@Bjonsson,

It is tough to imagine that you can achieve something that no one in your family or neighborhood has achieved. What you see around you is your normal. My dad never attended high school. None of my aunts or uncles or cousins attended college. My parents encouraged me to go to college, I did, and excelled in college. But I definitely had a chip on my shoulder, because I came from a much poorer background than my classmates. The real kick in the head was when I applied to graduate school, I had to endure lesser qualified and wealthier minorities gaining admission to programs that had rejected me. Thanks a lot, US government. You can elevate yourself in life, but it is very difficult if you come from a poor background. Having good parents definitely helps, but only so much, You have to believe that you are different and can succeed, in spite of the obstacles and government programs that seek to thwart your advancement.

Karl's right.

*Sigh*

I'm actually in the 'burbs, and some of these areas are going to **** too. A bit of an L.A. aspect starting to form here; depends on where you are *cough* Elgin and Streamwood *cough*, but a couple of blocks away you might find yourself in the wrong neighborhood at the wrong time. Everyone's trying to move west of Crook County.

I for one just want to get the **** out of this **** state completely, and move to a small, conservative town practically anywhere else. I have just about had enough with the gas prices, tax increases, parking tickets, fees, etc., and anything else the corrupt government throws at people. Truth is everybody here is tired of it, but nobody's really mobile enough to get away from it. Nobody's smart enough either; ain't many folks in this area who've even heard of Ticker Forum, let alone familiar with anything libertarian. Seems most folks are living in their own prison, and God forbid someone steps out of that; you'll be denigrated and branded a "traitor."

All I know is that when the SHTF, you don't want to be anywhere near here. I hope I'm long gone before that happens, because I'll be walking hundreds of miles elsewhere instead of driving my ass out of here. The clock is ticking, my friends...

Rahm says the gang shooting of the kid is a problem of the gang's lack of values, not a lack of law enforcement or permissive crime environments. Yep, the gang wasn't brought up with the right values... they should know better.

Mayor Outraged by 7-Year-Old's Shooting Death
Mayor bristles when asked about gang strategy, saying shooting death of Heaven Sutton is about values, not crime
By Lindsay Smith
| Thursday, Jun 28, 2012


Mayor Rahm Emanuel says the shooting death of Heaven Sutton on Wednesday isn't about crime, it's about a lack of values.
The death of 7-year-old Heaven Sutton shocked and angered more than just her family. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was more than angry at the tragedy. He was downright outraged.
"Where in your world experience do you take a shot at another adult next to a kid," he demanded of the unknown shooter during an unrelated press conference Thursday.
The child was fatally shot in the back Wednesday evening while selling candy with her mother in the front yard of their North Austin home.
Emanuel even bristled when one reporter brought up his gang strategy, telling reporters that the death was a matter of values rather than gang violence.
"If you think this is not about partnership, if you do not think this is about a set of values...Near a child? How dare you?"
At a separate event, police Supt. Garry McCarthy expressed confidence in the gang strategy.
"If anybody expects that we're going to throw on a switch and say, 'Okay, no more violence in the city of Chicago,' it's just not going to happen," he said.
Sutton was in the 1700 block of North Luna at about 10:30 Wednesday night when shots rang out. The girl tried running inside, her mother said, but she was hit by a bullet and died about a half hour later.
Sutton's mother, Ashake Banks, said the soon-to-be second-grader told her on several occasions she wanted her family to move out of the violent neighborhood. Banks said Heaven was a sweet, smart girl.
McCarthy said police have "incredibly strong leads" about who the shooter may be.
"I anticipate a very, very, very, very quick turnaround and arrest on what we saw last night," he said.


Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-roo....

There were no blacks with the first Pilgrims, until 1643.

They were in the Virginia Colony, not Massachusetts.