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Farewell
Dear Larry: You are the sanest man in America! I look forward to your columns because I ALWAYS agree with your answers. Great work! Thanks for speaking the simple truth about all issues — racial, political, parental, common sense, etc.
I often …Read more.
Hate Groups
Dear Larry: I want to forget for a moment that it is their constitutional right, because I detest the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and all other groups that preach hate. A long time ago, they came into cities across America without any protest. Now …Read more.
Troubles With Raising Teenage Son
Dear Larry: I am African-American and a single mother with three children, ages 15, 10 and 8. All of them are boys. I am having a lot of problems with them, especially the eldest.
He argues with me about almost everything. He thinks he is the man/…Read more.
How To Get Race Relations Back on Track
Dear Larry: So many of my friends are upset with the way things are going, especially race relations. They are not saying anything openly, but among themselves there is constant complaining and fear. There is something simmering and brewing that …Read more.
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My Wish for Black America
Dear Readers: It has been a tradition for me to write my wishes for black America at the start of each new year. Since the inception of this column, it is my most requested column for repeats and copies. In celebration of New Year's, I would like to continue the tradition, along with a few updates.
My Wish for Black America
I wish black fathers would assume responsibility for the children they create and stop acting like some flying insect that goes from flower to flower trying to see how many blossoms it can fertilize.
I wish education, not sports, were considered the top priority for schools.
I wish the school systems would demand appropriate behavior and stop making excuses as to why blacks cannot make the grade.
I wish high-achieving black students were not labeled as acting white.
I wish America would stop patronizing non-achieving black Americans and treating them like misbehaving children.
I wish degrading music that sexualizes women, fosters racism and extols violence were eliminated.
I wish blacks would not make race the first consideration when there is a situation.
I wish blacks would realize that institutionalized racism is over and the path for success is open.
I wish minorities would stop stereotyping and saying all whites are alike.
I wish black leaders would stop trying to exploit their followers by trying to make them believe the world is against them and their only path to success is keeping them in power.
I wish blacks would realize they are being politically taken for granted and know that being loyal to one party makes them irrelevant. A minority's power is being the deciding vote.
I wish black people would realize that no one owes them anything except equal treatment under the law and that the best hand up is at the end of their own arm.
I wish white America would stop feeling guilty for the sins of their forefathers, because that guilt prevents whites from treating blacks as equals.
I wish our black president would use his race to unite the nation and speak out extolling the values that made us a great nation.
I also wish our president would extol family values and speak out against the breakdown of black families.
I wish all people, regardless of race, would love one another and work together to make this an even better country.
Finally, I wish God's blessings upon us so we may remain free and continue to have happy years.
To find out more about Larry G. Meeks and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM 
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Comments
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13 Comments | Post Comment
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This is right on target. The trouble is, whites are strictly prohibited from ever saying anything like this, even though it's true. White America's place is to patronize and make black self-esteem the highest good imaginable, despite the fact that such an attitude amounts to destructive enabling. Thanks for your courage.
Comment: #1
Posted by: Steve
Sun Jan 2, 2011 5:41 AM
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Well, Steve, whites aren't "prohibited" -- and I don't think it's "trouble" that they should take extra care in speaking. It's all too easy for whites to never see the advantages they have, and then point fingers at those who stumble. As a parent, I don't automatically discount advice given to me by non-parents (particularly those who've studied or work in fields related to child development) -- but I DO find that I get a lot of poor advice from people who assume they have all the answers -- so given the choice between asking for advice for someone who's lived through something and someone who clearly has never been in my shoes, all other things being equal, I'd go with the former.
'd like to thank Larry Meeks for maintaining his column. It can't be easy, particularly when you probably get accused of racism and reverse racism in the same batch of mail, or people willfully misconstrue your remarks. It takes courage to continue trying to offer calm, rational thought on a subject where emotions run high and people tend to assume the worst of the "other" side. Not easy, but I think it's essential, and you do a good job of helping people of very different backgrounds and experiences understand perspectives beyond their own. Thank you.
Comment: #2
Posted by: hedgehog
Sun Jan 2, 2011 11:04 AM
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Dear Larry,
The Patience, understanding, whisdom and fairness you show in all your responses to readers would cause me to vote once again for a black presidential candidate showing same. I voted for Barack Hussein Obama - now much to my sorrow and regret. I'll be careful not to be taken in by smooth talking candidates - regardless of their race or ethnic background. If you throw your hat in he ring for president - this is one white man who will pull out all the stops he can to get you elected. And I know many others who feel the same. May God bless you for the good work you do.
Chris N.
