Police officer shoots an innocent black man in unjustified manner, causing outrage
Im from Australia but from what I have heard, black people are very hated in America. Is this true?
Dear Australia,
Where do I begin?
First, let me say that I have only read through a few of the posts in response to your question. Please know that the first thing that you have to understand is that 99% of the posts here are by ignorant trolls who have no interest in a meaningful discourse on the subject. If you want to understand race relations in America, stop listening to them right now.
The first piece of bovine excrement that I want to dispel is the contention that it is white Christian males who are the most discriminated against. You have no idea how ridiculous that that is . White Christian males dominate the culture here. The meme that they are discriminated against is an ongoing rightwing talking point that actually makes no sense at all.
I am an older, liberal white guy from the north east US and I have been around long enough to know a few things and what I know is that race relations and racism is a complex subject. ( yes, my politics is at odds with my demographic- but not unheard of)
As I said, race in America is complex and you can’t just dumb it down to a question of whether or not there is racism or a how blacks are regarded here. There are vast difference in race relations from state to state and from region to region. Black people have vastly different life experiences in the more liberal parts of the country-specifically the north east and the west coast. The south is the worst with the Midwest being a close second.
There are also significant differences between rural and urban settings. Even in the south, the major urban areas are considerably more liberal. Political affiliation also a factor with Republican being more likely to be racist- although they will not admit it and in fact accuse the Democrats of being racists. The truth is that the Democrats once were the racist party until the 60’s when they embraced civil rights and the racists fled over to the Republicans like rats on a sinking ship.
The bottom line is that black folks have come a long way in this country but still have a ways to go. They have achieve a lot and are generally respected and accepted. Yes, we still have ghettos and areas of de-facto segregation but we also have well integrated communities. I live in a community where many races, ethnicities and religions are represented and everyone gets alone. Don’t forget that we elected a Black president in 2008 and that would not have been possible without the support of white people.
Yet racism does still exist here. Black people are more likely to be stopped and even shot by police. There are more black people in prison although they do not commit more crimes. We have the civil rights act , any states also have laws against discrimination on the basis of race in housing, employment and other areas but that does not happen.
We are still living under the shadow of our dark history of slavery and segregation and while we have made progress in digging out from under that, in recent years we have slid backwards with the unfortunate election of Donald Trump and his racist rhetoric supported by his mindless minions who have been emboldened and emerged from under their rocks to spew their hatred.
. You may have also heard of the rise of white supremacy which started with the election of Obama because some people could not accept a black president. That trend continued with Trump’s election as he continues to encourage and enable the racists.. However, I still believe that most people in this country are decent and believe that racism is wrong, and that the aberration that is Trump will soon be corrected.
America is a complicated place. I hope this helps