'Foreign'
David Quinn, (will be running a blog comp for a nickname for him soon) moved onto matters involving race and ‘foreign’ issues in his ‘analysis’ piece in the Irish Independent on Wednesday.The problem with African American poverty is the breakdown of the family according to our expert on all things ‘foreign’. His column began with a moan about the way ‘foreigners’ (he used the quotes) ruled Irish law. All sorts of international treaties Ireland has signed up to which Quinn believe the Irish public would not support. You know Human rights treaties, protection of minorities, that sort of thing.
Then he finished off giving us his expert opinion on the causes of African American poverty. The aspirations of black youth do not extend beyond gang membership seemingly.
Irish Independent 7/9/05 (Registration Required)
The New Orleans disaster has focussed attention once again on the fact the black Americans remain at the bottom of American society, economically speaking. The knee-jerk response to this is to blame racism and certainly racism is a factor. But many other ethnic groups have experienced racism in American society and have climbed off the bottom nonetheless. The Chinese come to mind.
So why can't black Americans climb up from the bottom despite racism? One major reason is certainly to do with the breakdown of the black family. In many black communities in America, around 70% of children are born to lone parents and have, at best, a passing acquaintance with their fathers. Many of these children, the boys especially, find their male role models in the street gangs and are quickly drawn into a life of crime. Their aspirations do not extend beyond gaining respect within those gangs, and certainly they don't extend in the direction of economic success in the conventional sense.
Until something is done to repair the black American
family, African-Americans are going to find it very hard to take their rightful place in American society.
posted by Maman Poulet @ 9/09/2005 09:25:00 a.m.
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