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OK I very seldom ever start threads like this but I am now. I am not going to ask folks to hold back, or to bite there tongues. Just be fair and HONEST.

Why oh why in the year 2020 are there still racists in this world??? I was blessed to be raised by parents and grandparents who never gave a SECOND THOUGHT about the color of a persons skin. I can still to this day not understand why a persons skin color makes ANY and I mean ANY difference to others. I realize prejudice exists it's sad/ignorant/and disgusting but it does exist with far to many people.

I would love it if others who feel the same would speak up.I would also love if people who hate somebody because of the color of their skin would speak up. We can not solve this problem without dialoge, and most people are to afraid to speak in public where everybody can hear them. Please tell me why you feel we are all the same, and why you feel we are different just because the color oF THEIR SKIN.

Institutional racism is why. Anytime there's efforts to try and undo some of these institutions you hear "you're seeing things that aren't there" or "how you're protesting is disrespectful!"



I think part of this dives into the whole colorblind argument.

We should treat everyone equal regardless of race, color, creed, religion, etc. At the same time, we should celebrate what makes us all unique. Sometimes people get put off by the unique traits of a group, and then it devolves into racism.

We need to allow people to express themselves how they wish. We shouldn't look to control behavior that only affirms each other.

The problem comes is when you have groups going off about "x is inferior to me because of y" type statements. that aren't even based in facts or reality.



We are all humans who come from different and unique backgrounds. None of us are superior or less than each other. We should be allowed to celebrate and express ourselves as long as we wish to not dampen the celebration and expression of another group.

This is a subject that we can agree on more than we disagree bro.



I disagree on the unigue part Rocket. We are all unique and we need to realize that but not always celebrate that. Respect it YES celibrate it no.

Agreed 1000 percent

GM, it sounds like I was brought up in the same type of household as you. If my parents were prejudiced they sure didn't show it. I was brought up with manners and to respect everyone; there were no exceptions. I went to a Catholic High School and prejudiced was talked about in our religion classes but I never experienced it personally until I went to work. I couldn't believe that someone who was the same color as me, same religion but a different ethnicity could dislike me just for that. When I got to the point of having enough I asked them point blank in front of others, are you really that bigoted and prejudice? It really embarrassed them and shut them up for a while. So, like you, I don't understand why people are prejudiced in any way. Ignorance I would guess.

I truly get where you're coming from. I can't imagine what it must've been like to be raised through all of the Civil Rights expansions and everything that came from it. Must've been a great sight to witness but then constant shaking your head at attempts to stop the progress.



I think things like Oktoberfest should keep going.

Traditional dancing of Indigenous groups, much like where I work and live, should occur much more often.

As much as there's a disdain for Polka, I think we should celebrate polka.

As much as people don't like Rock and Blues, we need to celebrate the pioneers and where the style came from.

We should celebrate every ethnicity.

And yes, it's okay to be proud of being white/caucasion. Just don't use something like this (I'm thinking KKK/Nazis types) to say x people are better than y people.

This is what I mean by celebrating our differences. It's okay to be different. Just don't use differences to show there's superiority or some nonsense like that.

The way I was raised did not include anything about rasism.

I was raised to respect and love all people. Skin color. sexual preference, and every other bigited feeling had nothing to do with it.

I like the idea of this topic but not sure that anyone who is racist would chime in during this charged environment.

Something that I am seeing on the internet quite a bit is that someone was fired because they made a racist comment or joke. I am not a fan of this. I think it tends to be a PR move for the company that misses an opportunity.

I think one of the issues that leads to racism is anger. When someone gets fired for being racist, all that does is increase their anger making them more racist. Instead, they should be given the opportunity to undergo counseling. If they refuse the counseling or their behavior fails to change then fire them.

People should be allowed one mistake and given the opportunity to correct it.

I was raised in the sticks of NW Ohio. My high school was not diverse. At all. We had a few Latino, but no other races. When the migrant workers would roll into the area to work the farms, many of my peers, and adults, said awful things about them. It always rubbed me wrong. Which I’d catch flack for from my peers.
I was raised by my stepfather. He had many great qualities that I loved him for, but he was a bigot until later in his life when he saw the error of his thoughts. I heard the N word around the house more than a few times as a kid. It was always something that made me cringe on a cellular level.
When I moved away to Columbus and lived in dorms with people of all races, religions, sexual orientation, etc it was never a thought for me to just treat each person as an individual. I just wanted to hang out with cool people. I couldn’t care less about the color of their skin or any other such nonsense.
I was out on my own, I had a house rule for him when he’d stop by... never that kind of language in my home/apartment/dorm. He obliged.
As I said, later in life my stepfather had a change of heart. For reasons I’ll spare you here. It made me proud to see the change.
It gives me hope. Still to this day.

