Pretending the problem doesn’t exist isn’t solving the problem.
Maybe fixing the crime and poverty is more important than calling it racist.
> There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps... then turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved ~ Jesse Jackson
Maybe the crime and poverty are direct results of centuries of racist oppressions. Slavery, segregation, denial of voting rights, economic opportunities... and maybe, the solution to racism isn’t more racism? How do you think we got here? And how do you propose we address the issues? You yell “look at the crime” and smugly pretend that the other side is blind to it; well, what’s your solution?
If your conscience hasn’t been forcing you to face the fact that you thought “my kids can’t go to yale, and I blame minorities” was a badge of victimhood you can hold up against slavery and segregation... fellow human, you’ve got some reckoning to do.
But it proves my point that you either have no solution to contribute, or you yourself know that your solution is wrong and are afraid to say it out loud. When I find myself in that fork, I take it as a signal that I should question my assumptions and values, before getting in the way of those who’ve come out with and committed to theirs.
Maybe fixing the crime and poverty is more important than calling it racist.
> There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps... then turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved ~ Jesse Jackson