History of white privilege

When Europeans came to America, they brought poor Europeans with them and used them as forced labor. By means of debt bondage. Some people justify this by saying it is perfectly fine for a person to work off a debt through labor as long as they consent to it. That's fine in theory. In practice, the debt seems to get deeper and the worker is rarely justly compensated for their labor. And workers are abused in every way during their servitude.
In the meantime, Europeans took Africans to America to use as labor. Whether they were indentured servants or plain slaves...
The owners were killing (by disease or neglect) Indigenous people and poor Europeans they were using as laborers. Africans seemed to be the most profitable source of labor.
And all these worked side by side for the owners. All these conspired. Found that they shared a common oppression. Found the spirit to revolt. And so they did.
And the outcome of their failed revolt is what we now know as white privilege and racism.
Life long, hereditary servitude was legal. Owners made a shrewd decision. African labor was the way.
Create a rift between African and European workers. Free European workers and create justification for keeping African workers. By stating that they were savage, not worthy of rights, no more than animals, inferior.
Promote the notion that white workers were better, more superior, deserving of rights and privileges that Africans could not enjoy.

And when slavery ended, labor was still needed. Who better than Africans still. And to justify, they were imprisoned. By false charges or by unusual sentences. Then they were given to owners to use as labor.
Still perpetuating the idea that Africans, now free, were dangerous, uneducated savages, that proved to be unfit for society. Justifying their imprisonment.
Europeans still had greater rights and privileges.
And now, after the Civil Rights Movement, owners still use the lies and privileges to divide workers. Blaming Minorities for the plight of working class European Americans.
Hopefully one day we will unite.

Nothing remains the same

Are you sinking or rising?

k-12 solution?

Partnership with local institutes of higher education

Partnership with local business

Exploitation questions

Are you doing this because you want to?

Is there something else you'd rather be doing?

What are the perceived barriers to you doing what you really want?

Are you doing this for someone else?

Is someone else forcing you to do this?

Deep thought

Bigotry is not a result of ignorance
Bigotry is a result of Fear and it is impervious to data
Replace fear with relationships

Paraphrasing Reza Aslan

Truth and consequences

There's this odd idea that a person is innocent until proven guilty. An idea necessary in our legal system. Necessary when the state is deciding to take someone's life liberty or property because they were accused of violating the law.
Is it necessary in our communities?
Does every violation of life, liberty and property need to be handled in court?
Does every injustice need to go to trial?
If a person does not go to trial, does that mean that person is innocent?
Beyond a reasonable doubt is crucial in a court of law.
But, that does not negate a society from enacting consequences for actions outside of the law.

Actions that don't deprive a person of their life, liberty or property.
Many people who have been violated do not choose to involve the law. That does not mean their violator is innocent. Nor does it mean that the violator should not face any consequences for their actions.

Simple rule for human interaction

Don't touch another person without their consent unless it's in strict self defense (to stop an imminent threat)

Everything should be handled at the lowest level possible 

Government involvement a last resort

If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.

There is no free market

The market does not want to be free

The market seeks an enforcer. It seeks regulation. It seeks protection from liability. 

Three actors war for law in their favor

Worker. Consumer. Company

Each law used to control the other. 

Even in the black market there are mafias, gangs, lords 

Deep Thought

It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.

Ann Landers

Deep Thought

Rich kids get taught

Poor kids get tested

The Real Job Creators

Supply and demand (S&D) is said to be a fundamental concept of economics
Who sets the standards for S&D?
I have a product and I create 100 units. I sell 10. Do I create 100 more to increase demand? No. I decrease my output or change my product.
If I create 100 units and sell out in a day, I create more. What if I can't do it by myself? I lose money. So, I have to hire someone else to help me make it. The goal is to profit off of their labor. I will not pay them more than what I would make from the sells of the items they create. That would be stupid.

Let's go back to the first scenario of loss. Would I hire someone else to help me make the extra units even if I only sold 10 of the first? No, that would be a waste of money.

Two labor rules
Employers don't hire anyone unless they have to.
The only reason they would have to is if the labor would stand to make a profit.
A person will only hire you if they can make a profit off of you.

An employer is not going to make a profit if no one is buying their product.

Some say an investor is a job creator. Not so. They provide capital for the work you need. If there is no need for more labor, that investment will not go to labor costs.

So, back to the question of setting standards for S&D.
It is the demand that sets the standards. Who creates the demand?

Consumers.

If there is no demand, there is no need for a supply. There is no need for more labor if there is no need for a supply because there is no demand.

Consumers are the real job creators.

