Obese and ‘oppressed’ in Ferguson
One comfort America and the world can take away from the Ferguson, Missouri protests is that contrary to the alarms raised by the Left that the black underclasses are malnourished and downtrodden, the visual images of the protest marchers from Ferguson most assuredly put this liberal assertion to the lie. Watch those people pass by the news network cameras and one observation that leaps out at you is the unrelenting human tonnage lending its literal weight to that procession. America overall is overweight, no question, but what is on parade here appears to signal that obesity, ranging from exceptional to deadly, is an accepted cultural norm in the black community.
To hear the media and the advocacy organizations, this is a segment of society suffering from the depredations of poverty imposed upon them by a racist white America. Viewing these protest processions, what we see is a segment of American society that clearly eats plenteously if not healthily. The only examples of malnutrition visible would appear to be the shirtless, juvenile males eager to parade their six-pack abs before the network cameras. The older males demonstrate the inevitable and ultimate loss of that vanity, a reality that overtakes us all, regardless of race.
Survey any group of young white liberals and I’ll wager they would heartily agree that blacks in America are malnourished as an automatic extension of their overall poverty rate. It is a liberal trope that the black community in America is deprived of the basics of existence by a cold, conservative, uncaring white majority; we heartless conservatives are starving those poor black folks for no other reason than the pigment in their skins.
And then you see the protest parade where obesity appears to be the near norm among the female marchers of all ages and the older males. Malnourishment, missed meals due to racism? The visual evidence before us says quite clearly that we are being fed a line of bull by the lefty activists. While we cannot conclude that these folks are eating particularly well, we can most assuredly conclude that they are indeed eating more than enough to sustain them, and for many of them, far more than that.
Sufficient nutrition is the cornerstone of freedom; nothing comes before that human right because if you can’t eat, you have no reason to be concerned about the follow-on freedoms of speech, free expression, assembly and so forth. If you’re starving, no other concern of human existence matters.
But when you, as a political movement, put your marchers on the road of protest and with an unusual number of them wobbling and jiggling their expanded waistlines, bosoms and buttocks as they pass the media cameras, you must accept the reality that a large number of your fellow citizens viewing those video accounts are going to naturally respond with a sense of disbelief that we, as a nation, are depriving them of basic nourishment, which then leads all of us to question all the other liberal tropes fed to them by America’s media.
Crossposted at American Thinker
Category: Crime
Wow, talk about a straw man argument.
It’s not an argument. It’s opinion based on observation. Learn to tell the difference.
This is an argument:
“The visual evidence before us says quite clearly that we are being fed a line of bull by the lefty activists.”
That is, an attempt to persuade someone of something, by giving reasons for accepting a particular conclusion as evident. See, Ralph Emerson, Manifest Rationality: A pragmatic theory of argument.
Learn to read.
No, it’s called “preaching to the choir.” The regulars here are to the right of center. So again, it wasn’t an argument.
I should have said, to the right of center on many issues and libertarian on others. But the definitely are not leftists.
True, but that in and of itself is a logical fallacy (begging the question.) I’m not exactly “liberal”, but the article is one gigantic example of Texas Sharpshooting, even if it’s not a formal counterargument.
Not feeling creative today — I’m thinking of a demotivational poster with the caption, “Ferguson: where poor people cannot get food”
There has to be a better caption …
You do realize that it’s quite easy to be malnourished while being overweight? Malnourished simply means you aren’t consuming a nutritious diet, even if you’re consuming plenty of food. And, often times, it’s easier and less expensive to eat in this fashion.
For example, the dollar menu at McDonald’s will give you plenty of calories inexpensively but it really isn’t nutritious.
I recommend a quick Google search on something like ‘overweight’ and ‘malnutrioned’.
See my post below. He beat me by a few minutes.
Cheaper, not sure if that is true – fast food is expensive, but possibly true. But easier very true. But the fact that eating crap food is easier has nothing to do with socio-economic issues and all to do with choosing to not cook.
I guarantee that when it’s pointed out to the leftists that black America is not malnourished, they’ll then blame the grossly expanded waistlines on white corporate America trying to kill blacks with excesses of unhealthy fast foods like McDonalds and KFC. To the left, all problems in a minority community are the fault of right wing white corporate America.
Thanks ATC. Over at American Thinker the liberals are doing precisely that, making excuses for the high incidence of obesity by blaming it on too much non-nutritious fattening, fast foods, just as LC is doing here.
Well duh, no shit all you liberal Sherlocks.
