Birth of a Nation

[retdetsgt]

Education is a critical aspect in defining our society and advancement whether it be social or scientific. I don’t think anyone can deny its importance, or the impact formal education can have if done so in a constructive environment. Education does not mean you will not be a racist, but education can be a path to understanding.

If your father, grandfather, and great grandfather were racist without outside influence or examples of advancement than I would dare say your chances of being biased or even racist youself are much higher than those exposed to different avenues of thought.

I don't disagree that education is important. In fact, I have a graduate degree in sociology that I worked my butt off for. But in getting it, I learned that education and racism have little to do with each other unless that education is actually living and interacting with people. Sitting in the ivory towers of universities do nothing to eliminate prejudice. What I've seen formal education do is rationalize behaviors try to eliminate guilt by this parental attitude I keep talking about.

Nearly everyone, if not all people have a need to feel superior in some way to someone else. A lot of whites blame minorities for their sorry lives. You see that in white supremacist circles. You also see as much ignorance in privileged groups too. Hell, I saw that when we started requiring 4 year degrees for officers. We had people coming on who had never associated with a poor person in their life. For the life of them, they can't understand why these people hadn't been able to achieve the same things they had. They were oblivious to what had been handed to them by their parents as opposed to growing up in a hand to mouth environment. I can give these people books and sit them in classrooms all day long and they won't get it. They can pontificate about it, but that's not the same as "getting it".

You would have enjoyed and probably been enlightened had you seen me taking some of my sociology professors on ride alongs in the ghetto when I was in grad school. Formal education slamming up against real life can be pretty comical.

[Rlong1985]

I do not come from a family of privilege and both my parents were working blue collar jobs when I was born. My Mom was a checker for a local supermarket and my Dad was a Reserve Police Officer shortly moving to full time. My parents divorced when I was five years old; my twin brother and I stayed with my Mother while my father moved out of state to continue his law enforcement career with a different agency. My mother struggled financially but was able to maintain the basics. I can remember my mom attending night school completing her BA and MBA while I was going through Middle School and High School. Throughout this process I could see the stability in our household improve with each academic step and have set personal goals to match her personal accomplishments with my own to ensure the same opportunity she has provided to us.

I believe the events in my early childhood may have influenced my opinion in regards to education and the necessity of higher education, but I have learned the difference between theory, practically and reality. While attending my courses I have noticed a sharp difference between professors with masters or doctorates; PHD’s are normally all theory and allow little debate verse professors with masters are much more open.

I am not sure I would survive a full shift in your patrol car Jim, but it would an interesting experience. I have no doubt you could show academics the errors of their ways.

[retdetsgt]

I'm not arguing the benefits of education at all. I believe in it. I'm just saying that formal education isn't much of a route to true freedom from racism. Educated and liberal people tend to have a different kind of racism that's equally insidious.

[cjcrew022000]

I'm not arguing the benefits of education at all. I believe in it. I'm just saying that formal education isn't much of a route to true freedom from racism. Educated and liberal people tend to have a different kind of racism that's equally insidious.

You make a good point. Remember Harry Reid's comments about Obama. Liberals just do a good job of pretending they are for diversity. But most of the liberal elites still go home to their all white neighborhoods and hang out with their all white friends. They feel that pulling the lever for a minority is sufficient to show their tolerance.