From: isbell@ai.mit.edu (Charles L Isbell)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african.american
Subject: Re: Apportioning blame
Date: 29 Sep 92 16:24:41 GMT
Article-I.D.: panther.ISBELL.92Sep29122441
	<32310012@hpmwmat.sr.hp.com>
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
In-reply-to: mikep@hpmwtd.sr.hp.com's message of 29 Sep 92 03:03:31 GMT

mikep@hpmwtd.sr.hp.com (Mike Powell) writes:
[...]
	   I'm so tired of people _demanding_ things like the fabled
	   "living wage" and the "affordable housing" and ESPECIALLY
	   demanding an "opportunity".

	   The act of demandaing an opportunity is a SELF-DESTRUCTIVE
	   ACT.  The simple reasons for this are:

		   1 - It presupposes that an opportunity is not 
		       currently available.

Presupposing something is not bad if it is true.  I am not asserting
that the presupposed thing in this discussion is true, only that
presupposing it is not bad if it is true.

		   2 - It presupposes that opportunities must be _given_
		       and ignoring the possibility of CREATING
		       opportunity.

If this were talk.politics.theory, I might argue that opportunities
*must* be allowed in exactly the same way that rights are or they must
be forcibly taken.

This is not however tpt.

	   These two factors that are built-in to the "demand for opportunity"
	   idea are so crippling to anyone who buys into that self-destructive
	   mind set that it becomes self-perpetuating.

That`s unclear.  I would argue that there are glass cielings which
seek to limit my opportunities.  This does not prevent me from being
successful.  Indeed, it allows me to understand that I will face
tougher battles.  The knowledge allows preparation.

	   People striving to attain success in ANY area, often learn early
	   on that one of the most important things in achievement is to
	   "ask empowering questions".

	   To ask "how come blacks have no opportunity in this country?" is
	   about as screwed-up and disempowering question that can possibly
	   be asked, and yet many of us ask this type of question over and
	   over again....  and it is WE who ask the questions!

I do not think that anyone really asks this question.  They ask "how
come Blacks have to less or more difficult access to the opportunities
in this country?  How can this be overcome?  How can we circumvent
this?"  I think you confuse asking a question abotu something bad with
accepting the condition as intractable.

	   An empowering question would be: "What opportunity is sitting
	   right in front of me, that I have not seen before?"

	   Now _that_ question can get results....  it actually presupposes
	   the opposite of the first, namely, it presupposes that opportunity
	   ALREADY EXISTS, and prompts the individual to find it, whereas
	   the first question is enough to make one fall into depression.

You are presupposing quite a few things yourself, are you not?

	   Time to ask better questions.  Whites don't force Black America
	   to ask bad questions... asking bad questions is second nature
	   to most everyone, and the only thing stopping anyone from asking
	   good questions is simply _choice_.  Black America must choose how
	   it wants to view the world.... how it wants to frame questions (that
	   ultimatly determine the quality of the answers).

Maybe.  I would argue that the "depressing" questions must be asked or
else no one will bother to seek answers for them.  The point is taken,
on the other hand, that we cannot let the quest for those answers
prevent us from seeking other answers (or questions).  In short, none
of those questions are mutually exclusive.

--
Peace.
               "Okay, okay... let's see.  Perfect woman.  Nice face,
                great tits, great ass, good personality.  In that order."
          "Why that order?"
               "It takes friends longer to notice a bad personality."
                            - Kyle Baker, _Why I Hate Saturn_
                                   -\--/-
    Don't just adopt opinions     |  \/  |       Some of you are homeboys
          develop them.           |  /\  | but only I am The Homeboy From hell
                                   -/--\-
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african.american