And LC, I recommend a Google search of “poor lifestyle choices.”
There is undoubtedly an element of ‘poor lifestyle choice’, but that isn’t the entire story – and, my guess, probably not even the majority of the story. It’s hard to make ‘good’ lifestyle choices like, oh, nutritious food when you a) can’t afford it and b) don’t have time to make it. We can also add a c) in that some people simply lack basic knowledge of nutrition, but before we fault them for that let’s examine that you also confused malnutrition with obesity.
And ATC, nobody is blaming all problems in a minority problem on right-wing corporate America. McDonald’s was an example of a place where it’s easy to get inexpensive but non-nutritious food, that’s all – not some horrible corporate monster to loathe. All I was saying is that it’s quite easy to suffer from malnutrition while being overweight. Poetrooper’s entire premise is wrong. But yes, let’s turn it around and rant about people pointing out a factual error.
Twaddle. If one can afford to feed a family at McDonalds, then one can afford to buy chicken or pork, vegetables, and so forth at the local market. A smart and thrifty person can feed a family of four for two days for the price of one meal each at a fast food joint. There are also programs that teach nutrition at community centers.
Now if you don’t think that the left isn’t blaming “right wing white corporate America” for the plight of the minority community, then you haven’t ben paying attention. Pop this into Google and see what comes up, “black community right wing right America.” The search is rife with examples of individuals and organizations on the left blaming right wing white corporate America for the problems in the black community.
LC: you appear to be advancing a variant of the “can’t afford to eat healthy/not their fault” argument. That argument is, politely, BS. Here’s some quick and dirty estimate numbers:
Dollar Meal Breakfast
Egg McMuffin
Hash Browns
Orange Juice or Soda
Cost: $3.00 plus tax (probably around $3.20)
Weekly Cost: $22.40
Reasonably Healthy Breakfast:
2pkts flavored Oatmeal (8pkt box – $3.50)
OR
Bowl of Cereal (Cheerieos – box $3.50) w/Milk ($3.00 ½ gallon)
Fruit (apple, pear, banana) – $1 ea
Weekly cost: $3.50 + $1.75 (2 weeks from a box of cereal) + $3.50 + $7.00 = $15.75
Dollar Meal Lunch:
Double Cheeseburger – $1.50
Fries: $1.00
Soda or Iced Tea: $1.00
Cost: $3.50 plus tax ($3.75)
Weekly Cost: 7 x $3.75 = $26.75
Reasonable Lunch, Home Packed (supplies below are for 1 week unless otherwise noted):
Loaf of Whole Wheat Bread: $3.50
Pkg lunch meat: $4.00
Pkg sliced cheese: $3.00
Jar Peanut Butter: $3.00 (2 weeks)
Fruit: $1.00 each x 7
Chips (bag): $3.00
12-pack Shasta Soda: $3.50
Ziplock Sandwich bags: 50ct box, $2.00 (3 weeks worth)
Weekly Cost: $3.50 + $4.00 + $3.00 + $1.50 + $7.00 + $3.00 + $3.50 + $0.67 = $26.17
I could continue with dinner too, but I think this is enough to prove the point.
If someone is eating at McDonalds, that’s their choice. But assuming they have a fridge and stove that works, they’re not doing so cheaper than they could eat something healthy at home.
I’m doing a bit of Googling on this now, in addition to your post, and it appears I stand corrected. It does look like it is actually cheaper to eat healthy, even though the latter is often more convenient.
I know people here hate the NYT, and will probably complain that this article is ‘victimizing’ corporate America, but I thought it was fairly decent: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
I don’t think ‘poor lifestyle choices’ serves any useful purpose in the discussion of WHY entire communities, white and black, have problems with both obesity and malnutrition, but yes, you’re correct that it isn’t due to economics.
Oh no you don’t. You aren’t getting off that easy. It has EVERYTHING to do with poor lifestyle choices. In case you didn’t know, you can’t use an SNAP card or WIC to purchase fast food so by definition, if you live in poverty and have to take government assistance you are making a conscious choice to spend your other benefits money on fast food or you’re doing other wheeling and dealing to buy unhealthy food. You are a No-Go at this station, but thanks for playing.
I just swipe my EBT.
Isn’t it free?
Yep, it’s free like that shitbag in California buying lobsters on his EBT card while spending his days surfing and rolling in his Escalade. Oh, and the guy I just mentioned was WHITE, so it ain’t a race thing.
