Live Webcast: Black Identity, Crime & Violence
[Replay now available] Tune in live to listen to a presentation by Bermuda College adjunct lecturer Quinton Sherlock on using black identity to address crime and violence.
Mr Sherlock said he believes the current issue of crime and violence is symptomatic of deeper issues that exist in the local community that originate from a lack of a healthy ethnic and cultural identity. “Gang activity and gun violence in Bermuda often involve a black male,” he stated recently. “As a black male myself, I cannot give into the frivolous notion that allowing “them” to kill each other off, or locking them all up will solve the problem…”
[Update: The live stream ended at 8:10pm, the replay is now available. The first few minutes of audio are very poor quality, you can 'drag' the bar to fast forward]
Watch below:
Is it not getting a little tedious these black pastors perpetually trying to pin the roots of the gang violence on every one else beside these little gang bangers. Bring in special branch from London and it will be tackled in about 1 week.
BILL COSBY’S THOUGHTS BELOW…..MAY BE OF USE
They’re standing on the corner and they can’t speak English.
I can’t even talk the way these people talk:
“Why you ain’t,
Where you is,
What he drive,
Where he stay,
Where he work,
Who you be…”.
And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk.
And then I heard the father talk.
Everybody knows it’s important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can’t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth.
In fact you will never get any kind of job making a decent living.
People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an Education, and now we’ve got these knuckleheads walking around.
The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal.
These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids.
$500 sneakers for what?
And they won’t spend $200 for “Hooked on Phonics.”
I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit.
Where were you when he was 2?
Where were you when he was 12?
Where were you when he was 18, and how come you didn’t know that he had a pistol?
And where is the father? Or who is his father?
People putting their clothes on backward. Isn’t that a sign of something gone wrong?
People with their hats on backward, pants down around the crack, isn’t that a sign of something?
Isn’t it a sign of something when she has her dress all the way up and got all type of needles (piercings) going through her body?
What part of Africa did this come from?
We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans; they don’t know a thing about Africa.
I say this all of the time — it would be like white people saying they are European-American — that is totally stupid.
I was born here, and so were my parents and grand parents and, very likely my great grandparents. I don’t have any connection to Africa, no more than white Americans have to Germany, Scotland, England, Ireland, or the Netherlands.
The same applies to 99 percent of all the black Americans as regards to Africa — so stop, already!
With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed and all of that crap…and all of them are in jail.
Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person’s problem.
We have got to take the neighborhood back.
People used to be ashamed.
Today a woman has eight children with eight different ‘husbands’ — or men or whatever you call them now.
We have millionaire football players who cannot read.
We have million-dollar basketball players who can’t write two paragraphs. We, as black folks, have to do a better job.
Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids, you are hurting us.
We have to start holding each other to a higher standard….
+++++++
WELL SAID, BILL!
It’s NOT about color…It’s about behavior!
PASS! THIS ON AROUND THE WORLD!!!
You know if a white Bermudian male had written such a thing people like Rolfe would be leading the charge screaming “RACE” at the top of their lungs. But, since it was a black man, & a very successful black man at that, who uttered these words, there is silence to the point of trying to completely ignore them.
It is hypocracy & diversion of the real blame as usual.
I know Bill Cosby said these words years ago. Nothing has changed. He is still bang on target. The Bermuda situation is no different than the US.
When people start to look in the mirror & stop looking around to blame whitey then there will be change. There are plenty of independently successful black people here. Many do not have high standards of education. What they have is work ethic & an interest in being treated as part of the HUMAN race, not a race of a particular colour, or harping on the wrongs of almost 200 years ago & blaming that on a situation that they have put themselves in today.
yep, my mom is one of those sucessful middle class Bermudians that raised 4 kids with one hand tied behind her back, paid her bills, stayed at her government job for 30+ years, owns a real home (not a condo). All that she asked of her offspring is to do better than herself……donno if I can, her networth is 1.8M
We no longer live in Bermuda (after 25 years of living there). We now live on a much larger island off the coast of Tuscany in Italy. There is NO crime here. NONE. You can leave your cars unlocked, leave your doors unlocked, let your children run free without worry.
