After being able to load the comments section I was able to read some points of view that made some sense. One of which is that high school students these days are pressured into making decisions on degrees a lot more than back in my day (I graduated in 1990), familial and peer pressure, and another person discussed trade schools which aren't as popular but people in those fields can often make better money than those with degrees if they're not afraid of working for their pay. 

 

It's tragic that a black person will be bullied and called Uncle Tom for actually trying to succeed because their unmotivated friends and family think they're selling out by trying to make a better life for themselves. Maybe they just don't want to live in the hood and on public assistance the rest of their lives.

 

This is something I encountered when working with an organization in Jacksonville that had me in daily contact and communication with low income folks where everything was discussed to include how their friends would 'sell' their food stamps for cash so they could get alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. If some of these people heard their neighbor/cousin/whoever was doing something to get themselves out of the life, they would rain all kinds of disparaging remarks toward them even as they complained about their own situation. It was so strange to hear that. I guess I've never had the mindset that where I am in life at that moment is permanent so would never think to shame someone for doing better than me. My time would come. 

---