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REPARATIONS for being born Black!

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Don’t misunderstand. I am all for giving the Black man his due, but again we are forcing white America to pay for a crime committed before most of them were born and to accept a penalization in the form of payment to Black America most of which were also not yet born. And, I don’t know about you but why were Blacks the only race treated in such a manner as to qualify for reparations?

I grew up and survived about 40 years of equal-opportunity employment which was supposed to balance the workforce and create fairness in the workplace for the races. What it did was hired many minority workers that were unqualified to jobs ahead of qualified White workers. This created racism more than created equality and still today has a lingering of injustice amongst a lot of Whites.

What Black America believes is White People owe them for their being born Black. What White America believes is that White people are going to have to pay for crimes they did not commit. And for the record . . . I have never owned a slave of any color. Nor have I been responsible for any mistreatment of others regardless of skin color. Now Reparations is going to make all of the Black people wealthy just because they were born Black.

I know there are additional reasons for reparations but it seems to me that the qualification for reparations is skin color. And, this seems to reek of racism to me. Those working on the reparations panels or groups seem as qualified as those claiming to be “woke” which fails immediately when you realize that “woke” means that you are “woke” only to the plight of the Black man which means you are not concerned with truth but want to present a one-sided conversation. If you want to claim being “Woke”, or if you are on one a panel or group in which your opinion matters, maybe you should research the rest of the data available to you out there to answer the necessary questions necessary to resolve the confusion.

If you are Pro-Reparations perhaps you should ask yourself the following questions:

  • Has any other race been subject of abuse as claimed by Black people?
  • Have not all races been subject to harm due to racism?
  • Do you believe that reparations will create a whole new racism for America?
  • Has any other race suffered the same situations as Blacks, during the same time period?
  • Other than creating a whole bunch of wealthy Black people and a whole bunch of angry white people, do you see any true benefit by reparations?

Don’t misunderstand. I am taking this stance because I want to know if at the same time, I was being denied housing so was a Black person. And I want to know why for us both. Is it possible that not everything is racist and not only Blacks have been subject to the abuses claimed to be racist in nature.

A Unarmed White Man Shot by a Black Cop!

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Did you hear about it, me neither! I was reading an article in some news rag that discussed this incident. It seems a Black Female Police Officer shot a unarmed White guy and nobody gave a damn about it. Had this been a White Cop shooting a Black person there would of been riots in the streets, even if the Black guy was armed and had dead babies hanging from his belt.

The fact that the Officer shot the unarmed White guy and was later to be determined a good shoot isn’t the issue. In my opinion it doesn’t matter the color of your skin, cops are not paid to fight every person out there that doesn’t want to comply. If a guy is going to fight a cop, he has every intent to hurt the cop. Of course use of less than lethal means need to be attempted first, but if they don’t work or the cop isn’t provided the opportunity . . .

What America has to realize is that everything that is or has happened to Black people also happens to White people and the 13 percent of the population is Black as a claim for the Black people being more abused than Whites, is an absolute lie. How can you have cities that has 30 to 60 percent Black, use 13 percent as the qualifier? The Washington Post is responsible for this lie. We all know racism and civil unrest sells newspapers, but why is almost all of America so gullible? For the record there are still more White people killed by cops in the U.S., White people just assume the White guy had it coming to him. You don’t see anybody marching in the street over a White person. But, shouldn’t there be more people marching the streets when it happens toa White guy?

As I was saying, everything that Black people have been suffering, there are white folk suffering through it too. But nobody cares to gather the data to show it White people don’t want to know that there are White people that aren’t affluent, educated, and have good family backgrounds. And, none of the other races care if White people suffer anything. Even if it is only 1 or 2 percent of the White populace in this suffering, 1 percent of White people is a much larger number than 1 percent of the Black populace.

So why isn’t anybody else saying this? It could be Whites not wanting to know who is suffering and everybody else not caring if Whites suffer, or not. Or, it could be America is afraid of the Black man. Or, it could be people are making big bucks off racism. Look around, how many people, business, and politicians are riding on the racial divide like it is their road to riches? Because it is! They have a meal ticket and an agenda designed to destroy America.