I am sure that this place too will change one day. However, the BIG difference between Bermuda and Italy is that in Italy FAMILY still matters. Every holiday, every vacation, every evening, every lunch is spent with the family (which includes aunts, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers), etc. etc. Bermuda is missing the boat. You ask black Bermudian children about thier families and you will find out the truth. Forget this ethnic and cultural identity crap….what happened to discussing “the family”…what happened to “don’t have a baby unless you are ready to commit to marriage and make it work for the sake of the children”…
Bermuda – it is time to face the music. You need family counselling, not black history!!!
At last .. A post I can say ‘CO-SIGN’ to.
Blah blah blah Kathy. Stop acting so high and mighty. So you ran away to Italy. Not everyone is so privileged or has the money to just run away to another country. Some of us have to stay and play with the hand we’ve been dealt.
And how dare you say family doesn’t matter to Bermudians. Most Bermudians bust their collective @$$es day in and day out, some with two or more jobs, JUST so their kids can have food on the table or go to a better school. And lucky them for having those jobs because in today’s climate a job is worth more than gold.
And come those same holidays of which you spoke you can be sure that there are family gathering all over the island. ESPECIALLY on Christmas and Cup Match.
Well put, Kathy go F your self times are hard if we could we would jump ship.
Typical…shoot the messenger. The message is unimportant because it does not mesh with what you want to accept as unpleasant fact in Bermuda.
There are many places in the US where people do not lock homes or cars. Rural NW US & many small towns are typical. There is a sense of mutual respomsibility for each other coupled with a no nonsense law enforcement that makes these places so secure.
… she’s not saying for people to leave… she’s saying the sht has hit the fan because of our lack of family unity/values.
…the point I was trying to make is that there are mothers here in Italy who live in crappy apartment buildings and have no car – they walk everywhere with their children – even in the winter when it is freezing and raining, but they are HOME for their children. They don’t have the extras for themselves…they live for their children.
When they are working (if they can find work), the grandmother or grandfather or husband has the child. Babysitters and daycares don’t exist here, so there is no choice, you HAVE to take care of the children you have.
Most women here are confident enough to know that marriage comes before babies. Values still exist here and the church is the most important thing in the village. Everything revolves around family and church and it creates this society that has very few social ills.
My main point was that getting a “black identity” won’t fix Bermuda’s black males nor Bermuda. There are many successful black Bermudians who grew up in wonderful families that took the time to care for them and ensure they succeeded. This is what is missing for most black males in Bermuda. If you didn’t have that when you were growing up…well, create that for your child. Break the cycle – however you can.
No, I am not black but I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Both my parents worked, but one of them was always home – they just had to – there was no one else to do it!
P.S. We didn’t leave for Italy by choice and we left with no money…Bermuda didn’t accept me as Bermudian after being born there and having lived there for 25 years of my life, married there and having my two children there….perhaps it is because I am the wrong colour?
RIGHT ON SISTER!
and @ True Bermudian, you missed Kathy’s point. There is no extended Bermudian family values, i.e. uncles looking out for nehpews, aunties keeping a sharp eye on neices, and grandpa looking out for misbehaving children in the neighborhood. We’ve lost it, Italy still has it. True Bermudian sounds more like True Envy.
We have always considered relocating to Italy however on the two ocassions we have researched the move we were discouraged due to fears of race problems. Which leads me to ask, are you black and trust me its meant sincerely
Cleveland please stop,,, If you want to travel somewhere mainstream like italy just go.Discover on your own majority of the places i have traveled to were told to me by many people that they are very racist there and then you go there and people are the exact opposite.Peoples ignorance of an entire group of people can be really ignorant.
Okaaaay, I listened online and did not hear anything I haven’t heard before. I for one am disturbed by the direction our island and our youth are heading in but no one seems to hit on the root cause. Maybe I zoned out a bit but I still see parents (not race, not African history, not the Diaspora thing (no disrespect)) as the solution to the problem.
Someone said, “no one teaches us how to parent.” Yes someone does!! Your parents teach you how to parent!!! If they did a bad job then break the cycle and do differently. I hear so often people say how they want to give their child a better life than they had, well there is your opportunity. But of course, the child is spoiled rotten and not taught how to earn and value anything.
