Study finds State Legislatures Dominated By white Men

[Diarcesia]

It does feel like that if the equality is done not by bringing up the disadvantaged, but by pulling down the advantaged.

When you balance a scale, do you bend it so both arms are facing down or do you take some weight off the part with more and add it to the top? It's impossible for everyone to be the privileged class unless there is no privileged class.

There should be no privileged class by extending the privileges of the privileged to everyone. The other way around, in its logical conclusion, leads to a state of equality where everyone is poor.

[Alcala-Cordel]

When you balance a scale, do you bend it so both arms are facing down or do you take some weight off the part with more and add it to the top? It's impossible for everyone to be the privileged class unless there is no privileged class.

There should be no privileged class by extending the privileges of the privileged to everyone. The other way around, in its logical conclusion, leads to a state of equality where everyone is poor.

It's not possible to make everyone upper-class.The upper class is the product of hierarchy and exploitation, with the richest robbing the workers beneath them of the value of their labor ("profit").

That being said, we don't all need to be poor either. It is possible to be middle class without exploiting others

[Diarcesia]

There should be no privileged class by extending the privileges of the privileged to everyone. The other way around, in its logical conclusion, leads to a state of equality where everyone is poor.

It's not possible to make everyone upper-class.The upper class is the product of hierarchy and exploitation, with the richest robbing the workers beneath them of the value of their labor ("profit").

That being said, we don't all need to be poor either. It is possible to be middle class without exploiting others

That's more what I have in mind really...

[Alcala-Cordel]

It's not possible to make everyone upper-class.The upper class is the product of hierarchy and exploitation, with the richest robbing the workers beneath them of the value of their labor ("profit").

That being said, we don't all need to be poor either. It is possible to be middle class without exploiting others

That's more what I have in mind really...

In that case I agree with you

[Aureumterra]

Because whiteness is by it's very nature, in fact, violence, white men in positions of power by default represent an oppressive occupying force, even ones who claim to be Allies. And because these white men live in a system where even if they are no longer in politics, their whiteness still oppresses people by virtue of them taking up the physical and mental spaces of People of Color whenever they make their presence known in public. And because they are oppressing people stolen land, all of their earned and inherited wealth is stolen too.

Therefore, the only solution that would be a first step towards justice is not only for any white male to resign from any position of authority he has, but also to relinquish his property to People Color and then promptly kill himself.

If you are a white male and do not take this affirmative stance towards justice, your silence will be viewed as consent with this oppressive system and you will be considered hostile.

/s

Some sociology professor somewhere in Sweden has probably said this word for word

[Picairn]

Because whiteness is by it's very nature, in fact, violence, white men in positions of power by default represent an oppressive occupying force, even ones who claim to be Allies. And because these white men live in a system where even if they are no longer in politics, their whiteness still oppresses people by virtue of them taking up the physical and mental spaces of People of Color whenever they make their presence known in public. And because they are oppressing people stolen land, all of their earned and inherited wealth is stolen too.

Therefore, the only solution that would be a first step towards justice is not only for any white male to resign from any position of authority he has, but also to relinquish his property to People Color and then promptly kill himself.

If you are a white male and do not take this affirmative stance towards justice, your silence will be viewed as consent with this oppressive system and you will be considered hostile.

/s

Excellent satire of sociology.

[Arkhane]

Studies also find that the African nations and governments are dominated by black men.
Quite a shock to me too.

[Kowani]

Studies also find that the African nations and governments are dominated by black men.
Quite a shock to me too.

This is a spectacularly bad false equivalence.

[The Lone Alliance]

I wonder how many State Legislatures are dominated by rich people?

I'm betting almost all of them, clearly this means we need more poor Legislatures.... said no one ever.

But yes that is likely why most State Legislatures are white, because more white people have more wealth and you need a lot of wealth to run for office.

Holy shit, all the thoughtless people coming out the woodwork in this thread.

"Why should we care"

Do you guys not understand why it's good to have governments that are representative and in touch with the concerns of the public? What the fuck.

You're buying into the bigoted mindset that the only way to be in touch with someone is to share their skin color, genitals, or sexual identity... you can share all that and still be a complete heartless sociopath.... like a lot of politicians are.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

For those who have a problem with the racial makeup of American government, how would you solve the problem?

Me, I'd start with my party. Before anyone can get into government, they have to win a primary election where the voters are mostly members of my party. I'd start with my party.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

I wonder how many State Legislatures are dominated by rich people?

I'm betting almost all of them, clearly this means we need more poor Legislatures.... said no one ever.

But yes that is likely why most State Legislatures are white, because more white people have more wealth and you need a lot of wealth to run for office.

All of them, yes, and yes.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

A party could offer "scholarships" to help both poor people and minorities study up for primaries.

[Duvniask]

Holy shit, all the thoughtless people coming out the woodwork in this thread.

"Why should we care"

Do you guys not understand why it's good to have governments that are representative and in touch with the concerns of the public? What the fuck.

You're buying into the bigoted mindset that the only way to be in touch with someone is to share their skin color, genitals, or sexual identity... you can share all that and still be a complete heartless sociopath.... like a lot of politicians are.

Show me where I said anything like "the only way to be in touch with someone is to share their skin color, genitals, or sexual identity".

Reading essentialism into what I said is just a strawman. The point is that a bunch of old white men aren't going to necessarily understand the concerns of other groups, they'll probably focus more on issues that, you know, old white men care about.