People in this Country have been lied to so much, that they believe the lies. People are making money off of racial issues, lots of money. And it is all bullshit because nobody is actually doing the research to speak on the topic competently. And, many people won’t even try to discuss these matters unless their opinion meets the status quo. Anybody that does have other opinion haws to worry about reprisal from their jobs to their community. Opposing opinions are quickly forced to shut up, stores quit carrying products from those of different opinion, employers terminate employment of those in conflict with the accepted norm, and so on and so on. And people believe in social media as though it gospel, while more false information is spread through social media than any where else.

Were we wrong to believe the Internet was going to provide us with the necessary information to make informed decision on important matters? The Internet has provided the hatemongers media to spread hate and discontent. I think the problem is, people find it easier to follow than to research for the truth.

Our society has made it uncool to be a White man when every issue raised by other races is championed in one way or another by White people. You may want to hate a White man from years long passed, but why do you hate those that do not follow their forefathers racial hatred to today? How is hate due to the color of my skin, any different than hate due to your skin color? I was reading an article the other day about White organizations, why is it acceptable to have Black, Hispanic, Indian, Chinese, or other race organization but not acceptable to have a White organization? Do we make the assumption that a White organization would support racism any more than the other race organizations? Why is it unacceptable for White people to have an organization that supports their heritage?

Every organization that has a race as part of their name promotes racism. Why? Because just by the name use of race it suggests that the organization is race motivated. And, every such organization should be removed from our society, to be replaced by organizations that support those in need regardless of skin color, and run by people that have the ability to respond to needs rather than skin color.

The answer is simple . . . In order for our society to move forward without ongoing racial divide, we as a society and as a people have to mature beyond skin color, practice equality, and be respectful of one-another. Our Government cannot do this. We need to do this, and it has to be done by all races. It isn’t so hard to do. Just mature beyond skin color and practice being color-blind and equality. Although our Government does not recognize the phrase “All Men are Created Equal” as a Constitutional Right. (The phrase was first used by I believe Hamilton in the Declaration of Independence) we as a people have to and we need to do so strongly, supported by all races. I suppose a better explanation of what I mean here would help. How about, there is no superior race, we are all men of equality.

The Joys of Retirement Age: Medicare

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At no time during my life have I hated the telephone as much as I do now. Starting at about 65 years and 1 day, from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM I recieve approximately 12 sales calls per day every day from foreign call centers where either people of foreign language or recorded voices try to carry on a conversation with me in which it matters little what I say they already know all about me.

First of all, I do not want to be called by anybody at 6:00 AM, unless it’s a babe for a booty-call in mind. I damn sure do not appreciate being awakened by a phone call with some fast talking gent or gal with a thick accent, and a background of call-center noise so loud that it wakes me past my ability to go back to sleep. But daily, I get calls from “Health Care Benefits” and “Medicare Plans” whom it doesn’t matter if I patiently advise them I do not need their services or threaten to crawl through the phone line and rip their fucking throats out, they keep calling me. This isn’t one call a day. This is at least six calls per day, by different individuals, different phone numbers, but same company multiplied by 2.

I have followed the telephone prompts, when available to remove my phone number from their list. I have gone through their repeated sales pitch until being forwarded to a Licensed Medicare Insurance Agent, asking and even threatening to do his ugly wife on his desk in his office if he doesn’t stop calling me. I’ve even called Medicare and complained. You would think they would have the ability to reach out to the company’s if provided the company name telling them to quit their harassment. Sadly no, their advice “Put your phone number on the national Don’t Call registry.” I have tried that. I have installed call blockers, that blocked people I wanted to call me. It didn’t stop their calls, they just changed the number they called from, repeatedly.

I have even redialed the number they had called from, hoping I would find Inteligent life on the other end of the line that could stop this. “I’m sorry but the number you have called is no longer in service.” WTF! You mean I am being harassed daily by an out-of-service telephone? Am I really being disturbed by somebody using telephone services without even paying for the call?

And, people wonder why I am becoming a miserable mean old man . . .

The State of America . . .

