Re: Redlining

[nobody@huge.cajones.com (Huge Cajones Remailer)]

At 3:05 AM 12/11/1996, drose@AZStarNet.com wrote:
>Many people of good will find racial discrimination to be abhorrent.

Abhorrent?  To the extent that stupidity is repugnant, I suppose you
are right.  However, I find it interesting that we are taught to see
racism in terms of morals.  The basic tone seems to be "Oh, we really
shouldn't say such things ... even if they are true."  What you don't
hear very often is how racists miss out on friendships and valuable
life experiences.  Why not?  Because typically the people condemning
racism do not, in their hearts, believe it is worth knowing people in
certain racial groups.

Imagine a company which avoided hiring good people for dumb reasons.
Why is this any different from any other foolish decision?  Leave the
abhorring to the company's poor stockholders.  But, of course, many of
the people who are doing the abhorring are unable to picture members
of certain racial groups being great people to hire.  (My comments are
directed to the world at large and not drose@AZStarNet.com)

Rather than promoting abhorrence for racism, it would be more
constructive to discuss reality itself.  This happens infrequently.
Instead, we are encouraged to pretend reality is something other than
what we believe.  Topics of the African-American crime problem are
considered to be inappropriate, yet it is a very real component of
American urban life.

Discouragement of thought and discussion is another hallmark of a
totalitarian society.  Thought and discussion are not conducive to
blind obedience.

Ironically, most African-Americans are better equipped to discuss
their beliefs about racial groups than their "educated" "defenders".
For example, check out the "Last Poets".  You won't agree with
everything these people have to say, but there is no question that
they are speaking their minds, often brilliantly.  (I consider the
poem "Niggers Are Afraid of Revolution" to be their chef-d'oevre.)
Another example can be found in the movie "Crumb".  Much, if not all,
of Crumb's work is unpopular amongst the "politically correct", often
on the grounds that he is racially prejudiced.  Crumb reports that
African-Americans never object to his work and often give him positive
feedback.  Clearly, the people Crumb is talking to have the
sophistication to recognize his advanced use of satire and courageous
exploration of topics forbidden for discussion in American society.

(Let me add that remailers are great.  I would be reluctant to express
these ideas in any other way for professional reasons.)

African-Americans have clearly added a great deal to American culture.
The great musical achievement of the 20th century is jazz and it was
primarily developed by African-Americans.  Jazz holds its own
intellectually against any other genre of music from any time.
Interestingly, jazz did not originate in an elite, like most great
cultural achievements.  It was developed by an oppressed minority
which had only limited access to surplus resources.  Jazz was
developed in an astonishingly short time, really just a few decades.
Most "cultured" Americans would give their eye teeth to go back in
time and meet Mozart and his friends.  Yet, a short time ago people
capable of comparable achievements were available in the United
States.

Jazz has not received the recognition that it deserves in the United
States.  In Europe, jazz musicians are given something more like
the respect they have earned.  This is not to the credit of
the United States.

(Those who don't believe me should get "Love Supreme" by John Coltrane
and listen to it carefully about 20 times.  There are layers and
layers of depth and meaning.  Those who are accustomed to more
organized forms of music will initially hear a sloppy performance.
This is hard to understand because these are some of the most
technically accomplished musicians who have ever lived.  hat they are
doing is stretching medium and extending the range of meaning which
can be expressed.  Particularly fascinating is how well the apparent
sloppiness of each musician dovetails so well with what the others are
doing.  This is challenging, to say the least.  The relationship with
his God that Coltrane expresses is quite different from the one
usually hears.  Mozart, Bach, et al, have a tendency to fawn.
Coltrane expresses a more intimate (dare I say "anarchistic"?)
vision.)

The canonical jazz musician spends hours and hours of work every day
developing his technique, mostly through the love of the art, much
like many of us do with computer programming.

At any rate, those who wish to enlighten their fellows on the subject
of racism can do better than "it's just wrong."

>OTOH, I'm sure that as an attorney you are cognizant of the fact that
>financial institutions have a fiduciary responsibility to their
>shareholders.

I'm afraid this misses the points that Matt and I have been
discussing.  Matt believes that redlining betrays the fiduciary
responsibility of the banks.  I believe that it doesn't matter.  That
is, if you want to go to a bank which is riskier and pays lower
interest because it avoids good business, that is your problem.

Red Rackham