Northside_Dan wrote:
Elmhurst Steve wrote:
As far as racism having no place in society....you can't really be that naive can you?? Do you really think racism/reverse racism is uncommon?
The first part of that thought and the last part of that thought don't agree. Most of us, with the apparent exception of you and Ugie?, think that there SHOULD be no racism in society. Hossa never said that it didn't exist.
That racism exists means there IS a place for it in society. If there were no place for it, we as a society would be totally integrated. Towns like Winnetka, Glencoe, Hinsdale, Lake Forrest..etc are not just desireable because they have nice homes/schools. They also do not have any minorities to speak of. People may not say it outloud but thats a major reason many people want to live in towns like that. Winnetka just had a big town meeting a month ago, because there was a developer that wanted to rehab an older building and construct housing for lower income residents. The town voted it down by a landslide. There are a whole lot of people like me that don't do anything to harm ( no lynching or burning crosses in anyones yard is by my hand) to any minorities, but just prefer to socialize and live amongst people of the same race. If you are white and you don't go out to dinner with folks that are black, never invite blacks over to your home and go to social events with minorities on any regular basis, you are really no different. You just aren't as personally aware and willing to acknowledge that you are more comfortable with those of your own race. Thus-you are racist, but in the closet or not aware enough to know it's true. It's not such a big deal. Most people are. Most blacks spend the vast majority of their time in the company of other blacks too, I suspect. Are blacks racist? Some sure are. But thats not something most people want to get into. they generally get a pass on being racist, because they are seen as the disadvantaged ones with reason to have resentment and anger towards the crackers. But it doesn't erase the fact they are racist. Racism .....it's been around for generations and despite the fact that many people PRETEND not to be racist, the way they live their lives and the people they tend to spend time amongst suggests it's not going away.