Mustang,
I saw that terd, he was playing gutar in a garage band, sponging off his parents and working the system. The guy was not going hungry. Every thing he got from SNAP was just his to blow on whatever he wanted. The same program went on to expose how the SNAP program was bbeing pushed on Latinos in Fla and the poor of Appalachia and how they were adamant to get more people on the government teat.
The counter to your argument is “food desert.” Should you bring up Wal Marts that want to build in such neighborhoods, the counter is “right wing corporate America.”
Just helping out here. -:-)
NR Pax. I was thinking the same thing right now. Why aren’t there healthier food choices available? In many cases because chain grocers simply refuse to build in certain areas because of crime and politics. Like DC’s attempt last year at a Wal-Mart tax.
Every walmart I have been in has had healthy food choices. Fresh fruit, lean meat etc…
Hondo- You left out steak and lobster=FREE
Thank you taxpayer. Then with the money not spent on oatmeal, sandwich fixings, etc. one can afford a Colt45 and some Swisher sweets and/or weed. What a country.
GD – they don’t have enough for the swishers. Those they have to steal. We have video proof…
Lunch meat and cheese for $7? I need to be living in your neighborhood.
Our local grocery charges $7/lb for Virginia Baked Ham, which tastes nothing like the Ham I got in Virginia last year on vacation. Land of Lakes American Cheese is also around $7 a lb although you can get the shitty store brand for $5 with a coupon. And the cheap ass store brand peanut butter is $5 per 40oz.
Doesn’t change your math and I avoid those fat burger places like the plague. My favorite local restaurant is an italian place run by friends of my stepdaughter and the food is invariably inexpensive and plentiful. I agree that it’s always been cheaper for me to bring my lunch than buy it.
Additionally for $5 a day you could go with the 290 calorie chicken salad at mcdonalds instead of $5 worth of $1 cheeseburgers….
Actually, those prices were my recollection of what Wal-Mart charges for similar items here. (The peanut butter was for a 28 oz jar vice a 40 oz – a 40oz jar is indeed closer to $5.)
And I don’t exactly live in a low-cost part of the country.
I’ve found that Wal-Mart’s house brands are actually reasonably-priced and of reasonable quality. I used those as a baseline to keep costs low – just like anyone trying to stretch THEIR OWN limited dollars to feed a family would probably do. However, they admittedly don’t have the same “cachet” as Boar’s Head or Land O’Lakes products.
Of course, Wal-Mart may be outlawed in the People’s Republic of Mass where you are, VOV. Got to keep the quaint, old shops that charge $7 for a pound of lunch meat in business, you know. (smile)
We have a Wal-Mart in town that had just added the grocery store component, I guess I might have to take a ride down and see those prices myself….the grocery addition is new and I haven’t been down to Wal-Mart since it opened a few months back.
Seems like I’ve missed an opportunity to save a few bucks.
For the price of one meal “deal” at a fast food chain, I can make a hell of a salad and soup for far less.
And even put chicken or ham or tuna on the salad.
Poor choices, indeed.
I’d love to see an honest breakdown of those costs. Seriously. Because every thing I’ve seen says otherwise. I know when I go shopping, it costs more for the ingredients to a decent salad than a meal I can get at McDonald’s, but maybe prices are way better where you are. You post an honest assessment, I’ll do the same and we’ll compare, fair enough?
LC, I believe you’ve stated here before that you lean left politically. Well today you’re leaning so far left you’re damned near horizontal. You are making the same specious arguments that liberals always do and as Hondo just pointed out, you are “factually challenged” as a good PC lib might put it.
And THAT was the point of my piece which you seem to have missed completely in your zeal to prove me wrong. We all know that a person can be obese yet not be healthy; however being obese and being chronically hungry from lack of food, which was my meaning of the term malnourished, is quite a stretch. And please don’t raise the red herring of the starving African toddlers with distended bellies because that is another medical issue entirely, not obesity.
Like a good liberal, you are attempting to absolve the people involved and avoid the glaring truth of their own bad behavior’s being the major cause of the problem.
And like a good conservative I will point out to you that such widespread bad behaviors are a direct result of the unintended consequences of liberal do-gooder programs pushed by people who react as you do and treat blacks as if they are hapless children who can never be held accountable for their wrong choices.
Oh, and your salad might be more affordable if you forego the arugula.
And as I just pointed out to Hondo, I stand corrected on that. Maybe it’s time you also admit you’re ‘factually challenged’ and that being malnourished and obese is pretty common?
