Great thanks!
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I only wish my Kenyan and Nigerian friends were here to chime in on this. They were nurses that I used to work with. They literally came here with nothing. Worked in housekeeping, mopped floors, did anything to make money. Got to be nursing assistants, worked 12 hour shifts. Picked up everyoneās elseās shifts too. Several of them lived as roommates to keep bills low and they saved money.
Many are not aware of this, but immigrants are not entitled to these Pell grants and loans that citizens here often eligible for. These guys had to save up and pay for nursing school in cash, which they did. They then proceeded to work just as hard as nurses, continue to save, send their siblings to school, and support their parents. They all have nice houses and live comfortably today.
I know an Indian guy who came here with the clothes on his back. Got a job pumping gas. Worked 12 and 16 hours a day. Sometimes had terrible blisters on his feet from doing this in the rain for hours on endā¦ But he was determined. He came here on a mission and he was not going to fail. Today he owns all kinds of businesses and is wealthy.
All I see here are people who came here hungry for success and worked.
I donāt want to debate with anyone, and Iāll bow out after this before it turns into one, but honestly I do believe that work ethic and attitude has a lot more to do with this than many people realize.
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I loved the one LouLou asleep I made and was super sad I didnāt get more. Excited to see this cutie but I agree, a little sad looking!
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Soā¦whatās your suggestion? What system will work?
Catch up to the white people? My grandpa was a farmer. And he worked full time at the salt plant too. My mom and her sisters spent their entire summers in the cotton field moving pipes from the time they were preschoolers. I spent my summers hoeing cotton. I got married and we struggled. We both worked full time and he never worked less than 2 jobs. Then I got divorced and worked 2 jobs. Then I decided to take advantage of the system for a few years and got a pell grant for college. I worked in the day and went to school in the evening. My daughter watched my sons from the time she was 13 so I could go to class. Then I got married again. That turned out to be a mistake. I ended up divorced with 5 kids instead of just 3. I ran an at home day care during the day, then I did elderly care at night. I was able to sleep when my client did. So I was able to get about 4 hours of sleep at night. But I was clocked in for work from 7:15 am to 6:30 pm for the daycare and from 6:45 pm-7:00 am for senior care. I got Saturday and Sunday off until evening time. I eventually switched to working at a daycare facility during the day, and still did elderly care at night. I did this til after I started dating my current husband. He works from dawn til dark. We now own a business. He works all the time. He pays himself $1000 a week. Taxes eat up quite a bit of that. When is the white privilege going to kick in for us?
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Btw yes, Yelena is a white immigrant. But did you know sheās married to a black man? Iām pretty sure she has a very real grasp of life in America for immigrants, women, and black men. 
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Katinaā¦what an inspiration!!!
My parents were raised on dirt poor farms ā¦they shared clothes and shoesā¦worked from the time they were smallā¦I was raised to earn what I wantedā¦I have worked since I was 12ā¦just babysitting and grass mowingā¦but if I wanted store bought clothes I had to save up my own money for them . My mom made all my clothes and even my wedding dress!!!
Did I know I was poor ā¦yepā¦did I know if I didnt want to be poor I would have to work hardā¦yep.
My in laws were from Georgiaā¦they had to quit school after 6th grade to work in the cotton fields. My father in law always bragged how fast he could pick a bag of cotton ā¦which usually weighed at 90-100 lbā¦
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Sounds like a supporter of Critical Race Theory and Cancel Culture all rolled into one!
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Potato farmers here. 
second hand stores, etc. even Walmart was a privilege and not often as it was over an hour away.
I went to work with them in the summers and my first job was setting sprinkler pipes. All hand lines. I had 4 fields twice a day.
(neat fact - it was for the owners of the house in Homeward Bound)
The Freelsā, also who we bought our fresh milk jars and eggs from.
Sweetest old couple ever. The production crew repainted their house when they were doneā¦ in any colors they wantedā¦ the old woman chose a tealish color with maroon window shudders
Before
After (picture by my friend Darci)
Closer pic (also from Darci)
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Exactly, and luck has nothing to do with it!
And Yes, my perfect husband is black, and no one in his family has entitlement mentality. Those who want to strive do strive. I live in a black area of Atlanta, so I do know both side of the stories.
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Awww, what a beautiful live to live!
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Well technically my first job was baby sitting. 
My mom was a nurse and worked evenings. My dad worked in the day and he was a drunk. So my sister and I had to take care of the boys. We were always home alone. One of my earliest memories was of me trying to hold baby Bryan down so Starla could change his diaper. He was trying to crawl away. Meanwhile Cody was behind us pulling all the toilet paper off the roll to flood the toilet. This memory would have been around the time I was turning 4 and Starla was turning 5. We were babies raising babies. And I donāt remember a single time that I felt privileged. Life was hard. We learned to work hard and overcome our circumstances.
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But I prefer to see people as individuals. So yes. Individual stories absolutely count. Individuals can choose their fate by the choices they make. But you would rather lump everyone into a stereotype instead of see them for the individuals they are. No room for individual accountability in your mind. So carry on with your stereotyping. Itās obviously bringing you much happiness and success.
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Individual stories DO countā¦we arenāt all cookie cutter stereotypes which you seem to cling to
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Individual stories donāt fit your narrative you mean. You find what you look for. Plenty of inspiring stories right in front of your eyes but they donāt fit the agenda.
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What awesome pix Jenni!!!
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She may never know exactly what being a black person feels like but her husband sure does. Does she need him to make an account on here so he can come on and type a few sentences to reiterate what she just told you? No of course not because it would be what she just said.
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I suggest you tell your story to Dr. Ben Carson who was raised in poverty by a mother that pushed him to excel. And not from a fatherless home with many siblings taking advantage of āfreeā stuff.
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