DarkStar Spouts Off

Clarification Of Views

[ Update 9/16/06]

Added "clarification" concerning focusing on bad news vs. good news.

[ Update 9/3/06]

Added Republican Democrat "clarification"

[ Update 8/30/06 ]

Added affirmative action and "acting white" "clarifications" and I'm feeling real silly for doing this.

If you want to read these views in one setting, select the "POV" category to the left.

[ Update ]

I'll bring this to the top each time I post something that is a part of this "series."

It's become clear to me that clarification of some of my views are needed. I do this because it has become increasingly obvious that dealing with partisans means if I argue against concept A, it doesn't mean I embrace concept B which is the polar opposite of concept A.

Unfortunately, this is VERY clear when dealing with partisan Blacks on the Internet. People who I expect to know better. It seems my expectations are TOO HIGH.

[ Update ]

I'll touch on:

• "Black leaders"
• Education
• Republicans, Democrats, and the Black Voters
• Affirmative Action
• "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News"
• "Victimology"
• The Role of Government
• "Acting White"

Clarification Of Views: Don't Bring Me No Bad News

I often wonder, and write, about the lack of good news about Blacks being published when there is a lot of good news out there. I wonder but I know the reason: bad news sells.

This "bad news sells" theology -- yes, theology -- is what drives most of the commentary about the Black community, in my opinion.

Why write about the growth in Black business when it's better to write how Black business is a small percentage of American business or how most Black businesses employ only the owner?

Why write about the fall in the out of wedlock birth rate when it's better to write about the percentage of children in single family homes?

Am I saying these things should not be mentioned? No. But, no matter how many times I say that, my critics still claim that is what I am saying.

It's very simple: If you want behavior modification, how do you best get the results you want? You use a combination of negative and positive re-enforcement with most of the re-enforcement being positive.

The most successful managers get the best out of their charges by using positive re-enforcement techniques. When you are raising kids, the quickest way to get the desired behavior, is to praise the kids when they exhibit the behavior they want.

Mostly negative re-enforcement works for a very short period of time. Over the long term, what you get is low morale and a re-enforcement of behavior that you do not want.

Again, I'm not saying that the negative news should not be stated, but to get the accurate view, the positive must also be stated.

The truth is, since negative news sells, those on the left and right who focus on race get more notoriety by doing it. And, IMO, that's what they want.

Clarification of Views: Dems, Repubs, and Blacks

I am politically non-aligned. This means I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican. I am not a Green Party member. I am not a Libertarian party member. I am a party of one; myself.

I don't care if a Black person is a Democrat or Republican or whatever. They have the right to affiliate with whatever party they chose. I only care about one thing: using your party affiliation to advance the causes that you hold more important. Then, if you say your party is better for Blacks, then you have to be knowledgeable enough to support your claim.

If you state other parties don't support Blacks, then, again, support your claim. However, if I know your logic is wrong, founded on false information, misleading, or unable to be supported with facts, I'm going to respond by showing you, with facts, where you are wrong and why you are wrong.

Here is where it comes down to Democrats vs Republicans.

If you are a Democrat and you claim your party is best for Blacks and the Republican party is racist, be prepared for my response where I show where the Democrats have abused Black supporters.

If you are a Republican and you claim your party is best for Blacks and it is the Democrats who are the racists, be prepared for my response where I show where the Republicans have slighted Blacks.

Frankly, both parties have their share of racists and both parties have their faults. As such, I support the individual politicians, not their party. You may find this naive and say that individual politicians will support the party position in office, and I will agree that may be the case. But, I take that into account before I support the individual politician.

Therefore, let us talk about the issues, not the parties. Talking about the parties, in about 90% of the cases, is a big waste of time and keeps "us" divided and unable to find common ground to address issues that can be addressed politically. Political parties are not saviors so don't act like they are saviors. If you do that, I'll really bring the heat.

Of course, many issues cannot be addressed politically and must be addressed otherwise.

Clarification Of Views: "Acting White"

This will cover my view on the popular belief that Black kids believe being studious is "acting white."

I don't think that is the case at all. The media and certain pundits are too lazy to do the real intellectual hard work to track down what is really happening. Now, I'm not saying that some Black students have not accused other Black students of "acting white." But this so-called "anti-intellectualism" is not anti-intellectualism but may be a strong case of jealousy. Aren't the few kids who use this term, not performing well in school? I think an investigation would show this to be the case.

It may not be about "anti-intellectualism" vs. a student standing out as different.

But, at this point, this is just conjecture on my part. Here is where I present research to show that the "acting white" charge may be overblown.

