From: Dave Owen
Hello,
I
recently came across your website, and am quite enjoying it!
I did note one thing that troubled me though. On the page about
Polarization (http://www.truthpizza.org/polarize.htm),
in the discussion of the issues that people can become polarized on, you speak
of Racism. My concern is over with the remark "(typically by whites in the
United States)". I think this is a flawed statement, which bears little truth.
Perhaps you intended to say "(typified by some whites in the United States)",
which is a statement that contains more truth. I think a much truer statement
could be made by drawing attention to the fact that racism is present in all
peoples of the world regardless of race, and derives its potency from hatred,
intolerance of differences, and baseless fear.
Yours,
Dave Owen
University of British
Columbia
Dave,
Thanks for the feedback.
I didn't mean to imply that only whites were racist
in the United States or that all or most whites were racist. The statement
began with "...typically starts with an assumption of racial superiority" which
would normally be by the dominant power group, which would be whites in the
U.S. I was also thinking in terms of how it started (racism was pretty rampant
in the 18th and 19th centuries) rather than the situation today. However the
wording probably gives the impression I'm picking on whites, and I agree with
you that racism is pretty universal. To avoid misunderstanding I'm thinking of
changing it to something like the following:
Animosity between whites, blacks, Orientals, Native
Americans, and other groups may start with a dominant group exploiting those of
other races and resentment by those victimized, but racial tension may occur
between any groups who distrust people who look and act differently.
My intention is not to be judgemental about who is
racist, only to expand a little on what "racism" implies.
Let me know if you find other areas where my site
could use improvement!
Bob
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