I HOPE Racism will fade away if I do my part

[RTP2008]

Racism affects different races differently.  Just because you and your parents choose to not care about race as much as those before you doesn't mean that other races have the same privilege.  Those affected most by racism aren't presented with the choice of toning down racism.  I'm glad that there are optimistic people like you and your future children, but it seems like (from your post) that you don't get it.  That's ok though.  The fact of the matter is, racism has been around forever.  There are those of us that won't just let it fade away waiting for every White person to take your path.

I disagree.  When I am discriminated against, I choose to not let it negatively affect me.  I HAVE a choice, and you saying I don't is offensive

You seem to get offended easily especially since I never referred to you. Some people don't have a choice but while you and others like you are marching in the "Racism isn't so bad parade" there are others who don't have a choice. How many people choose to learn in poor schools, get down tracked in the good ones, experience extra difficulties in jon searching and voting?  How many people choose to fit the description, qualify for random checks in the airport, get shot by mexicans in LA or beat up by blacks in Atlanta, or mutilated in darfur for being different. Racism affects those without a choice more than anyone else. Don't discount any of it because you choose to not see anyone elses problems as negatively affecting you.

Learn to read, keep an open mind, don't be so sensitive and enjoy the parade. Hopefully the rest f the world can join you one day.

[dashrashi]

Reezy's got it right on institutional racism, which is the crux of why the OP is wrong. DISMANTLING is needed. Passivity is not enough; we'll need activity if we hope to actually solve racism, and not just the most outward manifestations of it.

[jack24]

I didn't know I had a profanity filter turned on.  I wonder what people are really saying to me.
I just want to thank everyone for your comments.

Bearly Legal:
You made a lot of good points. I'm mostly examining this in the context of friendship.  I doubt my children will have any reason to choose their friends based on skin color.  If I used skin color to choose my friends then I wasn't aware of it. 

Reezy:
You're pretty funny.  I'm sorry you think I'm a moron. Now stop being a jackass.  Tell me what you think I should do better.

Dashrashi:
What do you mean by "Dismantling"? 

Everyone Else:
I am speaking about this issue from my point of view.  Apparently nobody thinks I know what I'm talking about.  Does everyone out there really disagree with me?  Don't minorities now have equal rights as far as the law is concerned?  What else can we do other than teach the next generation that all men are truly created equal?

[dashrashi]

I didn't know I had a profanity filter turned on.  I wonder what people are really saying to me.
I just want to thank everyone for your comments.

Bearly Legal:
You made a lot of good points. I'm mostly examining this in the context of friendship.  I doubt my children will have any reason to choose their friends based on skin color.  If I used skin color to choose my friends then I wasn't aware of it. 

Reezy:
You're pretty funny.  I'm sorry you think I'm a moron. Now stop being a jackass.  Tell me what you think I should do better.

Dashrashi:
What do you mean by "Dismantling"? 

Everyone Else:
I am speaking about this issue from my point of view.  Apparently nobody thinks I know what I'm talking about.  Does everyone out there really disagree with me?  Don't minorities now have equal rights as far as the law is concerned?  What else can we do other than teach the next generation that all men are truly created equal?

"Equal rights are far as the law is concerned"--well, sort of. But if you're significantly more likely to get a death sentence if you're black and killed a white person than if you're black and killed a black person, or white and killed a white person, or white and killed a white person...I'd say at best the answer is going to be "yes and no." And I think that part of the dismantling of that trend has to be talking about it openly, owning it as our problem, analyzing it, and taking steps to erase the possibility of it ever happening again. A very active process, and not one we can hope time will accomplish on its own.

[jack24]

...I think that part of the dismantling of that trend has to be talking about it openly, owning it as our problem, analyzing it, and taking steps to erase the possibility of it ever happening again. A very active process, and not one we can hope time will accomplish on its own.
[/quote]

I'm not saying that time will heal all wounds.  I think that actively teaching our children and the next generation to be tolerant, just and wise is a VERY effective way of fighting racism, don't you?

[dashrashi]

...I think that part of the dismantling of that trend has to be talking about it openly, owning it as our problem, analyzing it, and taking steps to erase the possibility of it ever happening again. A very active process, and not one we can hope time will accomplish on its own.

I'm not saying that time will heal all wounds.  I think that actively teaching our children and the next generation to be tolerant, just and wise is a VERY effective way of fighting racism, don't you?

[/quote]

No one on these juries hold explicit racist attitudes; otherwise they'd have been struck by any competent lawyer. But this is happening anyway. So I don't think this is something we can deal with via changing individual attitudes. We have something in our system, embedded there, apparently, in the way we do things, that is making this outcome happen. Which is racist, and unacceptable. So I think that we need to reexamine the process, because right now, it's not looking like equal rights under the law.

[jack24]

Dashrashi:  if what you say is true then we do need to examine the process and fix it. 

But nomatter how you look at it, people shouldn't think I'm stupid just because I believe that my children will be better than I am.

I think we all need to remember that EVERYONE has to do their part.  I've identified that at this time in my life I need to focus on raising my kids to be good people.  That doesn't mean that I wont do what's right if I get the opportunity to defend victims or right the wrongs of society.  Don't mistake my optimism for indifference, and don't mistake my hope for ignorance.

[dashrashi]

Dashrashi:  if what you say is true then we do need to examine the process and fix it. 

But nomatter how you look at it, people shouldn't think I'm stupid just because I believe that my children will be better than I am.

I think we all need to remember that EVERYONE has to do their part.  I've identified that at this time in my life I need to focus on raising my kids to be good people.  That doesn't mean that I wont do what's right if I get the opportunity to defend victims or right the wrongs of society.  Don't mistake my optimism for indifference, and don't mistake my hope for ignorance.

I think what people are generally saying is that "examining the process and fixing it" might be the exact opposite of "letting racism fade away." Believing that your kids will be less racist is, ultimately, neither here nor there, but people are also disagreeing with your evidence for believing that generations are naturally less racist than those who came before, which seemed to be the gist of what you were saying.

[jack24]

I think what people are generally saying is that "examining the process and fixing it" might be the exact opposite of "letting racism fade away." Believing that your kids will be less racist is, ultimately, neither here nor there, but people are also disagreeing with your evidence for believing that generations are naturally less racist than those who came before, which seemed to be the gist of what you were saying.

I don't think generations are naturally less racist, but I do think that society is causing less racism than it was before. And at least people are being more respectful even if they harbor ill feelings for a particular race. 

Do you have any evidence to suggest that people are becoming more racist?

[dashrashi]

I think what people are generally saying is that "examining the process and fixing it" might be the exact opposite of "letting racism fade away." Believing that your kids will be less racist is, ultimately, neither here nor there, but people are also disagreeing with your evidence for believing that generations are naturally less racist than those who came before, which seemed to be the gist of what you were saying.

I don't think generations are naturally less racist, but I do think that society is causing less racism than it was before. And at least people are being more respectful even if they harbor ill feelings for a particular race. 

Do you have any evidence to suggest that people are becoming more racist?

I think undercover racism is becoming more prevalent, actually. Anti-affirmative-action stuff and all the rest of the backlash could easily be construed as society (esp. in terms of the system) actually being more intractably racist than it was in 1973, say. Perhaps it's even more insidious now that people can dispute that it's racist. Perhaps.

All I'm saying is that if you don't have any evidence for your position that "people are less racist" beyond your own intuitions, then it's irresponsible to suggest that racism will go away as a problem as a matter of time and erosion, especially what with the selective way you're defining "people are less racist" and how little that has to do with so much of America's race problem.