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The worst article ever written by a Philadelphian: (If) I was born a poor black child.
"I am not a poor black kid," writes Philadelphia small business motivational writer-speaker Gene Marks near the beginning of a Forbes screed entitled "If I Was a Poor Black Kid."
The worst article ever written by a Philadelphian: (If) I was born a poor black child.
“I am not a poor black kid,” writes Philadelphia small business motivational writer-speaker Gene Marks near the beginning of a Forbes screed entitled “If I Was a Poor Black Kid.”
Marks writes books with charming titles like “In God We Trust: Everyone Else Pays Cash” and “The Complete Idiot's Guide To Successful Outsourcing.” He is a board member of the National Speaker’s Association and gives a speech titled “Quicker! Better! Wiser!” and his biography states that he is a “short, balding and mediocre certified public accountant.”
It fails to mention that he is a boorish and casually bigoted ass. Which brings us back to black people — or, since Forbes couldn't get in touch with any poor black kids, Marks bravely steps forward to offer a double dose of extraordinarily unsolicited advice: 1) stop complaining about your crappy schools and study harder 2) use a lot of technology, like having Skype conversations with other go-getter ghetto youth!
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“If I was a poor black kid I would first and most importantly work to make sure I got the best grades possible. I would make it my #1 priority to be able to read sufficiently. I wouldn’t care if I was a student at the worst public middle school in the worst inner city.” [He's thought about it and it's definitely true. In fact, Marks would be the smartest black child at the world's most fucked up school.]
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“If I was a poor black kid I’d use the free technology available to help me study. I’d become expert at Google Scholar. I’d visit study sites like SparkNotes and CliffsNotes to help me understand books. I’d watch relevant teachings on Academic Earth, TED and the Khan Academy...I would use Skype to study with other students who also want to do well in my school.” [Google Scholar will keep you off the corner where they rap crack cocaine.]
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“In Philadelphia, there are nationally recognized magnet schools like Central, Girls High and Masterman. These schools are free. But they are hard to get in to. You need good grades and good test scores.” [Fuck the fucking idiots stuck in neighborhood schools.]
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“The division between rich and poor is a national problem. But the biggest challenge we face isn’t inequality. It’s ignorance. So many kids from West Philadelphia don’t even know these opportunities exist for them.” [Never mind the historical and documented fact of rising income inequality fueled by sharply lowered taxes on the super rich and a deindustrialized hour glass service economy that has a small top, no middle, and lots of room at the bottom.]
That's right: he begins nearly every sentence with “If I was a poor black kid,” like some sick riff off Steve Martin in The Jerk (“I was born a poor black child..”).
This article is so offensive that I refuse to link to it here and boost its web traffic. Find it through conventional search engine channels if you really want to.
I will link to this Bloomberg piece by Marks, where he argues that Philly should actually tax small-time bloggers more and betrays that he doesn't understand what a blog is: “Tax those guys. By doing so you're actually helping small businesses, not hurting them. I support this tax of bloggers. (Actually, I think it's too small.) If you're going to have a blog and use it for your small business, you should pay a significantly higher tax. This way we can rid the world of lousy bloggers.”
How much would we have to raise Marks' taxes to convince him to stop writing? That, friends, would be semiotic equilibrium.
If I was a poor black kid? I really don't know. But if I were Gene Marks, I know in my heart of hearts that I would shut the fuck up.
"[U]se a lot of technology, like having Skype conversations with other go-getter ghetto youth." Ha!— kishwerv- Shouldn't it be "if I were" not "if I was"? Dude could use some free grammar websites.— BrendenBeck
- "I know a few school teachers and they tell me that many inner city parents usually have or can afford cheap computers and internet service nowadays."
There are, in fact, statistics on this.* I wonder if this guy runs budget meetings this way. "I know a few people who have calculators on their desks and they tell me that we have some money left over for next year."
*For example:
http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2010/September/Technology-Trends-Among-People-of-Color.aspx— Ben R - This tool lives in Lower Merion and his business is in Bala Cynwyd, generating zero real estate/BPT tax dollars for poor black kids in Philadelphia.— LJP4015
- Not only is this article not offensive. I personally find it to be spot on!! Being one of those poor black kids who wanted to learn and do well later on in life. Instead of wanting to be popular and friends with all the riff raff in my neighborhood. I used my time to get the best grades I could by reading books on various subjects. Watching the news to learn about world events. And by broadening my mind by not thinking the hood was all that there is to life. If poor black kids want to stop being poor black kids they need to disassociate themselves from folks who chose not to learn and improve themselves. And stop blaming their situation on everyone else. If you choose to skip school and not do your homework. Who's fault is that? Out of all the kids I grew up with, where are they? About 75% are in and out of jail. 10% are dead. And the rest are living a dead end existence. All because they choose not to put value in education. And take advantage of opportunities when they arise. You cant change the color of your skin but you can change whether or not you stay in the hood.— Phillygirl8112
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