jbird

I respectfully disagree, PP92 and many others have pointed that drugs are a big problem for the black community. It shapes a lot of the lives ruined via gang violence, drug dealing, inner city youth, schools, coming into contact with cops, policies/laws, etc. If illegal narcotics are the biggest problem, finding ways to help solve the problem is better than the road we are going down the "drug war". My only problem with the thread is that PP92 hasn't voiced his opinion. Possibly due to some of us not completely buying his conspiracy of the US government pouring narcotics to target the black community.

I think we should pull a Portugal and decriminalize all drugs. Instead of jail, get these people treatment. Overall, usage actually went down there. As others have said, criminalizing things doesn't exactly make it better.

I've done my part.

Thank you for your sacrifice B-Ball!

Congrats to the Raiders.

I'm starting this thread because I don't want the other thread to go off track if it hasn't already. Speaking with PP92 ( who has been watching Narcos way too much, I kid I kid great show ), I think we can agree that there is absolutely something that needs to be done to help the inner cities. Drugs seem to be a big problem that is being brought up time and time again. All perspectives, black and white and others need to be heard. What say you?

Economic factors contribute some but I'll always believe the motivation had more to do with skin color. Drugs are a dangerous business. You need expendable people to carry out the dirty work.

I also want to add that people that trafficked drugs don't discriminate on color. If you can line their pockets, they don't care about your status or skin color. I feel like drugs hit the black community especially hard due to the fact it is hard for the inner city community to escape. They have poor schooling, bad family structure, and laws that hit them hard. I feel like the best way to get after to drugs is to legalize it and help these kids in the inner city and give them a better way out.

Frank Lucas was in power during the 1970s. The period I am speaking of deals with crack taking over communities in the 80s and the ensuing War on Drugs. Weren't we in bed with Noriega? Noriega the leader of Panama who was one of the most notorious cocaine dealers of the 80s who also moonlighted as an agent for the CIA for a couple of decades?

Working with shady people is something the US Gov has done for a bit. At the time, the US was focused on stopping communism even if it meant going into bed with some bad people. Finding ways to fund anti-commie groups has been verified through congressional hearings and documents, however, I fail to see how the US Gov said lets the narcotics into the black community. Millions of people became addicted to cocaine and a good percentage of said usage wasn't black.

It's too big of a machine to stop at this point. If we got rid of all drugs on the planet today and they never came back then there would be all kinds of craziness happening. Drugs is a part of the society so much at this point that I don't think it is possible to escape it without legalizing drugs. Stopping drugs would affect prisons, police officers, local economies....far reaching consequences. Possibly even foreign policy.

 

Seriously, what can the black community do other than arm themselves and go to war with the gangsters running the inner city?

 

Frank Lucas used the help of the US Military to smuggle drugs into the country. When he was caught he went to work for the government didn't he? That just further proves my point about the government allowing the influx of drugs into inner cities.

Working with individuals are completely different than the government enacting a secret policy that targets black people. Also, do economic factors contribute? As others have pointed out, poor regions with a predominately white population have drug problems as well. Was it more with socio-econ status than color?

:no:

The systemic and institutionalized imprisonment of black men. The inner cities were flooded with narcotics as the only means of survival for black men. The streets were flooded with narcotics and at the same time the War on Drugs was at its height. The government allowed Noriega and many others to flood America with their product and the only place to sell their products was in the inner cities. At the same time that these drugs were flooding the inner cities and destroying the fabric of the black family jail sentencing changed and many states adopted a Three Strikes You're Out for repeat offenders meaning if you are found guilty of a crime three times then you go to jail for life regardless of what the crime is. Many many many people are in jail for life because of the Three Strikes You're Out sentences.

 

Crack cocaine sentencing vs powder cocaine sentencing also helped put many people away and the disparity behind that is mind boggling when you look at how it works. Get caught with a couple of grams of powder for your first time and you get probation. Get caught with one crack rock your first time and you go to jail for a mandatory 3-5 years. A couple of grams of powder cocaine will make you a pretty good amount of crack rocks. You won't find powder cocaine in the inner cities the way you'll find crack rock in the inner cities.

