So you get to decide who should forget and who is using history as a crutch? For the record again - I never suffered any discrimination or much of anything growing up. I had a great childhood in fact so I don't need any crutches. We can go into long historical analyses that delve into why Africa was kept divided and basically a stomping ground of human and mineral resources to be raided and exploited while your trophy examples like Japan after WW2 were earnestly and systematically rebuilt with concentrated effort put into restoring social and governmental structures. I won't even get into the level and type of support that Israel received and continues to enjoy. Difference is these nations were viewed as valuable strategic allies on the changing global landscape and it was in the allied interest to have them strong and functional.

You're trying hard to push the narrative that Africa is the way it is because black people are inferior and uncivilised. Let's look closer to home at Haiti - generally considered to be the ****hole of the western hemisphere - another black nation that can't keep itself together. The truth is that Haiti freed itself from slavery long before abolition, built up their defences and successfully resisted all attempts to be retaken by the colonial powers of the day. Because of its location and wealth, the British and French were forced to give up and pretend to accept Haiti's independence and lured their leader to a diplomatic meeting. They used deceit and treachery to lure Toussaint L'Ouverture to a meeting and clapped him in chains on his arrival. Haiti remained defiant and independent however but even after the Atlantic slave trade was abolished, the European powers insisted that they remain the property of France and that in exchange for sovereignty they would have to pay France back for the compounded value of their "losses" from the Haitian rebellion. Haiti turned to the US - certain that the young nation which had also freed itself from the colonial yoke would be sympathetic and supportive, but no. The bigger fear in the American government who still maintained its domestic slave industry, was the dangerous message of successful slave uprising and rebellion. Haiti - a black independent nation - could not be allowed to succeed. And so the strong, prosperous and wealthy island nation that stood to become the first independent black nation in the region was systematically squashed and starved by trade embargos until they were forced to capitulate and agree to pay the reparations to France out of their GDP over time. With the support of the colonial powers including the US, Haiti was reduced to an unsustainable shell of a nation with the lion's share of it's wealth once again going into the European coffers. Puppet government dictators were set up and supported one after the other and we all now see the result. So while you sit back and smugly declare black people incapable of civilized society you happily turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the impact of the carving up of the world by the colonial powers post slavery and again after each major war with no other motivation in mind than their own strategic interests and access to mineral and other resources. Look at the differences between the different states in the Middle East. Despotic puppet dictators like the Shah of Iran set up and supported by the US at great cost to the people. Look at Cuba under the US supported Batista dictatorship before the revolution - I've done enough typing - look it up yourselves and look at the way the combined economic might of the US and its European allies have f-cked over, manipulated and destroyed entire countries for their own economic and strategic interests. Look right in your own back yards at the remnants of the once proud and free Native American tribes languishing on reservations pacified with casino licences and other tidbits to keep them quiet. You resent being called a racist but here you are using your view of Africa to justify your prejudices. Every race and culture has endured slavery at one time in their history blah blah f-cking blah. Fact is the recent Atlantic slave trade is what set the western world up the way it is now and turning around and dismissing it and its ongoing legacy of wealth and social disparity as nothing more than a crutch or a lame excuse for not being successful just makes you wilfully myopic and full of ****.
So go ahead - throw out some more typical racist crap and pacify yourself that your life is better than those other folks' because you're just plain born better than them. Keep ignoring reality while the problem grows and festers around you. Me - I'll laugh every single time I hear people like you *****ing and griping about black folks showing up in your once white only little enclaves and spoiling your fun. Eat it.

You can see dead people but you can't see how the impact of post-slavery discrimination and generations of institutionalized denial of basic human and constitutional rights would have a negative impact on how a distinct segment of society grows and functions in contrast to another majority group that suffered none of those setbacks?

You can't see how historical denial of access to equality in education, job and career opportunities and even access to justice and basic status as a human being can influence a distinct and visible minority group to develop different attitudes about respect for the institutions of government and law and order?

That all happened in the past but you can't see that the people who lived under those conditions are still alive and passing their experiences and resulting attitudes down the generational ladder?

