[Banjo Tango]

Buchanan is really sincere guy.
http://www.davidstuff.com/incorrect/buchanan19.htm

Wow. I mean, I realised Buchanan was a dick, but... holy shit.

 

[levious]

holy shit... I always thought of him as a decent fellow, that article/editorial blew my mind.

White America of old vs. Godless/lawless diversified modern population

crazy stuff... in the end, his grandchildren will be safe since, as it turns out, the minorities and immigrants that have "flooded" this country are also human beings capable of rational thought.

 

[levious]

free non-committal, easy ride... there's someone who's never been on welfare.

Again, are you talking about welfare or unemployment? Welfare programs I've been exposed to require a paycheck to be earned.

 

[AirBrian]

I have a job in Washington so I don't need to defend my sweeping generalizations!

LOL!

I see where you're coming from... but why are you voting for Bush? He cut taxes, yes, but he's run up the deficit so much that whoever's in office after him will HAVE to raise taxes again. He cut some of the "mismanaged agencies" money, and raised military spending sky-high. I'm sure as hell not supporting the Republican party, because I don't want my money going to Bush's underplanned, overfinanced, self-defeating "war on terror."

Maybe I should start voting Libertarian.

See, the problem is that people get caught on the thinking about themselves versus thinking about society. Welfare is fine and betters our society (in theory), but at a cost of those who "make it" or are wealthy. The Robin Hood effect. On one side, it's completely unfair. But on the other, not having a welfare system will only create more problems. So again, it comes down to looking out for yourself, or looking out for the betterment of society. It's a tough call most of the time.

As far as defense, it's much more than just funding the "war on terror." Defense contracts employ entire towns/cities and are a major driver for the technology sector. We just need to find a better balance on spending, but drastically cutting defense is not in the best interest for our recovering economy.

And like you, the Libetarian party is looking awefully good these days.

 

[Alcibiades]

Welfare is a small part of the budget, and the vast majority of people who use it aren't lazy asses, but regular people who've run into hard times.

that looks like some sort of hippie crowd actually, look at that rad blue hair...

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

that looks like some sort of hippie crowd actually, look at that rad blue hair...

It's actually a stunt of Michael Moore's, for his then-running show The Awful Truth, early in the 2000 campaign season. The idea was that a candidate could earn the endorsement of the show... by being part of a mosh pit. They went around asking various Democratic and Republican contenders, with no takers... except for Alan Keyes, who seemed to do it in large part due to his daughter's recommendation.

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

Blacks typically vote Democratic because they know better than to be swayed by distorted and dishonestly selective bullshit such as that displayed at the top of this thread.

 

[Mumbles]

holy shit... I always thought of him as a decent fellow, that article/editorial blew my mind.

Uh...that's been his standard line for well over a decade now.

As for the OP: Black people generally don't vote republican because the republicans are the ones who

1: refuse to investigate bias charges among government agencies (democrats, at least, *say* that they will)

2: tend to use racist code words, whether they mean them or not (Bush using the term "state's rights" to overlook southern flags that were designed to promote Jim Crow vs. Gore's open disgust towards the same)

4: Willingness among republican leaders to give speeches at racist institutions (eg. Bob Jones College)

4: Reagan's unwillingness to stand against apartheid (even Castro got this one right)

5: Gingrich's promise to destroy the department of education (which many older blacks see as key to equal education)

6: Goldwater's Southern Strategy (which coddled southern racists - at the expense of black votes)

7: republican eagerness to throw out affirmative action, without having any counterproposal except "well, racism is dead" (which black people generally have a hard time believing, given their own experiences).

And the list could actually go far longer than that. in short, black people vote overwhelmingly democratic because republicans chased them out of the party, and have no idea how to get them back. And the funny part is, black people tend to be pretty conservative - all republicans would have to do is listen and address the concerns of the black community, and they'd have them within the decade.

Seriously, when Gore talked to black voters, he talked about how the southern state flags should be replaced, how his first act would be to propose a law banning racial profiling, and so forth. Bush simply never did that - and Florida's election debacle only made things worse for him.

As for Bush speaking at the NAACP - If someone accused him of not caring when Byrd was dragged to death behind a pickup truck, I would certainly have nothing to do with them until I got an apology. And to be blunt, I really don't think Bush can do anything to win over black people at this point anyway - the time for that was in 2000.

 

[Pimpwerx]

Is the cashier at the supermarket or the guy who rings me up at BK doing anything less in their daily job? No. People have this stupid idea that b/c you're a low-wage earner that your job is easy. Bull-fucking-shit! Work a job in the service industry and understand just how absolutely shitty it is relying on the gratitude of total douchebags to make a living.

