From: HF.GTD@forsythe.stanford.edu (Gabrielle Daniels)
Subject: Re: Pessimism
Organization: Stanford University, California, USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 23:34:23 GMT

In article <1992Sep25.190754.3705@cas.org>,
cwm54@cas.org () writes:

{Unhappily I delete a good preamble.}

>         Conservatives would have us believe that our problems are not
>      because of racism but because either we have bad values or we aren't
>      educated. "As soon as 'you people'get educated you'll be accepted
>      in the mainstream". Those of us who are "black professionals" know
>      that no matter how educated,how rich,how nice the suit, you're
>      still just a n....I have seen so many people ruined by thinking
>      that they "only need that piece of paper" and being devasted when
>      a white high school graduate with less senority, who they trained
>      becomes their boss.
.
After the last sixteen years, I'm no longer feeling it's all my
fault, dear. I had a diploma to be a professional journalist.  I've
never worked in my field, except for freelancing in alternative
media and once in legit print.
.
What do you do?  You can't go home to mom.  You continually send
your resume out while getting looks (jealous or otherwise) that
"she's overqualified" while working at 7-11 or even in the
secretarial pool.
.
       I no longer am one to stress education as the
>      key to equality. We should be educated to be better informed but
>      we should not delude ourselves into thinking we "can be anything
>      we want to be". As long as racism persist we will usually be the
>      last hired,last promoted,and first fired. A black Ph.D physicist
>      will make less than a white masters degreed physicist. Humans are
>      happy or sad because of relativity. If I'm an engineer making fifty
>      thousand dollars one would think I should be happy. But if the guy
>      in the desk next to me is less qualified and making sixty thousand
>      dollars I am a man most miserable.
.
It's not the only key, which is what has been stressed for time
immemorial.  Nothing wrong with being an intelligent black person.
It's just that other folks think it's wrong and think that your
color is an excuse to get despicable.
.
>          In short if everyone in this country has a college education
>      then college grads will be cleaning toilets and sweeping streets,
>      and guess who that will be. Until Americans admit that because of
>      our economic system(I make no judgements on the right or wrong of
>      it),"the poor will always be with us" and because of racism the poor
>      will always be disproportinately black; and poverty breeds violence.
>      I don't see americans having the will or ability to understand these
>      cause and effect relationships.If everyone on the welfare roles was
>      "trained", there would be no work for them.( Why can't we be honest?)
.
When you say americans, say white Americans.
.
I agree about the part re if folks on welfare were trained.  A
cousin of mine in Louisiana participated in such a bogus program.
She got her diploma, but she's still on welfare.
.
>         We blacks talk about how it is our responsibility to teach our
>      children this and that, and it is true that we have our responsibi
>      lities. But this new generation has unique problems. WE were moti-
>      vated by the lie of the american dream. These younger brothers and
>      sisters see that after all the laws,after all the education, we
>      "catch it" just like they do and they have lost all hope. When I go
>      to a store or a restaurant and still get "the look" I can understand
>      why.
.
What gets me is that the young brothers and sisters have no more
hope.  I saw "Grand Canyon" recently.  The nephew of Danny Glover's
character believes he's going to be smoked before he's 20.
Statements like this always blow me away. I guess I shouldn't be.
.
The young brothers and sisters from East Palo Alto get jacked up
numberless times in downtown Palo Alto, in Stanford Shopping Center
by just being themselves. Not ripping off, not anything.
.
>          At any rate we must inspire our young to achieve while balancing
>      that inspiration with reality. If one fights racism one's career is
>      slowed(I know first hand), but if one doesn't fight it, one's dignity
>      is gone. If one turns on his own one's climb up the ladder is meteoric.
>
>          Is it any wonder we're an angry and confused race?

.
Carlyle, I'd like to know what is now your idea of success as a
black person.  Because since we don't like what we bought several
years ago, and we don't have the saleslip and the bag it came in and
we can't bring it back to the store, what do you propose we do as an
alternative?
.
If you want to climb a ladder, do you want to build the ladder
yourself, or borrow it from someone else?  Never know whether a rung
might be boobytrapped; whereas when you build the ladder with your
own materials, you won't be sold flat.
.
Unless the materials you use are faulty within themselves...
.
I think I said before that I don't bend over for anybody, because I
have my own vision for myself.  You do not have to become like the
Steele brothers or Clarence Thomas to make your way in the world.