Drake

You've made some good points. Success is the result of one's ability and one's environment. The influence of both varies, but people do forget how much the enviroment shapes them because it does so without them being aware of it. I never question why I put on matching socks in the morning, it's just a cultural ritual I grew up with, but it influenced my behavior. Similarily the way I speak, talk, dress, walk, my attitude, my options have also been influenced. Nevermind the skin color that would tend to give me a better opportunity than somebody of color.

Part of the problem is that some segment of the Black population does suffer from what Bill Cosby talked about. Not taking responsibility, being happy being ignorant, blaming everybody else. The other part of the problem are those that say everybody has an equal chance and blames the victim solely when they fail, even though the victim doesn't have an equal chance. Good natured people sometimes can't understand that their are people that make it harder for others based on race, because they would never do it themselves. But for every few thousand fair minded people, there is a Dark Jedi who would rather spit on Blacks then hire them for a job regardless of their personality or qualifications.

As you mentioned, segregation is very recent. The civil rights movement began in the 1960's. Baddog who posts on this forum was already a 45 year old man at that time. He was alive for some 40 years when segregation was legal in the US. So, it's not ancient history and things aren't going to change overnight, yet a lot has changed. If anything, we're the first generation living in a wholly and legally de-segregated US.