You can't see how black kids being forced to recite the pledge of allegiance in their crappy, sub-standard schools while black people were not allowed to vote, eat in most restaurants or drink from public water fountains would create an ingrained cynicism about society and its institutions? - one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all - what a load of bull**** that must've been to someone living the reality of life as a black person in the US.

You can't see how that bile and resentment combined with a total lack of faith in the idea of equal reward for equal effort, combined with little to no opportunity to prosper would lead to antisocial attitudes and contribute to an increase in crime?

You choose to see my side of the argument as making excuses for criminal behavior and welfare dependency and all the other ills you attribute to black people. I'm just pointing out that the reality is not just a matter of telling people to behave themselves. The answer lies in acknowledging what he real problems are and finding workable solutions.
I'm not sure if seeing dead folks is a problem for you or not but you clearly demonstrate the ability to see things exactly how it suits you to see them, so I'm guessing you're going to be just fine.

Congratulations on working your way to success by the way. You have every right to be proud.

The more Ridiculous Schit I see going on in this Country affirms my reasons why I never Ever want to leave Naples Florida.
The first little Phucker Phuckin around in this town is in the back of a Squad car within 5 minutes

Tropical Buzz,

Your side of the argument *IS* excuses. Nothing more. The end. There is literally nothing keeping anybody from being as successful as they choose to pursue. NOTHING. Get off you ass and get to work. That's it. You're suffering from the delusion that the plight of the black community is anything other than self-inflected. Here's a suggestion: Stop raising your kids to be thugs and they will stop growing up to be thugs. Stop raising your kids to be victims and they will grow up to be self-empowered, independent and successful. Stop kneecapping them across the breakfast table and they will no longer need the crutch your parents kneecapped you with. You are the product of the Democrat Plantation Party's victimhood industry, and they are getting rich off your whining.

What happened over this last weekend is why people don't want to hire you, let you into their stores or send their kids to school with yours. It has nothing to do with the color of their skin or any historical baggage this country has. It has to do with the fact that you keep proving our fears and prejudices correct, and then come on a public forum and defend it as if it's acceptable. I can't begin to tell you how much you are part of the problem, rather than the solution you think you are.

I'll say it again. Stroll into a cove with the rest of us, and act like the rest of us, and you'll be greeted like the rest of us, with bumpers and tie-off ropes. But, stroll in with an entitled attitude, acting like the world owes you something for being a little darker in skin tone, and you'll be anchored off by yourself.

Thanks. Brad.

The term “self fulfilling prophecy” comes to mind.

Brad - you're projecting stereotypes a bit. I've said repeatedly that I do *NOT* support random violence, crime, and antisocial behavior. You're ASSuming I'm black and therefore I must be lazy, violent, angry, entitled and in a state of perpetual victimhood and that I'm raising my kids to be the same. I repeat - I am not American. I grew up in a strong, loving and supportive family environment and while like everyone else, I've faced my share of challenges and ups and downs, I have nothing but gratitude for the life that I have been able to live so far. I lived and worked in North America for 17 years and had a great experience overall with many lifelong friendships - most of them are white by the way. Yes - I had a (very, very) few run-ins with overt racism but those were by far the exception rather than the norm and the sort of idiots involved generally tended to have their own sets of issues and got into conflicts with all sorts of people. My father was a military man and believed in discipline and hard work and self-sufficiency, but above all else he loved and cherished his family. So no - I'm not not part of "the problem" nor do I see myself as having any kind of solution. I do agree with you about politics being a major contributing factor - but with me it's not only the extreme left / Al Sharpton style of pandering and profiting from keeping black people in a state of perceived victimhood; it's the extreme wings of BOTH parties callously pandering to negative attitudes and paradigms of their respective bases so they can cling to power without a shred of care or regard for actually changing or improving anything. I actually feel bad locking horns with you because outside of this entrenched-stake, polarized type of discussion, I sense that you're a decent man and that we'd agree about most things as long as we stay away from politics and probably religion as well.
Onwards and forward...

lol - yep

This is exactly how I feel about it. Well said Brad. Why does this logic seem so simple to me but yet so many people can’t understand it. If you want respect you have to give it.

Why are you injecting yourself into an American argument if you're not American?