Is racism worse or only more visible?
 

I thought for years that the US was finally getting over racism. Then when President Obama was elected, I hoped that put an end to it once and for all.

Instead, the left says that everyone who disagrees with the President's agenda is a racist. The right claims the reason for the decline of America is that minorities are give more rights than the majority. Everyday it seems the US is getting more and more divided.

I know several people that I have respected in the past, but now appall me with their new-found racism.

I would like to know if the US is in fact getting more polarized or if the hatred has always been there, but can now be communicated more easily due to Facebook, Snapchat, etc. and I have been totally blind for years.

Not sure if it's a result of social media, the election of a black or not-fully white president or the legitimacy endowed on white supremacists by Trump's campaign but something is different. A high school classmate of mine wrote a horrific racist and sexist piece on Facebook a few weeks ago. It wouldn't have come to the surface 10 yrs ago.

I find myself getting pretty pi$$ed at blacks sometimes lately, those that I encounter. But I keep it together and stay civil. I've had good and bad relationships with blacks in total over the years. There is a lot of stuck behavior in that demographic IMO. Not that the same isn't true of whites as a whole.

There is a great deal that has never healed left over from Jim Crow and before, IMHO.

I agree with Cmac. it seems more divided today but probably things are just out in the open more. The election of Obama no doubt energized Black folks to be more assertive because it seemed possible things might be changing for the better. More assertive black folks has energized the racists too so both groups have taken to the streets.

Unfortunately people are dying now and that is forcing people to choose sides I suppose when many of us just sat back before and thought all was well.

I believe the racism, bigotry, misogyny and general hatred has always been there. For various reasons it has been given legitimacy and it is percolating to the top.

Nutcases of all stripes used to only have street corners and sandwich signs to vent their spleens. Now all they have to do is go to the library and log on.

Yup. The web has brought us many good things ... it has also helped fringe haters to find a home, to find their 'community.'

This should be moved to the politics and religion section.


I don't think racism has gotten worse. In some ways, I would say we are much better off now than 8 years ago. Why? Many more people are acknowledging the issues we are having. Stuff that has always been there is being brought to the surface and we are being forced to face it. Before, many more people would deny that racism is an issue or that that there are privileges enjoyed by certain groups. Many people still will deny that, probably someone in this comment thread will too but there is evidence to support that.

BTW, the bolded line is purest bull-bleep.

Agreed. Absolute rubbish.

Racism will end when everyone is the same 'skin shade',
'course, they will find new ways of 'classifying' each other, , , ,

I really like your motto: "I applaud your elaborate system of denial"

It is a perfect response to the comments in this thread.

Everyone seems to be so concerned about looking good, or not looking bad, or staying well-paid and hidden.

I like inspections, audits and examinations because they force people to admit their reality, good or bad, cool or not.

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Case in point.

The History of Hutu and Tutsi Conflicts

I also think that the racism, sexism and bigotry has always been there. I think the big change has been the advent of social media - now everyone can see what used to be hidden.

I do think that if anything good is coming out of these searing experiences of the last couple years, it is that we've restarted a national conversation on racism and what it is to be African American in this country. I mean, when Tim Scott, a sitting US Senator, has had three department supervisors or Chiefs of police call him to apologize about his treatment at the hands of law enforcement in the last five years, something is wrong.


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(1) Some people are still 15 (emotionally) and never got over high school. Those are the people calling Obama a closet gay and making Photoshops of his family as monkeys as opposed to calling him on policies they disagree with.
(2) Funny thing was that in high school, the black and Latino (mostly Costa Rican) kids were nicer to me than people of my own color :(

My beef is with the ghetto types. They are bringing America down. This can exclude many blacks, and includes many other colors. Is this racism?

Misread this as "sandwich shops" and my initial thought was, "why do people always tell me about their political beliefs when I'm buying lunch?". It happened again today. I bought a falafel pita and was lectured on God and Turkish politics.

Does this happen to other people? No? Just me then?

Pita was just ok.

I got this last week at a deli. Some old guy just walked in and started telling Hillary jokes.

Everyone but the owner ignored him. She pulled out a Hillary sticker, gave it to him, and told him to hit the road. Then she apologized to everyone there, saying the guy had been making the rounds of area shops. She knew he would show up so she picked up a Hillary sticker and was ready for him.

The interesting thing is she is a hard core Republican. She just doesn't like her shop being used as a soapbox for nut jobs.

The Trump campaign version of boots on the ground.

Wage disparity growing in north America is not helping much either. It is an absolute reality as well. Below a certain level of income combined with a lack of enough education is a bigger problem than in the past.

Going back to my earlier times say a woman working at a food counter might make half as much as an electrician. Today the electrician might earn as much in one day as she does in five.

Should this much differential be there in a balanced society? The electrician may also have surplus finances in comparison and invest them. Over the years the differential results can be very serious.

Functional poverty might be in some ways harder than in the past although it has always been there. It surprised me to find out that some people and there families do not even have enough money to eat reasonably.

While food is a very minor percentage of income to our family for example. We do not even have any ideal of our weekly average cost of food.

I know schools perhaps do not even educate children the same way anymore and there are vast distractions from reality provided as well. What becomes of far too many of these children when they grow up?

Functionally they have no real self confidence or abilities to do almost anything in the range of necessities. This is getto growth stuff not for all of course but for too many.

In Canada as an example far too many are remaining home with their parents well beyond the age when the vast majority of our members got out into the real world. I am not sure if it is them or the current system that has made this happen.

How bad is it. We have an extra house we want to see gone. It needs work. Every young couple that approaches us when asked if they can do the work say no. They have to use contractors.

I get the same response when I ask if they have friends that could help them out as well. It is just not economically feasible to do this on the place with contractors. Personally at their ages I would have jumped on it. As would a lot of my generation.

Cheap, easy to heat, Large lot etc. Yet it could sting you if you tried to do the work required with only contractors. It is ten k to re shingle a roof and the place should have new windows and doors and siding. Plus kitchen cabinets. With some rewiring.

So it will just go to an older guy that rehabs houses and someone will pay a lot of money for the place. We are in no hurry so I still have hopes a young couple with some abilities may surface yet.

Todays generation seems to preffer to pay two hundred thousand with a long term financial commitment. Everything seems to be based on monthly payments.

I cannot bother to explain to them how a deal like this gets them off the endless treadmill much much faster. They just would not comprehend it. The concept of some sweat equity is beyond them as well it seems.