American History X

[Flashermac]

Was Ralph Cramden in the flick too???

 

 

[The_Munchmaster]

.....Is this bad ?

No.

 

.....Should I feel ashamed ?

No.

 

..... Surely there is no place in this multi-cultural society we live in for such violent thoughts and behaviour ?

Of course there is.

 

[HeartThais]

I watched this movie last night. It was fucking magnificent. I found myself drawn to Ed Norton's Nazi KKK character (but not in a gay way). Is this bad

 

I think it's a normal response. It's the kind of alpha dog/omega dog dynamic that you see in pack animals of which humans are one. Most (non-alpha) men are just as attracted to powerful leaders as women are.

 

I thought it was a good movie. My takeaway is that hate is a powerful force for unifying people but the bonds you forge through hate aren't strong. One second they are your best buds, the next they are raping your ass or trying to hunt you down and kill you. The black guy he befriended was the only guy that helped him without wanting something in return.

[Steve]

History suggests that they didn't have a soft spot for poor black applicants. Blacks were routinely kept out of unions as well. The labor union split over the issue decades ago. That said, I can certainly understand the anger about affirmative action. In a strange way, I have been the beneficiary of it (being black) and a probably a victim of it (women getting positions and black/latin women are double minorities) so the organization, gets to click off two boxes instead of one. If you need to hire a minority, why not hire a black woman instead of a black male. Not only for both categories but socially as well. Males see other males instinctively as competitors. But the strange thing is I complain about women getting certain benefits in society.

 

Its a tricky issue with no real solution either way. And as usual, its a pendulum and swings too far to one side but eventually it will find its equilibrium.

You don't hear much about affirmative action as much nowadays. At least in my limited experience. Society seems to have changed considerably. America is a big country though. Regionally some things are better than other places. Also, it depends on the industry as well.

 

 

 

[Steve]

[

I thought it was a good movie. My takeaway is that hate is a powerful force for unifying people but the bonds you forge through hate aren't strong.

 

Which is why the Nation of Islam never interested me. Too much hatred going on. Its antithesis to my personality. Plus I liked white women and pork too much.

 

The movie asked hard but necessary questions. Over time though I think it will all get sorted. Neighborhoods, schools, etc. are diversified more and more. Well, I least I hope so. There are far more tools like the internet that unites people nowadays that weren't around before. The world is getting smaller and smaller.

 

 

 

[teddy]

.....Is this bad ?

No.

 

.....Should I feel ashamed ?

No.

 

..... Surely there is no place in this multi-cultural society we live in for such violent thoughts and behaviour ?

Of course there is.

 

Excellent film, but I don't think there was anything I would admire about Derek Vinyard before he went to prison. :thumbdown:

 

[The_Munchmaster]

...Plus I liked white women and pork too much....

Yes, I like porking white women too.

 

[The_Munchmaster]

The kerb scene...

 

Just to dwell on the gore, what exactly happens there? If it's just bashing the head, why the need to bite the kerb? And, if it's a well-known way to cause death, why did the other guy submit to it? It made me think it was just going to be something to do with his teeth being knocked out.

Derek Vinyard: Nigger, you just fucked with the wrong bull. You should've learned your lesson on the fuckin' basketball court. But you fuckin' monkey's never get the message. My father gave me that truck motherfucker! You ever shoot at fireman? You come here and shoot at my family? I'm gonna teach you a real lesson now motherfucker. Put your fuckin' mouth on the curb.

 

Lawrence: Come on man.

 

Derek Vinyard: I said: Put your mouth on the curb!

[lawrence bites onto the curb]

 

Danny Vinyard: Derek, no!

 

Derek Vinyard: Thats it! Now say good night.

[Derek stomps Lawrence's head into the curb]

 

[Flashermac]

<< I have been the beneficiary of it (being black) and a probably a victim of it (women getting positions and black/latin women are double minorities) so the organization, gets to click off two boxes instead of one. >>

 

 

I talked to a black supervisor at NASA some years ago who said to me, "It's got so bad now that I can't even hire a black man if he applies for a job. I have to hire a minority woman. If I don't and she screams discrimination, I'm in the sh*t."

 

One of my students at the NCO Academy presented a situation. Suppose three NCOs apply for Warrant Officer. One is a white male, another a black male and the third an Hispanic female. Who gets it? The entire class knew the answer: the minority female. Didn't matter who was the most qualified. It was like a game of cards. And this is the Army - where you depend on your superiors not to get you killed!

 

 

 

[Steve]

Affirmative Action didn't come about out of thin air. There was/is a problem. I have stories I won't bore you all with. The problem is the solution. At the time, society still had problems. AA started in the early '70s. Not even a decade from segregation being illegal. Society didn't change in less than a decade. The problem is how long to keep it going? Also, if the solution at that time was to do nothing, that in time people will change, the question is when? 10 years? 50 years? 100 years? Never? The other problem is when to end it. Its debatable. Gov. Jeb Bush ended affirmative action based on race for the Univ. of Fla. system and adopted a statewide system that gave preference to your ranking in your graduating class and black enrollment actually went up instead of going down as some activists warned. However, there are still unions in the north east that are very restrictive. Some aren't, and are very open, like the UAW (united auto workers), even to women.

 

The 'good' thing is that most people under the age of 35 or 30 grew up with integration and those guys who become hiring managers don't give a shit if you're black, white, purple, male, female or trannie, as long as the job gets done. They grew up with Cosby as America's dad and bought rap and are used to seeing women in positions of power, probably know a gay person or two, etc.

Just a guess, but I think it (preferences, AA, etc) will become a non issue soon. I look at my nephews and their diverse group of friends at their birthday parties and I am very hopeful.