Stop Waiting for Racism to Die Out with Old People

Buzzword

Buzzword

New member
It won't and can't fade away as long as children continue to be indoctrinated at home "to hate all the people your relatives hate," as long as we who attempt to be enlightened indoctrinate our kids to be "colorblind," and as long as white American adults continue to go through life with their eyes closed and their fingers in their ears to the systemic racism all around them.

Being colorblind doesn't mean you can't see race; it just means you can't see racism.

Racism is so much a part of the bedrock of our nation and society that it will take the CONTINUED hard work and sacrifices of multiple generations who acknowledge its presence and make a determined, concerted effort to carve it out.

The accused killer's youth is a reminder that the cultural myth of racism eventually dying out along with an aging, backward-thinking generation is nonsense.


The idea that younger is better when it comes to racism, and so we must simply await a generational shift that will bring about the end of the worst of American racism, is a cultural mythology that's rarely questioned.

This thinking crosses the political spectrum and is shared by people who probably wouldn't even define "racism" in the same way.


To be fair, if you want to be hopeful that Americans' average racism will decrease as the biggest bigots die, there are some reasons to be: For example, a 2013 Gallup poll found that approval of black-white interracial marriage is the lowest among those 65 and older and highest among younger Americans.

But unfortunately, that goes hand in hand with data that tells a different, less optimistic story — especially one incredible 2011 finding by sociologists from Harvard and Tufts: A sample of white Americans (which included more than just the elderly) said that discrimination against them had increased — and 11 percent of whites gave anti-white bias the most serious possible rating, compared with only 2 percent of whites who did so for anti-black bias.


There are a lot of people who are working very hard to decrease American racism and its often deadly effects. Even the leading thinkers on this topic admit that the implicit biases most people hold are really difficult to shake.

Still, while it's a major challenge to snuff out racist views and policies and to reeducate ourselves and our communities, there's more hope in that plan than there is in in sitting around waiting for racists to die as a generation that includes people like Roof replaces them.
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Stop waiting for racism to die out with old people. The Charleston shooting suspect is 21
 
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HisServant

New member
As long as life in america is a competition for money, segments of society based on race, religion, class and education will always be demonized when someone doesn't succeed. i.e. It's always someone else's fault.

The first step in getting rid of racism is to get out of the victim mentality that most people have in this country and blame yourself for your lack of success.
 
MarcATL

MarcATL

New member
HisServant said:
As long as life in america is a competition for money, segments of society based on race, religion, class and education will always be demonized when someone doesn't succeed. i.e. It's always someone else's fault.

The first step in getting rid of racism is to get out of the victim mentality that most people have in this country and blame yourself for your lack of success.
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ROTFLMBAO!
 
shagster01

shagster01

New member
HisServant said:
As long as life in america is a competition for money, segments of society based on race, religion, class and education will always be demonized when someone doesn't succeed. i.e. It's always someone else's fault.

The first step in getting rid of racism is to get out of the victim mentality that most people have in this country and blame yourself for your lack of success.
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You are right. How often do we hear, "it's the Mexicans. They are taking all the jobs."

It's always someone else's fault.
 
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Lexington'96

New member
Years ago I thought that racism was dying out. Then I moved to the South, and heard 18 year olds saying the most bigoted things I had ever heard. And I'm sure this is not only a southern problem, but people are much more open about it there.
 
The Berean

The Berean

Well-known member
One issue is the myth that the root cause of racism is ignorance and lack of education. Recently I've been researching white nationalism. It's been an eye opening experience to say the least. The leaders of the white nationalism movement are certainly not ignorant nor uneducated. Quite the opposite actually. And it's not just white nationalists. Go to YouTube and watch a Malcolm X speech. Malcolm X was highly intelligent and well spoken. It's quickly obvious why he was so beloved and hated. He exudes a strong and powerful persona. Even people who disagreed with his racist black nationalist views conceded this. Jackie Robinson had a well publicized feud with Malcolm X. They attacked each other in the press for quite some time. In Robinson's autobiography that was published right after his death in 1972, Robinson conceded that he admired Malcolm X because he portrayed and image of a virile, intelligent, we'll spoken, black man even though Robinson completely disagreed with Malcolm X's racist views.
 
