Racism in America. What can we do?

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   lesliebyarsposted 11 years ago

   How can we ease the tension and help further crush out racism?

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      Credence2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I dunno, it seems that over the considerable time that I have been around that a certain amount of desire to cling to ones own group seems natural and primal. It is like working against gravity for people to take the effort to operate fairly and impartially toward all. But it is well worth the effort, its a matter of civility.
      
      In America racism seems intractable and myths are held between competing groups as to the nature and the objectives of each other. While I cannot change the heart of a man, I can with the law prevent assault on me in those areas of life that determine my ability to live in society.
      
      I have written an article or two, trying to deal with 'how we got here'.

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   Uninvited Writerposted 11 years ago

   I don't know. What makes a man decide to shoot an 8 year old child in the face just because he is black?

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   Seth Winterposted 11 years ago

   I think probably the first step to recognizing and crushing racism is the recognize that racism comes in all forms. Every race does it and no races has a monopoly (or at least one you can prove) on racism. Part of recognizing racism would include deciding who out of the public figures are race baiters and not giving them any attention.
   
   If Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson hadn't existed wouldn't the world be a better place as far as racism is concerned?

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      Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Racism would still exist with or without them.

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         wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         It would, but both have a very loud voice and a very racist message.  Presumably national racism would be lessened without those.

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            Credence2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Wilderness, in reply to your comment. Conservatives always say that, you give these people far to much credit and influence. I can just read the paper and I tell you that we are more than capable of being indignant about problems without their help. The problem is far more complex than muffling a mouthpiece or two

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               wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Of course it is more complex than that.  I very carefully indicated that I did not believe it would solve the problem but only result in less of a problem.
               
               But it would help.  Whipping the masses into a mob without a brain never helps anything, and in this case simply creates more racism than was there before.
               
               Can you imagine, in your wildest dreams, either of those two demagogues ever repeating any of these quotes except perhaps as a spun bit of political expediency:
               
               "In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds."
               
               "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred."
               
               "We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence"
               
               "Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force."
               
               "The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny." 
               
               "We cannot walk alone." [but walk with all races]
               
               Not in a thousand years of rabble rousing would either of them ever say anything like "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." for it isn't in their agenda.  Their purpose is to foment racism, to create tension and violence and along the way pad their pockets. 
               
               So, IMHO silencing those two "mouthpieces" could do nothing but good.  Replace them with someone more along the lines of the speaker of the quotes given.

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         Education Answerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Racism would still exist, but that wasn't Seth Winter's point.  Seth asked if the world would be a better place, not if racism would cease to exist.  The answer is that there might be less racism if these two didn't push their agenda, and yes, they are by far, not the only people who have a racial agenda.

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            Seth Winterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            +1

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            Uninvited Writerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Of course, those two (the new boogeymen of the right) are responsible and make people racist. Please, list specific things they have done to push a racist agenda...
            
            I see how you all nicely avoided what I said about an 8 year old being shot in the face for being black.

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               Silverspeederposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Its the same question as what makes a man stab a 14yr old to death just because he is white.
               
               It could be that some have grown up in an environment where they are told or educated that other races are bad for what ever reason.
               
               I once had an interesting conversation with a young black man who told me he hated whites because they allowed slavery to happen, when I asked him how did that happen he hadn't got a clue. I wonder where he learnt it from?

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               Education Answerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               They're not at all "new."

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               Seth Winterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Uninvited Writer allow me to "invite you" to search for this is google.
               
               "Al Sharpton and Tawana Brawley"
               Or you could just go to the link below.
               
               http://washingtonexaminer.com/al-sharpt … le/2533997
               
               But even without that court case all those years ago it's a know fact that the two people I stated above are race baiters. Race baiters increase the hatred within people and are responsible for creating racism.

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