Was Paul Ryan's remark inarticulate or racist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:aren't white people kicking blacks out of inner cities?

the reason it was racist by paul ryan is because he later followed up with saying rural america has a problem too and then said it was due to a lack of jobs.

if he said inner cities and rural america faced the same challenges, then it would've been race neutral.

but he made city mouse out to be lazy and country mouse just out of luck.

Exactly!!! The inner city black kids are lazy and don't want to or value work while the the Mississippi trailer welfare dad that likes to drink beer all day and molest his step daughter (white) is out of luck because XYZ manufacturing went away 20 years ago to China. Yes I know there are non blacks in the inner city just like there are blacks in trailers, but let's be real here, we all speak that language and if your don't you're in denial.

They're both out of luck but the issue is of what you do about that bad luck. In those old broken down manufacturing communities anyone with a clue moved on to other towns with better prospects. We have people sitting around whining that there's no jobs and no opportunities even as millions of illegal immigrants come all the way here from places like Honduras and El Salvador with nothing but the shirt on their back, who ARE able to find jobs in construction, in restaurants, et cetera. And they are jobs that not only pay for food and a roof over their heads but also provide enough money for them to be able to send a big chunk of it home to their families in central America. That's millions of jobs that were there for the taking for Americans - but Americans turned their noses up at them. I had my share of hard times too, had to work 2 and 3 jobs at a time, went for stretches where I barely had $7 a week to put food on the table, had to move several times because I couldn't afford to live where I was or had to move because work was drying up, so the whining and excuse-making that I constantly hear is really just a bunch of pure crap to me.

Poor people take jobs in construction and restaurants. I don't know what you are talking about, "turned their noses up". I doubt that city people would move across the country and become migrant farm workers, but that's about it.

Some do. But many don't and don't even try- or the only trying they do is to game the system. And worse yet we have plenty who do try but can't manage to get a job, because they didn't put enough effort into school to get enough skills to even be able to fill out a job application on their own. Or, they do get the job but there's poor work ethic, habitual tardiness, bad attitude, et cetera - even if they get the job they have a hard time holding on to it because they have zilch where it comes to the basics of what a workplace needs. I know bosses who end up doing things like bailing their employees out of jail when they get in trouble and so on - but many don't have the patience for that. So many different levels of problems to deal with. So many different solutions that need to be looked at. But denial of these things is definitely not a solution nor something anyone should be wasting their time on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:aren't white people kicking blacks out of inner cities?

the reason it was racist by paul ryan is because he later followed up with saying rural america has a problem too and then said it was due to a lack of jobs.

if he said inner cities and rural america faced the same challenges, then it would've been race neutral.

but he made city mouse out to be lazy and country mouse just out of luck.

Exactly!!! The inner city black kids are lazy and don't want to or value work while the the Mississippi trailer welfare dad that likes to drink beer all day and molest his step daughter (white) is out of luck because XYZ manufacturing went away 20 years ago to China. Yes I know there are non blacks in the inner city just like there are blacks in trailers, but let's be real here, we all speak that language and if your don't you're in denial.

They're both out of luck but the issue is of what you do about that bad luck. In those old broken down manufacturing communities anyone with a clue moved on to other towns with better prospects. We have people sitting around whining that there's no jobs and no opportunities even as millions of illegal immigrants come all the way here from places like Honduras and El Salvador with nothing but the shirt on their back, who ARE able to find jobs in construction, in restaurants, et cetera. And they are jobs that not only pay for food and a roof over their heads but also provide enough money for them to be able to send a big chunk of it home to their families in central America. That's millions of jobs that were there for the taking for Americans - but Americans turned their noses up at them. I had my share of hard times too, had to work 2 and 3 jobs at a time, went for stretches where I barely had $7 a week to put food on the table, had to move several times because I couldn't afford to live where I was or had to move because work was drying up, so the whining and excuse-making that I constantly hear is really just a bunch of pure crap to me.

Poor people take jobs in construction and restaurants. I don't know what you are talking about, "turned their noses up". I doubt that city people would move across the country and become migrant farm workers, but that's about it.

Some do. But many don't and don't even try- or the only trying they do is to game the system. And worse yet we have plenty who do try but can't manage to get a job, because they didn't put enough effort into school to get enough skills to even be able to fill out a job application on their own. Or, they do get the job but there's poor work ethic, habitual tardiness, bad attitude, et cetera - even if they get the job they have a hard time holding on to it because they have zilch where it comes to the basics of what a workplace needs. I know bosses who end up doing things like bailing their employees out of jail when they get in trouble and so on - but many don't have the patience for that. So many different levels of problems to deal with. So many different solutions that need to be looked at. But denial of these things is definitely not a solution nor something anyone should be wasting their time on.