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bybee

New member
The Berean said:
One issue is the myth that the root cause of racism is ignorance and lack of education. Recently I've been researching white nationalism. It's been an eye opening experience to say the least. The leaders of the white nationalism movement are certainly not ignorant nor uneducated. Quite the opposite actually. And it's not just white nationalists. Go to YouTube and watch a Malcolm X speech. Malcolm X was highly intelligent and well spoken. It's quickly obvious why he was so beloved and hated. He exudes a strong and powerful persona. Even people who disagreed with his racist black nationalist views conceded this. Jackie Robinson had a well publicized feud with Malcolm X. They attacked each other in the press for quite some time. In Robinson's autobiography that was published right after his death in 1972, Robinson conceded that he admired Malcolm X because he portrayed and image of a virile, intelligent, we'll spoken, black man even though Robinson completely disagreed with Malcolm X's racist views.
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A nice thing about being elderly is that one hasn't the energy to willy-nilly dislike folks. It is so easy to like people, almost no work at all.
 
PureX

PureX

Well-known member
Lexington'96 said:
Years ago I thought that racism was dying out. Then I moved to the South, and heard 18 year olds saying the most bigoted things I had ever heard. And I'm sure this is not only a southern problem, but people are much more open about it there.
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It's interesting, I had a somewhat opposite experience as I'd grown up in the north, heard plenty of 'Archie Bunker' type racist comments, but in fact had little actual content with blacks, nor did the 'Archie Bunkers' around me.

When I moved south I was surprised how well everyone seemed to get along, at least by my observation. But as I spent more time there, I began to become aware of a kind of invisible wall that NO ONE down there dared to cross, or even speak of. And that wall was all about maintaining the absolute privilege of being both wealthy and white. And it was a privilege that was guarded ruthlessly.

It was actually my white friends that grew up in the south that pointed it out to me, and gave the most frightening examples of just how ruthlessly that privilege is guarded, even within their own families.

I think there's far more actual racism in the north. But in the south, the racism that does exist is tied to a frighteningly deep-seated oligarchy of white privilege that has only been hidden in the last 50 years; but not diminished.
 
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bybee

New member
PureX said:
It's interesting, I had a somewhat opposite experience as I'd grown up in the north, heard plenty of 'Archie Bunker' type racist comments, but in fact had little actual content with blacks, nor did the 'Archie Bunkers' around me.

When I moved south I was surprised how well everyone seemed to get along, at least by my observation. But as I spent more time there, I began to become aware of a kind of invisible wall that NO ONE down there dared to cross, or even speak of. And that wall was all about maintaining the absolute privilege of being both wealthy and white. And it was a privilege that was guarded ruthlessly.

It was actually my white friends that grew up in the south that pointed it out to me, and gave the most frightening examples of just how ruthlessly that privilege is guarded, even within their own families.

I think there's far more actual racism in the north. But in the south, the racism that does exist is tied to a frighteningly deep-seated oligarchy of white privilege that has only been hidden in the last 50 years; but not diminished.
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And what deep seated racism in the hearts of blacks gets analyzed and diagnosed?
 
A

aikido7

BANNED
Banned
Buzzword said:
It won't and can't fade away as long as children continue to be indoctrinated at home "to hate all the people your relatives hate," as long as we who attempt to be enlightened indoctrinate our kids to be "colorblind," and as long as white American adults continue to go through life with their eyes closed and their fingers in their ears to the systemic racism all around them.

Being colorblind doesn't mean you can't see race; it just means you can't see racism.

Racism is so much a part of the bedrock of our nation and society that it will take the CONTINUED hard work and sacrifices of multiple generations who acknowledge its presence and make a determined, concerted effort to carve it out.



Stop waiting for racism to die out with old people. The Charleston shooting suspect is 21
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I agree with you absolutely. Your common sense is elegantly stated.
 
A

aikido7

BANNED
Banned
bybee said:
And what deep seated racism in the hearts of blacks gets analyzed and diagnosed?
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As I have mentioned before, this seems like another version of "Mommy! He hit me first !!!

Based on an intimate knowledge of my own shortcomings, I feel that it is often too easy to blame others rather than first taking some accountability for our own thoughts, feelings and actions.

I try--not always successfully--to pay close attention to and become more Christ-like if I take to heart Jesus' literal teachings:



How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

I need to ask you a direct question, Cultural Warrior:

Do you think this teaching is helpful for you?
 
B

bybee

New member
aikido7 said:
As I have mentioned before, this seems like another version of "Mommy! He hit me first !!!

Based on an intimate knowledge of my own shortcomings, I feel that it is often too easy to blame others rather than first taking some accountability for our own thoughts, feelings and actions.

I try--not always successfully--to pay close attention to and become more Christ-like if I take to heart Jesus' literal teachings:



How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

I need to ask you a direct question, Cultural Warrior:

Do you think this teaching is helpful for you?
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The eye of the beholder is often myopic.
 
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