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50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

theatlantic.com

71–80 of 139 posts

Re: 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

#71
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The photos of overt discrimination against African-Americans in 1962 remind me of the overt discrimination we are seeing against gay people today. I hope a similar retrospective in 50 years will see people saying "I find it surprising that there was discrimination against gay people at one time."

I don't see any similarity between the two. Blacks were trying to obtain equal rights. The right to marry same sex is one that no one has, not just gay people.

I found these comments on the subject to be rather interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQw0eLzfGNI

Re: 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

#72
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Yeah, it would be weird to have a black friend." ... I have a hard time believing the kids weren't getting it from the parents. I know that school is still basically exclusively white I think this is a non sequitur. (IMO) the stuff about "people are colorblind until society teaches them otherwise" is ridiculous, so you put these kids in an environment with no black children? Of course they are going to see black chi…

I think this is a non sequitur. (IMO) the stuff about "people are colorblind until society teaches them otherwise" is ridiculous, so you put these kids in an environment with no yellow children? Of course they are going to see yellow children as strange- they haven't had the opportunity to interact and learn otherwise. It doesn't have to have anything to do with racist comments from their parents. Labeling anyone of…

To say a child is black, is understood to mean they are of African descent. That's not a label, that's phylogeny.

As for the rest, it is a simple fact that the different regions of the world are home to communities with distinct differences in phenotype. Combine that with the (very human) tendency to be cautious around unfamiliar peoples, and there you have it.

I'm not saying it is Just, or Right, or any crap like that. I am only observing that there are simple explanations for why children might behave as described, other than "their parents must be hateful bigots".

Re: 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

#73
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see any similarity between the two. Blacks were trying to obtain equal rights. The right to marry same sex is one that no one has, not just gay people.

How about: "I don't see any similarity between the two. Gays were trying to obtain equal rights. The right to be a black man and vote is one that no one has, not just black people." Straight people have the right to marry. Gay people don't. Same exact issue. If you're not gay, you by default don't need the right to marry same-sex, just like if you're not black, you don't need the right to be black and vote.

Actually everyone except blacks could vote. Contrary to popular belief, gay people can marry, just not same sex. This isn't a statement against same sex marriage, I'm just making a subtle distinction. Gay people have never experienced the maltreatment that blacks have in this country.

Re: 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

#74
post #59

The racism those photos document is startling. Just 50 years ago? Though, in my private high school in Indiana, in 1999 I overheard kids more than once telling n *er jokes. I heard less overtly racists at the school saying things like "Yeah, it would be weird to have a black friend." These were the rich kids who parents owned the local businesses. I have a hard time believing the kids weren't getting it from the pare…

Wow, enlightened white people. We sure are good at patting ourselves on the back, aren't we? Reality check: in 1962, every American city, north or south, with a substantial black population had a thriving black business district and a commercial middle class. Example: Bronzeville in Chicago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas,_Chicago#Bronzeville Enlightened white people destroyed these worlds and the people who li…

I can't believe this comment. Segregation and poll taxes were no big deal, right? Things were great for black people back when it was enshrined legal doctrine to treat them as a lower category of people.

You want to know why black people vote for the same party every time? Because it's the alternative to your party.

Re: 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

#75
post #74
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, enlightened white people. We sure are good at patting ourselves on the back, aren't we? Reality check: in 1962, every American city, north or south, with a substantial black population had a thriving black business district and a commercial middle class. Example: Bronzeville in Chicago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas,_Chicago#Bronzeville Enlightened white people destroyed these worlds and the people who li…

I can't believe this comment. Segregation and poll taxes were no big deal, right? Things were great for black people back when it was enshrined legal doctrine to treat them as a lower category of people. You want to know why black people vote for the same party every time? Because it's the alternative to your party.

The world is not that simple. Bush had Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, who did Bill Clinton have? Al Sharpton?

Re: 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

#76

I am from India (currently living in NY) and I find it really surprising that it was only 50 years ago that there was race discrimination in US. My college friends are all over the world (UK, rest of the Europe, Germany, Australia etc.) and based on my conversation with them, USA is the place with least amount of 'racism' against Asians (I put racism in quotes because there is no blatant, in the face racism in USA. I…

I am from India (currently living in NY) and I find it really surprising that it was only 50 years ago that there was race discrimination in US

Really? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalit

As bad a American segregation (or South African apartheid) was, it was nothing compared to the Indian caste system, which is still practiced today.

Re: 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

#77
post #24

The briefcase-sized computer with dials that Mauchly is carrying around is interesting. It's an analog computer for solving scheduling and flow problems, i.e. finding the critical path. The arrows show dependencies, and you turn a knob to set how long a task takes. The computer computes the critical path and the float (slack) time. It's implemented as a corresponding network of voltages sources and diodes, where the…

Now that we have powerful electronics simulation I'd be interested to see the results of genetic algorithms designing various analogue computers.

Re: 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

#78
post #59

The racism those photos document is startling. Just 50 years ago? Though, in my private high school in Indiana, in 1999 I overheard kids more than once telling n *er jokes. I heard less overtly racists at the school saying things like "Yeah, it would be weird to have a black friend." These were the rich kids who parents owned the local businesses. I have a hard time believing the kids weren't getting it from the pare…

Wow, enlightened white people. We sure are good at patting ourselves on the back, aren't we? Reality check: in 1962, every American city, north or south, with a substantial black population had a thriving black business district and a commercial middle class. Example: Bronzeville in Chicago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas,_Chicago#Bronzeville Enlightened white people destroyed these worlds and the people who li…

In 1962 there were no no-go zones anywhere in America

So long as that group kept to their zone. If they go into that zone, then things might happen. Of course the police would take an interest in that group being in that zone, they must be up to no good!

Re: 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

#79
post #75
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't believe this comment. Segregation and poll taxes were no big deal, right? Things were great for black people back when it was enshrined legal doctrine to treat them as a lower category of people. You want to know why black people vote for the same party every time? Because it's the alternative to your party.

The world is not that simple. Bush had Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, who did Bill Clinton have? Al Sharpton?

Clinton went on Arsenio Hall. He didn't need tokenism.

If you want to claim there's no undercurrent of racism in standard Republican messaging, well, I can't prove it to you. Just know that most black people disagree with you.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/22/simpsons-mocks-fox-...

Re: 50 Years Ago: The World in 1962

#80
post #79
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The world is not that simple. Bush had Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, who did Bill Clinton have? Al Sharpton?

Clinton went on Arsenio Hall. He didn't need tokenism. If you want to claim there's no undercurrent of racism in standard Republican messaging, well, I can't prove it to you. Just know that most black people disagree with you. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/22/simpsons-mocks-fox-...

I don't know what that means, but the accomplishments of Powell and Rice stand on their own. It is ludicrous to deem them mere tokens. In fact if Bush was a dumb as the haters say, Condi was to all intents and purposes both the first black and the first female President...
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