Clearly we are our own worst enemy when it comes to our children and we reap what WE have sown. Fix your house first then fix the village and then we will see improvements to Bermuda.
‘Fix your house first then fix the village …’
Indeed , when the ‘houses’ are fixed , the ‘village’ will be fine.
Besides , wary villagers know all too well what happens when they interfere with these troubled youth .. Remember the parent who stormed a school a while back and assaulted a teacher because she dared to discipline the child ?
Kathy has a very good point to make, as does True Bermudian.
The speech/address made by the lecturer Quinton Sherlock was interesting.
Very Black…but then again isn’t 90% of the population?
Is it a drug problem? Is it religious? Parenting? I Think so..
Quinten, you talked a good story…you appear to be intelligent…take a step back and look outside the box (Island).
The world has actually moved on in the past few years…
Some people on this island have a very unhealthy obsession with racial politics. Believe it or not, other places have gangs which are not black. Do kids in Manchester or Liverpool join gangs because of a lack of a White identity? And what do you think the reaction would be if White racists tried to encourage White gang members to adopt a White identity?
This is racism, whether it’s black people or White people.
Like others have said, the problem is not a lack of a racial identity – it’s broken homes and the decline of community values.
There is hope for these kids in gangs. They have had bad luck but there are always opportunities for redemption. Just as long as they pay no heed to divisive identity politics.
being a good parent is key in the future of our children most definitely but its only so much they can do.when kids are at school they have time to experiment without the without their parents looking over their shoulder and thats were teachers need to step inbut 9/10 they have their own kids and 4 some its a bit much..bermudians have a mixed identity,being a british overseas teritory with american policies,we have no real culture of our own,when i was in high school at saltus and northlands bermuda history was not taught instead we learned social studies thats american history..if parenting is the only problem then george bush should have never become president his daughter is a disgrace..it has to be a community effort one for all and all for one unity is key…
When will someone take a page out of Bill Cosby’s book? He’s one of the few black statesmen that made a true assesment of what our problems are. Yes PROBLEMS.
http://www.examiner.com/education-in-national/bill-cosby-speaks-bluntly-about-black-people-and-education
Bill Cosby spoke about his feelings regarding black people and education in his recent rant called We Cannot Blame the White People Any Longer.
Cosby is probably the only person who could get away with talking the way he does because he is well respected among people of all races.
“People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we’ve got these knuckleheads walking around,” he says.
“They’re standing on the corner and they can’t speak English. I can’t even talk the way these people talk….You can’t be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth. In fact you will never get any kind of job making a decent living.”
Cosby is especially upset that we have millionaire football players who cannot read or write two paragraphs.
“We, as black folks, have to do a better job,” he stated. “We have to start holding each other to a higher standard.”
He believes that “Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person’s problem. We have got to take the neighborhood back.”
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Bill Cosby speaks bluntly about black people and education – National Education | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/education-in-national/bill-cosby-speaks-bluntly-about-black-people-and-education#ixzz1CKaX3oIq
We do a disservice to common sense whenever we choose to ignore the indisputable fact that the past always helps to shape the present and, to a large degree, plots a course into the future. As such, any effort to critically examine present-day socioeconomic conditions that turns a blind eye to this simple truth will inevitably result in a misdiagnosis that almost always allows the real perpetrators (those who actively and through their silence offer tacit support to the development of a pernicious policy of racist/ classist/ sexist social engineering that is still evident today) to escape censure.
It’s a brilliant magic trick, if you think about it: historical sleights of hand, coupled with white supremacist propaganda masquerading as ‘objective analysis (bill’s comments give this perspective an ugly spin)’, inevitably produces a social climate where ‘blaming the victim’ simply makes sense…..for Blacks and whites alike.
This is bill’s ‘crime’: he could easily have turned his acerbic wit and global celebrity upon the institutional and ideological structures that produce the soul-destroying inequality that in turn drive the most vulnerable in any community – the poor – to the outermost limits of their sanity.
Wealth and power – and its underbelly, want and powerlessness – are often bequeathed to the descendants of the privileged and oppressed respectively, as a result of a social order which grants or denies access to goods and services based upon the pseudo-scientific marker of race.
