Pine Barrens Mafia

I think it's an issue caused by the fear of being HONEST about what they think for fear of being publicly shamed. if no one gave a *****, we'd all be better off.

From the top turnbuckle

This here's a scorcher!

Probably not. That being said, I don't think that's due to structural racism.

If the measure of such things is receiving generational wealth, then probably since I've received none.

I have LONG insisted around here that we don't have a race issue, we have a corruption and inequity problem, as well as a taxation fairness problem. I'm a proponent of a flat tax, no exemptions, on all forms of income. Not just earned income. Right now, if you're middle class of any color (especially LOWER middle class), you tend to have a higher tax burden than both the poor AND the wealthy. And unlike the poor, because you earn too much you don't see many of the benefits that the poor do. That to me seems to be unbalanced and unfair.

There are more POOR white people in the United States than there are black people of all social strata combined. You're willing to impoverish them even more for the sake of handouts to black people? Great. You do you. I'm not willing to do that.

Excellent question.

No, I'm not. Because it presupposes something about me that just isn't factual. It presupposes that I am somehow more privileged than any average black person in the United States.

Really. Tell me more. Like in detail. Tell me ALL the benefits I've enjoyed by being white. I'll wait in rapt anticipation.

List the myriad of benefits I've received from "institutionalized racism" since you seem to know so much about me? Sorry, I can't take you seriously when you speak on topics of which you have NO understanding. Unless of course, I missed "white guy slavery profits giveaway" day. Did I?

I say this with the utmost sincerity. I may not agree with many of your positions, but I REALLY enjoy your posts here. You're an intellectually honest leftist, and I REALLY appreciate that. Kudos to you.

How noble of you. You're such a good person.

You poor thing. Always being attacked by the meanies of PPP.

Yeah, that would be your take from what I've seen of your other takes. "NOT MY PRESIDENT! UNTIL I SAY HE IS!"

Correct. It's blackmail writ large. ADMIT WE ARE CORRECT OR WE'LL BURN IT ALL DOWN, RACIST!

Not only that, it COMPLETELY is unable to answer the question of the responsibility of individuals to pay for the wrongdoing of OTHER individuals, which of course is why I asked that fool the question I did and why he's unable to answer it.

Oh really? You must have missed the past 3.5 years.

EXACTLY. Therefore, leftist idiots are fooling uneducated sheep into thinking this is all on Trump's lap. And uneducated conservatives are as well.

Then it doesn't address the immediate issue at all. Let me rephrase the question: What can Donald Trump do to stop the rioting/looting/arson/murder in the immediate term. Warren Zevon thinks if he puts on a Mr. Rogers act, this will all end.

And that tops the rioting how?

Let's have a look at Trump's options: Option A - Call in the Army and crush the riots. Response from progressives: RACIST INSENSITIVE FASCIST! HATES BLACK PEOPLE! Option B - Do nothing. Response from conservatives: WHERE'S OUR LAW AND ORDER? If you were him, what would you do?

Again...how am I responsible for the actions of others? Explain that to me and maybe I'll allow you the point. I'm fairly confident you can't explain it.

I am, but I fail to see how I'm responsible for the actions of some slaveholders in the 1860s, Jim Crow law-writers in the post-civil-war era, or some murderous thug of a cop today. *I* didn't do any of that. Now maybe YOU have oppressed a black person somehow, but I haven't. My conscience is clean on that matter.

Excuse me? Who's this "our?"