#1 Cool, I do encourage you to read more than the first paragraph as the data uncovers or illustrates what essentially are conversation starters to explore the reasons behind the data. I don't purport that the study places a definitive answer for anyone here but does a great job presenting solid facts from which we can explore more...I'm definitely no expert and 100% cherry pick instances to help me rationalize my own gut feelings and personal stances.
#2 I don't think I can keep my own conversation based on how the Government alone is responsible for systemic racism as the government alone is not the sole source of political, social, economic, or cultural influence that contribute to what I consider to be "systemic" about racism in america and beyond.
#3, what NCE said... you question "doesn't the fact that America is protecting minorities prove that systemic racism doesnt exist?" proves the opposite. Systemic racism exists and such, there are government programs in place to help counter this, while complicatedly reifying a lot of the conditions that fuel the racism in the first place by putting "OTHER" in bold letters.
Case in point by your reply to NCE earlier: "Minorities are a protected class so they receive additional legal protections and benefits. Work, education, lending, hate crimes, etc." You said hate crimes. Like....that's driven by racism, right? Or some sort of anti-other sentiment? Or are you just saying that categorizing them as such is evidence that they get special "protection and benefits?"
You're correct, the article does nothing to conclude why there is a wealth gap between Americans of different races. I didn't need to be educated on the fact that such gap exists, it's pretty common knowledge. The point of our disagreement (and where I'm looking for evidence of systemic racism) is that the reason for this gap is due to racism. Please point to me the specific reason why you believe that the system is rigged against black people. I have already cited several advantages that blacks have.
I'l touch briefly on the major one: Affirmative Action. Black students are given additional points on standardized entrance exams compared to Asians and Whites. Blacks (and other minorities -- including women, for some reason) are also hired to fill quotas in the work place and are less easily fired due to the threat of lawsuit of dismissal due to racism. Let's see a White person go to court suing their former employer over racism.
Why is affirmative action bad?
You can either have equal opportunity or equal outcomes. You can't have both. If America is supposed to be the land of equal opportunity, how are you supposed to explain to the Asian student that he isn't able to go into his school of choice because his spot was taking by a Black student who got 200 points less on the SAT? These sort of practices are not only driving a wedge between races due to the unfairness of it, they are teaching Blacks that they are inherently inferior, when they aren't.
If the policy that we are defining is contributing to racial tension, the government (as usual) is not working as efficiently as a free market. In a society where there is no laws to punish different races (apartheid, Jim Crow America, etc.), free market capitalism will dictate that racism is bad. Those previous examples are ACTUAL examples of systemic racism. In South Africa during apartheid, blacks couldn't hold certain positions, legally. We have no such restrictions here. It's actually quite the opposite due to affirmative action.
As far as your wealth gap study, as I had mentioned earlier, I have my own theories, you have your own theories on why that exists. I can't take an article seriously that automatically jumps to racism when there are other factors that haven't been discussed: culture. Have you ever heard someone be referred to as "not black enough" by other blacks? What exactly does that mean? Generally, it means that they don't speak in ebonics, have a good job, aren't violent, haven't been in jail, and are generally not a nuisance in society. How pathetic is that? I feel that instead of people like Kaepernick and other race baiters blaming the struggles (and they are actual struggles) of the Black community on
White people, they should take a look at their own community: the disproportionate amount of blacks who are violent criminals, the rap culture of being a thug, the fact that 70% of black families have no father. These are ACTUAL problems that are contributing to the struggles instead of a fictional White man keeping everyone down. It doesn't matter if you grow up with parents in the same socioeconomic level as the white kid next door. Think about how much OTHER influences you have in life: your friends, other family members, media, music, TV, etc. If you think that your parents are the sole reason of who you are, that's a joke. I always like to look at the asian study. It's interesting to me that asians make more than whites. They typically have a no nonsense culture (study hard, don't get in trouble). In your study they also compared asian parents who weren't born here vs ones that were born here. For asian parents that were born here, their kids performed about as well as similar whites. That gives me even more proof that it's more cultural as they're still asian in the eyes of racial bias of others.
To sum up, while your article does a good job illustrating the problem, it offers no actual evidence that there is systemic racism. Please point to me the specific problem with America that is holding Blacks and other minorities back. There is a massive movement of Black conservatism underway in America and it's because more and more people are waking up to see that the ACTUAL racist policies are the social programs that America has created to enslave minorities to the state by keeping them poor and creating economic incentive (free
Edited. Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.) to voting Democrat forever.