Race in America

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muni
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Re: Race in America

Post by muni »

phpBB [video]


:group: :heart:
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Knotty Veneer
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Re: Race in America

Post by Knotty Veneer »

it's funny how under the current regime people are looking back fondly at a time when the likes of Arnie and Dubya were in charge.

Indeed, I bet Dubya is secretly elated to be not the worse president ever any more.
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Re: Race in America

Post by Yavana »

Johnny Dangerous wrote:No one in their right mind has considered China anything but capitalist for a long time...this is pretty much common sense.
But they weren't like this when they invaded Tibet, and they've since eased up on our fellow Buddhists in China.
Anyway, there is no disputing that advanced capitalism is hugely disruptive and destructive of traditional cultures, all one needs to do is look around to see that.
So is communism—and I think it could be argued that communism is worse if only because of their aversion to all religion, though I understand that China is wisely evolving their economic system and their government.
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Race in America

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Knotty Veneer wrote:Indeed, I bet Dubya is secretly elated to be not the worse president ever any more.
There's a fb meme about it.

:coffee:
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Re: Race in America

Post by Grigoris »

CedarTree wrote:However in Europe were in certain countries we may only have one or two people (All of which are white) you see these same realities but the association isn't done with race because they are the same race, ethnicity, and sometimes family as yourself. Instead it is because you know they are from the rough side of town.
What part of Europe are you from exactly? They didn't have WWI and WWII in your part of Europe? The Balkan War?
Last edited by Grigoris on Sat Aug 19, 2017 7:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
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Re: Race in America

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The Cicada wrote:
Johnny Dangerous wrote:No one in their right mind has considered China anything but capitalist for a long time...this is pretty much common sense.
But they weren't like this when they invaded Tibet, and they've since eased up on our fellow Buddhists in China.
Anyway, there is no disputing that advanced capitalism is hugely disruptive and destructive of traditional cultures, all one needs to do is look around to see that.
So is communism—and I think it could be argued that communism is worse if only because of their aversion to all religion, though I understand that China is wisely evolving their economic system and their government.
Your condition is known as obsessive-compulsive, luckily there is a cure for it.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
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Re: Race in America

Post by Yavana »

Kim O'Hara wrote:
Knotty Veneer wrote:Indeed, I bet Dubya is secretly elated to be not the worse president ever any more.
There's a fb meme about it.

:coffee:
Kim
Personally, I'm quite proud that president Trump is guiding our nation, and I know that many Americans of varying races, ages, and genders feel the same.
CedarTree wrote:I think one of the sad things in America right now is there is such a focus on Islamic terrorism and ISIS (Justifiably so), yet there doesn't seem to be as high an understanding that the KKK is the historic domestic terrorist group of the United States of America.

Modern versions of this are the Neo-Nazis and all the other variants.

I think sometimes some Americans don't realize the extent of poverty, alienation, exploitation, and what being a minority in any form (race, ethnicity, socio-economic, etc.) does to the psyche of an individual/group.
I think that many are too focused on the misunderstood positions of a few stolid killjoys and outliers than on the loss of hard won rights that we are collectively ceding to the state and, indirectly, to corporatocracy.
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Re: Race in America

Post by Strive »

Johnny Dangerous wrote:No one in their right mind has considered China anything but capitalist for a long time...this is pretty much common sense.

It differs a little from our model of capitalism, but it's hard to see how it's communist these days in anything but name, and that is true regardless of whether you are a dyed in the wool pinko like me or a right wing whatever.

Anyway, there is no disputing that advanced capitalism is hugely disruptive and destructive of traditional cultures, all one needs to do is look around to see that.
U need half capitalism and half socialism. That is best for the ppl. Free healthcare should be 1st priority for all rich capitalist places n worker rights. for the poor countries living in poverty they must have focus more on less coruption and capitalist policies that will lift them out of poverty
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Re: Race in America

Post by Knotty Veneer »

The Cicada wrote:
Kim O'Hara wrote:
Knotty Veneer wrote:Indeed, I bet Dubya is secretly elated to be not the worse president ever any more.
There's a fb meme about it.