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I read an article in a news publication today in which people were asked to say what they thought of the state of America today using one word. Let it suffice to say, there were very few favorable responses and no visible argument to the negativity noted. Why? What has happened to America? Has America become both financially and morally bankrupt? Has the Pandemic destroyed the heart of America? Has racial divide and failure of us to educate our young brought about the end of peace on our streets? What exactly has happened to America?

The Pandemic brought about a lot of loss. Family, friends, and neighbors suddenly were sick or dead. We were unable to be in close contact with others which for many is a human need. When we did go out into the community again it waws with a mask covering our face. Our neighbors and friends fought over this requirement in public stores and streets largely because of misinformation passed on social media. Dis-trust of our Government grew significantly day-by-day, and nothing could be done to stop the downhill trend not to believe in Government. This dis-trust continues today because our Government to date has failed to identify the source of the Covid-19 virus that almost killed a Nation that has done nothing to discover the reasons why.

A Nation of unemployed supported by Government with far too much time on their hands as Pandemic restrictions eased allowed the growth of criminal activity on our streets, followed by the unfortunate death of George Floyd while in police custody on a public street brought racial tensions to the top of our Nations issues as well as the crippling of our police departments across the Nation. Presently, crime has increased to such a degree that our city streets are unsafe even during daylight hours Police Officers disheartened by cries of the public to “defund the police” and the inability of Government to acquire enough recruits to fill the required police officer employees, has left police departments unable to meet the challenges of fighting crime in our neighborhoods to the extreme that store closures are necessary due to rampant theft.

Inmates that were released from our prisons and jails control our streets with the help of local street thugs that even when law enforcement catches them, are back on the streets within hours leaving the community living in fear. People that had previously lived a life of lawful living suddenly found the only way to prosper in life was to take what you wanted, has begun to do so. Even in the best of neighborhoods, crime riddles the streets and fear of “home-invasion” is real While it has in the past been offensive to declare “martial law” to protect the community, may become necessity in the near future.

Failure of “gun owners” to properly secure their weapons continues to be a primary factor in many school mass shootings, and other shootings of our children. And, no matter how loud it is hollered people still cannot hear our pleas to “please secure your guns.” Our Government still fails to prosecute gun owners for the mis-use of their guns by others, even when negligence by the gun owner is obvious continues. Parents as well as children fear school days and wait for the dreaded call of an incident at their local schools. On the adult venue, people no longer feel safe attending events such as concerts, fairs, or even movies.

I have to stop writing this. The negativity compiled by simply writing this thus far, hurts. Where is this headed? How and to what degree are we going to have to go to defend ourselves? This is not the America I grew up in nor the America our children should live in. You see, the previous paragraphs written are just the tips of the ice-berg. I could write for days on this topic and not repeat the same concern twice. I’m unsure of whom to point a finger at to blame for the state of America today, without the finger eventually pointing back at myself, as in all of us. And to make things even worse, I cannot think of a single thing to say good on this topic . . .

Can you? Feel free to comment below.

Government Manufactured & Sanctioned Racism

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The Mercury News ran an interesting story today about Alameda County being sued by an anti-affirmative action group because of their public contracts policy. Alameda County has a policy that gives a portion of their contracts to minority owned business. What this means is Alameda County instead of trying to eliminate racism, creates racism.

If the goal of Alameda County is to provide construction jobs to all races, they don’t need to. Construction right now is suffering from a shortage of workers, both skilled and unskilled. Most construction companies have a very diversified crew, of varying skillsets and color. Except minority owned construction companies. Many minority owned construction companies are comprised of a single race. That is pretty much the norm for many minority owned companies. Today most of the non-minority owned companies have a policy of hiring the person that can do the job, regardless skin color. Their hiring criteria is compitence in doing the job, which is as it should be. Reserving a portion of contracts for a minority owned company that serves to employ only a single race is nothing less than promotion of racism.

The link for the story is below . . .

Alameda County sued by anti-affirmative action group over public contracts policy

If you seriously want to fight racism, you don’t do so by creating racist policy. Any policy, any organization or anything else that favors one race over another serves but one purpose, the promotion of racism. To make matters worse, we have people writing policy that don’t care the impact of the policy, because they will never be subject of the policy. And if you look closely, you will see somebody making money by it. If an organization has a race as part of its name its purpose is to make money off of what may be a ledgitimate social injustice while not doing anything to fix the problem.

