Is racism still alive or is it a thing of the past!?

Question

Okay this is one the most taboo issues in America today and I wanted to know how people out there feeling about this. Please don't hold back and let me know! Is it still a issues or America as overcome the race problem?

Answer 1

I think it is VERY much alive to some but others (including myself) just do not feed into it and keep the peace, that all anyone wants is attention anyways when they are racist....As long as there is greed and insecurity there will be some sort of racism....Bugs me!
I think people turn to racism to blame others or take out thier own problems on. There is good and bad in us all!

Answer 2

I think racism is still an issue in America, but not nearly so much as it was a few decades ago, though that depends on where you go. Just look at some of the questions and answers on Yahoo! Answers. I think one of the main reasons it is still alive and well is because most Americans, even if they're not actually racist, can't look at a person of another color without being very conscious of the fact that that person is of a different race. I was surprised, when I first came to the US, that people always seemed so conscious of exactly what race and color they, and other people, were of, like there was a massive divide. As is said in one of the answers above, if the US could only become as racially mixed as South America then maybe racism really would be eradicated here. Even though racism seems to be slowly disappearing, it is still most definitely an issue in America.

Answer 3

Still very much alive. It has just taken on a different look these days. Take a look at the recent news: Black groom shot and killed by a white cop, a black cop, and a Hispanic cop. Who runs and starts yelling it was a racist killing? Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton... all they want is the media attention, but as long as there are people like them willing to use the racist card for their own gain, racism will thrive. However, if it had been a white groom that had been killed, you would never have heard more than a short news story if all at all. As long as there are laws (ie Affirmative Action) stating there are differences between the races, you will have racism. In my humble opinion, Blacks or the more PC term - African-Americans (either term showing a difference, right?) are more racist than most whites are today (reverse racsim). In addition, Whites are NOT allowed in schools or work places to have a White club (because it is racist) but there can be African-American clubs, Hispanic Clubs (or Mexican-American), Japanese-American Clubs and so on. Don't those clubs encourage racism simply because they indicate a difference between people? To me if you are a US citizen then you are an American and it doesn't matter what your color or your heritage might have been. That doesn't mean you can't be proud of your heritage, but first be a US American. I don't think racism or bigotry will ever disappear completely until we all become exactly alike in every way - thinking, looks, emotions, intelligence...

Answer 4

North America still has some ways to go before racism is fully eradicated. Nowadays, racism is not as in-yer-face, but one can see various forms of it lurking in the workplace, the educational system, or even in mass media messages. Furthermore, racism is no longer just about Black and White; it rears its head against other ethnic groups, particularly in the form of stereotypes or ethnocentric mentalities. Life on this continent, and most of its workings, tend to be viewed primarily from a WASP perspective, whether one is aware of it or not. On top of which, most North Americans have little or no concept of what it truly going on in the rest of the world, or even about other cultures - except for what TV channels feed them in 'spectacle-like' news progs .

Answer 5

Yes, racism is still alive. I have encountered racism coming from and directed towards all kinds of ethnic groups...and it isn't just older people hanging onto old ideas while the newer generations accept each other for who they are. I've encountered racists of all ages. Sadly, there is no method of mass-education (that only seems to work when spreading negative ideas), the only way to fight against racism is changing one person's mind at a time.

Answer 6

Racism is still a problem, But it is not as large as the media and the ACLU make it out to be. People are people no matter what. Some will never evolve into the understanding taht we are all the same no matter the skin color. And they will always be racist.
Now the flip side of that coin is the simple fact. More and more people daily are comming out to say no to this type of action and those type of people. We all have to get along and learn to live together if we are going to continue as a people.

Answer 7

Unfortunately it's alive and well.

I want to expand on what Les M said about playing the racism card. One of my fellow supervisors told an employee he was late (which he definitely was) to which he replied, "You're only saying that because I'm black." Did the color of his skin make him late? I don't think there will ever be a complete end to racism, but as it has become socially unacceptable it won't be a prominent problem. There will be millions of closet racists until the end of time -- the number of outspoken racists will eventually dwindle.

Racism is learned -- no one is born a racist. Parents, peers, and media pass it from generation to generation - it's a disease for which there is no fool proof cure.

Answer 8

I think the race problem is as much or maybe more a class problem. I doubt if middle or upper class people could be cloe friends with someone that lives in "the projects" because they would have nothing in common.

But if people are similar in education and class I don't think that race is a big issue, especially in the cities.

Answer 9

Hi Ves - Unfortunately racism is as big now as it's ever been. Not only among blacks and whites but among many nationalities and cultures. Look at the immigration issue for example, is the real issue there racism against hispanics? Who knows.

Here is what I do know. It shouldn't matter who owned Texas 200 years ago - It shouldn't matter who did or did not own slaves 200 years ago, so on and so forth.

We live in the greatest country in the world. I think people take that for granted. We shouldn't fight among ourselves but against the people wanting to take those freedoms away from us.

Answer 10

Racism is and always will be a problem.Reason being that until the human race evolves beyond its current level,there will always be bigots and hatemongers out there.On both sides.You know the sad thing about it all???No matter what race or creed you are the majority of your race is good and decent.It is the small minority that makes each of our respective races look bad.