When you notice a social ill like prejudice ie black folks best not come into the white part of town after dark for fear of their life and you say to someone, "that ain't right" and they tell you "that is just the way it is" and end the conversation as if that ought to be the end of the conversation. Do you think that this is an ignorant cop out or do you think it is people perpetuating prejudice and knowing and not caring?

Some of my family live in places where this is common. I am just appalled by it and get really pissed at my family because I feel they are perpetuating the prejudice when they say this to me.

?????

hmmmm....

Some places it's the other way around. ie: Harlem, Bronx, NY.

I have yet to hear the folks from there tell each other "that is just the way it is" and disregard their responsibility (if they are responsible) in the whole deal.

And criminals come in all races so that part is irrelavant to my original question.

are you looking for scapegoats (individuals) or afraid to admit the failure of the the entire society, ideology, politics and life?

That's true

I am wondering why this "saying or philosophy" survives and is allowed as some kind of validation.

Personally, I think its a cope out.

Silence is the worst acceptance of ignorance, prejudice, etc.

My staying silence you are condoning what the other person stated and you appear to agree with them.

Now I don't recommending going around and challenging everything. You need to determine your environment and safety. However, a simple I don't agree with that or that's how it shouldn't be would work in those situations.

because people rather sweep problems under the rug and act like problems don't exist and meanwhile it gets worse.

I would walk in harlem with no problems.

I lived in Detroit for two years.

I think fear keeps people from doing things.

How do we stop it?

I think it's just because people are too lazy to try to change the way things are.

I don't think discrimination should take place anywhere, at all. Like on my brother's bus (he's in 7th grade) where another kid beat the hell out of him specifically for being white.

People tend to forget racism goes both ways. But either way, it just shouldn't be.

You can't really stop it unless you can change someone's views on things, which usually is not an easy thing. But if I knew a way to, I definitely would.

Speaking up.

Exposure to different people, culture, religions etc

And not tolerating intolerance in your life/environment

I agree.

I've never been to a "white" getto...but on the other hand I'm sure in rural white America(the south) you wont catch many black folks running around,and that's just the way it is...

racism is ignorance...people tend to live in the past.
A child is a reflection of their parents

An ignorant cop out? Sometimes. People perpetuating prejudice and knowing and not caring? Sometimes.
Most often, I think it's a reflection of just how difficult and complicated most people's lives are already, without the added challenge of fighting for a great cause. These days especially, someone is always pushing something under our noses insisting that we need to act now and help them fight back. All of the causes thus brought to my attention, including both white on black, and black on white racial prejudice, are good and necessary causes. That does not mean I can set aside my children's needs, or even my own daily needs, to join directly in fighting for them. I would not respond as you describe, with a phrase that so indicates that I willingly accept the iniquities of the world, but I will also not jump to your side and help raise a banner. I find that a majority of people don't actually think things through as thoroughly as they should, and will respond to things like this with whatever phrase they last heard someone ELSE use to answer. It doesn't mean they are the kind of bad people you are voicing anger about, just not as thoughtful as I am.

First of all, you cannot stop something like this at all. Why?? Because there have been attempts, after attempts, after attempts to do this very thing. Atlantis brought up the fact that people would rather ignore it, accept it, and just sweep it under the rug. If they act like it isn't a problem, then eventually they will train themselves to believe it. People have become tired of speaking up when they see that it doesn't do any good, and therefore they will just stop doing so and ignoring it.

Another point is that even with racial profiling, the main reason it exists is because there are those individuals within each race who perpetuate the bad. Think about it. I saw a black man walking down a neighborhood that I lived. It wasn't long that someone called the cops, and three cop cars stopped him and began to talk to him. Now, I sat there and wondered why someone would call on him, but I immediately felt that it was do to race. There were no black families living in that subdivision, so why was he there? That was the thought, and that (I am sure) was probably why the cops were called. They took him in handcuffs, and drove him away. To this day, I don't know what really was the reason they did this. Perhaps he was guilty of something. Perhaps he wasn't. I don't know. In our thoughts, we see someone that we think does not belong in a certain place, we are going to assume the worst. I know. "He is black, so he must be a bad person" thought will come up in alot of people's minds. Do you know why that is? Because in alot of cases, we get this perception, be it from media outlets or from our own environments. Alot of black people do not trust white people, and in most cases white people are still the "enemy". The reverse is true too. Alot of white people do not trust black people. It doesn't take a genius to understand why that is.

I am just stating the obvious here. I am not trying to ruffle anyones feathers. There is still this huge gap between races, and even when alot of us can live in harmony, there are still more of us who pretend we can. And that is the problem. We only act like we get along when we have to.

I despise racisim. I grew up with family who are racists, simply because they were taught it. I want to see no prejudice in this country, but I know it won't happen. Unless people begin to take responsibility for it. That is the only way it will happen.

2 of my favorite shows are Sanford and Son, and The Jeffersons
I think it's just awful that anyone would feel negetive about someone just because of their skin color. Were all people, just like different breeds of dogs or birds.
Now, I can see someone being prejudice of certain personality types, thats normal for all of us. I hate liars and theives for instance...

i always point it out when i see it...even when it makes others uncomfortable. i can't help it...i just do. i piss some off, i make others think.

i come at it from a different side, maybe...my biological father is a good ol' southern piece of crap...and my daddy was as dark as the night. i've been treated like the worst pond scum just for going to dinner with my dad. i've had people literally spit on me and move to the other side of the street...and i'm not dark.

if they treat me that way, how do they treat those with darker skin? and if i dealt with it daily...wouldn't i get a little pissy?

i believe that we owe it to the human race to point out the issues we see. my comfort level was passed years ago...so i'll continue to open my big mouth.

oh, and i choose to live in a culturally diverse area, because i absolutely refuse for my children to be raised in a white-washed world...