I wasn’t breaking it down to black and white, either, so I disagree with our sentiment that I’m somehow harboring ‘white guilt’ and thus trying to treat blacks as hapless children. I was, admittedly, wrongly believing that economic choices lead to this problem, when it is clearly more complex than that.
For some of us, obesity is in and of itself proof of some form of malnutrition in most cases. So what? Does not alter the fact that each of us selects the materials given our body to process.
Funny that you should mention leftists treating, “…blacks as if they are hapless children who can never be held accountable for their wrong choices.” Isn’t that the same argument that Southern plantation owners and other whites used to keep blacks enslaved during the Civil War period?
I think you meant “Southern plantation owners and other Democrats”.
The slave owners were mostly Democrats.
So its “funny” in that the Left treats blacks the same way the did in the 19th century. And they call themselves Progressives.
OK, shitface, I’ll take that challenge of yours, because I have grocery receipts to back up what I say. Split chicken breasts, bought on BOGO, 2 per pack, 4 packs. $13.50 for 8 pieces of chicken that weigh a little over 1 pound each. Cost for supper just barely $1.65. 5 pounds of red potatoes – more protein, less starch, good source of Vit 3 – for $2.97 – 2 boiled for supper. Leafy green lettuce at $.99 per head, large heads. Green onions, 6 per bumch, $.35/bunch, 3 bunches for $1.05, used 3 onions for supper. Radishes, by the bunch, not bagged $.99, used 4 for supper Cucumber $.59 each, used half for supper, cost less than $.30 Lemons 5 to a pack $2.45, juice of one-half for supper, the other half cut up for iced tea. Cost less than $.50 Roma tomatoes – 4 pack for $1.29, used one for supper, abt. $.32. Frozen pencil-thin green beans: one pound bag $1.49, used 4 oz for supper, steamedm=m cost of use is about $.35 That’s the basis of my dinner on Sunday night. The split chicken breasts are so heavily fleshed that I couldn’t eat all the meat, so some of it simply went into a container for later use. I cooked two, FWIW. So for about $5, maybe a little less, and some elbow grease, I not ony made a good nutritious dinner of roasted chicken, boiled potatoes, green beans and a salade verte wit a lemon vinaigrette, I also had leftovers that I could use the next day, which is what I always do anyway. And I keep my grocery receipts from Aldi and Walmart because that’s how I put my budget together. I have yet to find it necessary to hit the food pantry, and I make use of coupons for household products like detergent whenever I can. So, LC, you’re full of absolute crap. If people choose to consume food that is bad for them, it’s their choice and their problem, not mine, and there is nothing remotely pejorative about that. But frankly, you don’t… Read more »
Such unnecessary hostility, Ex-PH2. I’m in FULL agreement that way, way too many people are on SNAP. Including, apparently, 25% of military families. (If you want a reference, let me know — I saw it a few days ago.)
I lean left, but I dislike the ease with which benefits are just thrown around. I’ve seen it abused within my own family. All I was saying was that malnutrition and obesity aren’t mutually exclusive, something which is factually true and renders part of Poetrooper’s screed invalid. And, based off what I had heard -and which I’ve since correct- I had thought it was a lot cheaper to eat poorly (nutrition-wise). Clearly that makes me a shitface, I guess.
Tell you what, I’ll go to my local Stop & Shop and save my receipt next time. Prices will vary, and I can tell you for certain that lettuce is more expensive around here because I bought some last week. Does it change the overall point that you CAN eat healthy on a budget? No, I already agreed it’s doable. There are real issues with convenience and education, certainly, but I’m not disagreeing any more on the economic issues.
What was done was wrong. Regardless, the store owners had nothing to do with it. Why is it that they have to pay for what the Police did? They are just honest people trying to make a living. They did nothing wrong.
And yet the poverty pimps and race baiters wonder why Walmart, et al, won’t come to the areas like that.
If they weren’t looting them, they’d be protesting and bitching about not making a “living wage”, which is code for pay me shitloads more than I’m worth.
