Things we'd be talking about if the forum wasn't deadFollow

The root of the problem is people like you who want to deny socially created racial inequality. Yes, people on the other side are also part of the problem, labeling everything as a result of racism, but you are the other "half" of the problem, denying the existence of it. You say that you believe it exists, but when several scenarios are presented, you continuously find ways to justify the actions.

Excepting me because I'm "not a credible option" suggested that my posts should just be ignored when talking about such points, and not "gee. He made exactly the right point, and we should pay attention to it cause it just might be super valid!". But I'll defer to whichever interpretation you intended.

Equal per social standing (mostly the concept of monarchy and all that brings) or religion for white males.

We already know you are breathtakingly undereducated, and we're kind of inured to it. But then you come along...again...and illuminate us all with the shining, yet empty, orb that is your skull.

Excepting me because I'm "not a credible option" suggested that my posts should just be ignored when talking about such points

My original statement is correct.

Her "rules" can be anything she wants them to be.

Huh?

And I'm going to leave off the rest of your post, since it's just you doubling down on this same completely false assumption.

Never stands a chance because it comes from you.

When the country was founded, slavery was an integral part of it. To pretend otherwise is less than simplistic; it's stupid.

Our nation was not "literally built on racism". It was built on a set of principles that absolutely refuted the very concept of racism (all men are created equal?), but in which slavery existed as a matter of fact. That conflict was known at the time, and every day after that, and arguably lead directly to the eventual elimination of that slavery (via a pretty violent civil war). If our nation had actually been built on racism, we'd still have slavery and everyone would think it was great (well, except the slaves).

Do you really think the (slave owning) founders were all like "I'd sure like to set my ni@@ers free, but golly, I just can't"?

Ah you. No. Just no. You don't know anything about history, do you? There is a zero percent chance that the British Empire would have tried to capture the United States (or even just the northern half thereof). In fact, without America saber-rattling for a fight and hawks in Congress with dreams of capturing Canada, the War of 1812 probably wouldn't have happened at all. A smaller USA likely wouldn't have had the same delusions and Britain wanted to concentrate on France, not fuck around in America.

My point is that the founders absolutely intended for slavery to be abolished (someday), they just knew it wasn't something they could do right then.

EASTPOINT, Fla. – John Matthew Polous watched a "controlled-burn" fire for three days as it consumed foliage outside his tiny community on the Florida Panhandle. And then he watched as it quickly raged out of control. What he doesn't understand is why it took government officials until Wednesday to acknowledge that they were the ones responsible for the blaze that destroyed 36 homes, including his.

Polous, a shrimper and oysterman, lost 14 boats, his home and pickup trucks in the quick-moving conflagration Sunday that left behind a trail of ash and ruins in Eastpoint, just across the river from the historic town of Apalachicola.

"They finally admitted to what done it, now let's see what they are going to do," Polous, 51, said while walking through the burned remains of his home. "Why was they even burning this time of year back here? That don't make sense, but they was and there's nothing nobody can do about it."

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam announced Wednesday that the fire was caused by a Tallahassee company hired by the state's wildlife commission to do controlled burns on state lands. Putnam said an investigation by his office eliminated other possible causes, including lightning, arson or an accident.

The fire burned more than 800 acres (320 hectares) and officials said they were suspending the practice of controlled burns statewide while they investigate. Controlled burns are used as a tool to manage forests. They involve burning away underbrush to lessen the danger of future wildfires.

Polous said his house was the first to burn, and the fire came up quickly — he didn't even have time to get his wallet, which was lost in the fire.

"All I could hear was nothing but like a freight train, because it was blowing and it was burning. ... I walked out in the backyard and saw it coming, and that was it. Within a matter of minutes, it was gone, everything I own," he said. "Hopefully something will happen and we can get paid for it. And I hope everybody that lost a house out here gets paid."

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that the private company Wildlands Services was contracted to burn 480 acres (194 hectares) on June 18. The agency said 580 acres (235 hectares) of private land separated the controlled burn from the Eastpoint neighborhood. State records show that the company was given a three-year contract worth nearly $60,000 in March to do controlled burns near the Apalachicola River. So far, the company had been paid more than $25,000.

Doug Williams, the owner of Wildlands Service, told the Tallahassee Democrat he had not been contacted by state officials and did not know that Putnam said investigators had determined his company was responsible for the wildfire. He did not return phone calls or emails from The Associated Press.

Faith Grant was spending her day using her car to drag metal from the burned wreckage of the home she shared with her husband, their four kids and her mother- and father-in-law. She's still searching for five dogs that ran off during the fire, which killed a hog they had penned behind the home. She was trying to find a fireproof safe amid the debris with no success.

"It left the truck that don't run and burnt the two trucks that did," said Grant, who is 21 years old.

While officials continue to investigate the fire, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said the state plans to set up a claims office in Franklin County on Thursday. In the meantime, officials will offer up to $5,000 to each household affected by the fire to pay for emergency living expenses, including temporary housing and food, he said.

"It's pretty devastating when you see folks don't have a place to go to," said Patronis, who as a legislator used to represent part of the region.

Polous, meanwhile, was sanguine about his situation.

"I've been burned, shot, blowed up and I'm still here," Polous said. "I'm 51 years old and I'm still here. So, it's not like I ain't seen some bad times and hard times. Life moves on, you just have to move on with it."

Typical government inefficiency, this is what you get when you use no bid contracts. Bet there was some company out there that would have burnt all 3 trucks for half the price.

The dogs or the fire?