:coffee:
Kim
Personally, I'm quite proud that president Trump is guiding our nation, and I know that many Americans of varying races, ages, and genders feel the same.
I am going to assume that is tongue in cheek.
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Re: Race in America

Post by Wayfarer »

According to polls, in early July, a greater number of Americans (around 47%) believed Trump ought to be impeached, than approved of the job he's doing (around 37%. Of course, most of those 37% will say that this is 'fake news', so it's kind of pointless to mention it.)
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Re: Race in America

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Knotty Veneer wrote:
The Cicada wrote:
Kim O'Hara wrote: There's a fb meme about it.

:coffee:
Kim
Personally, I'm quite proud that president Trump is guiding our nation, and I know that many Americans of varying races, ages, and genders feel the same.
I am going to assume that is tongue in cheek.
No, our insectile friend is quite serious.
དམ་པའི་དོན་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ཆེ་བ་དང་།
རྟོག་གེའི་ཡུལ་མིན་བླ་མའི་བྱིན་རླབས་དང་།
སྐལ་ལྡན་ལས་འཕྲོ་ཅན་གྱིས་རྟོགས་པ་སྟེ།
དེ་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ལ་ནི་ལོ་རྟོག་སེལ།།


"Absolute Truth is not an object of analytical discourse or great discriminating wisdom,
It is realized through the blessing grace of the Guru and fortunate Karmic potential.
Like this, mistaken ideas of discriminating wisdom are clarified."
- (Kyabje Bokar Rinpoche, from his summary of "The Ocean of Definitive Meaning")
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Re: Race in America

Post by Yavana »

conebeckham wrote:No, our insectile friend is quite serious.
My current avatar is that of a cat, sir, of the type felis domesticatus, and I would appreciate it if you judged him by the content of his character and the quality of his actions rather than by the number of his ocular sensory organs.
Wayfarer wrote:According to polls, in early July, a greater number of Americans (around 47%) believed Trump ought to be impeached, than approved of the job he's doing (around 37%. Of course, most of those 37% will say that this is 'fake news', so it's kind of pointless to mention it.)
The results do beg the question of the methodology used in collecting these polls.
Knotty Veneer wrote:I am going to assume that is tongue in cheek.
I'm very serious. Trump appealed to Americans across the board, and I even know a Canadian gay rights activist and fellow Buddhist who was rooting for him from the north because of Trump's policies on immigration. Trump represents American strength and, at best, stern, fatherly compassion that does what must be done to maintain peace and order. Much of what some view as his failings are, in my opinion, more a reflection of our collective failings with the criticism that's lodged being done by the least self-reflecting among us.
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conebeckham
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Re: Race in America

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The Cicada wrote:
conebeckham wrote:No, our insectile friend is quite serious.
My current avatar is that of a cat, sir, of the type felis domesticatus, and I would appreciate it if you judged him by the content of his character and the quality of his actions rather than by the number of his ocular sensory organs.
I was referring to your moniker, not your avatar, oh chirping winged one.

I'm very serious. Trump appealed to Americans across the board, and I even know a Canadian gay rights activist and fellow Buddhist who was rooting for him from the north because of Trump's policies on immigration. Trump represents American strength and, at best, stern, fatherly compassion that does what must be done to maintain peace and order. Much of what some view as his failings are, in my opinion, more a reflection of our collective failings with the criticism that's lodged being done by the least self-reflecting among us.
I don't know that he has ever clearly articulated any of his policies, but as for his stance on immigration--there's that fabled edifice he wishes to install on our Southern border. Not gonna happen. And the deportations which have split fathers from their children, etc. Your Authoritarian Personality Traits are showing, by the way, along with your delusions of "across the board" appeal. What board, exactly, was this?
དམ་པའི་དོན་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ཆེ་བ་དང་།
རྟོག་གེའི་ཡུལ་མིན་བླ་མའི་བྱིན་རླབས་དང་།
སྐལ་ལྡན་ལས་འཕྲོ་ཅན་གྱིས་རྟོགས་པ་སྟེ།
དེ་ནི་ཤེས་རབ་ལ་ནི་ལོ་རྟོག་སེལ།།