Yes, they spun their wheels and fucked up high school or college or whatever the fuck it was. Big, fucking deal. Education shouldn't dictate the haves and have nots. It only widens the gap, it doesn't help. I consider myself an intellectual. Did what it took to get a full ride to college, where I pretty much squandered it on drugs and alcohol. I got by on mid-class grades and now I teach. I'm happy with what I do, and my job is probably the easiest thing I could ever do. And I earn a decent salary for it. But I'm not gonna hold myself about someone at McDonalds or the janitor who cleans our bathrooms. Without these jobs, what the hell would we do? Would the brainiacs bust out the mops and start swabbing the halls? HA! Without the so-called "low-lifes" our smart-ass jobs would be torture. I'd have to deal with 30 kids in absolute squalor. I think society tries far too hard to break people down into classes with different priveleges. We should view all jobs as equal, b/c honestly, they all require a lot of effort Work is hardly ever fun, and I'd wager that service jobs are among the worst in the world.

When I look at some of my friends. Some are working tech jobs, making loot. Some are like me, teaching. Some are working odd jobs, just trying to get by. We're all after the same thing, a better quality of life. Considering all jobs as a whole in this social machine, I can't look at any of them as different. Pay equality. That CEO has not done a damn thing more to earn those millions. We should stop fooling ourselves into thinking they have. Most people get their jobs through connections. There's nothing in this world that says that if you work hard, you will be rewarded. It's largely the luck of the draw. Why not pay everyone fairly so there's one less thing for everyone worry about? Oh, and quit this inane balancing act we call a capitalist economy. Ooops, economy going up, gotta raise inflation. Ooops, costs too high, let's drop interest rates. Whoops, not making enough money let's fuck with people some more. *yawn* A pathetic cycle if you ask me. Just give everyone the same, flat wage. Lower prices to cost and get off this drug called growth. It's too easy for an exec to cut a bunch of jobs to hit some artificial growth figure at the end of the year. Fuck 'em. It's the socialist in me. The strength of the collective should be massive compared to the fragmented, overworked workforce we currently operate on. And I sure would like to by a burger without worrying about it being spit on. Damn, shouldn't drink and post so much. This one was rambling. PEACE.

 

[Firest0rm]

Is the cashier at the supermarket or the guy who rings me up at BK doing anything less in their daily job? No. People have this stupid idea that b/c you're a low-wage earner that your job is easy. Bull-fucking-shit! Work a job in the service industry and understand just how absolutely shitty it is relying on the gratitude of total douchebags to make a living.

Yes, they spun their wheels and fucked up high school or college or whatever the fuck it was. Big, fucking deal. Education shouldn't dictate the haves and have nots. It only widens the gap, it doesn't help. I consider myself an intellectual. Did what it took to get a full ride to college, where I pretty much squandered it on drugs and alcohol. I got by on mid-class grades and now I teach. I'm happy with what I do, and my job is probably the easiest thing I could ever do. And I earn a decent salary for it. But I'm not gonna hold myself about someone at McDonalds or the janitor who cleans our bathrooms. Without these jobs, what the hell would we do? Would the brainiacs bust out the mops and start swabbing the halls? HA! Without the so-called "low-lifes" our smart-ass jobs would be torture. I'd have to deal with 30 kids in absolute squalor. I think society tries far too hard to break people down into classes with different priveleges. We should view all jobs as equal, b/c honestly, they all require a lot of effort Work is hardly ever fun, and I'd wager that service jobs are among the worst in the world.

When I look at some of my friends. Some are working tech jobs, making loot. Some are like me, teaching. Some are working odd jobs, just trying to get by. We're all after the same thing, a better quality of life. Considering all jobs as a whole in this social machine, I can't look at any of them as different. Pay equality. That CEO has not done a damn thing more to earn those millions. We should stop fooling ourselves into thinking they have. Most people get their jobs through connections. There's nothing in this world that says that if you work hard, you will be rewarded. It's largely the luck of the draw. Why not pay everyone fairly so there's one less thing for everyone worry about? Oh, and quit this inane balancing act we call a capitalist economy. Ooops, economy going up, gotta raise inflation. Ooops, costs too high, let's drop interest rates. Whoops, not making enough money let's fuck with people some more. *yawn* A pathetic cycle if you ask me. Just give everyone the same, flat wage. Lower prices to cost and get off this drug called growth. It's too easy for an exec to cut a bunch of jobs to hit some artificial growth figure at the end of the year. Fuck 'em. It's the socialist in me. The strength of the collective should be massive compared to the fragmented, overworked workforce we currently operate on. And I sure would like to by a burger without worrying about it being spit on. Damn, shouldn't drink and post so much. This one was rambling. PEACE.

I A W T P Somewhat. Not the second half.