This is white supremacy, folks.
Although no-one can deny that some of the choices made by some poor Black people do their aspirations for a better life little justice, we cannot overlook the fact that within a society built upon hierarchies of oppression – a necessary prerequisite for the creation of a capitalist system, by the way – there will always be those who have been chosen to occupy the bottom tier in society. During his rant, bill somehow omitted to mention this fact. At best, then, he is being intellectually dishonest; at worst, he’s attacking the defenseless.
…..and if he really wants to see a positive transformation among the Black poor, he might better spend his time using his global fame as a bully pulpit to articulate ‘inconvenient truths’ to the architects of unjustly acquired privilege and power (as the great Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. chose to do) that maintain crushing social stratification, instead of poor (Black ) bashing.
A note: couldn’t the same wrong-headed argument be made in relation to women? Recent U.N. stats reveal that although women do two-thirds of the world’s work, they only receive 10% of the wealth. Now, either the fairer sex is also the dumber sex, or there might be something to the argument that the global scourge of patriarchy – and the myriad institutions, policies and practices that spring forth from this poison source – has heavily stacked the gender deck in favour of men.
Again, gotta look at SYSTEMS. It’s just too easy to beat down the VICTIMS, don’t you think?
“A note: couldn’t the same wrong-headed argument be made in relation to women? Recent U.N. stats reveal that although women do two-thirds of the world’s work, they only receive 10% of the wealth. Now, either the fairer sex is also the dumber sex, or there might be something to the argument that the global scourge of patriarchy – and the myriad institutions, policies and practices that spring forth from this poison source – has heavily stacked the gender deck in favour of men”
No. That’s the fault of religion.
This reminds me of this:
http://www.zimbio.com/watch/bacuUPKPSfY/Drop+Squad/Ving+Rhames
At the end of the day racism seems incurable on both sides of the fence. When will we as a collective see the past for what its is the past and start helping each other together???
LOL
I gotta ask…
How did so many successful black people become successful in light of this invisible and oppressive system?
To me education is the key. Education of one’s history to highl;ight the sacrifices made by those in the past along with the normal curriculum.
How do you explain a 50% drop out rate for black males in Bermuda these days? I mean they need their parents permission and signature to drop out of school right? Are white people forcing them to do this? Are white people encouraging this and forging the signatures? Read the article in the RG today in which local school counsellors/teachers describe the unbelievable actions of some of the youth today in our middle and high schools? No respect whatsoever and no interest in education whatsoever either. How does anyone expect to succeed without putting in the work?
While I agree the past definitely has its repercussions for the future, the complete laying of blame at the feet of another race is a cop out and only assist in perpetuating the cycle.
If you are telling these young guys that failure is not their fault and they are just simply a victim then aren’t you encouraging the vicious cycle of deprivation, through lack of motivation (i.e. I’m not going to make it always, so why try in the first place) prevalent amongst so many young black males instead of encouraging them to take advantage of their inherent intellect and abilities? To me you are setting them up for expectations that failure is inevitable with this perpetual victim argument instead of showing them this is a different age with different opportunities as compared to their predecessors. So they buy into this belief and disregard their abilities and the numerous opportunities afforded to them to ensure betterment and progress.
Also, Bill Cosby is right when he states that the black people, back in the civil rights movement, took massive abuse when trying to integrate the schools. They did so because they valued an education as well as yearning for equality and justice. Nowadays the black youth are throwing rocks at each other (i.e. metaphor) and yearning to get out of school as quick as possible completely disregarding the contributions and sacrifices that their ancestors made back in the day.
In Bermuda today there are more than ample opportunities to acquire a more than decent education (which to me is the greatest empowerment any individual could acquire). But for some reason the desire to reject education.
While there remains, and will always remain, racism (from both sides of the spectrum) there is more than enough opportunities to get ahead in life as compared to yesteryear. Free public schooling, free social programs, numerous private and Governmental scholarships and/or bursaries if needed to acquire further education, free BDA College tuition. Instead these guys want to drop out of school and drive truck or work for W&E. Or even worse they become young mothers and fathers before they are financially stable/established knowing full well what the cost of living in Bermuda is for. How many newspaper articles where we read about someone who is no older than 21/22 and is the mother/father or multiple children. Couple that fact with the no education factor and that is an absolute recipe for disaster IMHO.
