Do you think constantly talking about racism is good for race relations?

[Strychnine]

"Constantly," no. When appropriate, sure. Defenders of the status quo always want people with complaints to just shut up, but if you want improvement, you have to point out problems.

Well put.

 

[IDL]

Not through media mania, no. And not through attacking people.

Talking about it in a reasonable way where both sides are looking for mutual understanding is good, but that isn't the way it goes though most of the time.

 

[Pem123]

How is that going to stop police departments around the country from beating up and killing black kids?

How is that going to convince courts that a self defense claim is not less worthy by default because the defendant is not Caucasian?

your question should be how to convince court that not only white can do hate crime and how to send a massage that white privilege did not exist and to erase victim mentality on black kids. and also to show the world that not only white can be racist. in fact they are the least racist people on earth TODAY

and i said by making it a joke

 

[Pem123]

This. Trying to say racism doesn't exist in America when an unarmed black teenager who never left his vehicle gets murdered by a white man who thinks it was self defense when he picked a fight and pulled his own gun despite never being attacked and the courts absolve the murderer of wrongdoing is far worse than discussing racism excessively.

http://www.jeffhead.com/images/zimmerman-injuries.jpg

warning pick are disgusting, but its proves that silly statement that Shunya make are wrong

 

[Uchi Mata]

http://www.jeffhead.com/images/zimmerman-injuries.jpg

warning pick are disgusting, but its proves that silly statement that Shunya make are wrong

He was actually referring to the Michael Dunn trial:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/16/justice/florida-loud-music-trial/

As for race being discussed, it's important to discuss it but equally important not to obsess over it. It's unfortunate when race becomes the defining feature in people's lives, which I think is a product of spending too much time talking and thinking about it rather than just getting on with your lives. Racial inequities definitely exist in America and to the extent that constructive action can be taken to remedy those inequities then let's discuss it and do something about it, but let's not just constantly flagellate white people or make excuses for the myriad problems within the black community that have nothing to do with modern day racism.

 

[WorldofWarcraft]

I think talking about it breeds more racists. People who were on the sidelines and didn't care for it are pushed into taking a side, mostly the racist side.

It may not be politically correct or the moral thing to do, but it is what it is.

There's been a couple of instances during the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case were I overheard someone say something to the likes of, "it wouldn't be this big of a deal if George was black and Trayvon was white." Or maybe they were already racists to begin with. But still, whenever race gets into the mainstream news, I can see facial expressions that look like people are sick of hearing about it.

 

[Cold Front]

Whether you talk about it or not, racial differences are real and they're not going away.

Does talking about it bring out the racists? Probably. They're are always lowlife scum who will filter everything they hear in the most malicious way possible.

But assuming you want an honest discussion on race, you should start off from the position that you can't possibly control every aspect of the discussion, and that there inevitably will be both good and bad effects from it.

 

[Lead]

I think there are times where its obviously being used to divide people into groups. Politicians want votes so they try to pit one group against another rather than talking about benefiting the society in general. This easily is done with race on both sides and likely increases racial tensions in the country.

It's good that most people don't focus on politics anyways.

 

[Cold Front]

I think there are times where its obviously being used to divide people into groups. Politicians want votes so they try to pit one group against another rather than talking about benefiting the society in general. This easily is done with race on both sides and likely increases racial tensions in the country.

It's good that most people don't focus on politics anyways.

I agree there are most likely social benefits to having many, if not most, Americans apolitical and believing in harmless fairy tales (i.e., like that everyone is equal inside even if they look different on the outside).

But I think a country needs an informed elite who make policy decisions based on more than just fairy tales. Racial differences have implications in medicine, criminal justice, income inequality, and the education system.

 

[Hollywood Nicky]

http://www.jeffhead.com/images/zimmerman-injuries.jpg

warning pick are disgusting, but its proves that silly statement that Shunya make are wrong

pics are not all that disgusting as even zimmerman's own doctor said is injuries were mild.

shunya wasn't talking about zimmerman though, he was talking about the other case in fl.

 

[ncordless]

Obviously, the best way to deal with huge societal problems is to not talk about them and pretend they do not exist.

Think of racism as a societal cancer. The best way to deal with cancer is to pretend it isn't happening and hope it goes away.

 

[Cold Front]

Obviously, the best way to deal with huge societal problems is to not talk about them and pretend they do not exist.

Think of racism as a societal cancer. The best way to deal with cancer is to pretend it isn't happening and hope it goes away.

