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keg,
You ask a good question and ask for a straight (non-PC) answer, so I will attempt to give you one.
This country is basically made up of good people. When the civil rights movement gained steam in the 60s many people embraced it. They realized that there were racial (white/black) inequities in our society and were willing to change them.
Martin Luther King Jr. preached that all people should have access to American culture and society. From his writings and his speeches, he believed in what we used to call the ‘Melting Pot’ of America. His movement however, (postmortem) went a different direction.
The movement’s leadership chose to focus on diversity rather than assimilation. Rather than ‘melting in’ to our society and following the traditional rules for success (education, good speech, good appearance, etc,), the rest of America was told that we didn’t understand the black man and that what had worked for every other minority in the history of our country wouldn’t work for them. The liberal element in our country (sorry – just the facts) quickly picked up this drumbeat. In fairness, much of our youth were going through much of the same ‘anti-establishment’ phase themselves.
While much of our country soon got weary of anti-social behavior and went back to the proven ethics of success, King’s message was perverted by a number of black and liberal leaders. Instead of inspiring black individuals to achieve the American Dream, it told them that they were barred from it. Instead of teaching that individual will and determination were the most important factors in getting ahead, they were told that they couldn’t do it on their own; that society was against them and that only by isolating themselves further (voting en masse, elect someone just because they’re black, etc.) could they even survive.
Many black leaders dropped out of the movement (Ken Hamblin for example) because they realized that the oppressors of their people had become themselves. Today, the biggest enemies of minority equality are many of the very people that claim to fight for it. Jesse Jackson, Louis Farakan, and even Malcom X come to mind. Anyone that glorifies ‘the hood’ or romanticizes behavior that is anti-success is contributing to the problem, not helping to solve it. Their intentions may or may not be good (power does corrupt ~ and they know where their bread is buttered), but the results are a social section of our society that rejects the principles of prosperity and condemns themselves to poverty and ignorance.
So to answer your question, much of Prospect Ave. is inhabited by people who’s parents and grandparents bought in to this message. People who have heard nothing different for their entire lives.
The solution is much harder than understanding the problem, but I believe it will have to start with people like Ward Connelly, Ken Hamblin, Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell, J.C. Watts, Candola Rice, and many other blacks that are standing up and saying that traditional success ethics DO work. It is up to the rest of us to defend them when the current ‘minority/liberal leadership’ tries to attack them.
Luz
The proof of what I’m saying is that this whole conversation is not pc…
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