Absolving complete responsibility for one’s choices in life does nothing but exacerbate the situation IMHO.
PS: In 2010 the annual income survey highlighted that women in Bermuda are now making slightly more than the men.
Also, all these studies conducted in the young black male focus on the young black male that possess the issues/characteristics of the one’s under study.
Instead why don’t the “sociologists” focus on the young black male who is successful and has made something out of their lives?
Shouldn’t they be examined to determine how these individuals were able to thrive and succeed under the same system as the individuals who have not fared so well?
Mu apologies for the poor grammar in both my posts. Was in a rush…
Co-Sign!!! This is the most prolific statement that I’ve ever read on this website!! Someone who actually researches and studies FACTS and doesn’t settle for the easy answer. It’s always easy to blame the victim for e.g. a woman wearing a short skirt gets raped and the first thing people say is that it’s her fault for wearing such a short skirt. It’s called social engineering, like Mr. Burchall stated its about wealth and power!! That’s a simple fact, point blank period!! First off America isn’t a country at all, I know that’s hard to comprehend, but it’s quite easy to explain. America is a corporation just like ACE or XL and the president is simply the president of the corporation. The world is run by 3 city states, how you ask? These three city states don’t operate under the same laws and constitutions of the countries that they’re located in. They are frankly speaking, countries within countries!! I’m not going to go too deep but I just want people to understand why things are happening the way that they are. The first city state is Vatican City in Rome, through this branch they control the world’s most powerful religion. The Roman Catholic church is the world’s single largest private owner of land and wealth. The second city state is London City located in the heart of London, England. Through this branch of the 3 city states they control the Finances of the world through the Bank of England and Lloyds of London for e.g. and the financial district that is located there. The last city state is the District of Columbia or in simple terms Washington D.C.. Through this branch of the city states they control the military, that’s why “America” has the strongest military in the world. If you don’t believe that have a look at the flag of Washington D.C., it has three stars on the flag and each star represents each city state. I said all of that to say that’s it’s much deeper than just saying black people have to stop blaming the past. When blacks where slaves for whites they were assets meaning that they made their slave owners money. When they freed the slaves they became liabilities and from them they have been trying to get rid of them for good. Just really think about it and do some research on abortion numbers, 50% of black people in America, and I would even go on say that that number is probably around the same here, aren’t born at all. That’s just not by coincidence, it’s really annoys me that people always are just not knowledgeable about real history. History is written by the winners, that’s why it’s called HIS- STORY!! Ok so many points, not enough time to go through them all but I want to end with this. We as Bermudians always say we don’t have our own CULTURE right? Well what really is CULTURE? English is the most messed up language period right, well look at how the word CULTURE is used in science. Scientist grow bacteria and stuff like that in CULTURES right, those little clear round circles. Here’s the point, a CULTURE is something grown in an artificial environment. It’s a perceived reality, just like in the movie THE MATRIX, what we consider to be real is just an environment that we are grown in. Money isn’t real that’s why they print trillions a day from thin air. Sports athletes and actors/actresses are bred just like race horses and how slaves were bred back in the day. Think about it because I have yet to come across a famous person especially movie stars and athletes who’s parents weren’t previous players of the specific sport or Olympians, or actors who weren’t the children of other actors from previous generations. I said that to say ultimately it’s about BLOODLINES, whether it’s the president of the U.S.A. or politicians, even our politicians in Bermuda. It’s a Satanic cult that worships the DEVIL and they don’t want nothing more than WORLD DOMINATION. Through their population control they plan to reduce the current world population from 6 billion to between 500 million and 1 billion. These aren’t my words, if you want to know their agenda just listen to billionaires and what they say. Like Bill Gates and Ted Turner, and I could go on with the names. Nobody becomes that rich unless they allow you to be. They’re all EVIL people point blank period!! That’s my spill, I only touched on a few points but I want people to look and see for themselves. Everything has a meaning and a purpose. This information is out there if you want to know it, get it now before they shut down the internet as we know it and it’s TOO LATE. Even the Nazis weren’t this subtle, the DEVIL IS REAL!! His greatest LIE was to convince the world that he doesn’t exist!!
