Mike,

Kids aren't the same the worldover, especially when it comes to IQ, or opportunity. I live in, well outside of, Memphis,TN. where the city is about 65% black and the county 55%. We have hoods that have hundreds of boarded up houses, like Detroit. Then we have pockets of extreme wealth, like where Fred Smith (founder and CEO of FedEx) live. The kids from his neighborhood are much more dissimilar to the kids in the hood than they are alike.

Most of the white families have a mother and father, in most of the black homes, they have a mother and grandmother, and many times they aren't the role models. I plot crimes for a living, and I can tell you it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where the issues are. They are in the hood, which is the same place they have always been. The problem is the kids don't have much of a chance, because their "parents" are drug addicts, pimps, whores, etc. When a kid makes it out of the hood, I believe the angels rejoice, because it is against all odds.

I am supporting my "brotha from anotha motha", who happens to be a black democrat for sheriff in this years race because I think he understands something has to be done in the hood, if we are going to be successful in getting these kids to shun crime, gangs, etc. You might want to check him out at http://www.randywadeforsheriff.com







>
>He did take the money and I don't judge him for that.
>
>I think you are wrong about the so-called norm. I have been involved with youth soccer for years and it has taught me a lot. I grew up in a white bread state. I hardly knew any blacks or hispanics or asians growing up. You see the kids kicking a soccer ball around and you realize different. Kids are the same the world over. The sins are those of the parents and the grandparents, not the kids.
>
>I have had two favorite players. One was a girl who had a Greek dad and a white mother. She was pure bulldog. Don't get in my way, I'm going to knock it in. And she had the sweetest smile in the world. I saw her and her parents refereeing an all star tournament a couple of years ago. Still the same sweet girl, still the dominant player on the field.
>
>The other was a kid named Jovan from Bosnia. He spoke hardly a word of English. I think the only phrase we understood was Yes, I understand. He undoubtedly understands more now. His dad, a beefy Eastern European type, beamed. That is the history of our country, I repeat myself like a broken record. He was 7 when I coached him. When he scored his first goal he looked over at his dad. The look between them was priceless. They had come here under duress, their compatriates being slaughtered. So when you see a kid and his dad light up at a soccer goal it means something.