jross

The fitness test is a start. If the news treated it like a national priority, tracking kids fitness levels, school compliance rates, and weekly progress, this country would improve almost overnight. There may not be a higher priority right now.

The original sin was Rasta’s title: “My biggest issue with ‘MAGA’ has been…”. People responded to the critical framing rather than the content about childhood obesity. Complaining afterward that the thread ignored the fitness topic comes across as tone-deaf. A better title would have been: “Childhood obesity is one area where we really do need to Make America Great Again.” We’d still shout other areas that need improvement, but the discussion would have stayed more productive. If you pretend the title didn’t exist and just reacted to the obesity content, then yes… sometimes the clearest view is from atop a high horse.

Maybe walking children through those countries will fix our childhood obesity problem.

Anyone entertaining that Musk is a nazi or that he did a nazi salute says a lot. All these trolling posts by everyone says a lot as well. It is fun to call out hypocrisy everywhere in politics. Politics are disgusting and fun to laugh at.

You discussing this as even a topic says a lot.

^^ This is not remotely true. All the historically constipated bad-faith idiotic gestapo gesture clowns should STFO.

It is truth but also it is stats... According to the official 2024 NAEP Reading Snapshot Reports for Grade 4 (public schools): Mississippi Black students: 19% at or above NAEP Proficient. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/publications/stt2024/pdf/2024220MS4.pdf California Black students: 7% at or above NAEP Proficient https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/publications/stt2024/pdf/2024220CA4.pdf 19% is approximately 2.7 times 7%, which rounds to “about 2.5 times more likely.” A different stat looking at scale score points shows a difference of 20 points (MS 206 to CA 186). So like a 10% difference. That seems small, right? But ~10 points is 1 year of learning so there is a 1.5 to 2 year advantage on average. Wow! ----------- See also: https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/profiles/stateprofile/overview/MS?chort=1&sub=MAT&st=MN&year=2024R3&sfj=NP&cti=PgTab_OT&sj=MS And: https://www.air.org/resource/blog-post/naep-puzzle-why-does-academic-progress-hit-wall-high-school

100%

375 pages of stupid. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/equity/downloads/pdf/FINAL_PUBLISH_Preliminary REP_4 6 26.pdf

Of course but not oppressed.

What???

Are you asking to know what the definition of discrimination and oppression is? I'm old enough to know many people that rose from poverty and food stamps to self sufficiency. The article does not describe oppression.

Are short people discriminated against? [yes] Are they oppressed? [no] If you can understand why that is true for short people then you can understand why it is true for white males. Anyone can be treated differently due to their traits rather than merit. That is discrimination. Short people, white people, black people, women, poor, etc. are not subordinated by a power system that compounds disadvantages across life in a way that their personal agency cannot override. They are not oppressed.

LoLmakes one look like part of the problem

The recent prejudice and behaviors against white males is shitty regardless of whether they meet the Webster 'oppression' definition. Unfairness is wrong no matter who it happens to. Acknowledging white men face unfair treatment DOES NOT subtract from black progress.

There are many people stating Trump was appointed by god because it is biblical. This doesn't mean he is to be exalted.

The problem is that he doesn't have an "all things else considered equal" scenario because there is so much more as pointed with my requestion. The wage gap between white/black race is large. But it disappears and even inverses in some cases depending on the culture, family, education, iq, behaviors...

The problems as I see with the argument is not limited to... "Oppressed" Asian Americans outperforming White Americans in income, education, career, and so on. How did they overcome the cultural value to "light skin.? In that crowd scenario... who is assumed to be the leader given a well-dress black woman and a rural dressed white man? How do the outcomes change when race is controlled for 'every other variable'... IQ, family background, behavior, and so on?