At some point, our society has to quit thinking that the way to fix racial issues is by taking from one race to give to another. That does not work. What we need is a solution in which race has no part of the solution. Government and Corporate America need to quit pandering to every race, develop a color-blindness that distributes resources or other benefit to people based upon need and to be fair to everyone involved.

If you look outside any door in any major city in America today, put your color-blind glasses on, and you will see America is in trouble. Everywhere you look there are people in need. People are suffering. Not just one race, every race has been given their share of the suffering. And. that is what needs be fixed. Quit trying to build more and more racism and fix the suffering of the people. There is no acceptable reason for people in America to not have adequate food or shelter today. If you took all the money from organizations that get rich off promoting racism and put it to use solving suffering, all the races would benefit and our society would improve significanty.

Alameda County’s policy regarding construction contracts is bullshit. It does nothing to fight racism, it does not serve the community, and will cause harm by serving one race over another. And, that is the real harm. That is the continuing racism that needs to be stopped.

What Percentage of The Population?

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They say that Black People make up 13 to 15 percent of the U.S. population. Then why are television commercials suddenly significantly Black? It is a given that Government and Corporate America fear Black people. The riots after George Floyd’s death scared a lot of people, and I don’t have issue with Black people getting theirs. But, this is my observation:

Every commercial on television includes Black people, some almost entirely. Many have situations in which it appears a family is made up of a Black man, White woman, White daughter, and a Black boy. Are there no other mixed-race families out there?

My point is, if Blacks make up 13 to 15 percent of the population, should they be entitled to more than 50 percent of the jobs created by commercials? Have we gone completely to one side? Can you see how this could create a racial issue? Domino’s has a commercial where it looks like a Black kid steals a pizza and runs away with it, what kind of message does this commercial give?

There are only so many jobs available and consider the wanna-be actor trying to get a job making a commercial and he/she not given equal opportunity for the job. This is where we have to take action to try to end racism. When you take from one race and give to another race it fosters resentment which allowed to grow creates racism.

We already have the Government doing programs that only provide benefits for Black people. Millions of dollars were given to “Black Lives Matter” by Corporate America, which has only proved beneficial to the founders of the organization who are “living large” on that money. And they don’t care if anyone sees it because they were never intended to be a resource for Black people. We really cannot be this blind. You don’t fight racism by taking from one and giving to another.

If we are ever serious about fighting racism, we need to start by giving to those in need regardless of color, sex, religion, etc. There is no justification in giving to anybody based upon the color of their skin. When you give to one race and not the other it creates racism. When you give to all that need regardless of the color of skin, you take skin color from the equation and isn’t that the goal we should be trying to achieve?

Every organization that supports individual races, supports racism. You don’t agree? How do they make their money? By promoting racism. We do not need Government that creates racism or Corporate America giving money to bogus organizations. If you make your money supporting one instead of all, you may very well be the problem. Think about it. We all need to mature beyond skin color if we are ever going to beat racism.

C’mon ya’all let’s do something good for our future, our children, and our community!

The Race Card . . .

Rich Cranium2 Comments

Everywhere you look you can see things taking place where there are winners, and there are losers. You would figure there would be close calls and challenges to whom the winner may be, and all seems fair until somebody plays a race card. Playing a race card is when a person of color claims he/she has been treated unfairly because of the color of their skin.

There is no doubt that people of color may have been unfairly treated over many things, but why is everything written about such treatment clouded by use of the race card. The claims that Black people make up only 13 percent of the population but are killed by police at a higher percentage is playing the race card in hopes of misleading people with a poor data read. This is due to the use of the initial data which says that Black people make up only thirteen percent of the US, population, Which upon initial assessment is true, but as Black people are not everywhere in the US why are those portions of the population part of the calculation?

Almost all of America has been fed the 13 percent line for so long, that everyone believes it. Blacks believe it. Whites believe it. Our political system believes it. But for the claim that more Black people are killed by police than the other races based on the 13 percentage is a lie. It is manipulation of data to get it said as you want it to be said. A little additional research demonstrates a completely different story.

