At work, in a meeting. No time.
Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool
Sure, take your time. This is a difficult subject to speak about without ruffling feathers, and reading intent and tone on the internet is a minefield. Let me see if I can frame what I'm saying a bit better.
First off, I won't feel shameful for calling out racism in any form. Now, please don't stop reading at this point, let me explain. I think the only way we can begin to address race relation problems is to talk about them openly and honestly.
I don't look at racism as binary. To me, racism is a spectrum that goes from Hitler on one end to imaginary utopian or whatever you want to label the opposite axis. Most people are good, decent folk who land somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, and where one lands, or even the specific actions that one takes, will vary throughout one's life. If we think of racism as 0 or 1, it prevents meaningful discussion.
I will be the first to admit that I have racist tendencies, I've made racist jokes (and will undoubtedly again in the future, laugh at other's racist jokes, and feel bad about it as well - emotional responses are complex and often contradictory), I have sub-conscience reactions to people of different races in different situations in life (how our perceptions are molded by our personal experiences and our environment is a topic we could spend days discussing). This is something that basically all people experience. Everyone, of every race, is racist to some degree.
There are few people I would consider Racist with a capitol R, and by that I mean someone who is defined or driven by hatred for others. These people are the exception. But that doesn't mean they are the only people capable of racist actions, nor does it mean that all racist actions are equally atrocious.
So when I say something like, maybe you should think about if or why that joke is racist, I'm not calling you a Racist, I'm not saying you're a Bad Person. I'm just challenging you to think and to empathize, which I think on the whole, is a positive thing that we should strive to do as a society. Again, I wouldn't bother doing this if I didn't think you were a good, reasonable, intelligent dude. My response was probably too snarky, for which I apologize.
In the context of understanding why Green Bay is (relative to other NFL cities) a less desirable place for black people to live, I think it's important to look at the culture, which is almost exclusively the culture of the white people who live there or grew up there such as myself. When you get these sort of monocultures, attitudes tend to lean more exclusive, less welcoming to minorities or outsiders in general (this is evident throughout the world/history). Generally, the more diversity you get in one area, the better different kinds of people people get along (though there are of course exceptions). Usually, the cure for a lack of diversity is more diversity, but often it's a chicken an egg problem. People of color don't want to come to GB, WI, because there aren't many people of color there. How does one solve
that problem? Generally, by making others feel more welcome, which can be done at many levels, not just the obvious ones. Now, that's a gross simplification of the issue, but at the end of the day, when things get better for those with less opportunities, they tend to get better for everyone.
TL;DR: Rantings of a bleeding heart liberal on a conservative leaning website lol.