Forum: Author Hangout

I'm afraid, in the U.S. today, if you're black you're the victim and the white person is a racist. Anything you say that doesn't agree with that will get you in trouble.

Systemic racism is rarely so black and white, otherwise it wouldn't be so systemic.

What's needed here is a certain amount of trust. Generally, when facing this sort of attitude, it's best to simply let them vent, get it out of their system, acknowledge that it is a serious issue, and then ask how they plan to confront it. That will usually set them back momentarily, giving you time to make your pitch.

The issue is not to fight racist person to person, but to focus on establishing yourself, making inroads, and avoiding unnecessary conflict. In most cases, open conflict by blacks is a guaranteed death sentence, and they've got to learn that if they hope to succeed, so few employers will put up with it, simply because it terrifies their majority white professional staff.

There's a reason why most employers focus on either British or Jamaican blacks, rather than American blacks. Americans continually hear the incessant racism claims, which is just another form of racism (i.e. setting them up to fail). However, the older Jamaicans (the newer ones were directly influenced by the corporate Americans which has essentially doomed their country. It's also the reason why black women tend to do better professionally than black men. Black men's first response is to send their honor, while women are generally peacemakers, hoping to fit into an existing system without challenging it.

The difference is largely educational. Educated blacks know how to fit into the larger white culture their employees are from. They know the language, how to communicate, and more importantly, how to avoid the larger conflicts which will quickly sabotage their careers.

It's more difficult with someone without that prior training, but under the mentoring with someone with experience in these issues, you can recoup the loss. They key is communication, not who wrote which 17th century poem. Besides, it's hard to make your case to a mostly white audience if you can't present your case. That means learning how to temper your message, simply so you can present your case in the first point, and then, you've got to appeal to their values, rather than your own perceived slights.

Having married a Jamaican and raised two daughters, I had these discussions with young children more often as I did the 'how to prevent getting killed by the police' talks. And once you start, everyone wants you to speak to their kids too. The benefit of which is that you can visibly observe how those messages play out over time, and observe which kids build successful lives, and which crash and burn.

Systemic racism is rarely so black and white, otherwise it wouldn't be so systemic.

Systemic racism is a real thing. But my point was the current environment in the U.S. has gone crazy.

The Chicago major had exclusive interviews with reporters. She only set them up with reporters of color. That's not racist? Imagine if she were white and set the interview up only with white reporters.

The Chicago major had exclusive interviews with reporters. She only set them up with reporters of color. That's not racist? Imagine if she were white and set the interview up only with white reporters.

Sorry, but your making a mountain our of a anthill. Mayors routinely provide targeted interviews, not just to different select groups (ex: Lions and Elks clubs), but also high-school reporters for their high-school newspapers. So, claiming that giving an interview to professional black reporters is an example of reverse racism is patently absurd. If you follow that logic, then it should be illegal to impose ANY limit on public interviews, no matter the topics being discussed, who it impacts, or whose support the legislature needs to get it approved.

What's next, lynchings are racist because whites are 'allowed' to be strung up like blacks? Your question is a textbook example of structural racism. You could get away with similar complaints against any white organization, only against those without the financial wherewithal to defend themselves against utterly frivolous claims. That's akin to kicking someone when they're already bleeding in the street (which isn't actually that uncommon).

Sorry, but your making a mountain our of a anthill.

Some black reporters with high character canceled their interview with the mayor because of the nature of her intent. Gimme a break. Doing something based on race is racism.

That, I've already done as well as could be done for welding. Tactile feedback while welding is not something that can be explained in that manner. It is something than can be observed if you know what you're looking for. I see him adjusting without instruction, which is why I believe he has strong potential.

That's why trust is so essential. It's vital that he sees you as an ally, one who understands what he's facing, rather than a potential opponent. Trust me, it's worth the time establishing that initial trust, as it will pay off in spades in the long run (no pun intended).

But ultimately, the attitude needs to be addressed first, if not, you'll NEVER convince him to trust you!

Haven't tried the stories/history. Most of them are not suitable for the environment. Somewhere in there may be the answer though. I can relate to the racial angle more than he realizes. Think I'll try that one though it will be unrelated to welding directly.

That's the best approach, and it doesn't necessarily require much time, but you need to develop the trust, or you'll always be seen as being 'complicate' in the abuse he sees.

While not everyone has physically been confronted with a cross burning, nearly every black individual has seen countless racial confrontations since they were young children, not yet able to comprehend what was going on. That's a given, so acknowledge it, but then redirect the conversion to what he needs to survive in a white environment. He doesn't need to sell his soul, or 'work with the devil', instead he needs to lean to deflect. He can protest on his own, but he can't allow that to end his future. He'll need to learn a career is he hopes to survive.

That assumes a "white environment." From my perspective, it's a human environment. He probably catches as much shit from the black environment as he does from a white environment.

I'm not arguing with you, as human nature is to dig in your heels whenever you face opposition. But as they say, you catch more flies with honey than shit, and if all it takes to resolve this is to spend a few minutes developing trust--something I suspect this poor kid is sorely laking, it seems a fairly safe investment getting him to open up about what he's facing that's producing such strident antagonism. It seems better than simply letting him fail on his own, which seems to be his current trajectory (no offense Remus, I'm just making a general observation about young men who are lost and don't know where to turn).

Maybe we can dampen the rhetoric and politics here. None of that will help this young man.

Except in the first post — "Every time he screws up, it's automatically not him screwing up, it's because he's black."

That's the message being burned into his brain. That's what he's being taught which will not help him. It simply puts that chip on his shoulder and allows him not to take responsibility. That needs to be countered.

Which is something I'm trying to do.

And I applaud you for it. But it has to be recognized before it can be addressed. It's not political (on my part).