Comment: #3
Posted by:
Sun Jan 2, 2011 11:15 AM
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The problem with Larry's list is that much of it would require blacks to refuse to accept pandering and excuses (from black "community leaders" and white liberals) and take responsibility for their lives.
Many are simply so steeped in victim-hood, they're incapable of doing that. People who've been taught from birth that all the problems in their lives are due to institutionalized racism - and never been given a reason to shake it off and grow the hell up - aren't likely to listen to common sense like Larry gives here. It's easy to blame racism for your problems because that excuses you from doing anything about them. It is simply a method of putting the source of the problem beyond your control, and therefore absolves you of any responsibility for solving it.
I think the really interesting part is that the black community had a lot fewer of the problems it does today, back in decades before the Civil Rights Era (like the 1940s), when it did have to contend with real racism and real discrimination. Odd, isn't it?
Comment: #4
Posted by: Matt
Mon Jan 3, 2011 12:07 AM
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@ hedgehog. "It's all too easy for whites to never see the advantages they have, and then point fingers at those who stumble."
That right there, is the most absurd thing I've read in a week. Congratulations. Advantages, my left foot. If anything, it's the other way around these days - entire groups of society automatically assume you're some kind of evil person because of the sins of people your color who lived generations ago. Feh. If you have white skin, and you open your mouth on the subject of race relations, illegal immigration, or any number of other subjects, you get called "racist" no matter what you actually say. Blacks are not even the only minority group who want to throw ugly names at complete strangers and assume guilt-by-association.
Comment: #5
Posted by: Matt
Mon Jan 3, 2011 12:13 AM
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Much of what is said in this column today could apply, with a few modifications, to our society as a whole. A great many people feel entitled to a lot more than they are willing to earn, from the top to the bottom. And they justify their entitlement by pointing at some group that is supposedly getting a better deal than they are.
People would be better off if they tried to be good citizens and good parents, and to have enough for their needs without grabbing for riches and privileges. I'm not disputing what Mr. Meeks says about blacks, but I think the problems are more universal than he mentions.
Comment: #6
Posted by:
Mon Jan 3, 2011 5:47 AM
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@Anne W. Perhaps you're right, but remember several key points:
1) Larry's focus is racial issues, especially those related specifically to blacks. He isn't here to talk about the problems found in Korean or Polish communities, or to discuss the state of the national economy.
2) While some of what he says could be applied to all people, the black community seems to suffer especially acutely from the problems that he identifies. For instance, you don't associate misogynistic rap music as closely with Arabs, South Asians, East Asians, Pacific Islanders, or Hispanics. (You don't even see this as much with recent arrivals from Africa or countries such as Haiti.) It's a "black" cultural phenomenon.
3) While many minorities spend too much time seeing racism everywhere they go (and griping loudly about it), black people - justified or not - seem to do this more than the other groups put together. Yes, there is the history of slavery and segregation, but that was generations ago.
Larry is saying they need to get past these attitudes if they expect to succeed. He's right. He's joined in this criticism by Bill Cosby, Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, and many other black intellectuals. The most successful and well-adjusted blacks I know, are the ones who rarely, if ever, discuss racial issues. (Morgan Freeman recently said this needs to stop entirely, end of story.)
Comment: #7
Posted by: Matt
Wed Jan 5, 2011 11:39 AM
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Hi Matt. I'd suggest studying history (and not just as it's presented by the rabid commentators on Fox News) before you make comments like "the black community had a lot fewer of the problems it does today, back in decades before the Civil Rights Era (like the 1940s)." Apparently you don't consider lynchings "real problems."
Comment: #8
Posted by: sarah morrow
Thu Jan 6, 2011 8:11 PM
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Re: sarah morrow. Maybe you'd like to explain to me why the black community today has exponentially more black-on-black violent crime than it did in the 40s. Or why it today suffers from a 70% out-of-wedlock birthrate. Or why it has higher unemployment rates than other minorities, or why staggering numbers of its citizens live in public housing. Also, I doubt that high-achieving black students were labeled "acting white" back then or poisoning their minds with filthy rap lyrics...or their bodies with crack cocaine. You really want to compare black deaths by lynching in the old days vs black deaths today in drive-by shootings? Get real. The KKK had nothing on the Crips & Bloods.
Don't presume to lecture me. You have no idea what you're talking about. Maybe you need to turn off NPR, PBS, MSNBC, and CNN and get the real story about what is going on in today's black communities.
Comment: #9
Posted by: Matt
Fri Jan 7, 2011 12:38 AM
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This topic is way more complex than what can be answered in just a couple of short paragraphs. Matt, back in the 1940's, black people were more fearful of reporting crimes than they are today (and it's good that they are now reporting). Back in the 60's and earlier there was such distrust in the black community towards police (and this fear was for good reason).
