The other day ...

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

31. I tried to make it to a wider audience as well.

Very few people think of themselves as 'racists', in large part because of the sloppy way the word is used in the vernacular to usually denote virulent racial bigots. As a result, the word itself pretty much guarantees that people go knee-jerk defensive when the word is used in a way that they even slightly feels applies to themselves.

I'm racist in the actual sense of the word, not the layman's usage. I grew up within a racist social and power system, and I was indoctrinated in maintaining those structures. I also recognize, that as a result, some of my automatic reflexes are also bigoted. That is why it is incumbent upon me to consciously work to constantly recognize when my actions or even thoughts are simply results of the racist society in which I grew up and still live, and to strive to find ways to change that society to reduce the inequalities that are built into our justice system, our financial system, our educational system, and the rest.

We are nowhere near a 'post-racial' society, we have barely begun the struggle to achieve such. The sad thought to me is that we might only finally achieve such as a result of demographics, rather than conscious intent as a nation. Be dragged 'kicking and screaming' as it were, fighting against true equality every step of the way.