Reparations

[Poopadoop]

There's a difference between having opportunities and not taking them and not having opportunities.

[TheSpoonald]

There's a difference between having opportunities and not taking them and not having opportunities.

Does every teenage girl have the opportunity to not get pregnant?

Does every black kid have the opportunity to graduate high school?

[Poopadoop]

Does every teenage girl have the opportunity to not get pregnant?

Does every black kid have the opportunity to graduate high school?

Does every black kid have the opportunity to go to university, get a high paying job and great treated like an equal if they do those things?

[OngBonga]

Does every black kid have the opportunity to go to university, get a high paying job and great treated like an equal if they do those things?

Here in the UK, yes.

[TheSpoonald]

Does every black kid have the opportunity to go to university, get a high paying job and great treated like an equal if they do those things?

Probably. But it's not always that simple. Or the goal isn't that finite.

Say you're a black person stuck at 0. And societal disadvantages are such that even if you worked your ass off, stayed in school, didn't get pregnant, and played your cards right, you still might not get very far. You might have to work two jobs and take 6 years to put yourself through community college one credit at a time. So you put in all that work and you get from 0 to 1.

Some people might say "Fuck, I did all that work and only got from 0 to 1?? Screw this. I'll just go back to zero and live off the gov't"

Others would say "Look, I know things aren't fair. I should be able to get higher than 1 with all this work. I could give up, but if I keep working, and I bust my ass, and I get from 0 to 1.......then maybe my kids can get to 4 or 5, and that would be worth it"

I feel like more of the latter is needed. But the government and social justice initiatives encourage the former

[OngBonga]

There's a difference between having opportunities and not taking them and not having opportunities.

What oppurtunity did I have that black kids didn't?

I say I dicked about at school, but better language would be to say I suffered behaviour problems because I lived in foster homes and children's homes, and kept moving school. I was a very unhappy child. I then left school and went to college, aged 16, living on my own. I made friends, drank alcohol, smoked weed, I was finally enjoying life.

Am I a victim now? I don't consider myself to be a victim, and that's because I live in a country where those who apply themselves, regardless of their background, can succeed. Had I applied myself, I would have a nice job and be well off. That was a choice I made, whether or not it was a conscious choice. My destiny was only ever in my own hands, just like everyone else. THAT is equal opportunity.