Yes things in the black community now are in a state of flux. Knowledge is key to change and the knowledge has to start somewhere.
Comment: #10
Posted by: Jen
Sat Jan 8, 2011 9:28 AM
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Re: Anne W. Bravo! Bravo! Matt, I (and Anne W as well I'm sure) of course do realize that this is a column devoted to racial issues, but Anne most certainly does make very good points. In a perfect world, which it would be if everyone took Anne and Larry's statements to heart, we wouldn't even need to worry abour racism. Again, I say Bravo!
Comment: #11
Posted by: Judie
Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:17 AM
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Whoa, Matt. Aren't you the same guy who just posted recently on Margo's comments, in reply to another comment:
"Secondly, I propose that a homosexual male (you, as you've told us) refrain from giving advice on how to deal with a wife who won't put out. Once again, the words "credibility" and "experience" come to mind."
Do you see why some people might think you, as a white man, might not have a lot of credibility when pointing fingers about what "they" need to do to fix "their" problems?
And are you seriously equating that discrediting of your opinions as the equivalent of what people of color experience on a daily basis Many of them still face challenges, unspoken and spoken, for acceptance: (as in, "yeah, my friend is 10 times more qualified for that job, but they took this yoyo just to fill a quota" or "no daughter of mine is going to date..." or plainclothes store security following you as you shop, expecting you to pocket something?).
Because that's still out there, you know, making everything else -- the crime, the lack of schooling, the babies having babies -- worse.
From the way you write, I don't wonder that people of color tend to discount what you say. It's not because of your skin color, and it's not because of what your ancestors did. It's because what you say indicates you lack understanding that this is not an "us" vs. "them" problem -- that "they" need to do this and "they" should do that. I don't even think what you're saying is particularly revolutionary -- it's not rocket science to figure that kids who stay in school have a better chance of succeeding in life.
The problem is... if all you're going to do is say, "Black parents are screwing up their kids!" ... exactly how does that help? How does that get a 15 YO boy to commit to his baby's mother, and be a positive role model? How does it provide the single mother who's working 3 jobs to get her kids into a better neighborhood more time to supervise her kids after school? How does it give impoverished children the idea that they CAN earn a living at something besides sports, music or drugs -- the most "successful" people they see? How does it protect the kids getting off the school bus from the harassment of gang members seeking to recruit them? It doesn't.
I think the people whose opinions tend to garner the most respect are those who see the implications for everyone, and who understand that the best ones to deliver the message tend to be those their audience can relate to.
Comment: #12
Posted by: hedgehog
Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:05 PM
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Whoa, Matt. Aren't you the same guy who just posted recently on Margo's comments, in reply to another comment:
"Secondly, I propose that a homosexual male (you, as you've told us) refrain from giving advice on how to deal with a wife who won't put out. Once again, the words "credibility" and "experience" come to mind."
Do you see why some people might think you, as a white man, might not have a lot of credibility when pointing fingers about what "they" need to do to fix "their" problems?
And are you seriously equating that discrediting of your opinions as the equivalent of what people of color experience on a daily basis Many of them still face challenges, unspoken and spoken, for acceptance: (as in, "yeah, my friend is 10 times more qualified for that job, but they took this yoyo just to fill a quota" or "no daughter of mine is going to date..." or plainclothes store security following you as you shop, expecting you to pocket something?).
Because that's still out there, you know, making everything else -- the crime, the lack of schooling, the babies having babies -- worse.
From the way you write, I don't wonder that people of color tend to discount what you say. It's not because of your skin color, and it's not because of what your ancestors did. It's because what you say indicates you lack understanding that this is not an "us" vs. "them" problem -- that "they" need to do this and "they" should do that. I don't even think what you're saying is particularly revolutionary -- it's not rocket science to figure that kids who stay in school have a better chance of succeeding in life.
The problem is... if all you're going to do is say, "Black parents are screwing up their kids!" ... exactly how does that help? How does that get a 15 YO boy to commit to his baby's mother, and be a positive role model? How does it provide the single mother who's working 3 jobs to get her kids into a better neighborhood more time to supervise her kids after school? How does it give impoverished children the idea that they CAN earn a living at something besides sports, music or drugs -- the most "successful" people they see? How does it protect the kids getting off the school bus from the harassment of gang members seeking to recruit them? It doesn't.
I think the people whose opinions tend to garner the most respect are those who see the implications for everyone, and who understand that the best ones to deliver the message tend to be those their audience can relate to.
Comment: #13
Posted by: hedgehog
Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:06 PM
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