Well not wanting to be the resident liberal but being a contrary prick, I have read a study that indicates obesity and malnutrition are often compatriots. An excess of calories containing mostly starches and proteins and lacking other vitamins and minerals results in unhealthy fat people. Obesity is a huge killer of Americans, more than cars, guns, crimes, suicides combined. There’s an interesting report on this topic of underweight and overweight and malnutrition that was conducted for world watch, you can read the report here. http://www.worldwatch.org/system/files/EWP150.pdf I admit I’m a bit daft today and I’m not certain I follow the logic that because they are fat they are equal members with equal opportunity in our society. The St Louis County PD (Ferguson’s backup) has fired a senior police official for telling officers to have a “Black Day” with respect to the arrest of blacks at the local mall, and the officers who ratted him out didn’t do so because they were offended by his remarks, they were pissed off their take home patrol cars had been taken away by the official. This officer was a lieutenant, I doubt that one comment was his only public display of racist beliefs during a long career with the St Louis County PD. Mr. Henry Davis was beaten to a pulp in a case of mistaken ID in Ferguson 5 years ago, and while he was cuffed and beaten he was charged with damaging police property because he transferred his blood to the shirts of the officers who were beating the shit out of him in his cell. Interestingly enough that night the only video that didn’t work in the Ferguson PD jail was the cell where Mr. Davis was being assaulted by Ferguson’s finest. None of those officers were terminated even after charges were dropped pending a civil lawsuit. I guess beating up a black man in Ferguson because you are too fucking stupid to read the social security number correctly or notice the Henry Davis in the warrant has a different middle name than the guy you arrested isn’t considered poor work… Read more »
VOV nailed it. I have nothing to add besides +1.
Well, VOV, I just want to run a thought by you, and everyone else here. A co-worker pointed out that it is claimed that Ferguson is over 65% black and they have only 3 black officers; why haven’t they voted in a black mayor, black city council, hired a black police chief, etc.? They own the fucking town with their electoral might, but haven’t voted in any minorities in the entire time they have been the majority in the city. Why? They can’t claim that “da man be keepin em down”, because they outnumber “da man”. They can’t claim that they would be outspent by “da whiteboys”, because all they would have to do is go into their neighborhoods and announce that they are running for mayor and that they need everyone to vote for them. That’s all it would take, because identity politics doesn’t take money to win support (look at the numbers of blacks that support Obama). Same for anyone running for city council. They could have Detroit over night if they wanted.
I think the real reason why they don’t is that they want to be able to blame someone else for their lot in life. I know, when I was a kid, we didn’t have much and we hovered around the cut-off line for food stamps (sometime we would qualify, other times we wouldn’t) and the whole time, I forgot to blame someone else for our lot in life (which wasn’t that bad, you just made do with what you had and were thankful for it). These people need someone to blame. The NBPP and Al Sharpton swoop into town to tell them that they need to blame someone, because it surely isn’t their fault. If it was a black cop shooting a white kid, it would be a short blurb on the evening news. if it was a black cop shooting a blck kid, it would merit less. The ignorance is astounding, both with the race peddlers and those that believe them.
They can fix this in the next election cycle, but they won’t.
Jesse Jackson showed up yesterday.
He is late.
Must have had a busy schedule.
Speakin’ of the devil, didn’t he just recently get booed at a fundraiser?
Yep. He showed what he was really about, and it wasn’t the people. He tried passing the collection plate through the crowd. It’s obvious that it’s all about the money with Jackson and his race baiting is the way he gets it.
Your point is well taken, voting in bloc tends to change things if the electorate decides to do so. Black on Black violence is less interesting because it forces blacks to consider their own complicity in their social demise. Voting in a new mayor doesn’t change the dynamics of the police department overnight though, and the perjurers on the Ferguson police department have never been disciplined or terminated.
This web site castigates people for wearing their beret incorrectly, or even wearing the wrong color beret inappropriate to their authorized uniform. If you are not in favor of people who lie about military service I don’t understand support for a police force that has admitted perjurers among its members and weren’t prosecuted by a judge who felt that cops who lie and file false charges committed an act too minor to pursue.
Mr. Brown is no choir boy, I get that.
But the Ferguson PD has some serious fucking liars on board and nothing was done about that either. People who are sworn to serve and protect and instead abuse and lie their asses off deserve zero respect from people who find liars disgusting.
You will be hard pressed to convince me to get pissed off about a clown playing fucking dress up in military clothing when the cops can lie about beating the shit out of the wrong guy and get a pass.
I will point that fact out every day with the same enthusiasm that GT has for the assclowns at APL.
Your point is equally applicable across the nation I fear. We are constantly complaining about our elected leaders but we never actually vote for someone different, we just keep sending incumbents back in extremely high percentages as if that will change the outcome this time somehow.