"Absolute Truth is not an object of analytical discourse or great discriminating wisdom,
It is realized through the blessing grace of the Guru and fortunate Karmic potential.
Like this, mistaken ideas of discriminating wisdom are clarified."
- (Kyabje Bokar Rinpoche, from his summary of "The Ocean of Definitive Meaning")
Tiago Simões
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Re: Race in America

Post by Tiago Simões »

The Cicada wrote:Trump represents American strength and, at best, stern, fatherly compassion that does what must be done to maintain peace and order. Much of what some view as his failings are, in my opinion, more a reflection of our collective failings with the criticism that's lodged being done by the least self-reflecting among us.
"fatherly" is an interesting term considering what he said about how he would have sex with his daughter.
If hes being "fatherly" towards your country I don't even want to know what he plans to do with it.
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Re: Race in America

Post by Knotty Veneer »

The Cicada wrote: I'm very serious. Trump appealed to Americans across the board, and I even know a Canadian gay rights activist and fellow Buddhist who was rooting for him from the north because of Trump's policies on immigration. Trump represents American strength and, at best, stern, fatherly compassion that does what must be done to maintain peace and order. Much of what some view as his failings are, in my opinion, more a reflection of our collective failings with the criticism that's lodged being done by the least self-reflecting among us.
Well that's a heap of self-seving BS. Congratulations though on being the first person ever to use "Trump" and "compassion" in the same sentence.
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Re: Race in America

Post by Jeff H »

Cicada, I’m interested. You strike me as intelligent and thoughtful, but your support for Trump baffles me and I’d like to understand more about how you arrive at that position. Do you agree with him about climate change and eviscerating the Environmental Protection Agency? Do you think he fulfilled his promise to “drain the swamp”, rather than restocking it with new vermin? Do you think his championing of coal is something other than further efforts to bamboozle ordinary working people into thinking he’s on our side? Do you think that deregulation is legitimately about smaller, healthier government rather than a means to widen the gap between the 1% and all the rest of us (aka, corporate welfare)? Do you believe his insistence on repealing the ACA and his support for “Trump care” (regardless of whatever form could conceivably get the votes) represents any genuine concern for the well being of the American people? What about his threat to intentionally force ACA to fail? Do you think he'll fulfill his promise to lower drug costs?

This is not a troll, I’m genuinely interested. My brother, whom I love, is a Bill O’Reilly devotee. In the interest of maintaining our otherwise very good relationship, we stopped talking about this stuff a long time ago (so I don’t even know for sure that he voted for Trump -– though it’s a good bet). I also don’t know who he listens to, now that Bill’s gone, except that he doesn't have internet and all he's got is Fox News.
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Re: Race in America

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I don't know that he has ever clearly articulated any of his policies, but as for his stance on immigration--there's that fabled edifice he wishes to install on our Southern border.
I think the vague promises that he's made amount to a pledge to "make it right," regarding immigration and a number of other issues. Frankly, making promises regarding specific courses of action is only going to detract from the ability of any politician to point back to the work done over their turn and claim that progress was made in fulfilling them. And the electorate didn't really need these specifics, just that pledge.

But specifically, I think he did communicate that he intended to curtail immigration from parts of the world where many of the natives harbor hostile sentiments towards the United States, and to act to prevent organized crime from Mexico from getting a firmer footing in the US. I guess the latter concern won't seem like a serious issue to some Americans until one of these Silicon Valley aristocrats wake up with a dead burro's head at the foot of their bed with a Knights Templar Cartel insignia branded between its eyes.

Not that the latter would be a bad thing, it's just that, personally, I don't like the idea of militant Catholics running amock.
Not gonna happen.
Time will tell.
And the deportations which have split fathers from their children, etc.
If Mexico's such a great place that we don't need a wall to secure our safety from, not the disenfranchised, but the less savory crimimal elements of Mexican society, both of which their parasitic elite have been callously pushing onto "Tio Güero" for decades now, why should going home be such a bad prospect?

Maybe prospective expats should stay home and work to make Mexico great again.
Your Authoritarian Personality Traits are showing, by the way,
You are the only respectable mental health professional I have ever encountered in a forum who felt confident about making e-diagnoses. But methinks this is more likely psychological projection on your part, or possibly on the part of the "liberal" "journalists" you've been hypnotized by over years of ingesting their pablum.