Some do, many don't and don't even try. OK, this is a generalization you can run a truck through. Most people want jobs and try to get them. They may not be good at getting them or keeping them, but they want to work. Most people in Ward 8, the poorest ward of DC, have jobs. So you can't tell me that there is a culture of not wanting to work when 80% of them are already working. The culture is to be employed.

[Anonymous]

First, a generalization would have been to characterize "all" - perhaps you are not familiar with the difference between "all" and "some"?

Second, the nearly 20% unemployment rate in Ward 8 is absolutely dismal and is many times higher than the unemployment rates in several other wards.

Third, don't you agree that it's a problem when people don't have the crucial life skills for getting or keeping jobs? That's what keeps people poor. Wouldn't you agree that this needs to be fixed if the issue of multigenerational poverty is ever to be addressed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, a generalization would have been to characterize "all" - perhaps you are not familiar with the difference between "all" and "some"?

Second, the nearly 20% unemployment rate in Ward 8 is absolutely dismal and is many times higher than the unemployment rates in several other wards.

Third, don't you agree that it's a problem when people don't have the crucial life skills for getting or keeping jobs? That's what keeps people poor. Wouldn't you agree that this needs to be fixed if the issue of multigenerational poverty is ever to be addressed?

I did not take issue with the problem of people lacking life skills, education, or job training. Since neither the Republican nor the Democratic party is against education and training, I saw no reason to debate it.

But the fact remains that when 80% of a community is doing a thing, you can't say the culture is against that thing. It is just an absurd notion that 83% of Ward 8 goes to work and yet work is not part of the culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, a generalization would have been to characterize "all" - perhaps you are not familiar with the difference between "all" and "some"?

Second, the nearly 20% unemployment rate in Ward 8 is absolutely dismal and is many times higher than the unemployment rates in several other wards.

Third, don't you agree that it's a problem when people don't have the crucial life skills for getting or keeping jobs? That's what keeps people poor. Wouldn't you agree that this needs to be fixed if the issue of multigenerational poverty is ever to be addressed?

I did not take issue with the problem of people lacking life skills, education, or job training. Since neither the Republican nor the Democratic party is against education and training, I saw no reason to debate it.

But the fact remains that when 80% of a community is doing a thing, you can't say the culture is against that thing. It is just an absurd notion that 83% of Ward 8 goes to work and yet work is not part of the culture.

Where did I say it was the culture of all of Ward 8? You're far more guilty of making broad sweeping statements here than I am.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, a generalization would have been to characterize "all" - perhaps you are not familiar with the difference between "all" and "some"?

Second, the nearly 20% unemployment rate in Ward 8 is absolutely dismal and is many times higher than the unemployment rates in several other wards.

Third, don't you agree that it's a problem when people don't have the crucial life skills for getting or keeping jobs? That's what keeps people poor. Wouldn't you agree that this needs to be fixed if the issue of multigenerational poverty is ever to be addressed?

I did not take issue with the problem of people lacking life skills, education, or job training. Since neither the Republican nor the Democratic party is against education and training, I saw no reason to debate it.

But the fact remains that when 80% of a community is doing a thing, you can't say the culture is against that thing. It is just an absurd notion that 83% of Ward 8 goes to work and yet work is not part of the culture.

Where did I say it was the culture of all of Ward 8? You're far more guilty of making broad sweeping statements here than I am.

You seem to have forgotten the subject of this thread. Reread please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, a generalization would have been to characterize "all" - perhaps you are not familiar with the difference between "all" and "some"?

Second, the nearly 20% unemployment rate in Ward 8 is absolutely dismal and is many times higher than the unemployment rates in several other wards.

Third, don't you agree that it's a problem when people don't have the crucial life skills for getting or keeping jobs? That's what keeps people poor. Wouldn't you agree that this needs to be fixed if the issue of multigenerational poverty is ever to be addressed?

I did not take issue with the problem of people lacking life skills, education, or job training. Since neither the Republican nor the Democratic party is against education and training, I saw no reason to debate it.

But the fact remains that when 80% of a community is doing a thing, you can't say the culture is against that thing. It is just an absurd notion that 83% of Ward 8 goes to work and yet work is not part of the culture.

Where did I say it was the culture of all of Ward 8? You're far more guilty of making broad sweeping statements here than I am.

You seem to have forgotten the subject of this thread. Reread please.

I think it is you who has forgotten about the subject of this thread. Where was Paul Ryan specifically talking about DC's Ward 8? And where are those supposed broad, sweeping generalizations being made here? Since when is 20% equal to 100%? Where was any such claim ever made here?

Look, I'm a bleeding heart liberal Democrat who would be the last person on Earth to side with Paul Ryan but all that seems to be happening in this thread is deflection and it's not really productive or germane, let alone anything that will ever get any of us any closer toward solutions. All I care about is solutions. I have enough of the following a.) decades of history that don't show change and b.) empty talk which does not propose any meaningful solutions. What are the solutions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He obviously hasn't been to rural Appalachia if he thinks this problem is confined to inner cities.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, a generalization would have been to characterize "all" - perhaps you are not familiar with the difference between "all" and "some"?

