I am an older white male who tends to be politically conservative. I have been disappointed and at times disgusted by Black Lives Matter. Not because of the general purpose but because of the tactics and the focus of the protests.
For almost 30 years I have been attorney representing consumers in automobile transactions. I have observed hundreds of transactions and represented a fair number of people, including a large number of African-American females.
If there is an area of our economy and country where you can find examples of systemic racism, look at African American female purchases at a car lot. I am mostly talking about black females at the lower end of the economic scale.
These females are steered to the lowest quality vehicles in the lot, where they pay a greater percentage of the value of the vehicle than any other demographic group. They pay the highest interest rates, are sold worthless financial products and are given the worst financial terms.
While the car dealer deserves the lion share of the blame for the terrible treatment of black females in car purchases, systemic racism is also a huge factor. Black females tend to have low paying jobs, poor credit, and a little financial resources. These factors probably relegate them to less desirable transactions but the auto sales system doesn’t attempt to help them, it takes advantage of them.
In my experience, these are hard-working women supporting a family and trying to do the right thing. They need reliable transportation to get to work, take kids to school and generally make a life for themselves and their family. They often save up some money for a vehicle purchase to try and break out of their poverty trap, only to get in snared in a horrific vehicle purchase.
While there are many other examples, I see this as a far greater problem than the Black Lives Matter focus on random police killings. Think about it. The heroes of the BLM movement are at least suspected criminals, if not convicted felons. They invited the police action by resisting arrest.
I am sure there are countless other examples of systemic racism. But the African-American female operating at the bottom of the economic scale and trying to make a basic necessary purchase is a far greater evil than any action by the police. Why can't BLM use its momentum and money to press any economic issues?
Your thoughts, ace boogie?
For almost 30 years I have been attorney representing consumers in automobile transactions. I have observed hundreds of transactions and represented a fair number of people, including a large number of African-American females.
If there is an area of our economy and country where you can find examples of systemic racism, look at African American female purchases at a car lot. I am mostly talking about black females at the lower end of the economic scale.
These females are steered to the lowest quality vehicles in the lot, where they pay a greater percentage of the value of the vehicle than any other demographic group. They pay the highest interest rates, are sold worthless financial products and are given the worst financial terms.
While the car dealer deserves the lion share of the blame for the terrible treatment of black females in car purchases, systemic racism is also a huge factor. Black females tend to have low paying jobs, poor credit, and a little financial resources. These factors probably relegate them to less desirable transactions but the auto sales system doesn’t attempt to help them, it takes advantage of them.
In my experience, these are hard-working women supporting a family and trying to do the right thing. They need reliable transportation to get to work, take kids to school and generally make a life for themselves and their family. They often save up some money for a vehicle purchase to try and break out of their poverty trap, only to get in snared in a horrific vehicle purchase.
While there are many other examples, I see this as a far greater problem than the Black Lives Matter focus on random police killings. Think about it. The heroes of the BLM movement are at least suspected criminals, if not convicted felons. They invited the police action by resisting arrest.
I am sure there are countless other examples of systemic racism. But the African-American female operating at the bottom of the economic scale and trying to make a basic necessary purchase is a far greater evil than any action by the police. Why can't BLM use its momentum and money to press any economic issues?
Your thoughts, ace boogie?
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