It's precisely the fact that Trump is a strong father in his personal life that ignites these sparks of outrage in the minds of those in your camp. Whereas opposition to Trump from minority camps often has roots in tribalistic, in-group concerns which are sometimes at odds with the collective good, you white liberals are affronted by his very masculinity in a peculiarly Anglo way because of petticoated hang-ups and guilt regarding such displays.
Knotty Veneer wrote: Well that's a heap of self-seving BS. Congratulations though on being the first person ever to use "Trump" and "compassion" in the same sentence.
Not just psychological projection here, but also a touch of histrionics added as an attempt to deflect the onslaught of dispassionate consideration of reality with inquisitorial accusations of being a big ol' meanie-bo-beanie.
Jeff H wrote:Cicada, I’m interested. You strike me as intelligent and thoughtful, but your support for Trump baffles me and I’d like to understand more about how you arrive at that position.
My connection to, and immersion within, hinterland America. I knew an elderly rancher who would go out and feed a cup of coffee to one of his cows each morning as he enjoyed his own. These days, it seems that our elites are less kind regarding the concerns of the parts of the country whose inhabitants will make up their soldiery than this old fart was to his future steaks.
Do you agree with him about climate change and eviscerating the Environmental Protection Agency?
From what I've read, yes. Some of the climate change that has already occurred is irreversible, and we are leaving the planet permanently hotter and less hospitable for our heirs. The EPA needed to be wiped away so that we could start from scratch once we've taken into account the economic, and ultimately existential, considerations of our present reality where China is upping its consumption of the planet's resources and Africa is experiencing booming population growth and plans to do the same.

As a Nichiren Buddhist, I quietly suspect that this is how the Dharma Ending Age comes into full swing: We find ourselves locked into economic competition for resources, and then military competition, until human civilization finds itself at a subsistence level within a harsh reality for some time. We wound ourselves through stupidity, and fall into wooliness.
Do you think he fulfilled his promise to “drain the swamp”, rather than restocking it with new vermin?
He hasn't been in office long, though there doesn't appear to have been much "draining." Time will tell.

It may be that "the swamp" is more a symptom of our collective decadence than a big conspiracy against the people. Our leaders may find themselves in an impossible situation over a population with impossibly conflicting and inconsiderate demands that only a lying sociopath could appear to fulfill without appearing to throw many, many people under the bus.
Do you think his championing of coal is something other than further efforts to bamboozle ordinary working people into thinking he’s on our side?
Absolutely. Even voicing praise for such individuals rather than pronouncing them to be "throwbacks" imparts a kind of capital to them in the form of respect from society. Championing coal on Trump's part is less about coal and more about establishing his connection with the working class, and assuring them that he will be respectful of their values and virtues.
Do you think that deregulation is legitimately about smaller, healthier government rather than a means to widen the gap between the 1% and all the rest of us (aka, corporate welfare)?
I do, to the extent that it helps us compete economically with countries with less regulation, particularly when it comes to providing employment for the working and lower middle classes.

Many jobs that Americans are, in fact, willing to do have been offshored.
Do you believe his insistence on repealing the ACA and his support for “Trump care” (regardless of whatever form could conceivably get the votes) represents any genuine concern for the well being of the American people? What about his threat to intentionally force ACA to fail? Do you think he'll fulfill his promise to lower drug costs?
Lots of people don't like ACA because of the pressure it puts on employers that often translates into less hiring. As to whether it was ever conceived with the benefit of the American people in mind, or whether most things conceived in DC are, is an interesting premise to discuss. Whether Trump's plan is more or less so is also interesting. I would say that I think that it is—at least, I think he intends to come up with something more realistic that will satisfy the demands of most Americans.

This is not a troll, I’m genuinely interested. My brother, whom I love, is a Bill O’Reilly devotee. In the interest of maintaining our otherwise very good relationship, we stopped talking about this stuff a long time ago (so I don’t even know for sure that he voted for Trump -– though it’s a good bet). I also don’t know who he listens to, now that Bill’s gone, except that he doesn't have internet and all he's got is Fox News.
Hey, sincere input is the best thing since orange Fanta.

