Being black..., ...Is no excuse for failing. Options

[Kontroll]

Listen, I'm not racist. I'm just bringing up a topic that I know is on alot of people's minds.

Everynow and then I see these movies, or whatever...people saying that black people can't get anywhere in life because they are lazy, or because they are black they can't get anywhere in life.

I was sitting infront of Jeremy's house waiting for him to answer his friggin door. I was thinking about Albany(Where I live for the most part) and how it's just run down. Most of the people that live there are black.

I was thinking about how I see all this crap about how black people always say they might as well as just give up and deal with what they got. In movies, or even in real life. It pisses me off because the color of your skin does not affect your brain at all. It's an excuse and not a reason...

...if it was a reason then every black person would be in poverty. Is this not true? And you can't blame it on your environment because there have been many black people who have over come it. So, why do some black people just give up and don't try to succeed?

I know not only black people do it, but I'm just bringing this one up first. I'll talk about white people some other time just to be fair.

Input please. If this is in the wrong forum, just move it. Thank you.

[*Uronacid*]

*sigh*

I don't know... I live in Schenectady area... it's the same old shit.. a whole neighbor hood full of homeless mixed minorities and white trash. It's not just back people.... it's white trash too. I do see what your talking about.

They recently had a documentary on Showtime about what a poor man would do with 100,000 dollars. They gave this random poor guy $100,000.00 cash. He cried and cried because he was so happy, but in the end he spent all of the money and ended up poor again. He was in the same position that he had started in.

This really showed me that some people just suck at managing their money. It's not anyones fault but their own. If I had 100,000.00 I would invest half of it, and become rich over the course of 20 years through the compound interest. This guy wasted all of his money.

Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversal_of_Fortune_(2005_film)

The documentary begins with the introduction of Ted Rodrigue, a homeless man living under a bridge in California. He begins by describing an average day of "survival" for him, which consists of collecting cans and bottles for recycling in order to eat and buy cigarettes and beer for the day. He informs the audience that an average day brings in about $25, while a good day might see as much as $35. Ted reflects on the better days of his life, when his mother (a former alcoholic) and sisters accepted him. He is shown placing a collect call to his mother, ultimately having the charges denied by his mother. Ted blames his homelessness and lack of family support on their prejudice against him for being homeless and an undesirable childhood. Ted describes his mother as a "bar whore" who often brought strange men home from the bar on the weekends and that at the age of 12, he was given his first beer by his mother at one of her many social gatherings.

His ability to "do as he pleases" by not having to answer to any authority figures, keeps him on the streets. Ted informs the filmmakers that he takes a lot of pride in his bike and is shown washing it at a car wash, although it has been over three months since he had a "real" shower. Through his recycling, Ted has befriended an 18-year-old Latino male named Michael, who works at the recycling plant.

Once the director pulls you in to the plight of Ted Rodrigue, the film begins to build its plot showing Ted doing his daily dumpster-dive, collecting cans for the day's food, cigarettes and beer when he finds a briefcase amongst the rubbish. Ted stops to brush it off and opens it up slowly and finds that it is stuffed with cash. A note atop the money reads "What would a homeless person do if he were given $100,000?" Shocked and in tears, Ted comes to the realization that he is the recipient of a major amount of cash. What he doesn't realize, however, is that his life may never be the same.

Ted almost immediately buys a new bicycle, rents a motel room and takes his buddy Mike to an amusement park. The word gets out among the homeless community and, before you know it, Ted, who once couldn't find a girlfriend because his lack of teeth, now enjoys female companionship in his motel room. As soon as Ted notifies his mother and sisters of his attainment of wealth, they begin to take his calls and his mother invites him to stay with her until he finds his own residence. The family is shown discussing how concerned they are for Ted's welfare.

A week after finding the money, and having spent over $2,000, Ted is still in the motel and is asked to speak with an advocate for the homeless. The counselor asks Ted what he thinks about having all of this money, to which Ted replies that he really hasn't thought about it much and that he has too much time on his hands now since he no longer has to recycle. Ted makes plans to leave for Sacramento to stay with his mother, but before leaving, he buys Mike a car and promises to fly his lady friend to Sacramento once he gets there and settled, coyly exclaiming as he gets in to the van to leave for the airport "bang 'em and leave 'em".

The following weeks find Ted hanging out at the local bar, his spending averaging $10,000 a week. He then purchases a $35,000 Dodge Ram and another truck for one of his recently acquired girlfriends, rents an apartment and buys furniture. The filmmakers then request that he meet with a financial planner. Ted meets with him, but firmly announces to him that he has no intentions of working and wishes to not plan ahead as he is only concerned with today. Ted states his belief that the financial planner is only after his money and rips up his card.

His sisters repeatedly try to convince Ted to seek employment, although he still believes he is "set for life". By this time, Ted has become resentful to the film producers for giving him the money. The film then ends telling the viewer that, six months after finding the money, Ted refuses to disclose his latest bank balance; however, his sisters fear that it is less than $5,000.

On a December 1, 2006 airing of the Oprah Winfrey Show entitled: "Are You Ready For a Windfall?", Ted and the producer of the documentary were on the program to promote the documentary and speak on their account of the experiment. When asked by Oprah how much of the $100,000 he still had, Ted replied "none". Ted also mentioned that he is back homeless, and content with his current circumstances.

Sucks, but I really don't give a rats ass for people who are poor because they are unwise.

[mandilynne]

*sigh*

I don't know... I live in Schenectady area... it's the same old shit.. a whole neighbor hood full of homeless mixed minorities and white trash. It's not just back people.... it's white trash too. I do see what your talking about.

They recently had a documentary on Showtime about what a poor man would do with 100,000 dollars. They gave this random poor guy $100,000.00 cash. He cried and cried because he was so happy, but in the end he spent all of the money and ended up poor again. He was in the same position that he had started in.

This really showed me that some people just suck at managing their money. It's not anyones fault but their own. If I had 100,000.00 I would invest half of it, and become rich over the course of 20 years through the compound interest. This guy wasted all of his money.

Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversal_of_Fortune_(2005_film)

Sucks, but I really don't give a rats ass for people who are poor because they are unwise.

white trash is just as offensive as saying nigger or chink.