I agree with what you’re saying, VOV, and don’t take my explanation as tacit support of the Ferguson police dept., because I haven’t reallyd efended them, either. I agree that it won’t change over night, but this hasn’t been an over night thing, either. they have been the majority since at least 2000. They have had 14 years to clean house, so to speak, and haven’t. Now, they want to burn down everything in their own neighborhood and will expect the government to rebuild it for them. They want to kill the cop, they want to make whitey pay, but they won’t take responsibility, themselves.
I think we agree about this, I do blame blacks for accepting they have no options your point is parallel to mine in that regard and I appreciate your civility as always. I respect your words and hope I wasn’t too large an asshole in making my point.
No, you weren’t being an asshole. I think that it is a more complex situation than can be solved by the “justice bros.” (Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson) and their whipping up the locals. The cops handled it badly and the locals aren’t doing themselves any favors, plus the trouble makers from out of town, which includes all the deadbeats in the NBPP, the justice bros., Eric Holder, the thugs that want to ransack stores and get free shit, are making things worse rather than better and won’t solve a fucking thing.
People on this site have been very adamant about the overreaction of police in Ferguson especially those wannabe looking cops in cammo trying to look like something they’re not. However, rioting in the streets and having threats made against the officer involved in the shooting, his family, and burning down businesses whose owners had nothing to do with any of this stretches my capabilities for empathy. When Jackson, Sharpton, and the New Black Panther Party show up, it also makes the situation far worse. Being in the street trying to go toe-to-toe with cops is also another example of a bad life choice and tends to alienate people from your cause.
Nicely said, Veritas. I’m kind of appalled at the level to which this conversation has descended.
Also, I don’t mind being the lone lefty here.
Appalled? Appalled at what? The people on this forum aren’t the ones burning down their own neighborhood and sniping at cops. We’re pointing out the obvious, that you aren’t going to bring people around to your point of view by acting stupid and you’re not going to garner support from hard – working people when you make absolutely zero effort to better your lot in life. Try harder to make a relevant point instead of coming in here like you have all the answers. You don’t and your political philosophy is one of unmitigated failure.
Yeah, appalled. Appalled that anyone who spent even one tour in the service at anytime could have survived it with their racial prejudice intact.
Just look at the intensity of the rhetoric between longtime and frequent contributors in the thread above and you should be able to see that there isn’t universal agreement on one side or the other which should make you wonder about your own deeply held convictions. Or not.
I am not prejudiced or racist so take that shit somewhere else. I hold everyone to the same standard. I came from a highly disadvantaged background and made many mistakes along the way, but I didn’t sit on my ass waiting for someone else to do shit for me. I worked hard and continue to work hard to provide for my family so I have no use for those who don’t do the same. I am a “minority” and don’t see this racism you see on this thread or on this site in general. You want to see racism, go over to those lefty sites talking about killing white people.
What prejudice? This is why relations between races can never be discussed. When whites discuss it openly and honestly, they are called racists. I defy you to show one comment here that was bigoted, that showed hatred to blacks. I see plenty of comments about what folks perceive is happening, but not a single one showing hatred.
Know what’s truly appalling LostBoys? the fact that you simply could not engage in the discussion here without pulling the frickin’ race card like every other lib when they’re losing the argument. Faced with some obvious, observable truths about problems in our society your only rebuttal is to label us racists.
Your air of moral superiority is precisely what alienates the conservative majority in America who conduct their lives every bit as righteously as you think you do.
The primary reason that nothing gets done to correct the problems in the black community is because of those holier than thou types like you who throw down the race Ace before any meaningful discussion can take place.
LostBoys, lost indeed…
By the way, the reason that I’m so late responding to you is because my wife and I were grocery shopping for fresh meats and fresh vegetables which we take time to cook every day, just as we have done for almost five decades of marriage, regardless of career demands.
It is in fact ALL about life choices.
VOV, I’d submit that obese and malnourished has to do with diabetes, which is aggravated by poor nutrition habits and a refusal to follow a healthier diet.
“Mr. Henry Davis was beaten to a pulp in a case of mistaken ID in Ferguson 5 years ago, and while he was cuffed and beaten he was charged with damaging police property because he transferred his blood to the shirts of the officers who were beating the shit out of him in his cell. Interestingly enough that night the only video that didn’t work in the Ferguson PD jail was the cell where Mr. Davis was being assaulted by Ferguson’s finest. None of those officers were terminated even after charges were dropped pending a civil lawsuit.”
You’d think the Holder Justice Dept. would be all over that; however, your mention of this incident reminded me of something. For what it’s worth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Michael_Trentadue
The local news ran a story on who are the majority of patrons of the food pantries.