Look at some of the areas noted for a police killing. What is the racial breakdown of Richmond, CA?

RACE2000  2010   
White31,11731.4% 32,59031.4%   
Black or African American35,77736.1% 27,54226.6%   
American Indian and Alaska Native6390.6% 6620.6%   
Asian12,19812.3% 13,98413.5%   
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander4980.5% 5370.5%   
Some other race13,75413.9% 22,57321.8%   
Two or more races5,2335.3% 5,8135.6%   
    
Data stolen from http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/

In 2000 the Black population of Richmond, California was larger than the White population and clearly much more than the 13 percent previously discussed. In 2010, the Black population decreased but still higher than the 13 percent. The point I am trying to make is that there is only significant Black population in about 12 States in the US. Limiting the data to the places populated by Black people changes the percentage ratio dramatically, demonstrating the Black population as close to 30 percent with some cities actually having 50 percent and above. Atlanta, GA is a good example:

The 5 largest ethnic groups in Atlanta, GA are,

Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (50.7%),

White (Non-Hispanic) (38%),

Asian (Non-Hispanic) (3.99%),

White (Hispanic) (2.87%), and

Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (2.32%).

It is no secret that all the racial organizations make their money by racism. Politicians make their money by grandstanding racial concerns. The news media sells more everything at a time of civil unrest. A lot of people live off racism and it appears as though they are doing nothing but creating racial disharmony.

The idea that all of the racial disparity is actually part of some sort of conspiracy is not that hard to believe. Just picture some fat old White guy seated at his desk which is covered with stacks of money while he watches the news coverage of recent civil unrest and chuckles while he counts his money. Okay, back on topic . . .

Everywhere you look the race card is being played with claims of Black disparity. We need to put an end to the race card. Of course. that will require men of integrity that can move beyond skin color and treat all men equal

The Post Pandemic Workplace . . . SUCKS!

Rich Cranium1 Comment

The thing most noted about the return to work, is how few are returning to work. And then, how few of those that return actually want to work. I have worked through the entire pandemic with the exception of reduced hours for a few months. Other folks left the job and have yet to return, leaving a big hole in the American workforce.

Retailers such as 7-11’s that usually stay open 24/7 are suddenly closing up during certain hours as they haven’t the employees necessary to keep their doors open. Other retailers are struggling long lines at the checkout stands, again because they lack the necessary employees to handle the task. Has America suddenly become lazy?

Small business Nation-wide have closed their doors. Stores and restaurants that have been in business for many years have given up and closed their doors for good leaving those that they employ jobless. Many of these jobless have discovered that their unemployment benefits coupled with pandemic benefits are making more money than when employed. They may find that sometime in their future they might need these benefits again only to discover that they have exhausted this resource. Unemployment benefits are like the Lottery, You have to play to win.

Bigger business has sent many employees home to work from the comfort of their own homes, many of which do not want to return to their company workspace. While some opf the home workers have maintained satisfactory performance, there are those that lack such quality and perform better with supervision provided in the workplace. Employers have accepted marginal performance during the pandemic, but likely won’t post pandemic.

Our Government has done a “back-ass-wards” in this situation. The Government should be giving those that have worked during the pandemic reward for doing so. Face it, being exposed to the threat of the virus plus actually working while others sat safely at home making more money than you should be commendable and worth something.

Employers anxious to fill vacant work positions are accepting lesser qualified people that are not up to the task at hand leaving others to have to pick up the slack created. What this all leads to is a barren workplace, worked and managed by a skeleton workforce, that ends up doing far more work than they previously had to do, and feeling taken advantage of. Regardless, trying to do your job during this pandemic has been difficult, and it promises to suck post-pandemic.

When Do You Validate Your Position

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I hate to be critical about the intelligence of the people that live in the United States, but are we all so stupid that we just accept what one person says without even checking to see if it true or not? If you want to know the truth, sometimes you have to do a little research. Allow me to get you started:

This is the Washington Post Police Shootings Database which is responsible for most of the racial issues facing America today. You see, this database fails to demonstrate the actual racial breakdown of America, and most importantly the racial breakdown where people are killed by police. This is where my research of this data began. If you open the web page and scroll down you will find some very interesting information relative to police shootings. The following heading: “Black Americans are killed at a much higher rate than White Americans” paints a picture of Law Enforcement Officers killing Black people because of the color of their skin. This is far from the truth and our politicians, educators, and those that influence others are negligent in allowing this farce to continue.

