Is there still racism in America?

[Cricket2]

Of course there is still racism. Despite the best efforts of many there will always be some that are racist. It is a sad reality of the human race.

I believe that each friendship that is developed between those of differing race or ethnicity is a step toward ending this problem, and that those who are in such friendships are doing a great good for all. It floors me when I come across Christians who condone racism or harbor racist attitudes and behaviors. It is as if they have forgotten what it means to be a Christian entirely. My previous pastor called racism “A sin against the blood of Christ.” He viewed it as a mortal sin.

I hope that all of us can be part of that work and effort which moves humanity in a better direction: That of love and peace, not hate or rejection of others.

 

[phil19034]

There is still racism, but I think more than anything else, we have a lot more xenophobia and class-ism.

Americans tend to discriminate against ethnic groups who are poor and not protestant.

America also always discriminates against immigrates who are Catholic. First the Irish and Polish (Germans too to a degree, but they were also protestant), then the Italians and Portuguese. Now the Latin Americans, Vietnamese and Filipinos. Not to mention that the French have never been regarded well by Americans.

 

[Skye_Ariel]

Black Pastors: Comparing Homosexuality to Civil Rights Fight is ‘Distortion’ of History

“A person’s sexuality and sexual preferences, however, are not their state of being, or even an immutable aspect of who they are, as race is,” “The truth of the matter is that it is merely activity in which they engage. The state has no responsibility to promote any person’s sexual proclivities, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise.”

christiannews.net/2014/05/18/black-pastors-comparing-homosexuality-to-civil-rights-fight-is-distortion-of-history/

I agree with this. Homosexuality cannot be compared to race at all because a person is not born gay, and a person can choose to not engage in homosexual activities and they can hide their gayness. A person is born whatever race they are, and blacks can’t hide it or refuse to “look” black. It’s there for everyone to see. Plus you don’t have whole families of gays that you can discriminate against or have all gays living in the same neighborhood like it is/was with race. I can go on and on. So no, the fight that gays have cannot be compared to race struggle. No one ever had a straight water fountain and a gay water fountain or had signs where gays had to sit at certain counters and straight people in other counters. And gays were never refused in all straight public schools the way that public schools had to integrate blacks. So no, the homosexual struggle is nowhere near the struggle that people had with race. Not to mention that gays were not held as slaves for 200 hundred years. So I know what they are trying to say when they try to compare the gay struggle to the race struggle, but that’s like comparing someone being beheaded to someone getting a cut on their finger. LOL.

Also I think racism will either always exist, or it will take another 200 years to stamp it out completely.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Frankly we have bigger problems to worry about now than racism.

Racism will always exist around the world not just in the united states.

If we don’t get jobs created and get our economy growing and solve our immigration problems and have a strong foreign policy there will be no America.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Frankly we have bigger problems to worry about now than racism.

Racism will always exist around the world not just in the united states.

If we don’t get jobs created and get our economy growing and solve our immigration problems and have a strong foreign policy there will be no America.

This Obama administration has done more to create racial divide in this country than anything.

 

[HerCrazierHalf]

7 Sorrows,
I politely disagree.

 

[meltzerboy]

There will always be some form of racism, or a mistrust, pre-judgment, unequal treatment of others who do not share our color, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, etc. Just watching my cats has taught me how low we can be at our lower animal nature.

My cat had a crush on the older female calico cat and he always followed her but stood respectfully or carefully at a distance. But when the calico had surgery and came home with a bandage on her spine, he would jump at her and attack her wound. I have seen humans do the same. Taking advantage of a perceived or real difference or weakness.

We will always have a tendency toward racism unless we teach otherwise. We also want to avoid it getting institutionalized or government approved. We cannot deny the institutionalized racism that happened throughout our world and country; but we must also look for it in other ways.

The Irish and African Americans, both recipients of discrimination have also treated their own people with the same disregard. The world: Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, etc. is full of warring tribes fighting their cousins. There is a long history of this kind of cruelty throughout the world from race to race, religion to religion, class to class as well as within each race, religion and class.

