One of the aphorisms that I’ve always used to guide my life is an old Hungarian saying; “the best way to become wealthy is to appear as if you already are”. It’s not just about money; Dennis Prager notes a similar principle when it comes to happiness. Prager and others note that when all else fails, the best way to bring love back to a loveless relationship is to act as if you are still very much in love. More mundane? Innumerable business books advise young would-be up-and-comers to dress for the position they want, not the one they’re in.
Ameircan slang also renders the saying as “fake it ’til you make it”.
And it’s not bad advice; the best way out of poverty is to stop acting poor.
Unfortunately, government is spending a lot of (your) money to promote the idea that acting poor is good for you.
Along these lines, a friend of the blog writes:
Last week, before Philando Castile was shot, a friend of mine, who is black, and I were discussing racism in Minnesota. He was shaking his head, wondering why black people are told to act, dress, and talk a certain way when he sees Somalis “getting a pass.” “And they’re the ones trying to blow us up!” he says.
What would he change? Well, when he was born, his parents lived in Cabrini Green. So, he has a good perspective. He would stop building subsidized housing for black people. He would stop forcing everyone to take the bus. “I’d never let my kids on those things.” He’s told me before that he’d told his family to do whatever they need to in order to afford a car- even if it means giving up a lot of other things.
I have a feeling that many other black people feel the same way. And I think it is great that the protests are happening at the Governor’s mansion, because obviously Dayton is part of the problem in terms of what my friend would fix. But, it’s too bad that Black Lives Matter is just another activist group with no more intention of helping people than any other activist group- my friend’s message will never get heard over the special interests.
It’s both symbolic and eminently practical; our government is trying to jam us into “high density” lifestyles, which is code (!) for “how poor people live”; to live, work and travel crammed together like passive-aggressive sardines.
We could have literally bought 140,000 late-model used cars for $10,000 a pop for the money we spent on the Green Death Machine. That’s more than enough to equip every impoverished family in Saint Paul with a reliable vehicle – a portal to better jobs, to school choice, to opportunity.
But no. We spent $1.4 billion so they, and a lot of middle-class people, could be poor…on tracks.
We sent the poor people to failing schools so they can be poor…with administrators with really great pensions.
What’s wrong here?
What’s wrong here is that the politicians benefit from poverty. You put a guy’s name on the new public housing building, your buddies build the new death train, etc.. Used to see it a TON in Illinois until Blago screwed up the gravy train.
Really, it’s the equivalent of public life of the guy who always “fights fires” at work being found to be something of an arsonist.
Funny thing about getting good new used cars for the poor is that, once you figure in the fact that trains run on coal, more or less, the cars are better for the environment than trains or buses. Yikes.
Race relations in this country have improved 1000% since the 1960’s. At no time in the history of America have blacks had more opportunities to progress than they do now. I can’t put a number on it, but let’s say that 3/4 of the black population has taken advantage of these facts and are now middle class, or on their way; productive members of society…our neighbors down the block. ‘Cmon over for a beer, Joe.
That leaves a sizeable minority that have decided to ignore all that, and are determined to live like post apocalypse, warring tribes and are responsible for crime and resource waste that is ludicrously out of proportion to their population. What to do?
Leftists have gaslighted this issue to great success. Reasonable people have either bought the leftist brain washing, or are so cowed they won’t speak the truth to save their lives.
Well, as many know, I’m not a reasonable fella. I don’t buy bullshit from anyone. I’ve experienced day to day life in the hood, first hand, up close and personal. Don’t jack my car and tell me I’ve oppressed you, home boy.
The fact is, until black parents stop raising their kids like feral cats; until those parents acknowledge school supplies are more important than a new iPhone6; until their kids stop shooting each other over a pair of sneakers; until black pop stars stop singing about fat stacks and hoe’s; until black neighborhoods stop resembling Hiroshima, even after millions have been spend to clean them up again, and again, nothing is going to get that remaining 1/4 into the American dream.
And until successful black Americans are willing to stand up and admit that, nothing will change. Nothing will change for me having said it either, but I’m saying it anyway, because that’s just what I do.
And of course, pudding head, addle-brain leftists like DG will take Swiftee’s entire comment, and boil it down to “You call black people “tribal”? You’re a racist. Discussion over.”
Another way of looking at that 1/4 is that they refuse to assimilate. To…what? WHITE culture? Perhaps. But on the flip side. WHITE culture doesn’t commit crime way out of proportion to their population. WHITE culture society doesn’t have the same issues as BLACK culture society. It’s precisely the reason why MPD 4th Precinct is a battlezone and the worst thing that happens in Excelsior is speeding tickets.