Purpose of School

Learn skills to support yourself

Or learn skills to get others to support you  

I'm not going to say if looks determine what category you belong in, but I'll imply it 

Deep Thought

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”


― Albert Einstein

The bad neighborhood

Realized that it's a prophecy

Fulfilled by others 

Told to stay away

Not to improve 

So there is no investment

No business, no jobs, no opportunities 

Creates the bad neighborhood 

Such a bad idea

I do believe in freedom and if you are not violating another person's rights/liberties, you should do what you please.
BUT, there are some things that aren't a really good idea. As in, it's bound to end up bad. Maybe not all of the time; but enough for me not to support it.

Bad idea:
Sperm banks.

I understand that there are some men who are not fertile and there are some women who don't want a man in their lives.
BUT, Why wouldn't you want a child to have a healthy father figure in their lives?
Why couldn't you find a donor and build at least a friendship with them?
Why would you want to father a child and not have any responsibility for it? Not want to even know it?

It's the anonymity that bothers me the most. I know men donate for whatever reasons, honorable or not.
Just don't get the idea of having a child in the world and having no interest in them.
Or not really knowing the father of your child.

The real first law of economics

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need

https://www.marxists.org/subject/utopian/morelly/code-nature.htm

Morelly 1755

Code of Nature

Another perspective

Commission based economy

What if everyone was paid commission if their labor resulted in the sale of a product?

Even minimum wage workers 

What if everyone got a percentage of the company's profits based on their contribution to the profit?

Profit sharing for all

Promote the General Welfare

It's in Everyone's best interest if all citizens (and all humans for that matter) have adequate shelter, nutritious food, healthcare and Education
I could add transportation and access to information.
These are things that one can give themselves (all resting on education). More likely, these are things they get from someone else.
Should they have all access to these things? Equal to everyone else in society? Or should they have access according to their ability to compensate?
Should the person providing these services be forced to provide the service to all (even if they do not want to provide the service to some or any). Or should society allow a larger market of providers?

The holder of a negative right is entitled to non-interference,
while the holder of a positive right is entitled to provision of some good or service.

Take the first step

Kind of tired of U.S. citizens demanding that the government take care of problems.
Especially military intervention in foreign countries.
But it also goes for protection in your own home.  Or assistance for housing and food.
Any able bodied American can raise money and procure transportation to fight the fights they want to.
We are able to change our economic structure by supporting ourselves.  Refuse to work for and buy from corporations that disrespect us as workers and consumers
Any community is able to support it's people.

All without the government.

Healthy fear of relationships?

I don't want to be with anyone who will stress me the fuck out

But that's almost everyone I've met

So...

What I want labeled

Organisms genetically modified with materials outside of its species

Humility

Unsolicited advice
Your opinion isn't as important as you think it is
Grown ass people don't have to take your advice
Most don't want it

No matter how bad you think someone else is fucking up.  It's not your place. You don't have enough information to make informed decisions about other people's lives.
It's not your job to instruct/police/reprimand other grown ass people
Let people live their lives and make their mistakes

Personal responsibility
empowerment
volunteering

If anything, live by example
be the change...
Set boundaries for yourself
Protect yourself

Change comes from within.
Lessons come from the family and community.

Who are you to tell grown ass people how to live their lives?

When you see other people making decisions you don't like, look at your own life

All in the interpretation

There's two ways to interpret rules

If it's not explicitly forbidden, it's permitted

If it's not explicitly permitted, it's forbidden

I'm of the former interpretation

Deep Thought

  Whosoever commands the sea

commands the trade; 

whosoever commands the trade of the world 

commands the riches of the world, 

and, consequently, the world itself.

Sir Walter Raleigh.    

  

The problem with democracy

First problem,
We have never seen pure democracy
The USA is a plutocracy. A plutocratic republic

People are naturally biased.
People are going to vote their own interests
or their own fantasies

They believe their interests are what is best for others
Or they don't give a fuck about other people
When people vote on an issue
They don't necessarily go the way of equality, freedom, and justice for all

Bias isn't a danger to democracy
Lack of critical thinking is the danger
Bias is human nature. It's how our brain works

We have to realize that we can't combat bias

We need to understand that we are naturally going to find things and support things that promote our ideas

I am going to have a hard time looking at and swallowing things that go against my ideas.
We need to come to this realization and get passed it.

We need to take all the sources of biased information and investigate them

Then We can go on to making informed decisions


*original post 2012-02-16 14:51
*2012-03-20 10:52
*2/16/12

Real liberty

The state should not be taking anyone's life

That includes any agent of the state

No one is justified in taking another person's life

The only reason to take another life is self defense

That is defense in a situation where capability, opportunity, and intent (of deadly force) are present

When any of these three are missing, You are not defending yourself. You are retaliating. Retaliation is not justified. 

Deep Thought

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

John Kennedy

No Asshole

If you find yourself being an asshole
Remember these three things

No one cares what you think
You're not as important as you think you are
On average, You're just as stupid as everyone else

Who knows what Jesus really said?

When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”

Matthew 14

When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Who knows what Jesus really said

Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you

Matthew 5

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you