"We've reached a point that racism is like a virus that has mutated into a new form that we don't recognize," Dovidio said.
Most Americans, white and black, see racism as a lingering problem in the United States, and many say they know people who are racist, according to a new poll.
Many people in the United States deny that there is a racial problem or, if they admit it, engage in scapegoating, saying that blacks themselves are the source of the problem. What is worse is that most white Americans find it impossible to see that racism has had a serious impact on white America itself.
It certainly is. And no one race is more to blame than the other, we simply cannot seem to get over the fact that we look different. People need to realize that a person's background/culture/upbringing have an infinitely greater effect on their personalities than their physical appearance.
Granted there are still very strong shadows of this country's less than respectable past and it will simply take a long time for them to fade away.
We've come a long way in the last 140 years, and we still have a ways to go.
I’ve had enough of the race stuff in another thread, so I’m going to remain out of this for the most part. But I’m am going to say that until we all can discuss this openly and honestly without the fear of pissing somebody off, it will exist. It’s all to easy to say “let’s just drop this” and keep our head in the sand.
From one of the links
… It is too painful to admit the truth of the situation because they would have to confront the ugly reality….
Sliding down the banister of life ..........................
I see it on several sides, not just black vs. white. You'd have to throw in the Latin and Asian biases both ways as well.
Myself, I'm and equal opportunity offender. If you're a P.O.S. I don't care what your background is...I'm call you a P.O.S.
On the other hand, if you do your job, get along with others and don't screw people over then I'll be glad to call you friend. Again, background doesn't matter.
I think most people are the same way. There will always be regional stereotypes due to past experiences/observations/biases but overall people want to live and let live.
Personally, I'm a firm believer in the saying, "it's all pink on the inside".
Is it only in America? Are countries with ethnic or nationalistic pride all that different?
Hell_Yes
Luck is where preparation meets opportunity - Seneca
"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" - Isaac Asimov
It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book. - Friedrich Nietzsche
In a lot of cases people try to hide the fact they are racist in order to appear as good people, but deep inside there is a hatred of certain races by certain races.
Individual on individual racism is more rare, (when you meet and know someone personally, color meens little) but a general racism can exist in those same people.
More often than not the media has played a major role in stereotyping different races, and have caused racism over the 50 or so years being on the airwaves via TV and movies.
lonewolfz28 wrote:I see it on several sides, not just black vs. white. You'd have to throw in the Latin and Asian biases both ways as well.
Myself, I'm and equal opportunity offender. If you're a P.O.S. I don't care what your background is...I'm call you a P.O.S.
On the other hand, if you do your job, get along with others and don't screw people over then I'll be glad to call you friend. Again, background doesn't matter.
I think most people are the same way. There will always be regional stereotypes due to past experiences/observations/biases but overall people want to live and let live.
Personally, I'm a firm believer in the saying, "it's all pink on the inside".
LOL , great post!
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jeremyboycool wrote:Is it not our duty as Americans to resolve these issues?
Not possible, it is in human nature to see differences, hell its in nature as a whole. However its how you act on these differences that make you a racist. I personally don't think its as big as a problem as it could be. Where else in the world do you mix as many people as we have (european, african, mexican, asian, etc...) and have as little problem as we do. Elsewhere in the world people are murdered in mass number because of their skin color or beliefs....i think we have it pretty good.
Now back in the day when white trash were killing men because of their skin color...differnt story!
I stick to the you are as good as you act, i don't care who your father is or any of that nonsense, you are only as good as your attitude. You act like trash, i treat you like trash. YOu hang out with trash then i tend to think you are trash...pretty simple really!
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Some Americans are racist.
Some Americans are not racist.
Those are truer statements.
As long as there are men who commit transgressions aginst other men, there will be racism. Racism is best described as an attitude and/or prejudicial opinion against a man or men of a different race. It had never existed until man transgressed against that other race, for that it the birth of racism in an individual. It is not something that is learned or taught by elders.
It can be taught by elders, such as if Uncle Bob says to little Johnny, "all colored folk are this or that". But it does not become really real to little Johnny until he trangresses agains some "colored person". He will justify his transgression with the "false data" given to him by Uncle Bob.
The best way to reduce racism would be to pay no attention at all to it, period. Specifically, keep "racist news stories" out of the media, stop the media from hyping news with buzzwords like "racism, racist". Don't pay to see comedians whose acts are made of racist humor, including those comedians who make light of the matter. The truth is that comics like Chris Rock and others only server to promote racism and spread it deeper.
I'm not bashing Chris Rock, I am only stating that such acts force attention onto the subject and drive home the fact that racism exists and that something should be done about it. However, the only way to "cure it" is changing the attitude of one person at a time. There's no quick fast group cure for it.
Educationally, racism can be reduced by having history books in the USA that contain the truth about history. I have never seen a history text that contained truth, only bits & pieces of truth woven together with political propoganda.
For example, history texts paint a picture of the Puritans as a rightous ethical group, but they were by far about the most degraded and unethical group this country has ever had. They would not have needed all those strict screwy laws unless members of the group had been trangressing thusly. Similarly, slavery as covered in US history texts omits the political & financial impetus back of slavery, which originally was profits from rum & whiskey. Africans were kidnapped and forced to work in cane fields, cane was sent to Boston where liquer was produced, liquer was shipped back to EU, profits financed slave traders, and the cycle repeated. All justified with the then Christian viewpoint that anyone not a Christian was "less than a man" and the Darwinian psychology viewpoint that "man is an animal".
No one has any right to force data on you
and command you to believe it or else.
If it is not true for you, it isn't true. LRH
jeremyboycool wrote:Is it not our duty as Americans to resolve these issues?
It's our duty to police ourselves and everything else will fall in line.
My family was indirectly threatened Tuesday by a gun wielding arm robber running from the Police through my backyard. My daughters were out swimming! God knows what may have happened if they were alone. They caught him hiding in my neighbor's shed like a cornered rat. He had an automatic pistol. There were 7-8 Sheriff deputies and local police as well as canine all over my property with guns drawn. I got my pistol out of the vault and wore it until they apprehended him. I can and will shoot someone if their intent is harming us. This is not at all common in my part of the county which freaked us out a bit. If I said where this guy was from and described him, I would be a racist. It's the same story over and over in the city next to me. Gangs, drugs, robbery & murder committed by the same people over & over. It's a travesty that has everyone concerned with good reason.
jeremyboycool wrote:I think the human mind is fully capable of unbiased thought. That racism and prejudice is brought on by a lack of proper education.
And by having racist parents teaching it to their kids.
That said. racists can be nice people if your not the race they hate.
jeremyboycool wrote:But if we teach our childern that American is the best country on earth does that not install a biased opinion of non-Americans?
Is American pride wrong?
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Yes these are the type of things I think about.
American pride is fine and good, but not if you shove it down peoples throats all the time, there are soem other nice places in the world. Every place has its own set of problems.
Again, background doesn't matter. 
It's the same story over and over in the city next to me. Gangs, drugs, robbery & murder committed by the same people over & over. It's a travesty that has everyone concerned with good reason.