Ways to Fight Racism

One of the ongoing conversations among people is how to fight racism. It is a daily discussion about how to prevent people from acting poorly towards people who have a different color/creed/race/religion and it is one that I never expect to see disappear.

The reason that I do not expect to see it disappear is that there are ideologies out there that promulgate this type of behavior and promote it as being smart, moral and ethical. It is nice to say we should all love our fellow man, but a little naive to think that all people will do it.

So I would advocate for trying to establish realistic and practical goals. Housing, employments, health benefits, education are all things that require legal protection in the interest of equality.

We know from experience that some people will engage in racist practices and behavior so we need laws with teeth to deter these people. It doesn't mean that they are going to suddenly change and become nicer, but it does help to force them to do the right thing when they do not want to.

I believe in education and exposure to different types of thought and people. I think that this is a smart proactive move that will help to minimize racism, but again I do not think of it as a panacea.

If I wanted to I could go into more depth here and write another 1000 words about invisible racism or how ignorance causes racism, but I just don't have the time or energy for it. But I did want to put down a few thoughts.

And I would like to add that just because I believe that it is not going away I am not opposed to fighting it and speaking out against it. When you have the opportunity to do something about this kind of thing you could and should act against it. Change requires action.