Even when the odds are stacked against them and they are ill equipped to meet the challenge, it’s still their fault.
If I Were A Poor Black Kid – Forbes:
“President Obama was right in his speech last week. The division between rich and poor is a national problem. But the biggest challenge we face isn’t inequality. It’s ignorance. So many kids from West Philadelphia don’t even know these opportunities exist for them. Many come from single-parent families whose mom or dad (or in many cases their grand mom) is working two jobs to survive and are just (understandably) too plain tired to do anything else in the few short hours they’re home. Many have teachers who are overburdened and too stressed to find the time to help every kid that needs it. Many of these kids don’t have the brains to figure this out themselves – like my kids. Except that my kids are just lucky enough to have parents and a well-funded school system around to push them in the right direction.
Technology can help these kids. But only if the kids want to be helped. Yes, there is much inequality. But the opportunity is still there in this country for those that are smart enough to go for it.”
(Via Forbes.)
Mr. Marks is exactly right the problem is ignorance. His. Its willfulness especially. I don’t doubt his heart is somewhere near the right place, but seriously. His entire argument boils down to this: Poor black kids “don’t have the brains to figure this out for themselves” just like his presumably white middle class kids. Further, they don’t have adults with the resources to help them. So even when the odds are stacked against them, and like all children, are ill equipped to face these challenges alone, it’s still their fault they struggle. You gotta love conservative ideology for it’s ability to engender doublethink. Orwell would be impressed.