THE FACTS:

Although Black people are only 13% of the US Population in the cities most killings take place in Black people are 23 to 60% of the population, in some cities equal to or more than the White population. Yet, more white people are killed by police than Blacks.

Black people ARE NOT killed by police because they are Black. Black people are killed by police because they resist arrest or act a fool. Look at the history of those killed by police. George Floyd did not end up on the ground with a cop’s knee in his back because he cooperated. DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND! George Floyd should not have died and his death was while in the custody of a negligent cop, which is a whole bunch different than being shot by a cop. Would things of turned out better had Floyd of cooperated with officers?

The current racial unrest is being manipulated by racists making money off racism.

“Black Lives Matter” is not a champion of the Black People. BLM is a racist organization that had nothing to do with cases such as George Floyd. BLM got lucky because their name was made the place for Corporate America to donate millions of dollars demonstrating support for the Black cause hoping Black America would not burn their corporations to the ground. Black Lives Matter has done nothing beneficial to Black America, but they sure are loving the money they got.

You cannot defeat racism with racism; Giving to people based on the color of their skin will not solve the issues, fairness will. Give to those in need, fairly

You can disagree with me, but do the research before doing so. Feel free to prove me wrong. It will not hurt my feelings, not even a little bit if you can find a better answer than I provide. The truth is people are too quick to play the race card rather than seek the real reasons for the sufferings of the people. But there is one thing I am sure of. We as a people have got to move beyond skin color if we are ever to defeat racism.

Listen, I am aware my opinion is not popular and I know it angers some, but you do not have to share my opinion. But, to disagree with me requires you do the research to prove me wrong. I am 100% for the elimination of racism and I pray that one-day equality will be the way. What I seek by writing to this blog is informed interaction. People have got to quit being led by those that know less than they do.

Responsibility . . .

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I read an interesting article that was originally published in the Southwest News Newspaper Group on April 7, 2021. The article was an opinion relative to the shooting of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old boy shot by Chicago Police recently.

The writer’s opinion is that the parents of children in these situations should share the responsibility for the outcome. In other words, if the kid got killed by Police the parent should also bear responsibility. I am like-minded to this Writer, but believe the responsibility need have further reach.

A child finds an unsecured weapon in the family home and shoots the neighbor kid, who is responsible? You cannot blame the child, he was not responsible for the securing of the weapon. The adult that owned or had possession of the weapon should be held accountable.

The child involved in mass school or similar shootings using a firearm that he has ready access to while not yet an adult should be a parental responsibility. You as a parent should be aware of your childs mental state long prior to anyone else.

Lately it appears as though everyone that the Police have to interact with and do so less than favorably, the family and friends say “He has mental problems” as though such problems should be a Police problem. It’s a family responsibility to care for and keep these people safe, not your neighbor or law enforcement. If your family member cannot go to the corner store without getting into trouble, a family member should be with him/her to ensure their safety. Every person that suffers any sort of mental crisis that possibly make them a threat to themselves or others needs supervision by someone and primary responsibility is the family. Such people should be designated as such in a law enforcement accessible database so information relative to their conduct might be available to first responders prior to contact.

It is not the local government’s responsibility to allow people to beat up on their police and other employees. These people are not paid enough to have to wrestle everyone they have to arrest. This responsibility is to us as individuals. If you resist a law enforcement officer, he didn’t make the decision to take you down and possibly hurt you while doing so. You made that decision, and you should take responsibility for your bad decision. Rather than having to train law enforcement to be lawyers, doctors, and mental health professionals, wouldn’t be easier to train the public how to act right when approached by Police?

In today’s society, it has become acceptable to blame everyone other than yourself for your shortcomings and presently the finger-pointing is aimed at racism. People of all colors believe the strife they are living is only being suffered by their race when that is not the case. Racism exists because money can be made from it and all of us suffer from it. Grow beyond skin color . . .