Early Reactions to the Blog Post on Racism
I received a number of posts last night about racism. I appreciate everyone who took the time to read and respond to the question that I posed. Interestingly, using other words, most of the comments seem be consistent with the premise – “People already know what they think, and what they believe is right and wrong. While they may listen a bit, they will mostly confirm and reinforce what they already think – but they are not going to change their minds.”
If you did not see the original post, here is the link:
https://www.15minutebusinessbooks.com/blog/2020/06/20/changing-minds-a…racism-is-futile/
See some of these comments:
Sorry it has brought you sadness. I am one of those not open to changing my mind. With children of color who have faced racism, I am not going to stand for it no matter the form it takes now.
Unfortunately I think you are correct. This issue has been on my back burner for a long time and I have reached one very simple conclusion: Until someone really wants to understand institutional or systemic racism, is willing to embrace wherever the evidence points and is willing to actively pursue the issue, they will never change. All one has to do to allow racism to thrive is do nothing, absolutely nothing, as it’s already baked into the system.
Hasn’t changed my mind about racism, but has upped my awareness of things (images, symbols, language, etc) that I thought were innocuous but have been used to oppress and even persecute people of color. And that’s worth something to me.
I am one person who did have an epiphany – and I have decided to educate myself further to help stop the systematic racism so prevalent today.
Any group that claims to be different due to skin color is racist.
Thank you for your thoughts. While I don’t dispute your view, I would like to tell you that I have personally fielded all sorts of texts, emails, phone calls from white people who have changed their views on anti-Black racism given recent events. People who I knew to be those “silent moderates” that King bashes in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail; others who held legitimately racist views and now realize where they have been wrong. One of my dear friends and colleagues actually finally got his racist dad to understand where he has been wrong for 60 years. There’s real movement – something’s afoot, and I’m cautiously optimistic.
Well said, Karl
The more important question is not how events, rallies and protests have changed others but how have they changed you. They’ve changed me and how I view racism and how I need to respond.
Only God can change a man’s heart. The root of the problem is that we have as a society that has put God aside. Until this changes we face many problems.
It’s led to me knowing about a lot of statues I never knew existed before. Then I found out I was supposed to be upset about them being destroyed. I’m trying to care but it ain’t like they were old yella, you know, something I actually knew about before yesterday,
It’s led to me better understanding where a ton of people stand.
In my mind, the question now becomes, “what would have be different for you to change own mind about racism?” If you don’t know, we will not see progress, no matter how people will tell stories, listen presentations, read books, watch films, participate in protests, save statues, or anything else.