I do have to admit that I am racist against racists. But I still hope they can see the light eventually.

I love ya brother, even when we disagree

I have said many times on this board that I was raised to think of people as people. The main differences for us were officer or enlisted kids. We never gave a second thought about race. Being an enlisted man's kid, I had friends that were white, black, latino, asian, mixed, etc. It was never a big deal. Seeing as we were all military brats, we all saw ourselves as Americans, not hyphenated Americans.

Even with that, I still get told how I'm priveleged somehow, or I practice some form of racism subconsciously. What a load of bunk. I treat everyone how I expect to be treated by them.

I can't go into all the reasons and I can't even delve deeply into a few reasons. It would take a book or two to write about it.

I think ignorance is a key. People fear what they don't know.

I think environment is a key. Folks are influenced by those they live with.

I think that the powers that be love to keep us fighting. The more we fight w/one another, the less attention is drawn to them.

I think selfishness is a key. People put their own interests above others.

I think insecurities are somewhat important. Somehow, there are people who think they are making themselves look better by degrading another person or a group of people.

I think entitlement is fairly important. People think the world owes them something. It doesn't. I am firm believer in earning what you get. I am not a believer in handouts and I think that only furthers the divide.

I think that too many take sides and like to talk "at people" or "past people" and don't really want to have open, honest discussions.

I think that exploitative people from different races take advantages of laws, current sentiment, popular opinion, media coverage, etc. They could care less about uniting. They care about taking advantage of the situation.

I think that we often fail to mention that there are racists in every group. People will say they never said there weren't racists in each group, but we never talk about it in any sort of depth.

I think that both sides need to give in a bit. I think we need to work together instead of playing the blame game. I think we need to be more "human" rather than tribal.

Love ya brother.

Love you, too!

Bro, last Sunday I was out by the pool building a storage box for the pool equipment when my son came over. The wife and he came up and I had to stop working. We sat around and my son and I were drinking beer. My wife doesn't drink.

Anyway, my son says something like: "I really think this is the time that things will get done to help blacks." He says that people are really starting to recognize what's going on and they are gaining more empathy and support.

He tells us a story about how he was unsure to talk to his black employees about things, but decided to go ahead and do it. He spoke to them individually and asked how they were doing and what he could do to help. He said they really appreciated it and he is now really glad he talked to them. He was worried that they might not want to talk about it.

I think the message from that is that communication is good when it's honest. It's hard to deny someone who cares about you. Of course, there are complete asses out there that are exploitative, but most of us are good people. Honest exchanging of ideas is a good thing. Caring about others is even better. We can unite. We really can. We just have to get past this blame game and taking sides BS!

One last thing, bro..........we all talked about how there are a lot more folks like us out there than people realize. We just don't go making headlines. I'm hopeful that the good people win this war and we don't succumb to those who wish to divide us.

Btw bro..........you are one of the good ones, in my opinion.

This is a true story.

I remember the night that MLK was killed. My mom cheered. That never sat with me well. I though it was a terrible thing to do.

Many people talk a good game. But when it comes decision time, they take the less risky move. I can state the tired line, that one of my best friends is a minority. It happens to be true.

I grew up without means, there were times where I was concerned that I would be a victim of being a white male, when diversity was favored.

I have learned, probably from my exposure to many different types of people all across the county that there are good ones, ones who get by, and ones that you should not be around. Once you get to know them, you no longer see color or ethnicity.

Years ago race bias was towards Italians, Irish, Polish, Slovacks, Greeks, and other non WASP cultures. Not so much any more.

Good people are easy to be around. I know an person that is an engineer and minority that drives 120 miles a day in southern California, so that she can keep track of her elderly parents. I respect that.

As a employer, the things that matters most is honesty, competency and diligence.

When I was a kid, and my parents got divorced, my dad brought along a black friend of his named Clinton to help my mom and brothers move back to Ohio. (I was 10) He was the 1st black person I can recall meeting. You know what I recall thinking? "He's really tall".

As I grew up, I went to a mostly white school .... although we did have some Black students. It was no big deal. They were classmates.

My best friend got tossed between 2 largely unloving parents. He wound up going to Rayen High School. He was probably one of 4 White students. The majority were either Black or Hispanic. 1st time I ever went down there to help him bring stuff home, (art projects and such) I thought I was going to get killed. The school had a very bad reputation. I had zero problems.

