Questions about Racism

Either America is racist or it is not.

What would be true if America were racist?

• Riots
• Blatant discrimination everywhere
• Egregious acts of violence
• Racial epithets spoken freely by established institutions
• Institutional denial of racial freedom
• Incidents of racism so obvious that proof would be easy to document
• Few, if any, members of the minority race would have access to wealth or fame
• Few, if any, minority politicians would be elected to office

What would be true if America were not racist?

• Racism, if it exists in any institution, would be illegal
• Pockets of racism would still exist illegally, just as we have never wiped out all crime
• Racism, where it is found, however, would be punished
• Members of a minority race would have access to wealth and/or fame
• Members of a minority race would be elected of office
• Racist remarks, either by the majority or minority race, would be punished

Is the majority race inherently racist?

If the majority race is inherently racist, what is the solution?

Of what benefit does the continued charge of racism have to the vocal few?

Is there a way to begin a reasonable dialogue on racism?

Are all participants in such a dialogue willing to compromise?

Can such a dialogue occur without rhetoric and inflammatory statements?

If racism exists, how can it be stopped?

If racism exists, and if it can be stopped, would that be enough?

If racism exists, is it equally distributed throughout the majority society?                           

If racism exists, and it is not equally distributed, who is guilty?

If racism exists, is the guilt to be assigned to an entire group or only to individuals in the group?

If racism exists, and if it can be stopped, does it need to be paid for in reparations?

If reparations ought to be paid, who pays for them?

Should those segments of society who immigrated after 1863 be made to pay?

Should citizens of states that did not allow slavery be made to pay?

Should members of minority races that do not demand reparations be made to pay?

Should reparations be paid on the premise that all of society benefitted from slavery?

How can the amount of the reparations payments be calculated?

Will payment of reparations destroy the U. S. economy?

If reparations will destroy the U. S. economy, should they be paid regardless of the impact?

If reparations destroy the U. S. economy, is that simply part of the deserved consequences?

Which of the above questions are legitimate?

Do you agree with any of the points made?

Do you disagree with any of the points made?

Do these questions demonstrate a racist attitude on the part of the author?

Reasonable feedback is welcome.



Comments

[Tim Garcia]

It all depends on how you slice the population. :) In this case, you are taking a HUGE population (i.e., the entire population of the United States), so it is not surprising that according to your estimation, America is not racist. I am fairly certain that I would agree, given those parameters; we have come a long away, certainly to the point where it is unpopular to openly embrace any racist views.

I don't think reparations are a serious consideration anymore, and while I respect those who call for them, as you point out, implementation would be fraught with problems that I think would actually be more damaging to race relations than helpful.

On the other hand, I still hear racist comments by people in their moments of frustration or anger; just recently I heard from a personal friend, "that's why I don't like [insert racial group here]", and it reminded me that at least here in Texas, there are still racist attitudes that are usually hidden but occasionally slip out.

What Jesus said about adultery, that just looking at a woman to lust is an act of adultery in the heart, I think also applies here: that while overtly racist acts are certainly much less tolerated in our present society, there is still a lot of "heart racism" that hasn't been cleaned out yet.

[Pat]

I think racism is very well and alive. Racism has many new faces today, than it did yesterday. However, we have generations of youth that are not interest in learning about their past and how it affects their behaviors. Many Adults don't want to see Racism in situations. I teach my Black sons, when you see it, understand what the goal of it is and then develop a strategy to get around without anyone knowing that you are aware. Its unfortunate that we have to teach our children this, but its the only way to keep them out of the Penal systems that destroys their lives forever. We as race of people sometimes do things to each other that I feel can be viewed as Racism. I will discuss further, when this panel opens up for this kind of discussions.