Lol.

On the other hand, talking about cancer isn't likely to solve anything either, and talking about the disease dishonestly is probably even worse than not talking about it at all.

 

[Devout Pessimist]

Well this settles it.

It's long been known that Morgan Freeman speaks for all black people and those that oppose racism.

Actually, Morgan Freeman speaks as a human being to other human beings. He speaks as an individual to other individuals.

All you can see is a black man speaking. The very thing Morgan Freeman said he is tired of people doing. Did you even watch the video?

 

[Lead]

I agree there are most likely social benefits to having many, if not most, Americans apolitical and believing in harmless fairy tales (i.e., like that everyone is equal inside even if they look different on the outside).

But I think a country needs an informed elite who make policy decisions based on more than just fairy tales. Racial differences have implications in medicine, criminal justice, income inequality, and the education system.

Why is it a fairy tale to enforce the idea of equal rights regardless of race?

The country needs an informed elite to make policy decisions which help enforce the idea of equal rights, whether that means a simple or more complex remedy.

 

[ncordless]

Lol.

On the other hand, talking about cancer isn't likely to solve anything either, and talking about the disease dishonestly is probably even worse than not talking about it at all.

In our country, issues are resolved two ways. Either we talk about it or if society doesn't eventually come to a resolution, we fight about it. Dishonest talk ultimately fails because it is exposed as dishonest and those who cling to the dishonesty are relegated to the margins.

As a free society, we can and should be dealing with our problems up front, and talking about them all the time. Otherwise, those problems will fester and worsen. Racism between whites/nonwhites has always been a huge problem in this country. It is still a huge problem in this country, though our national discourse on the issue from founding til now has made considerable progress.

So if we think of racism as a cancer, the only known cure we have for it is to either talk about it or fight about it. We could end racism by killing all non-whites. We could end racism by killing anyone who holds bigoted beliefs. Other than that, what we have to do is continue the conversation until the problems are sorted out. That has taken more than 200 years, and there is no reason to think it shouldn't take a few hundred more years.

 

[Cold Front]

Why is it a fairy tale to enforce the idea of equal rights regardless of race?

The state does far more than that. It implicitly accepts the idea that all men have the same innate qualities and that any social and economic differences in groups must therefore be the result of socially-constructed racism.

The country needs an informed elite to make policy decisions which help enforce the idea of equal rights, whether that means a simple or more complex remedy.

The remedy has already been applied. Political equality exists.

 

[Devout Pessimist]

Obviously, the best way to deal with huge societal problems is to not talk about them and pretend they do not exist.

Think of racism as a societal cancer. The best way to deal with cancer is to pretend it isn't happening and hope it goes away.

You are taking this to the absurd conclusion. The main problem is the hyper-focus on race, especially in the media. What exactly is productive about constantly turning everything into a sensationalized race-baiting issue?

When people are legitimately being discriminated and oppressed because of their skin color or cultural background then obviously those issues need to be discussed and dealt with.

As Morgan Freeman pointed out in the video I posted, we need to start addressing each other as individual human beings instead of constantly focusing on race. He did not say we should simply ignore everything racial and it will just go away.

Talking about things only goes so far. Eventually, action must be taken. We don't need the key, we'll break in.

 

[Denter]

Why is it a fairy tale to enforce the idea of equal rights regardless of race?

The country needs an informed elite to make policy decisions which help enforce the idea of equal rights, whether that means a simple or more complex remedy.

Since we already have political and legal equality written into the Constitution.....I'm not sure what you are getting at.

 

[Lead]

The state does far more than that. It implicitly accepts the idea that all men have the same innate qualities and that any social and economic differences in groups must therefore be the result of socially-constructed racism.

Are you saying this specifically for race or in general? Disability benefits accepts the idea that the disabled don't have the same qualities and need assistance in order to survive compared to a healthy person.

The remedy has already been applied. Political equality exists.

Political equality is established but not always followed/enforced within the private sector. You may have equal rights to vote or equal citizenship but it doesn't guarantee you will vote for a candidate that moves forward with your ideas or that you will be treated the same applying for a loan in the private sector.

 

[Lead]

Since we already have political and legal equality written into the Constitution.....I'm not sure what you are getting at.

The Constitution establishes it but it isn't details in specific case by case scenarios what to do. It's a guideline.

Also, I was rephrasing the person I quoted to what I think was more reasonable than "fairy tales"