We need to see our divisive and cruel tendencies, avoid cruelty and division, and learn about the bigger world.

Well stated, Auntie, and I particularly like the cat analogy!

 

[Havard]

Well stated, Auntie, and I particularly like the cat analogy!

Respectfully, I think you guys are missing the trajectory of things. Yes, race relations are far from perfect, but younger generations are far less concerned about skin color and speech accent than they were in the past.

 

[ThinkingSapien]

This Obama administration has done more to create racial divide in this country than anything.

I think discussion of political figures is prohibited in these forums. Let’s not make comments like these.

 

[Havard]

I think discussion of political figures is prohibited in these forums. Let’s not make comments like these.

IIRC, you are correct. Some issues in this section are politically charged, but the intention is to promote discussion about problems and solutions, not parties or candidates.

 

[estesbob]

I think discussion of political figures is prohibited in these forums. Let’s not make comments like these.

They can only be discussed in world news

 

[7_Sorrows]

Sorry - thought this was in the news section.

The answer to this question is pretty obvious!

There exists many different types of prejudice in our country. Race is just one of them. Unfortunately, sometimes it is
exploited by certain groups.

 

[migueltojose]

Birds of a feather flock together. Not bad. But can be. Needs to be understood. No excuse for not appreciating diversity.

Honesty, responsibility, respect, fairness and compassion. That is what we all want from each other.

Is it fair when your house devalues more than 50% when minorities move into your neighborhood. Is it racist to be upset. No. Is it racist to take it out on your new neighbors… yes. That’s what happened in the major industrial cities in the 60’s and 70’s. Look at them now. Who’s fault? No fault. Just facts. Look what happened to those neighborhoods. They’ve been destroyed. No fault. Just facts. A lot of what appears to be “racism” can be traced back to economic origins. Money is not a race. It’s money.

Let’s say your rich and live in a million dollar home (with a 30 year note) and suddenly, within a year or two, your house is worth less than half that. (You still have the 30 year note). It’s not about race… it’s about money.

Why do you think there was a “white flight” back then… just because everyone wanted to move to the burbs. Sure to some extent. But it was move to the burbs or get left behind and face financial ruin. The people who could afford to get out, got out. The people who couldn’t had to ride it out. I know lot’s of people on both sides of that scenario. My wife’s dad’ old neighborhood is like a war zone. It was a great neighborhood. Mostly German and Irish. Not anymore.

Is it cultural, economic, religion, education. All of the above I guess… lot of smart people have tried to figure it out… no one’s gotten it right yet. From my limited perspective. (I grew up in St. Louis in the 60’s.)

 

[Zoltan_Cobalt]

I would like to think not but I had a friend share with me stories on how he was treated as a black man. He feared the police more than he did his neighbors. When he left I joked about him a little then I thought to myself am I being a little racist myself or my joking of him (which we do quite often to one another) is mostly just fun bantering. Anyways racism is wrong because we should be tolerating one another whether we are rich or poor, black or white, Spanish or Vietnamese, deaf or dumb, young and old, Catholic or Hindu. With Love in our culture, there shouldn’t be any room for racism. [SIGN]God is Love[/SIGN]

It is a ridiculous to assume that there is a shred of racism left in America today.

The MAJORITY of Americans elected a Black Man as President of the United States, not once but re-elected him again.

I would think this would settle the “race card” once and for all.

 

[ThinkingSapien]

Is it fair when your house devalues more than 50% when minorities move into your neighborhood. Is it racist to be upset. No. Is it racist to take it out on your new neighbors… yes. That’s what happened in the major industrial cities in the 60’s and 70’s. Look at them now. Who’s fault? No fault. Just facts. Look what happened to those neighborhoods. They’ve been destroyed. No fault. Just facts. A lot of what appears to be “racism” can be traced back to economic origins. Money is not a race. It’s money.

