Does Racism, in fact, exist? Absolutely. But, is it something that all of American society needs to be concerned about?
Maybe not.
Here's some thoughts about this:
If Systemic Racism is such a problem, where should the responsibility for making the corrections needed to alleviate/eliminate it be placed?
You might think that this is a problem for Systems to deal with:
- Government
- Military
- Justice
- Education, particularly those schools/colleges that have benefited most from their Elite status, and from excluding people based on ethnicity
- Banking and other Elite institutions
- Geographic enclaves that have seen the most financial benefit from not being racially diverse
That's a starter list (feel free to add your own ideas in the comments).
Government
During and immediately after the Civil War, many state, local, and federal authorities put a lot of work into making sure that color-based barriers to access were eliminated. That included setting up Freedman's Bureaus, whose main purpose was to help the newly freed slaves to get access to housing, food, medical care, and other needs. They also established schools and provided legal assistance. Many of those working in the FB were current or former Union soldiers.
Military
The US military was one of the FIRST groups, post-WWII, to be open to servicemen/women on an equal basis. It wasn't an easy change. After Reconstruction was over, the Federal government kept Black men out of many units, or assigned them to support positions. In WWII, under Wilson (Democrat), the military was specifically segregated.
Even when Black men could serve, they were often openly discriminated against. The location of many military bases in the South made it tough for them to take advantage of recreational time, house their families, and take of their personal business off-base without harassment.
But, once the Federal government accepted the goal of integrated units, the military became one of the best ways for Black men to get ahead - whether on the job, educationally, or in terms of post-service benefits.
Justice
This is one area that has left mixed outcomes. True, many Black people have moved into jobs in this career path, from police to the court system, to lawyers. The Civil Rights bills made it less likely that Black people would be railroaded to prison on flimsy evidence.
But, the concern about rising crime, and its connection to the illegal drug trade brought in changes that put a lot of people in prisons - Black and White - and made it hard for them to re-establish themselves after (given the ban on those with drug felonies getting financial aid for college, working in schools, or getting just about any federal money). A short sentence could lead to years of unemployment, and no way out.
Additionally, carrying large amounts of cash (much more common among non-White people), could lead to confiscation (the price paid to NOT be arrested for involvement in the drug trade). Add to that, the confiscation of personal property, homes, cars, and other valuable possessions - BEFORE conviction - and you had people who were unable to hire a lawyer for lack of cash, making deals for less time.
Then, too, the increased fervor of the State to criminalize failure to follow civil regulations has led to jamming up the judicial system with questionable cases that trim private property rights to a mere fraction of what they had been.
How does that lead to racism?
It does so, because, as the protection of rights under the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution become 'mere paper' and ineffective in keeping the government off our a$$, ALL Americans - even minority ones - without special access to special treatment by bureaucrats will find their ability to function without interference blocked. It hits the less monied Americans harder - and that would include a higher percentage of minorities.
Education
From the crappy quality of many city school systems, to the use of Affirmative Action to scrape the top ranked Black people into expensive private universities, the system has done them wrong.
Charter schools - realistically, the only alternative available to many concerned parents - have been demonized by the teachers unions.
If those White Elite stay in the public schools, the parents will move Heaven and Earth to make sure that THEIR child is in classes that largely exclude the lower classes - Major Work, Honors/Gifted & Talented/IB - whatever the system calls it, you know them when you walk into the classes, as, suddenly, you see where they've been keeping the Elite White kids.
In colleges, the biggest issue is Affirmative Action, which assumes that the ONLY reason that there aren't more Black people on Elite campuses is because they are deliberately being excluded. Therefore, a certain number/percentage of places are held for the most highly rated Students of Color that the administration can find. The problem of AA is that, if a student's skill level is not within range of those White people he is going to school with, he will be at a distinct disadvantage in STEM classes. Many who start off with that pathway in mind, eventually change majors, and graduate with a useless Liberal Arts degree.
The effect of AA on legal education has been extensively studied, and it's clear that, if a student starts with lower LSATS than the rest of the class, he may get a degree, but he is unlikely to pass the bar, without multiple attempts, if then. Whereas, if that same student was educated with others with similar scores, he will likely perform as well as any other student.
Banking/Finance
This is a VERY Elite White sector of the economy. Some Black people are successful (the film The Pursuit of Happyness was based on the life of one such), but the odds are against it. Most Black people don't have the connections, nor the family wealth to make it in those fields. For that matter, most non-Elite White people are no more successful than the Black people. It's just an Upper-Class Club, and non-Elites don't have the key.
Geographic Enclaves
No True Liberal/Progressive/Leftist wants to talk about this touchy subject, but the Well-Off Classes will spend a LOT to get away from the lower classes - particularly the Black ones.
There is a reason that Gated Communities are so popular, and it isn't because they welcome everyone. They are income-stratified, class-stratified neighborhoods that Keep The Non-Elite OUT!
Funny how the same Progressives who wax lyrically about the 'vibrancy' of the city, so often feel it necessary to move out of them, once they have children. Those that stay are BOTH living in secured building (both public police and private security will be deployed to make sure that no hint of violence, poverty, or crime touches their doorstep), and have the cash for private school for their precious offspring.
They just LOVE Black people - just not too close to them. Allowing too many to move into their neighborhood will affect their property values, and they just can't have that, now can they?
What do all of the above sectors of the American Life have in common?
Just about all are controlled by Democrats, Progressives, and those who want a many-colored rainbow of people - just not too close to them.
What Does Actual Race-Based Hate Look Like/Sound Like?
This is not as simple a question as it might seem to be. I suggest that you might start identifying it by closing your eyes, and listening to the words coming from that person's mouth. You might even want to picture that person being a different color, and see if your impressions are the same.
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