I have worked with people of all races .... White, Black, Hispanic, Indian, (from India) Middle Easterners, Persian, and Oriental. People had their own cultural idiosyncrasies and distinctiveness, but it was no big deal.

It still isn't.

I love little kids. (as long as they are someone else's. and they go home!) I talk to little kids when I go shopping, and it doesn't matter what color or race they are. I generally tell their parent(s) how cute, nice, well behaved, etc., their kids are.

Kids are kids, and people are people.

The Bible says that we are all created in the image of God. (Imago Dei) We are all image bearers of God. Does that mean that we physically look like God? Not really. It means that we have 3 aspects to us as human beings, body, soul, and spirit. The colors and racial distinctions are irrelevant to God. God tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. He does not say "love your white neighbor only", or "love your black neighbor only" ..... or even to love any neighbor more or less because of the color of their skin. Love your neighbor. Period.

Jesus taught this lesson in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

The Jews hated the Samaritans. The Jews looked down on the Samaritans. For Jesus to use a Samaritan as an example of love and good behavior it was every bit as shocking as if a person in the South, in the days immediately after the Civil War, substituted the titles Black and White into the parable.

Christians should view people as people. Not all people who call themselves Christians do so, and that's to be expected, because we are fallen sinful beings. Christians should respect the person of every one they meet, and should be kind and accepting of everyone they meet, no matter their ethnicity. Our ethnicity is a gift from God, and as such should not be demeaned by anyone.

This country has a shameful history as far as racial issues. When a man is willing to look at another human being as a slave, as "less than", then he is sinning against God. We are doing better as far as race relations, with each passing generation, but we still have a long way to go. We should do better, and we should demand better .... from ourselves, and from our society. That does not mean that we have to agree with every idea put forth by someone else, though. If a person disagrees with a person of a different race, or about matters concerning racial issues, it does not automatically make that person a racist.

We have become a nation of horizontal issues. We look around, left, right, back, forth ...... and we refuse to listen to one another. We spew out slogans and ideology. We have become a country of people afraid, or unwilling, to look in the vertical ..... to God. We title everyone. "That person doesn't agree with me, so they must be ......" We abuse people for their thoughts. We destroy people over the most casual of associations. We lambaste people for their political ideology. We refuse to work together, and then we call out others for refusing to work with us. It has to stop, and until it does, nothing meaningful is going to change.

Is there systematic racism. That answer would certainly be yes. The question is how do we work together to fix it. That is the hard answer, and until we get to a point where we are willing to work together without the stridency and vitriol we see today, any change is going to be slow, if it happens at all.

Damn bro! Good stuff!

White people talking to white people about racism, what it means, and why it exists is the perfect opportunity to invite or plead for some wisdom from those that are not white on the board. Although I'm happy to see you guys take interest, I think understanding racism and making fundamental changes that matter and will make a difference starts with listening to those who suffer from the non white side of American racism.

Thank you.

Race relations have been a huge part of my life ever since I was 6 or 7 years old. I've told the story before and won't hijack this thread...........but, it's important. I've dedicated a great deal of my life to helping to improve those relations and I have mostly focused on working w/the black community. I swear that there has been nothing quite as rewarding as earning the trust, respect, and appreciation of some of those folks. Quite a few of them were in gangs. But, they are still people and most of those teens were scared sh..less once you got beyond the hard exterior.

I get so frustrated and angry when people on both sides want to further the divide. We are all human beings. Unite!

I don't mean to be mean, but I will be frank. You are implying that blacks aren't racist. That is untrue. There are whites who are racist and those who are not. There are blacks who are racist and those who are not. We are individual freaking people and this moronic taking one side over another only hurts the cause.

You have no idea what you are talking about... I merely think that listening to what you (as a white guy) say or do interpreted through the eyes of POC might actually benefit the conversation more than your droning on and on about your interpretations. It has nothing to do with who is racists or not. It has everything to do with perspective and perception. I could care less that you think a black person is racist because they don't like white people. AND FYI, "reverse racism" does not exist.

What is reverse racism ?

Parenting.

I get that some kids may be raised by good parents, but still either become racist/hateful on their own or from their peers, but i would say well over 90% of it is terrible parents.

Okay. I'm sure you have a lot more experience working w/the black community than I do.

This is why we can't move forward. Too many folks on "both" sides want to play the freaking blame game instead of trying to fix the damn problem!!!