What a load of horse poop!!!
Dude,
Calm down. Your hysteria makes it impossible to take you seriously.
BTW,
Bill Gates? really? EVIL doesn’t usually try to cure malaria right? Addressing conspiracy theories will not fix our very real problems. That’s for another day.
Q. Sherlock at least has stepped up and proposed something for consideration. Agree or disagree, at least he is proposing something of substance compared to a lot of talk and flap. It’s a positive sign that someone cares at all.
while the biological fiction of ‘race’ has definitely played a part in the explosion of violence on the island, it is not the only factor. of equal importance are the many effects of hypermasculinity on the male psyche in general and (for the purposes of this discussion) Black males in particular.
Jackson Katz tackles this subject in his book “The Macho Paradox”; Byron Hurt unpacks pathological manhood in his documentary “Beyond Beats and Rhymes”; and Tony Porter’s organization “A Call to Men” provides a brilliant analysis of the pernicious effects of what he calls ‘the Man Box’ on the lives of both males and females.
the pathological origin and nature of masculinity is a subject that is conspicuous by its absence from the many discussions of the much-maligned ‘young Black male’ that have taken place across the island over the past eighteen months.
it is a subject that desperately needs attention if we as a community are serious about stemming the flow of the Black male blood that is too often spilled in our streets.
I attended the workshop and hence am amazed at how much of the content here has nothing to do with the workshop. Mind you, there are those who always find a way to try and offset what someone seeking a solution has to say.
To wit:
- What practical solution has Bill Cosby proposed? (more blame?)
- Choices cannot be made from options not available. The marketers of junkfood are quick to belabour the parenting “choices” parents have when challenged about direct marketing to children’s role in the obesity epidemic in the US. Relatively speaking, parents DO have choices. The other side of the coin though, these same marketers collectively spend over $13,000,000,000 on direct marketing to children.
What is in the parent’s anti-marketing budget?
This is a simple example that can be expanded to suit the topic at hand. In short: BOTH choice AND external influecnes need to be viewed as part of the solution. Any argument considering only one side of the coin is incomplete and flawed. (Next they will be advises poor people in the ghetto to eat whole foods. of course they should but…)
- Are the folks “busting their @$$es” to get a “better” life actually providing it? While money provides access to better education thus jobs thus more comfort, more money…there are suicidal millionaires in the news every day. We should earn the best that life as to offer AND cultivate how to be well adjusted Beings also. Money on its own won’t do. Poverty won’t do either.
- the “how many successful black people..despite the system” argument is typical of “pre-encounter” in the lecture (for those that bothered to actually watch it before posting). That should be “Enough said” but to go further: the commonly accepted definition of success is largely based on wealth. We need to add: moral values and good character to that mix. Wealth without them is dangerous. Being broke and of good nature is no good either. Besides, none of us our a true success if our people experience suffering.
- Q. Sherlock was clear: The problems are complex and multi-faceted and the solutions will need to be the same. “Competition” to find “THE” solution is a dead end. We need better parenting AND relevent education AND economic opportunity AND a spiritual foundation AND….(insert your solutions here). Q went to great lengths to emphasize this in the lecture so those haters suggested one thing (“parenting is the real solution”) either didn’t listen or are part of the “distraction to offset what he (rightly) said” crew.
- @ Andy: “The world has actually moved on in the past few years…” Are you serious? No real solutions just detracting is a waste of space and people’s time.
- JB is on point but again I would add we need to look at BOTH the choices people make AND the context/environment from which they choose. You can’t choose what isn’t there to choose.
