[quote=bobby]so what the professor is trying to say is that unless one has the right background and connection, he cannot succeed in life?
that professor is an idiot.[/quote]
No, the professor is NOT an idiot.
**Please fogive the stereotypes I’m going to use, but these stereotypes exist because they often reflect reality. I’m using examples of people I know, and can cite many more such examples that show the same disparity in natural advantages. Please try to understand the point I’m trying to make, and not make this a race/class war.**
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Person A is born to a black mother who is 16 years old and addicted to crack. The father, also a drug addict who’s been in and out of prison, has 14 children from 8 or more different mothers. He pays nothing in child support and is not involved in the childrens’ lives because he is either in jail or drug rehabs. When he’s out, he’s partying with his friends.
The mother is the third generation on welfare, and nobody in her family has worked nor been married to any of the fathers of their children. The baby is never exposed to books, museums or academic conversation, but gets plenty of exposure to different boyfriends (who may or may not be violent), rap music, and drug parties. The child’s I.Q. is in the 80s. They live in a gang-infested part of downtown L.A. [Later on, the mother dies — murdered by her boyfriend, but that’s another story.]
Person B is born to a married, white couple. The father has an MBA and the mother graduated with honors from UCLA. Neither parent has ever done drugs, only drink socially (never known to be drunk), don’t smoke, and were in their mid-thirties when this baby was born, so they are settled financially, and live in an upper-middle class area in L.A. This child was born with a 140 I.Q., and is exposed to different languages, world travel, many museums and many, many books. When this child grows up, it’s assumed she will go to college, and the parents offer to pay whatever is necessary for this child to go wherever she wants.
[Though it’s not the case for this child, many people born into these circumstances are offered jobs through their parents’ connections. This is a huge advantage compared to those who have to find their own connections and “work their way up.”]
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Are you claiming that these two people have the same opportunity to succeed in life?