The video included several long shots of people who were lined up on the sidewalks. The majority of them were white people. If you’re retired and on limited income, the cost of buying food at a grocery store frequently exceeds your ability to pay for it.
As I watch the news feed from Ferguson it brings but one question to mind: do any of these fucking miscreants actually work?!
Uh, no.
The only items not looted were work boots.
According to Census data:
The city’s unemployment rate rose from less than 5 percent in 2000 to over 13 percent in 2010-12. For those residents who were employed, inflation-adjusted average earnings fell by one-third. The number of households using federal Housing Choice Vouchers climbed from roughly 300 in 2000 to more than 800 by the end of the decade.
Amid these changes, poverty skyrocketed. Between 2000 and 2010-2012, Ferguson’s poor population doubled. By the end of that period, roughly one in four residents lived below the federal poverty line ($23,492 for a family of four in 2012), and 44 percent fell below twice that level.
These changes affected neighborhoods throughout Ferguson. At the start of the 2000s, the five census tracts that fall within Ferguson’s border registered poverty rates ranging between 4 and 16 percent. However, by 2008-2012 almost all of Ferguson’s neighborhoods had poverty rates at or above the 20 percent threshold at which the negative effects of concentrated poverty begin to emerge. (One Ferguson tract had a poverty rate of 13.1 percent in 2008-2012, while the remaining tracts fell between 19.8 and 33.3 percent.)
I am curious as to Bill Cosby’s take on this issue.
Would that be one Dr. William H. Cosby, Ed.D.? The same Bill Cosby who is a legitimate Honorary Chief Petty Officer? That Bill Cosby?
🙂
Just had to take a couple of potshots at two of our favorite phonies….
The news this evening reported that the people who are being arrested for violence during the evening protests are NOT from Ferguson. They are coming from New York City, Detroit and Chicago.
So the smug, self-righteous, smarmy remarks by the more prominent publicity hounds have more to do with getting on TV and egging these people on than anything else. As far as I’m concerned, it’s pure, unadulterate BS.
Obesity is a Nationwide problem. It affects minorties more. While it was pointed out that a prudent shopper could actually “eat healthier” by purchasing groceries and making their own meals there are several other factors involved. Granted some of them are “chioces” but most are ruled by “convienience”.
1. First and foremost, a lot of people in the inner cities get their groceries from “convienience stores”. These places are not set up to sell wholesome food, any items they have are going to be limited ( milk, bread, eggs, lunch meat, cereal and a few canned goods). Their focus is on Alcohol, tobacco and junk food( candy soda, chips etc). In addition the prices there are going to be markedly higher than at a chain grocery store.
Whenever I used to find myself in a spot were I was in a hurry and had to grab pretty much ANYTHING at a 7/11 such as milk or bread, or even diapers I remember going into sticker shock at the price.
2. When given the chance to shop at a larger grocery store the “bang for the buck” philosophy still leads to buying food that is not he best choice.
3.Lots of inner city dwellers consume meals as individuals, not as families, hence instead of sitting down as a family to have Spaghetti and salad you have kids having chips and soda or being given 5 bucks to run to McDonalds.
4 Inner city schools have very poor phys ed programs and school nutrition, coupled with there being few places for kids or adults to have physical activity.
Granted you can say its all chioces, but choices are often guided by environment.
In point number 4, you stated
“Inner city schools have very poor phys ed programs and school nutrition, coupled with there being few places for kids or adults to have physical activity.”
I say, Horsesh*t. I train in martial arts and parkour. It doesn’t take much to run, climb, jump, roll, and do push-ups.
But, hey, I’m sure it’s just easier to blame others. You know, my children tried this argument with me, “Daddy, we’re bored, we have nothing to do. All our toys are still in boxes from the move.” “Either help out with the unpacking and get some physical exercise, or go outside, and run, jump, climb trees, and roll around on the ground.” (Psst, they decided for number 2)
There are plenty of opportunities for anyone to get physical exercise. Don’t prisoners do push-ups/dips/sit-ups in their cells?
And I know that someone will bring up this argument, “but it’s inner city, it isn’t safe.” Well, if you take a stand against the criminals, then your neighborhoods will be safer. A community is a powerful force, if we stand together for a greater good, then things will change. But what I see is a bunch of people sitting around, hoping someone else will do it for them.
TTM, out.
TTM,
If you think I am supporting people not being responsible for their there own chioces you are not only barking up the wrong tree, you arent even in the same forest.
