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So the question is, if our country has actively, through the use of discriminatory laws, prevented a person or group of persons from achieving that prosperity... how does the state then redress that?



If it's the laws that are discriminatory, repealing them should be sufficient. The last I checked, they were. If it's the people’s beliefs that are discriminatory, that becomes a thornier issue and one beyond legislation. Although I know how liberals like to try.

We're talking about changing people’s hearts and minds. Last time I checked, the attitudes towards minorities in this country was improving (first black president yo). Even in the GOP.

Opportunity is there, it may not be great but it’s there for anyone who puts out the effort. Education is the first step and student loans are available for all who try.



That sidestep was positively Palinesque. But typical of conservatives in general. If you don't like the question you're asked, simply ask yourself a different one and answer that one.
Not to belabor the point, but that's why I used the past tense: "our country has...". Yes, all those laws have been repealed. For the past 45 years, there has been de jure, if not de facto equality of opportunity in this country. And no, it doesn't have a damn thing to do with changing "hearts and minds". I honestly do not give a shit what people think or feel toward one race, gender, orientation or another. It is not the place of the government to dictate people's beliefs, and I'm ardently opposed to hate crime laws for just that reason. Obama's election demonstrates just how much our attitudes toward race have changed... but otherwise, people are free to hate niggers, chinks, spicks, ragheads, kikes, fags, wops, gimps, dykes, or whomever they choose. It's part of what makes America great!
But nothing you said comes close to answering my question. Which is, given the economic disparity and the culture of poverty that plagues certain minorities [ African Americans and Native Americans esp, having received the worst ethnicidal assrapings in US history ], what then does this country do to undo what's been done? Or do we simply sweep it all under the rug, tell everyone to let bygones be bygones, and pretend that everyone starts life with an equal chance to grab the brass ring?

btw, did anyone happen to catch Rush Limbaugh's "first address to the nation"? His performance was spectacular. But the audience's response shows how completely the Right has surrendered the Middle to Obama. Now they're just retreating to safe ground... The wingnuts in their base.
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