Going to post this very well-written article (linked previously). He gets a lot of information correct and hits on white priv and black disadvantage. ------------------- To understand what they really mean, it is important to distinguish between two different—but related—concepts: privilege and advantage. No two people are born exactly equivalent (not even identical twins), and no two people have identical life experiences. As a result, when approaching any issue or task, different people bring different levels of different traits to the task. Therefore, in virtually any given situation, one person’s set of traits will make it easier for them to accomplish the task, compared to the other person’s. The first person is therefore said to have an “advantage” over the second person, at least in reference to that specific task. Some of these differences are genetic, functional, and widely applicable. For example one person can have an IQ of 120, which in regard to many tasks would give that person an advantage over someone with an IQ of 80. Another person might be born with a body that just happens to be perfect for swimming. Let’s call that the “fish difference”: Still others may be born with a giant smile, or high Emotional Quotient (EQ), or manual dexterity, or no genes for male pattern baldness. Other functional differences can be ‘earned’ by working to develop them (for good or bad). Studying hard in school leads to increased knowledge and thus an advantage in the types of jobs for which you qualify. Working out every day will give you an advantage in running a marathon. Apprenticing for 30 years under Jiro will give you an advantage as a sushi chef. That said, dropping acid for 30 years will fry your brain, smoking three packs a day for 30 years will shrivel your lungs, and playing hooky in high school may leave you unable to do basic math. A third set of things that can functionally differentiate one person from another are things that are “given” to you (again, for good or bad). You might be given access to a million dollar trust fund, or you might be given piano lessons, or you might be given a large, loving, close-knit family providing you with constant emotional support. Conversely, you could be “given” an abusive parent, a debilitating car accident, or being born into the Great Depression. All of these “given” things affect your functionality, are exogenous to you, and are out of your control. However…there are some advantages and disadvantages that are not functionally-based, but rather societally- or culturally-based. For example, there is a culturally-assigned value to beauty. If you happen to look like George Clooney or Priyanka Chopra, people will want to be around you, want to work with you, want to lend you money. But look like Steve Buscemi or Margaret Hamilton, and you will need to succeed despite your appearance. What makes a “difference” a “privilege” is that it is unearned and advantageous. So Michael Phelps began with what we can now call “fish privilege”, because he did absolutely nothing to earn an 80″ wingspan, or short legs combined with a long torso. But then he single-mindedly worked ungodly hours for years and years practicing his swimming. I’m sure there are other people in the world with “fish privilege”, but even with that, Michael Phelps earned his Olympic Gold Medals by his hard work. It is important to note that “unearned” does not in any way mean “bad” or even “un-deserved”. It is a simple, neutral, descriptive statement of fact that the recipient took no pro-active steps to acquire the trait. So, putting this all together into graphic form, it looks something like this: What makes discussions around this topic challenging are that (a) all six of these things are often combined or confused, and (b) differences and privileges are often cumulative and correlated. For example, being born in a developed country like the US (a “given” difference) means that childhood nutrition is unlikely to be a problem (making it a functional advantage). But good childhood nutrition has a longstanding effect on IQ. And a higher IQ (an unearned physical advantage, and hence a “privilege”) means that you will be able to do well in a selective college by working hard (an “earned” advantage). However, at that selective college where you are working hard, you may find yourself in a peer group of other intelligent, hardworking people. And combined with the great education provided at a selective school, that means you start out with a social network of people who are likely to be in a position to help you later in life. So graduating from Yale at the top of your class is definitely an advantage, but because that advantage was partially earned and partially unearned, is it purely a question of privilege? It’s complicated. In my case I have had it all. I was born with a set of differences that check virtually every box for the usual “functional advantages” (for example I’m healthy, intelligent, and have a very high energy level). But I also check the box on a host of other genetic “functional advantages” some of which you’ve probably never even heard of (for example I’m hyperthymic, which means I am happy and unstressed 24/7/365; I’m a short sleeper, which means I only need 4–5 hours of sleep a night, giving me hours a day of extra time; I metabolize caffeine, so I can down a double espresso and be asleep in 30 seconds; and I’m even resistant to mosquito bites, so I’ll be the last person in the room to be bitten). Combined with that, there are a host of non-physical things that I have been given through no effort of my own: I grew up in the United States in the late 20th century, in the heart of New York City (“the world’s capital”) with two loving, intelligent, highly educated parents, in a close-knit nuclear and extended family, surrounded by books and intellectual experiences and world travel and a strong ethical upbringing from birth. My family was financially secure, so money was not an issue. When it came to education, I was first sent to, and later applied and was admitted to, the finest institutions in the world, from nursery through graduate school. Between family, mentors and other connections, augmented by my own activities, I have an inherited reputation and a vast social and professional network, and can likely reach out to literally anyone in the world through no more than two or three links. These are all ‘functional’ privileges that I did nothing to earn, but have been insanely fortunate to have benefited from nonetheless. And if the story ended there, it would be a question of completely unbalanced luck and my own ridiculous good fortune. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, so to speak. However, it doesn’t end there…and that’s the problem. Because in addition to all those functional privileges, it turns out that many of the other genetic/physical traits with which I was born have been assigned significant cultural value by society…even though there is zero functional benefit to them. In particular, I am: Caucasian Male Tall Cisgendered Straight …with a great head of hair There is literally no reason on earth why being a tall, White, heterosexual, male should give me any advantage for any reason over anyone else. But it does. Boy, does it ever. And that’s where White Privilege comes in. If in the United States you stand me next to anyone else who is female, with darker skin, shorter than me, balding, or stereotypically effeminate, and present us both in virtually any normal business or social context (other than one in which sexual interactions are expressed or implied), the results will forever put to rest any question of the existence of White Privilege (and gender privilege, height privilege and heteronormative privilege). Ten times out of ten, *I* will be the person who is assumed to be in charge, the person to whom the most deference is paid, and the person who is always given the benefit of the doubt. I will be the last person stopped by the police, the last person suspected of shoplifting, and the last person to be ignored in any context, by anyone, of any color. Is that fair? Hell no, of course it’s not fair. And that’s the essence of White Privilege. Note that White Privilege does not mean that every white person is always advantaged over every black person in every situation. What it does mean, however, is that if you control for every other variable, in the United States being light-skinned gives one a measurable, proven advantage…as does being male, being tall, being straight, and being attractive (or at least having great hair :-). In my case, I experience it 24/7 in every context, and have for two thirds of a century. It is as normal to me as breathing, and because I’ve never experienced things any other way, I have always accepted it as “just the way the world works”. But that doesn’t mean it is right, and that doesn’t mean that all of us shouldn’t do our best to change that red box up there and eliminate all “cultural privileges” that are purely discriminatory. The biggest challenge for people like me in understanding the extent of the problem stems from the fact that “White Privilege” is actually a misnomer. Caucasians do not receive some magic “Privilege Card” that lets them skip to the head of the line. Rather, we live in a country in which light-skinned people like me make up two-thirds of the population; a country in which for half of its history, dark-skinned people were a subservient, legally-subjugated, underclass. As such the problem is much more accurately described as one of “Black Disadvantage” (and the equivalent for other attributes). That’s because as a member of the dominant social group, my skin color is a complete non-issue. Someone pointing me out in a crowd is infinitely more likely to say “the heavyset redheaded guy” than they are “the white guy”. The characters in every children’s book that was read to me as a toddler were white, as were the GI Joe action figures…not to mention Batman and Superman and Ironman. Even the the Hobbits and Harry Potter were white, as were all of my elected officials and virtually all of my teachers. Just a few examples of this pervasive difference are listed in Maggie McFee's answer to a similar question. It has taken me a very, very long time to come to the realization that the toll this takes on a person—let alone a family—is so deep and far reaching that it is difficult for people like me to comprehend. Just as a fish spends zero time thinking about water, so have I spent zero time across two-thirds of a century thinking about my own racial characteristics. But if you replace “fish” with “person”, I can tell you from experience that as a snorkeler and scuba diver, the minute I enter the fish’s domain I am spending 100% of my time thinking about water (keeping it out of my lungs, moving through it, and dealing with the effects of its pressure). That is what, I am told, it is like for a person of color navigating in a world not their own, and simply wishing for things that I take completely for granted. Over the past 75 years there has definitely been progress made, but there is a long, long way to go before people are neither privileged nor challenged by irrelevant cultural advantages…high among which are White Privilege and Male Privilege.