 

Nobody black is bringing the narcotics into the inner cities. That's all foreign countries. Not enough has ever been done to stop the influx of narcotics into the inner city. Narcotics is the only business in inner cities. There's nothing else there. The school suck, the neighborhoods suck, the policemen work their tails off but continually get nowhere because they don't have enough help or resources to stop the influx of drugs into the inner cities. Drugs in the inner cities have become a big business. As have private prisons. You know there are more black men in prison than in college? Did you know more black men have spent time in jail than they have in a college classroom?

 

When discussing how the schools of the inner city need to be made a priority so a quality education can be received by everyone in the inner city someone said that we can't just throw money at everything. The only money being thrown at the inner cities is drug money and it has been that way since the 1980s.

 

To me, that's oppression.

I can agree with some of what you said. I'm not gonna lie PP92, I can't help but think you're doing your best MtnRef impression with some of it lol.

In some ways, yes.

How? I would like to try understand your perspective on these issues. What is something that you believe is oppressing black people in someways today?

I know it has nothing to do with CK's point. A lot of the hatred CK is receiving now is because he is disrespecting the flag/anthem. To many the flag/anthem represents America and the typical social media response is for all the protesting kneelers to "leave our country if they aren't happy here." "how dare you disrespect our flag" "who do you think gave you the right to make millions you big baby" and on and on and on. So while it may not have anything to do with CK's point in your opinion, it comes along with the discussion his actions have spawned.

That I agree with. To me it's just a lazy way of trying to diminish discussion. I don't get the whole leave my country crap. I always recognized it as people seeing a problem and wanting to better their country. Also, on the flip side. The goofballs that are saying we are suppressing CK's 1st amendment by not agreeing with him are just as mind boggling to me. Just people getting in the way of the issue.

The history of America is part of the flag/anthem isn't it? That's what gets people all up in their feelings about this whole protest. How it disrespects the flag and is unpatriotic. Isn't that one of the issues in Kap's protest and why people are so upset with how he chooses to protest?

That has nothing to do with CK point. Are blacks being oppressed today?

Once again, focusing on the how instead of the why or what. :lol2: It's funny at this point.

I thought CK point was about blacks being oppressed today and not the history of America.

I won't lie. I'd probably apply to live in one of those forms if I was going to one of these colleges.

 

I'm guessing none of you guys have been to Atlanta anytime recently.

My question is this PP92. Did you attend college and lived on the campus and if so, was there a bad experience there that happened that would make you consider to apply for black only dorms if given the choice.

That's a good point. But I don't have a problem with their form of protest. If that's how they feel they need to make a their statement, more power to them.

My mindset about the whole thing is this is much better way of trying to get attention. I will take this 100/100 over destroying your own part of town.

Been a fan of Ohio state since I played ball, but part of me actually enjoys that Michigan is doing well and is getting back recognition. I'm glad some of the smaller programs are catching up, however, there's something about traditional powerhouses playing good football that makes CFB more enjoyable to watch. I hope OSU and Michigan are undefeated when they meet at the end of the regular season.

Fun game to end the opening week of CFB.

Like Getslow, I'm not aware of anything Melo has been doing.

 

Do you have specific examples of what CK could do that would generate conversation to this level, yet would appease those who disagree with him?

Just look up "Carmelo Anthony Police Brutality" on google. He has been very vocal and was one of the four guys on stage talking at the ESPYs about it.

So you think he was smart enough to hide the gun from his mom for who knows how long, even moving it out of the house on cleaning day, but he was so dumb at school that he exposed to another student(s)?

 

I don't buy that at all, that sounds like a false narrative being pushed to cover up the truth.

 

And I will just say it, I do NOT trust Highlands to tell us the truth.

I'm slower than usual today, so forgive me. Do you mean you don't trust Highlands to tell us the motive for this kid to bring a gun to school?

No problem with it at all. He realizes with Marvin as the coach and Dalton as the QB, missing one game won't make a difference. They aren't going to win it all anyway lol

It wouldn't be football season without Hellbird crapping all over the Bengals lol.

Colin has the right to say what he believes. That's the beauty of this country. However, what you say comes with criticism.

Congrats to the Camels! Birds, pick yourselves up and get ready for next week.

Congrats to Highlands and thanks to Cooper for a good showing. Good luck for the rest of the season.

Congrats to Helen Maroulis! First female freestyle wrestler to win gold for Team USA! I greatly admire wrestlers. My only knock against my old high school Highlands is that they don't have a wrestling team.