That’s probably not a good example in light of additional information. During that time period it was also not uncommon in certain areas to have different sets of practices for how houses were sold based on one’s racial classification. These were codified in rules from entities such as the FHA and in the terms of the National Housing Act and some of the acts/rules that came after it. There were also other rules and restrictions that limited the economic opportunities of minorities in some areas which also contribute to foreclosure rates and rules that impacted one’s ability to get a loan to do repairs on a property despite having otherwise positive payment history. I would suggest looking into this more. If you would like I can cite some specific cities and practices to get you started. You’d have to go back to the National Housing Act (part of the New Deal) to get back to the roots of that. Some of the history there get’s incredibly ugly. It’s worthy of it’s own thread, but I think discussing the details would involve discussing things that may grace the boundaries of the prohibitions of what can be discussed here without violating the policies the moderators have made available to us.

 

[migueltojose]

That’s probably not a good example in light of additional information. During that time period it was also not uncommon in certain areas to have different sets of practices for how houses were sold based on one’s racial classification. These were codified in rules from entities such as the FHA and in the terms of the National Housing Act and some of the acts/rules that came after it. There were also other rules and restrictions that limited the economic opportunities of minorities in some areas which also contribute to foreclosure rates and rules that impacted one’s ability to get a loan to do repairs on a property despite having otherwise positive payment history. I would suggest looking into this more. If you would like I can cite some specific cities and practices to get you started. You’d have to go back to the National Housing Act (part of the New Deal) to get back to the roots of that. Some of the history there get’s incredibly ugly. It’s worthy of it’s own thread, but I think discussing the details would involve discussing things that may grace the boundaries of the prohibitions of what can be discussed here without violating the policies the moderators have made available to us.

I lived it. Learning more from other areas would be interesting… but I know what happened in St. Louis where my family and my wife’s family came from. Very specific. Very real.

But, I have no doubt that what you say is true.

 

[meltzerboy]

It is a ridiculous to assume that there is a shred of racism left in America today.

The MAJORITY of Americans elected a Black Man as President of the United States, not once but re-elected him again.

I would think this would settle the “race card” once and for all.

The majority of Americans who VOTED elected Obama twice. But there are plenty of Americans who, as a rule, don’t vote as well as plenty of Americans who voted for another candidate, not that they are necessarily racist but that may have been one of the factors influencing their decision. To say there is not a “shred of racism” left in America is an exaggeration. Besides, racism is not only directed toward African Americans.

 

[exnihilo]

He feared the police more than he did his neighbors.

That is just being smart. The police are exempt from the law and liability that your neighbors are held to. They get to carry around guns and use them when they feel the least bit threatened.

As for racism of course there is still racism. It is not limited to Whites being racist but is found in every group. Expressing racist thoughts or even giving the appearance of having racial views has been made illegal. One consequence is men, at least smart men, keep their views private. You are unlikely to have an truthful discussion of the issues as a result.

 

[migueltojose]

I believe we should support our local police.

“I’m the police. And I’m here to arrest you. You’ve broken the law. I did not write the law. I may even disagree with the law. But I will enforce it. No matter how you plead, cajole, beg or attempt to stir my sympathies, nothing you do will stop me from placing you in a steel cage with grey bars. If you run away, I will chase you. If you fight me, I will fight back. If you shoot at me, I will shoot back. By law, I am unable to walk away. I’m a consequence. I am the unpaid bill. I am fate with a badge and a gun. Behind my badge is a heart like yours. I bleed. I think. I love. And yes, I can be killed. And although I’m but one man, I have thousands of brothers and sisters who are the same as me. They will lay down their lives for me. And I them. We stand watch together. A thin blue line. Protecting the prey from the predators. The good from the bad. We are the police.” - End of Watch

 

[Sarcelle]

The majority of Americans who VOTED elected Obama twice. But there are plenty of Americans who, as a rule, don’t vote as well as plenty of Americans who voted for another candidate, not that they are necessarily racist but that may have been one of the factors influencing their decision. To say there is not a “shred of racism” left in America is an exaggeration. Besides, racism is not only directed toward African Americans.

Racism is an equal opportunity employer.

Any individual regardless of sex, race, age, educational background or sexual orientation can be a racist.

One can also be racist towards their own race.