[Soiled fruit roll ups]

You're buying into the bigoted mindset that the only way to be in touch with someone is to share their skin color, genitals, or sexual identity... you can share all that and still be a complete heartless sociopath.... like a lot of politicians are.

Show me where I said anything like "the only way to be in touch with someone is to share their skin color, genitals, or sexual identity".

Reading essentialism into what I said is just a strawman. The point is that a bunch of old white men aren't going to necessarily understand the concerns of other groups, they'll probably focus more on issues that, you know, old white men care about.

White people not being smart enough to understand the complex thinkin of us coloured folks bullshit again. Its not like they could ask, or any of a million ways to work shit out.

Stop being so fucking racist.

[Duvniask]

Show me where I said anything like "the only way to be in touch with someone is to share their skin color, genitals, or sexual identity".

Reading essentialism into what I said is just a strawman. The point is that a bunch of old white men aren't going to necessarily understand the concerns of other groups, they'll probably focus more on issues that, you know, old white men care about.

White people not being smart enough to understand the complex thinkin of us coloured folks bullshit again. Its not like they could ask, or any of a million ways to work shit out.

Stop being so fucking racist.

So your response to my post saying essentialism is a strawman of me... is to strawman me with more essentialism. Ok buddy.

I know bait when I see it. This reverse psychology bullshit of "you're the real racist for thinking White folks might not entirely be in touch with Black people" isn't going to work. Someone could indeed ask and try to learn the issues, but the problem is: will they? And will they learn it from the perspective of those who suffer the consequences or will they learn it from an abstracted position where they don't get a real sense of it all?

[Valrifell]

Because whiteness is by it's very nature, in fact, violence, white men in positions of power by default represent an oppressive occupying force, even ones who claim to be Allies. And because these white men live in a system where even if they are no longer in politics, their whiteness still oppresses people by virtue of them taking up the physical and mental spaces of People of Color whenever they make their presence known in public. And because they are oppressing people stolen land, all of their earned and inherited wealth is stolen too.

Therefore, the only solution that would be a first step towards justice is not only for any white male to resign from any position of authority he has, but also to relinquish his property to People Color and then promptly kill himself.

If you are a white male and do not take this affirmative stance towards justice, your silence will be viewed as consent with this oppressive system and you will be considered hostile.

/s

Some sociology professor somewhere in Sweden has probably said this word for word

I can never understand why you (and right-wingers in general) harbor such an internal hatred for academics you disagree with and Swedes

[San Lumen]

Studies also find that the African nations and governments are dominated by black men.
Quite a shock to me too.

That is a terrible analogy

[Adamede]

For those who have a problem with the racial makeup of American government, how would you solve the problem?

Me, I'd start with my party. Before anyone can get into government, they have to win a primary election where the voters are mostly members of my party. I'd start with my party.

So you're telling me that you'd determine who represents you party primarily through what, race?

[San Lumen]

Me, I'd start with my party. Before anyone can get into government, they have to win a primary election where the voters are mostly members of my party. I'd start with my party.

So you're telling me that you'd determine who represents you party primarily through what, race?

I think what they are referring to is a closed primary. Only registered members of that party can chose its nominees

[Giovenith]

Show me where I said anything like "the only way to be in touch with someone is to share their skin color, genitals, or sexual identity".

Reading essentialism into what I said is just a strawman. The point is that a bunch of old white men aren't going to necessarily understand the concerns of other groups, they'll probably focus more on issues that, you know, old white men care about.

White people not being smart enough to understand the complex thinkin of us coloured folks bullshit again. Its not like they could ask, or any of a million ways to work shit out.

Stop being so fucking racist.

Let's calm a little, okay?

[Adamede]

So you're telling me that you'd determine who represents you party primarily through what, race?

I think what they are referring to is a closed primary. Only registered members of that party can chose its nominees

So what already happens? How would that change the racial makeup of your party's representatives necessarily?

[San Lumen]

I think what they are referring to is a closed primary. Only registered members of that party can chose its nominees

So what already happens? How would that change the racial makeup of your party's representatives necessarily?

Not all states have closed primaries.What you could do is recruit more women and people of color to run. It’s still up to the electorate to decide who they want in the primary

[Elwher]

Let me see if I've got this.

If I vote for a White politician because he is White I am a racist.

If a Black voter votes for a Black politician because he is Black, he is expressing solidarity.

Right.

[Valrifell]

Let me see if I've got this.

If I vote for a White politician because he is White I am a racist.

If a Black voter votes for a Black politician because he is Black, he is expressing solidarity.

Right.

I don't think you're racist for voting for white politicians nor do I think that voting for minority candidates deserves praise itself.

I find it odd how legislatures can be so irrepresentative of the demographics of their constituents, which isn't supposed to happen in an ideal world. This points to interesting issues with underlying systems and how they make it such that candidates are more likely to be white because of all the capital that's needed to be a candidate and that minority communities are also more likely to be impoverished.

That is to say, mine and several other arguments are aimed at the impersonal systems and economic disparities that are probably behind these stats and are not interested in shaming people for their voting habits.

[Saiwania]

This is exactly how I like it, most legislatures being majority White. This (unfortunately from my perspective) doesn't correlate to laws that'll better protect a White majority and ensure that the country won't become diverse. I'd expect that it won't be the case for forever. In more diverse states the legislature will become more diverse overtime. But in states like Maine, that has a better chance of remaining predominately White indefinitely if it remains a mostly White state.

Class is ultimately more important in terms of who gets into government beyond the most local level than race is. If you have money or donors, you can get into elected office. If you don't, you can't for the most part; unless your campaign and platform really is so brilliant and popular.