Through no fault of their own, some of us are born into circumstances that set you up for failure.
It’d akin to commands in the military that bitch about underage drinking in the barracks and have beer machines on every floor.
It’s not financial poverty that is crushing the folks in the inner city, its moral poverty and a lack of guidance and male role models.
Where you end up in life depends a lot on where you start.
I’m not talking just about money either.
I believe that we are on the same side, I must have made a mistake and misunderstood your position.
I apologize.
I’ll only take issue with one part of what you say, Just an Old Dog.
Environment can indeed influence one’s choices – but it doesn’t determine them. Above, you seem to be arguing that it does.
Barring extreme coersion – and maybe even then – choices are exactly that: choices. Opting for something due to “convenience” is a choice. Ditto sending the kids to McDonalds routinely with $5 for dinner instead of having dinner with them.
FWIW: I took a look at Google Maps. From data shown there, it appears that there are precious few locations in Ferguson that aren’t within roughly 1 mile of either an Aldi or Schnuck’s supermarket. And I don’t think any part of Ferguson is farther away than 1.5 miles.
Hondo, there is a very good reason that the large grocery chains choose not to operate in many black urban areas, and that is nothing more than the cost of doing business. The retail grocery industry operates on narrow margins to begin with and high losses due to shoplifting and employee theft combined with higher insurance costs and high employee absenteeism and turnover can all turn a slim positive margin to one deeply in the red.
One way to counterbalance the negatives is to increase prices to offset the losses but then the community activists start clamoring to the media about corporate price gouging. It’s easier for the chains to just avoid these areas.
Convenience stores on the other hand, are far more easily managed and can operate with much better profitability. But even there, the theft issue can cut deeply into margins. And the more the losses due to theft, the higher the markups go on the shelves in a rising spiral that harms the honest customers.
The casual acceptance of thievery in too many black communities raises a huge barrier to successful enterprise in those very neighborhoods that need it the most.
How many times have we heard in the last few days that “The boy was only shoplifting?”
Simple fact – Things won’t calm down up there until the press goes home. Like many of you have pointed out already, Ferguson didn’t go to shit overnight and the residents haven’t appeared to try to improve their lot during the past few years. But now that they have the attention of everyone including jj, sharpton, holder and obama, nothing will stop until the cameras go home. Doesn’t matter what you give them, it won’t be enough.
I would say this is observation could go across all color lines and be generalized to say anyone receiving ‘assistance’.
It is the processed foods and other shit that people are allowed to buy with their EBT cards. Here in Washington you can go to a we make you bake pizza chain and buy a meal.
It’s bullshit…we took away the shame and made it acceptable to live off the backs of others. Bring back the coupons. Bring back the Government cheese, flour, peanut butter, and etc.
Make the EBT good for only certain items. People should not be able to purchase lobster and Filet Mignon with EBT. Nor should they be able to buy any junk food whatsoever.
While your at it…nicotine tests should be given. Why should the taxpayer pay for your food so you can buy booze and smokes with your welfare or paycheck?
Nicotine, SHIT, they ought to have to pass a drug screening in order to get or stay on any kind of public program, iy was the law in Florida until the ACLU sued and got it overturned. Most people have to pass a drug test in order to get a job, then they’re subject to random drug screens while employed, and drug screens are part of any on the job accident as well. Y’all will have to excuse me for having ZERO sympathy for those who are “Professional Victims”!
I find it remarkable that the USA was not obese before the schools made home ec and pe optional.
Social justice warrior SOP blame anything you can to divert responsibility from personal choices.
Yes indeed, FC. Speakin’ of poor choices, I see that whatshisface is STILL accusing the wrong man of being me!
Is looting considered a cardio workout if it last more than twenty minuets? And an important fact is that modern LCD flat screens way nothing compared to the old CRTs. You just don’t get the same work out like in the L.A peace protests.
It depends on the type of looting. If you are carrying a flatscreen TV, laptop, and iPhone display model at a slow jog you will get less of a workout than if you were carry two bags of looted alcohol at a moderate run. Also, you have to add in the resistance training of pulling against a locking bolt to open the front doors, the twitch movements to travel through the aisles, and the eye-hand coordination to be the first person to get the items. When you throw all of it together, it is a rather good workout. If you happen to pick up an over-sized load, then you can also add in plyometrics.
For an additional workout, I would suggest either light ankle weights or running in view of the police to engage a sprint lap. But remember: stay hydrated, rotations before, and stretch after your workout.