- “Education is the key” To what? There are many poor, educated people. There are many maligned, disrecpected, underpaid educated people. Check the last BERMUDA census: black males with phD get less money what white males with PhD. Same for Masters. Same for Bachelors. The black male IS better off generally than without but you would be a fool to say it is THE key when clearly it is not. (In fact the Forbes top 10 billionaires list includes only 3 folks with degrees, and even they got them for personal pride). I am not dissing education. I am pointing out the incompleteness of it as some all encompassing solution. In fact many children SEE the disrespect their highly educated Black parents experience and conclude education isn’t the key at all. (and I am not saying we shouldn’t be educated just wholistic about success)
- Yes to Liberty perhaps went a bit too deep on the conspiracies (which leaves one powerless) but culture is crucial to the cause. At the end of the day, the root of the word culture reflects what is being cultivated in persons. All the instituions mentioned – schools, religious organizations, the home, the community, the workplace have a role in cultivating behaviours. This is akin to removing the wildness of immaturity and bringing order to ones life (maturity). Notice how orderly cultivated land is vs. wild land? Unculitvated persons have disorder and thus lack of success in life – ALL of life, not just money making. A wise man said success is achieving your goals while not bringing harm to others or yourself.
- Footnote: While I would say labelling Bill gates and others are the devil is inappropriate and misguided (stage III in the lecture?) I do question his MASSIVE funding of GMO crops for deployment in African countries.
- Solutions will be complex, cultural. Q. Sherlock gave a hint when he referenced the same, now ancient but still accessible, African ideologies the Greeks were students of and went on to be credited with founding pyschology etc. Read up on them and apply what works for you…I predict the symptomatic “problems” we are experiencing will continue until we acheive the humility required to re-adopt culturally relevant behaviour modifying practises. Ironicallly this will possibly come from people/cultures likely not as well off financially as us (but recall those suicidal millionaires etc.)…in the mean time, ignore the haters with nothing to positively contribute to the discussion…
“What is in the parent’s anti-marketing budget?”
The word no…and it is free…
Then don’t get an education, drop out of school and limit yourself to even less meaningful and low paying jobs. Then you can continue to complain about your poor lot in life and blame everyone else for your personal shortcomings…
If you wouldn’t mind can you provide a link to the 11 year old census that you are utilizing as your proof. Also, you do realize that statistics only display a quantitative analysis. I mean it doesn’t take into account whether or not your degree is attained from a reputable institution or an online program whoch can be completed in 6 months or so.
I know alot of Bermudians that attain their “degrees” through the latter and then wonder why businesses choose not to hire them. Hell even Col. Burch stated not so long ago that Bermudians needed to stop getting “mickey mouse” degrees in order to be successful in Bermuda’s main industry.
As they say you can get statistics to state whatever you want…i.e. spin
I stand by belief that we are all responsible for our own actions…but I completely understand that blaming others is much easier and makes you feel that much better about yourself while effectively ignoring the root cause of the result…defininton of insanity = doing the same thing over and over but expectign a different result
More thinly veiled attempts to distract from the message.
If “no” was simple enough to negate a $13 billion dollar budget, rest assured these firms would not be spending $13 billion a year, every year. I emphasize being responsible for our actions/choices AND being aware of environmental influences. At no point did I lay blame at any “others” feet. I advocate full responsibility but am not blind to external influence either.
I don’t fit into your rather unsophisticated “box” kid.
To wit: Saying “no” is something I exercise far more than most but your assertion is a gross oversimplification of reality. “No” speaks to your choice, say as a parent, but it doesn’t frame a child’s wants, dreams, aspirations. Saying “no” won’t negate the effect of highly sophisticated PhD generated commercial content in media outside the home – libraries, public broadcasting tvs, ads, airports, magazines, school books, stores, restaurants etc. Saying “no” won’t alter what is popular in schools be it music, fashion, hair etc. Emphasizing (only) personal choice while bombarding folks with absurd messages and behavioural standards is nothing but a justification for the unjustifiable. It helps some people sleep better but that is about it.
The quantitative analysis indeed doesn’t shed full light on the matter. It is only indicative. If we could quantify the intangibles it would likely show a stuation that is even more imbalanced. It is safe to say the census data is as good or better than any point in the last 400 years for blacks. So unless you are suggessting something magical has happened to enable blacks to make up 400 years of lagging in the last 11 years, I take it you concede…
An example of “doing the same thing over would…” would be relying on your consent to make the changes that need to be made. We hereby are doing something different and you need to get over it!
Sleep well.