The talk about white oppressors keeping black people corralled into that kind of life/society/population? Maybe, but if a black person eschews black culture/the gang lifestyle, has a work ethic and puts it to use, and lives a clean life? There’s NOTHING stopping them from raising their socio-economic status and being able to leave the inner city for a more peaceful, prosperous and enjoyable middle or upper class life (whether that’s in the suburbs or in Downtown/Uptown).
In fact, I’d say the “tribal” mentality of that 1/4 of black population that sneers at Uncle Toms as being too white, do far more to prevent people from leaving than anything any white societal oppression could ever do.
After re-reading, I should say “WHITE culture society doesn’t have the same amount of issues as BLACK culture society”. We do, but no where near the same amount.
In St. Paul schools, girls from Hmong families sit in the exact same classes in the exact same buildings hearing the exact same teachers as girls from Black families and White families and Hispanic families. Yet somehow, the names on the Honor Roll each year are dominated by one group of girls. Why is that?
We cannot continue to subsidize people for breeding and breathing. The ROI is horrific.
Bill, the last time whites committed violent acts in the same proportion to their population as blacks, we called it World War II
“our government is trying to jam us into “high density” lifestyles”
A high-density lifestyle is illegal in most of Minneapolis and St. Paul due to zoning laws that prevent the construction of such buildings. Nor is ‘high-density” a sign of poverty. Manhattan, the Chicago Gold Coast, and central Paris are hardly Cabrini Greens.
The real Green Line folly rests in not allowing unlimited density along the line so that more people can access the transit option.
Rick,if you want high density housing, let’s skip those monster 1300 square foot condos in the Gold Coast and go straight for tenements. Shorpy’s looks like SO much fun! You don’t mind a 10% infant mortality rate, do you? Or kids being creamed by the trolley? What we NEED is to have 150 people living on a 2500 square foot lot again, I tell you.
And really, the big question here isn’t high density vs. low density per se, but rather what we’re doing versus what makes sense for the poor. And in that light, I fail to see that high density does for the poor. ITall buildings cost a lot more to build, and transit costs a lot more (all costs told) than driving, and Moms want to be able to call for their kids and let them play in the backyard. Is that so wrong?
“A high-density lifestyle is illegal in most of Minneapolis and St. Paul due to zoning laws that prevent the construction of such buildings.”
The laws are the result of people being horrified at the thought of high density housing.
Laws do not create reality, they reflect it.
But, it’s too bad that Black Lives Matter is just another activist group with no more intention of helping people than any other activist group- my friend’s message will never get heard over the special interests.
NPR had 3 of the founders of BLM on a few days ago, who stated that their goal was a complete defunding of the police in “neighborhoods of color.” I’m damned temped to allow them their experiment in perfecting the human condition except that we all know how it would turn out. Muddle-headed, over educated and under thinking liberals ain’t in it.
I think we need to be careful about what we say about BLM, and not just for the obvious reasons–I suspect that there is a huge portion of their “supporters” who may not necessarily be on board with the official stated principles, which read (IMO) more or less like a statement of the principles of Kwanzaa–somewhat socialistic, tear down traditional family in favor of extended family. etc.. So maybe we need to be familiar with the “official line”, if only to ask people if they’re really for it.
Bubba,
Noted. Not even everyone “in” BLM agrees with everything everyone in BLM says (like the BLM organizer I talked with at the Fair last year).
BB: HD Housing costs more to build, but allows for large savings in land costs, since the cost of one lot can be spread over more dwellers. But, if HD housing is too expensive, people won’t buy it. All I ask is that local governments don’t make it illegal. Is there any reason to not let the market decide this question?
And yes, tenements were a good thing. No zoning and cheap housing allowed an entire generation of Irish and other immigrants to lift themselves out of poverty. Eternal glory to Tammany Hall for standing up against WASP do-gooder reformers who wanted to use local government to keep the poor trapped in poverty.
BG:
“The laws are the result of people being horrified at the thought of high density housing.” Why should you or anyone else be able to make a law about the aesthetics of where I choose to live. Assuming a home doesn’t threaten my safety or yours, why do you get a say in what I choose to live in?
Yes, Rick, I should have anticipated that as a pro-abortion liberal, you might even be disappointed that only 10% of kids died in tenements. Honestly…..
…and reality here is that, as liberals used to understand, big buildings do impose externalities on their neighbors. Shadows. Wind tunnels. Falling on other buildings when a nutcase blind sheik arranges a truck bomb (goal of the first WTC bombing, remember?), traffic issues, etc..
And huge savings in land? Not if you force developers to provide adequate roads and such to the property, especially if the city insists on having death trains.
BB: Do “Shadows” really provide a sufficient cause for the government to regulate housing construction? If so, limited government is really a dead concept. How many shadows outweigh several hundred families having a place to live?