Agreed you did not use the word racism but you are talking about race (white/black). Do people with white skin have more privs than people with black people because of their skin color as a primary cause?

Agreed. It is a privilege for the child.

I'm open to learning. How does observing a difference prove the cause is racism? Denying white privilege and admitting black disadvantage is not equivalent.

That is an understandable viewpoint. I see person C as foolish and passive but they do not grow hateful resentment. Incredibly frustrating to witness person C's choices. They did not create the path... they just did not act. Person D is actively corrosive to society. They reject agency and accountability. IMO the rejection of agency is more destructive than wasted privilege.

Person D is the loser of the bunch. Accountability and agency, the belief that your choices and efforts matter, is the single biggest differentiator between people who build lives and those who don't. My role as a father is to teach both in all situations. "You can't control X, you can control your response. What is your next move?" "Why are you talking about X behavior, when the feedback was on your behavior?"

This is fact and I'm not doing your homework. Why is it true? You are welcome, for confirming for like the fifth time across your repeated threads Incorrect. They definitely occurred and had meaningful effects. I've never said otherwise. I agree with you that they had meaningful effects in the past. Personal accountability enables yesterday's oppressed to achieve more than you have. Evasive. If past oppression's effects "are still being felt," then current policies (welfare, criminal justice, education, immigration, DEI hiring) are central to whether those effects are mitigated, exacerbated, or irrelevant. Ignoring policy outcomes (welfare's role in single motherhood) is cherry-picking. Not all citizens are treated the same under the law, and that is often constitutional. Can a child drive? [no] Are child criminals given the same punishment as adult criminals? [no] But it is not permissible or acceptable to treat citizens differently based on race... Can non whites own homes in white neighborhoods? [yes] Can Muslims buy homes, build Islamic schools, and construct mosques in traditionally Christian neighborhoods? [Yes] A few sentences that agrees oppression occurred and asks a question is pushing back hard? You do know I can go much harder on this topic because I agree with the world that the victim mindset is one of the worst psychological conditions. You got to have the sickness to talk about housing as an oppression holding back folks today. Why are you talking about guilt, slavery and native americans? What is this section getting at? The year is 2026! --- Current disparities are not primarily caused by past oppression. Rather they are caused by current behaviors, culture, IQ distributions, family breakdown, policy failures (welfare incentives), soft-on-crime, education decline... lack of personal accountability...