Second, the nearly 20% unemployment rate in Ward 8 is absolutely dismal and is many times higher than the unemployment rates in several other wards.

Third, don't you agree that it's a problem when people don't have the crucial life skills for getting or keeping jobs? That's what keeps people poor. Wouldn't you agree that this needs to be fixed if the issue of multigenerational poverty is ever to be addressed?

I did not take issue with the problem of people lacking life skills, education, or job training. Since neither the Republican nor the Democratic party is against education and training, I saw no reason to debate it.

But the fact remains that when 80% of a community is doing a thing, you can't say the culture is against that thing. It is just an absurd notion that 83% of Ward 8 goes to work and yet work is not part of the culture.

Where did I say it was the culture of all of Ward 8? You're far more guilty of making broad sweeping statements here than I am.

You seem to have forgotten the subject of this thread. Reread please.

I think it is you who has forgotten about the subject of this thread. Where was Paul Ryan specifically talking about DC's Ward 8? And where are those supposed broad, sweeping generalizations being made here? Since when is 20% equal to 100%? Where was any such claim ever made here?

Look, I'm a bleeding heart liberal Democrat who would be the last person on Earth to side with Paul Ryan but all that seems to be happening in this thread is deflection and it's not really productive or germane, let alone anything that will ever get any of us any closer toward solutions. All I care about is solutions. I have enough of the following a.) decades of history that don't show change and b.) empty talk which does not propose any meaningful solutions. What are the solutions?

+1000. The deflection and partisanship are blocking productive dialog about meaningful, lasting solutions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, a generalization would have been to characterize "all" - perhaps you are not familiar with the difference between "all" and "some"?

Second, the nearly 20% unemployment rate in Ward 8 is absolutely dismal and is many times higher than the unemployment rates in several other wards.

Third, don't you agree that it's a problem when people don't have the crucial life skills for getting or keeping jobs? That's what keeps people poor. Wouldn't you agree that this needs to be fixed if the issue of multigenerational poverty is ever to be addressed?

I did not take issue with the problem of people lacking life skills, education, or job training. Since neither the Republican nor the Democratic party is against education and training, I saw no reason to debate it.

But the fact remains that when 80% of a community is doing a thing, you can't say the culture is against that thing. It is just an absurd notion that 83% of Ward 8 goes to work and yet work is not part of the culture.

Where did I say it was the culture of all of Ward 8? You're far more guilty of making broad sweeping statements here than I am.

You seem to have forgotten the subject of this thread. Reread please.

I think it is you who has forgotten about the subject of this thread. Where was Paul Ryan specifically talking about DC's Ward 8? And where are those supposed broad, sweeping generalizations being made here? Since when is 20% equal to 100%? Where was any such claim ever made here?

Look, I'm a bleeding heart liberal Democrat who would be the last person on Earth to side with Paul Ryan but all that seems to be happening in this thread is deflection and it's not really productive or germane, let alone anything that will ever get any of us any closer toward solutions. All I care about is solutions. I have enough of the following a.) decades of history that don't show change and b.) empty talk which does not propose any meaningful solutions. What are the solutions?

Oh gosh, you got me. He didn't specifically mention Ward 8. I guess he would not include that in "inner city". And since all you care about is solutions, you must have been very frustrated to hear Paul Ryan's discussion.

[Anonymous]

Have you listened to the This American Life episode about abuse of "disability" in the South? I think it said that one state-- maybe Alabama-- was thru the roof. This was mostly white not blacks.

[Anonymous]

Have you listened to the This American Life episode about abuse of "disability" in the South? I think it said that one state-- maybe Alabama-- was thru the roof. This was mostly white not blacks.

That is wrong, too. No excuse for either one. It is cultural in both instances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Have you listened to the This American Life episode about abuse of "disability" in the South? I think it said that one state-- maybe Alabama-- was thru the roof. This was mostly white not blacks.

That is wrong, too. No excuse for either one. It is cultural in both instances.

Culture is a clever way to blame the poor for their own problems. They basically said the same thing about Negroes in the days of segregation. It was part of their inborn racial "nature". Now it's "culture". Same BS, just a new marketing message.

[Anonymous]

Culture is a clever way to blame the poor for their own problems. They basically said the same thing about Negroes in the days of segregation. It was part of their inborn racial "nature". Now it's "culture". Same BS, just a new marketing message.

No. It is cultural if people bring up their kids with a reliance on handouts rather than encouraging them to get a job. It's the same in inner city and Appalachia.

[Anonymous]

Did you read the article about the woman on food stamps several weeks ago in WAPO. She had two able bodied children who really did not want to make the effort to get a job.