I've never liked O'Reilly, but it might be helpful to look at the liberal/conservative dichotomy as more of a pragmatism/idealism split. At their best, the former keeps us moving towards brighter realities, the latter keeps us firm and grounded. In their worse expressions, the former usually tends towards decadence and the latter towards stagnation or even heavy handed authoritarianism. Both are necessary, however.

The problem that the conservatives and the right have with the opposing side is that, these days, they act more like right wing socialists pushing their objectives like ideologues for some kind of cultural revolution rather than true "liberals."

Given the choice of turning back the clock to 1980 and a world of speech crime and ideological policing, many would rather stay right and avoid the jump ramp ahead in the other lane.

Sounds like your brother is fed up.
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Re: Race in America

Post by Jeff H »

Thanks for this thoughtful response. I don't find your arguments compelling, but I think they do give me some insight. I agree with the statement below, for the most part, because I think it speaks to the need for bipartisan cooperation in service to the country and the people. The entrenchment has become debilitating.
The Cicada wrote:it might be helpful to look at the liberal/conservative dichotomy as more of a pragmatism/idealism split. At their best, the former keeps us moving towards brighter realities, the latter keeps us firm and grounded. ... Both are necessary, however.
Where now is my mind engaged? - Shantideva
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Re: Race in America

Post by Jeff H »

I saw this article from the BBC this morning and it seems to resonate with what you said, summed up by “Sounds like your brother is fed up”. Would you agree with the article?
Katty Kay wrote:It's not what they are for that matters, it's what they are against.
So it's not that a third of US voters are fervently on the side of Donald Trump - what's more relevant is that they are adamantly on the opposing side of a culture war that's been brewing here since the 1980s.
For my part, it is also not what I'm for but what I'm against. I think we have very little on either side to be ardently in favor of in American politics. But I find Trump and his ability to rally negative forces frightening.
Where now is my mind engaged? - Shantideva
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Re: Race in America

Post by JazzIsTvRicky »

How then do we as Buddhist deal with the complexities of the most important question of 'Racism in America' which is the Real Question!

Nichiren Teaches:

"Myō means perfect endowment. Six refers to the six pāramitās representing all the ten thousand practices. When people ask to hear the teaching of perfect endowment, they are asking how they may gain the perfect endowment of the six pāramitās and ten thousand practices of the bodhisattvas. In the phrase “perfect endowment,” endowment refers to the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, while perfect means that, since there is mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, then any one world contains all the other worlds, indicating that this is “perfect.”

The Lotus Sutra is a single work consisting of eight volumes, twenty-eight chapters, and 69,384 characters. Each and every character is endowed with the character myō, each being a Buddha who has the thirty-two features and eighty characteristics.

Each of the Ten Worlds manifests its own Buddhahood. As Miao-lo writes, “Since even Buddhahood is present in all living beings, then all the other worlds are of course present, too.”

The Buddha replied to the request of his listeners by saying that “the Buddhas wish to open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings.” The term “all living beings” here refers to Shāriputra, and it also refers to icchantikas, persons of incorrigible disbelief. It also refers to the nine worlds.

Thus the Buddha fulfilled his words, “Living beings are numberless. I vow to save them all,” when he declares, “At the start I took a vow, hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinction between us, and what I long ago hoped for has now been fulfilled.”

The Opening of the Eyes

As a Buddhist I see the relation of our Mission to the answer of all the various ills of our personal relationships, is Propagation of The Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and living the Teachings of Nichiren Daishonin!

Buddhism in America is basically controlled by White and Japanese Men who have ignored the Teaching of Zuiho bini and have instituted its own interpretation of Buddhism based on their limited Cultural Intergrations! This I will Change!

http://pioneersofamericanbuddhism.com

Sincerely Richard H Brown A Votary of The Gohonzon of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
Last edited by JazzIsTvRicky on Fri Aug 25, 2017 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
A فوتاري أوف ذي غوهونزون أوف نام ميوهو رينج كيو
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