First, a relevant post on "Acting White".

Second, an earlier study on "Acting White" titled, The Burden of "Acting White": Do Black Adolescents Disparage Academic Achievement? This study comes to the conclusion that the "Acting White" charge does not discourage academic achievement.

Third, a recent study titled An Empirical Analysis of "Acting White" comes to the conclusion that the "Acting White" charge doesn't affect Black students in segregated [ Black ] schools or private schools. There is some evidence that it does affect Black students in integrated schools.

An honest reading of these should cause the reader to start to question the "common knowledge" of the "Acting White" mentality.

Clarification Of Views: Affirmative Action

I dated a woman in the admissions office of a state university. She told me when she wanted to recruit at a "majority minority" school, she had to justify why she wanted to recruit at the school. Many times, she was asked to provide statistics about the number of applications received from the "majority minority" schools and the rate of acceptance to rejections. When her co-workers wanted to recruit at a "white school," such information was not required before the recruiting visit was allowed.

She told me of her hard fighting for minority candidates in the admissions process. Many times white students with questionable credentials were admitted while minority candidates of equal questionable credentials were put on hold or rejected. She told me that a few times, she brought up the disparity in the judging process.

At some companies where I worked, I was told by people in human resource the added justifications they had to go through to add HBCUs to the college recruiting tour.

At one company where I worked, I helped interview a candidate for a technical position. I, along with another Black engineer, stated that a Black candidate was the best fit for the open position. A white co-worker rated the person very low and suggested another candidate, white, who had less experience in the area that was needed. The company hired the less qualified candidate, despite the affirmative action program in place.

I support affirmative action. However, I don't support the justification of affirmative action by using proportional representation.

When I graduated from college, I was one of a total of about 10 who graduated with a computer science degree that year. Later, in the workforce, I would often be the only Black person, or one of less than a handful, on a software project. If "12% of Blacks" who graduate aren't getting computer science/information systems degrees, how can anyone expect 12% of software engineers to be Black? That doesn't make sense.

If you want more detail, look at this link.

Oh, one other thing: I don't place any belief in "Thomas Clarence" idea that affirmative action is an admission that Blacks are inferior. In my mind, anyone who thinks that way about affirmative action, probably thinks that way in general. As such, it is more a personal problem than my problem.

Clarification Of Views: Education

When I've written about education, I've focused on the school system more than I have the responsibility of parents and the children themselves. That doesn't mean parents and children don't shoulder the burden of getting a proper education, they do. However, right now, what touches me more is the irresponsibility, neglect, and incompetence of the school system.

When I was a teenager, after taking the SAT, I saw a girl I knew from Jr. High School. I went to her to speak and ask how she did. She, literally, broke down crying about the test. She said she received good grades in high school and was taking "advanced" classes at the school, but had never seen much of the material on the SAT or the format of the SAT. That has left a strong impression on me. What good is a child performing well in school and being studious if the school doesn't provide the opportunity for a good education?

That is at the core of the reason why I support vouchers and charter schools. Both provide wider options for children to be able to take advantage of a better education. But that doesn't absolve parents of their responsibilities, which include:

• Prenatal care when the woman first finds out she is pregnant
• Reading to children
• Encouraging children to read
• Taking children to places and events where they can learn and expand their world view
• Taking an active part in the child's eduction
• Making sure children do their homework
• Helping children review material that is causing them trouble
• Encouraging children to explore
• Being a member of the PTA
• Going to school board meetings to make sure the board is acting properly
• Turning off the boob-tube
• Making sure children get plenty of rest
• Making sure children get to school on time
• Making sure children understand what is required of them
• Setting high and reasonable goals for your children.

So, is that clear now?

Clarification of Views: "Black Leaders"

The following links give a good understanding of my point of view on "Black leaders". I quote "Black leaders" because I don't believe in the concept.

• Personal Responsibility ("Black Leaders")
• Why Focus on "Black Leaders"
• "Black Leaders"

I think the problem for partisans is, I can believe seemingly opposing views at the same time. For example, while I am not a fan of Al Sharpton ("negative view"), I can state with clarity that Al Sharpton has spoken out against the filth in rap ("positive view"). I think that Al Sharpton is a media chaser ("negative view"), yet after observing him, I think the man is intelligent ("positive view").

To make this clear: Just because I state a FACT about someone or something that is opposition to a point being made, it doesn't mean I am in opposition to you or maybe the view. It means that I am bringing facts to the "debate" to try to elevate the debate.

This "problem" that I encounter when "debating" partisans, be they "left leaning" or "right leaning" is something that will be a constant under current in this series.