Reply to Are D.C. residents divided on what to do with police reform, crime, etc.?

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Reply to "Are D.C. residents divided on what to do with police reform, crime, etc.?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]Respectability politics is the idea that black people would be more accepted by the white majority if only we would just behave ourselves. Dress well, hide our natural hair texture, speak proper English, have a good job, not have children out of wedlock, etc. It's a concept that is extremely racist at its core, which is why many people hate it. However, people who do grow up in families and communities that hold their own to a high standard do fare better in the world, so it's hard for me to argue that promoting respectability is bad.[/quote]

There is a lot to unpack in that statement.  Yeah, I agree that the hair texture thing is racist.  But the rest of it?  Being disdainful of learning to speak proper English, being gainfully employed, and being married prior to having children is a ticket to remaining mired in a permanent poverty underclass.  And unfortunately, the DC liberal political class has never been wiling to state those hard truths.

My mom grew up in Appalachia.  She went to secretarial school in the 1960s. The teacher, who was from the northeast, told them bluntly that they could learn to speak properly and quite saying "ain't" "hit don't" and other southern hillbillisms and have a lot more job opportunity.  My mom did and went on to become a top executive assistant in a large southern city.  Her first cousin didn't make any effort in that regard, still sounds like a hillbilly, and hasn't had nearly as much economic success.

And I would happily vote for Tony Williams again for mayor too.  [/quote]

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