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How you play Spades is how you play life

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Re: How you play Spades is how you play life

#91

Post by sertsa »

aaronbeekay wrote: post #84
thr0wawayaway wrote: post #80

This might sound really inflammatory, but it's a genuine question that I just haven't ever heard anyone give an answer to. Can someone explain this? > "African-Americans were dealt a hell of a hand when we were forcibly brought to the American colonies as enslaved laborers." When I look at the median (and bottom-quartile) African-American vs. African, the former seem to live vastly better lives in almost every concei…

Firstly, regardless of where a person ends up, if they get there by having several generations of their family kidnapped, enslaved, and systematically mistreated, I think it counts as “a hell of a hand”. Secondly, it sounds like your thinking isn’t too far away from “well, aren’t they better off now?”, but you’re assuming that the development of African nations and societies progressed completely independently from t…

They weren't kidnapped. 90% were purchased from black Africans in Africa and then brought here. The slave trade had been going on internally in Africa and into the middle east for centuries before the Europeans wanted cheap labor after finding the Americas. African nations profited immensely from the slave trade. The colonization of Africa did not occur until after the new world mostly abolished slavery.

This does not change the hand dealt to the people bought and brought to the New World however.

Re: How you play Spades is how you play life

#92

Post by akomtu »

aaronbeekay wrote: post #84
thr0wawayaway wrote: post #80

This might sound really inflammatory, but it's a genuine question that I just haven't ever heard anyone give an answer to. Can someone explain this? > "African-Americans were dealt a hell of a hand when we were forcibly brought to the American colonies as enslaved laborers." When I look at the median (and bottom-quartile) African-American vs. African, the former seem to live vastly better lives in almost every concei…

Firstly, regardless of where a person ends up, if they get there by having several generations of their family kidnapped, enslaved, and systematically mistreated, I think it counts as “a hell of a hand”. Secondly, it sounds like your thinking isn’t too far away from “well, aren’t they better off now?”, but you’re assuming that the development of African nations and societies progressed completely independently from t…

Why did American ships go to Africa in the first place? There were plenty of other undeveloped countries, including Mexico.

Re: How you play Spades is how you play life

#93

Post by aaronbeekay »

sertsa wrote: post #91
aaronbeekay wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firstly, regardless of where a person ends up, if they get there by having several generations of their family kidnapped, enslaved, and systematically mistreated, I think it counts as “a hell of a hand”. Secondly, it sounds like your thinking isn’t too far away from “well, aren’t they better off now?”, but you’re assuming that the development of African nations and societies progressed completely independently from t…

They weren't kidnapped. 90% were purchased from black Africans in Africa and then brought here. The slave trade had been going on internally in Africa and into the middle east for centuries before the Europeans wanted cheap labor after finding the Americas. African nations profited immensely from the slave trade. The colonization of Africa did not occur until after the new world mostly abolished slavery. This does no…

Hasn’t somebody who is born free and then later purchased and sold as a slave been kidnapped at some point, even if not by the person who is selling them at the international border?

I’m not well versed in the history of slave trade, but I would be curious to know what the relative economic benefit from slave trade was for African nations vs. the benefit of slave labor to purchasing nations.

Re: How you play Spades is how you play life

#94

Post by mpalmer »

WesternStar wrote: post #82
prepend wrote: post #78

I find it funny when people assume that something that is common within their subgroup is unique to their subgroup. I liked that this article called out spades’ role in African American culture. But the game isn’t unique to US African American culture. So it’s interesting how it’s presented as unique or special to a particular culture or subgroup. It would be like if I grew up in Iowa and everyone played spades, and…

Do you feel the same way about when Americans claim baseball is the national pastime or say "As American as apple pie".

Do you feel differently? Why be oblique if you have a constructive point to make?

Re: How you play Spades is how you play life

#95

Post by blahedo »

prepend wrote: post #78

I find it funny when people assume that something that is common within their subgroup is unique to their subgroup. I liked that this article called out spades’ role in African American culture. But the game isn’t unique to US African American culture. So it’s interesting how it’s presented as unique or special to a particular culture or subgroup. It would be like if I grew up in Iowa and everyone played spades, and…

It doesn't have to be unique to the group to be special to the group.

Re: How you play Spades is how you play life

#96

Post by LanceH »

wyager wrote: post #73
vikingerik wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not exactly. You might think you have some control over your hand in hold 'em, but it's an illusion. You get two private cards and five community cards. You can pick any five of the seven to use at the showdown. It feels like you get choice with the five-of-seven, but you don't really. There's always one strictly superior set (or trivial equivalencies), and that will be automatically chosen in any serious context ("c…

I think you're agreeing with me. Holdem doesn't let you change your hand.

texas hold'em is a bidding game, not a card game, really.

Spade, you play some probabilities with your partner, so there is some skill in the card play itself, but not much. Especially in this common version with jokers and prescribed starts (big joker first).

Re: How you play Spades is how you play life

#97

Post by retsibsi »

WesternStar wrote: post #82
prepend wrote: post #78

I find it funny when people assume that something that is common within their subgroup is unique to their subgroup. I liked that this article called out spades’ role in African American culture. But the game isn’t unique to US African American culture. So it’s interesting how it’s presented as unique or special to a particular culture or subgroup. It would be like if I grew up in Iowa and everyone played spades, and…

Do you feel the same way about when Americans claim baseball is the national pastime or say "As American as apple pie".

Non-American here, but I'd say yes on the apple pie, no on the baseball. I'm used to multiple countries sharing a 'national sport' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_sport) so it doesn't seem like a claim about baseball being uniquely American, so much as Americans being really into baseball. Also the sport really was developed in the US and then exported, so I think they have the right to claim some kind of spiritual ownership if they want to.

edit: looks like that last point applies in the case of African-Americans and spades, too

Re: How you play Spades is how you play life

#98

Post by wilg »

traceroute66 wrote: post #11
wilg wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Works great on a Mac, which have horizontally-scrolling trackpads or mice. But obviously they did this as a fun layout for a card game!

> which have horizontally-scrolling trackpads or mice. Same category as tablets and smartphones my friend. How about the billions of other internet users who have a keyboard and mouse ? At least make it keyboard tap or mouse-click friendly !

> Same category as tablets and smartphones my friend.

No it isn't?

Re: How you play Spades is how you play life

#99

Post by wilg »

jacobolus wrote: post #50
traceroute66 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> which have horizontally-scrolling trackpads or mice. Same category as tablets and smartphones my friend. How about the billions of other internet users who have a keyboard and mouse ? At least make it keyboard tap or mouse-click friendly !

The right and left arrow keys scroll one card at a time.

It should say that though.
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