RateItAll: The Opinion Network

i recently just moved from a house that my friend had rented from a man he met in his line of business. everything was caucasian and fine for 2 months when the landlord came to the house with the landlady and she met me and my son and a 16 year old foster kid we were trying to help and steer in the right direction. well the first thing out of her mouth was "we have a son-in-law who is mexican." i didn't even bother to correct her by telling her that we are of native american, irish and spanish descent and that we or my ancestors did not come from mexico. her ignorance was clear and you could try to educate people like her til you are blue in the face and they still would not be able to get past trying to figure out what they said wrong. i didn't have to do a thing because the small minded woman served us with papers to move 2 weeks later and included an attached letter to me in case i was either to stupid to know better or because i was low class enough for this to be a concern to her she felt she needed to let me know that i was not to steal the stove, the fridge, the lawn mower in the shed and a shelf they had put in the bathroom prior to us moving in. that she was just bringing it to my attention that they went with the house. at first i seriously considered as i packed that since only those 4 items were mentioned then i was free to remove the windows, the toilet, etc. it would have made a statement but moving is hard enough and alot of work i just didn't have the time or the energy or the space to store all that stuff that i didn't even need so she lucked out. the thing that bothered me about it was my kids having to deal with situations brought on because of someone judging us on the color of our skin or their skin cuz im pretty light complexioned but my kids are somewhat darker and it varies depending how much time they spend in the sun.

Only scary if you're a white guy trying out for the basketball team . . . ok, ok, racism does still exist. As does racial discrimination (which I guess is the intellectual acknowledgement of racial differences). Racial prejudice still exists today, as does racial oppression. These will continue to exist, in much the same regularity as today, until we have all assumed room temperature. The great purging of racial discrimination in America took place in the 1970's and 1980's. No white politician or businessman can say anything which in any way implies a racial dichotomy in talent, intellect or acumen without incurring the wrath of our society, manifested through our print and electronic media. With one exception: black leaders can say, imply, infer or insinuate any demonic motive or quality toward any white businessman or politician, whether true or completely ridiculous, without suffering any such scrutiny or criticism. The examples number in the thousands. The silence is deafening. Scary? You decide. Are you white or black? Or neither? Or both?

Not to say that racism doesn't exist anymore but it's not something we should be worried about.

Racism is nothing new,but it's prevalence is proof that we are not evolving much as a species.Racism is rooted in ignorant fear of anyone or anything unfamiliar or different and in an infantile need to boost ones self esteem by denigrating someone else.

I suppose it can be scary, but I'm not a racist, and I haven't had too many encounters with people who would be racist with me. I am sure there are people who don't like us southern gals, but I'm ok with that.

Contrary to what some might say, racism is alive and well. I'm really no more fearful of it than I was 30 or 40 years ago (fearful may not be the right word to use here). It's just that all of the other new worries and problems in this world have kind of pushed it back so that it seems to be less of a problem than the others but don't fool yourself into thinking it's gone or not a problem.

Discrimination is far more prevalent than outright racism- few really believe that one race is better than another in this day and age. . .but discrimination (racism's close relative) is alive and well- it's just disguised better. . .

Practically a non-issue at this point in American history. The worst type (currently) is the politically correct kind which "permits" people of color to make lunatic remarks about members of the majority group with few concerns for scorn, embarrassment or accountability.