[mneumann02]

Originally Posted by VillageLiberal

Some people believe its a "Nature" problem - Blacks are just inferior, naturally inclined to violence, etc..., I believe its a "Nurture" problem, our society is forcing these people to become this way. Forcing them both physically and mentally. It wasn't that long ago that our country was segregated, and the perception, and maybe the reality, black education was behind that of whites. As such why should we hire an uneducated black person for any technical well paying job, and in many places the laws were such preventing black people from getting advanced education so as a society we were preventing black people from advancing (I'd recommend the movie Hidden Figures). Many will say, oh that was a long time ago, we don't have those problems today, laws have been put in place to prevent racism, etc... - trust me, I've seen it first hand, racism is alive and thriving, people who practice it know how to try and not get caught at doing it. I've only been in The Villages for a few months, however its been my observation that the racial make-up of the Villages does not match that of the rest of the country. There are, as far as I can tell, very few people of color that live in The Villages. Has there been any research as to why that is? Some might say its too expensive to live in the Villages and blacks can't afford it (racist thinking), some might think its too hot in Florida and blacks don't like the heat (more racist thinking), some might say blacks don't play golf or like to swim (again racist). I don't know the answer, only what I observe, but it would be a great case study.

Sir, don't you understand that many of your statements only harden conservative views and give them great ammunition to attack liberal beliefs like "our society is forcing these people to become this way. Forcing them both physically and mentally." Society is NOT the biggest problem. It is the breakdown of the Black family unit. Too many children are being raised by one parent or none. This leads to lack of education- too many high school dropouts, not enough higher education. Lack of education leads to lack of good paying jobs. Lack of good jobs leads to criminal activity. Too many young girls having babies before they are 20, which dooms them to a life of poverty. Too many involved in drugs. This is NOT society's fault. Unless we recognize these are THE real issues keeping minorities down, we can not solve them. Tearing down a Confederate statue is maybe number 25 on the list of things we should be spending our time on. Here is one small step- how about every Black Lives Matters member and every Black church member become a mentor so each at-risk child in kindergarten has someone who will stay with them through high school graduation and either then get them into a technical school or college. Bingo- better education, better jobs, better life.