I don't agree with that. I think it's watching how the black community treats themselves, then want white people to treat them better. It's truly about respect. Blacks need to stop calling themselves the " N " word.. plain and simple.

I've never agreed with that. I'm also someone who doesn't get upset because i can't say it (even with the hard R removed) and they can.

Regardless of any of that, the vast majority of racist people see and hear things from their parents and close family. It becomes normalized and the circle of life keeps going.

I think a lot of white people feel guilty because they didn't grow up with black people in their communities. There is nothing wrong with that, and you shouldn't feel guilty.

I grew up in Collinwood, so I have always been comfortable around black people, but again, the N word isn't part of my langauge, so it's not like I have to change the way I talk when I am around a black person. I can't say the same for a lot of people I know.

I don't feel guilty, what I saw growing up was nice white communities being ruined by blacks moving into the area. Blacks didn't seem to care about how the house or the yard looked or whether or not the neighbor cared.

Was that because the white people didn't give them a chance to be a part of a good working environment ?

I love your discussing this with me..thank you.

Your work with the black community has nothing to do with what I said. Nothing. I guess it's over your head.

Do you have black friends? Would you hold that against them? I'm not here to tell you that black people or any other race don't have terrible people who do terrible things.

I think more talking needs to happen. Everyone right now is just screaming at each other. I hate both sides of this division.

I can't stand liberals even though I agree with a ton of their viewpointa. Conservatives can be awful too.

I just can't stand the whole thing. Like you have to follow this stupid playbook of what to believe, and if you don't, then you're a nazi.

I have so many thoughts on the entire black lives matter, police brutality, "antifa", "alt right" etc.. but I don't feel like I can put them out on social media, or even this forum. I feel like a lot of the things I say would probably trigger both sides, and that's the problem.

Proportionally in the United States African Americans commit more homicides and crimes than other races. That's backed by Justin Department statistics. This perpetually leads to more run ins with the police naturally. More arrests of African Americans if they're committing more crime makes sense and that is not racist. I can see why there would be a stereotype made by certain individuals when it's backed by true stats. I assume there are some cops who were always racist or those who inherently learned through experience, wrong or right, to expect more arrests of African Americans and be on guard when dealing with them. I agree that some cops will always be racist and there are bad apples, sure, but there's a reason why African Americans are treated that way by some individuals. I'm not saying its right but I can see maybe why some would look upon them as dishonest depending on their views and life experiences.

So my next question is why do African Americans commit more crimes? Does it have to do with their family upbringing? Living situation? Lack of quality education? Role Models or options? What do African Americans need to do in order to NOT be one of the top percentage races committing the most crimes?

I date a women of color and her kids are mixed. and I love them more then any thing.

And the black side of the family loves me.. and I love them.

why I'm on this thread is because I'm trying to help all races try to be able to talk to each other with love and respect..

Your post isn't addressing the intent of this thread. This thread was good for awhile and then the damn extremists from both "sides" got involved.

Keep arguing w/one another. That will help the cause.

Go ahead and say it, man. A lot of the things I say trigger both "sides." That's a good thing because it off-sets their narrow-minded thinking.

We need more rational people who see the validity and issues of both sides to speak instead of listening to one-sided, biased arguments that talk "at" us.

I think you need medication bro. Nobody even attacked you. I just don't think your perspective and 'the white guy's guide on how to fix racism' is what's needed at this point and time. How about letting those oppressed by the racism tell us what they think is needed. But now that I wrote that I can see why you're upset, it takes you out of the role of kumbaya leader with your snide remarks.

Wish I could man, but I just don't feel comfortable. I literally wiped out my entire twitter history the other day. I don't have any actual problematic tweets, but I have disagreed with certain opinions in the past, and I really don't need to be dragged because like I said, I am not following their laundry list of things you better think or else.

It sucks, because this forum has always been a pretty safe place for me to dump my thoughts, especially on my crappy football team.

Why ?




Dump your thoughts, you are always welcome to pm me.. things will work out. Have faith.

It's not that I don't trust anyone on this board, it's just an overall feeling of my thoughts being out there, and can be viewed by anybody.

I don't think anything I would say would be extreme at all, but I still wouldn't want my thoughts to be screenshot and forwarded to my work's HR, ya know.

It's the world we live in now. Like I said, I have no reason to believe someone on this board would do that, it's just uncomfortable to me that the possibility exists.

Gee, I don't know.................maybe look at the post by OCD that you liked that mocked another's opinion for expressing his views on the subject. Screw it. Too many hateful folks on here.