I think the biggest problem w/ race relations is they aren't allowed to be discussed. Our society has this "one drop rule" which is in itself racist. Is barack obama the first half white or first half black president? If we went by Hitler's standards then we've had plenty of "half aryan" presidents. Even w/ the best intentions artificial constructs were meant to divide people. Oddly enough and conversely some SA countries claim to be "mostly white" b/c they place emphasis on a certain heritage. The "one drop rule" is a double sided coin but the truth is most "white" people in the US aren't particularly from a specific region the way most "black" people aren't. Understanding the mixing bowl is the first step to calling out bs. My DNA tests show me as part slavic, part germanic, part jewish ad infinitum. If you've got "pure blood" in the US then you are unique or inbred.
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I think the biggest problem w/ race relations is they aren't allowed to be discussed. Our society has this "one drop rule" which is in itself racist. Is barack obama the first half white or first half black president? If we went by Hitler's standards then we've had plenty of "half aryan" presidents. Even w/ the best intentions artificial constructs were meant to divide people. Oddly enough and conversely some SA countries claim to be "mostly white" b/c they place emphasis on a certain heritage. The "one drop rule" is a double sided coin but the truth is most "white" people in the US aren't particularly from a specific region the way most "black" people aren't. Understanding the mixing bowl is the first step to calling out bs. My DNA tests show me as part slavic, part germanic, part jewish ad infinitum. If you've got "pure blood" in the US then you are unique or inbred.
I could see that. Stuff like this usually leaves the exact message they had in mind somewhat vague, so we can interpret it ourselves and take our own message from it.
The way I see it, the whole point was that there is a cultural divide between whites and blacks in America, and there really isn't an easy solution to it that we'll see in our lifetimes, so people naturally just get angry and frustrated over it. But, it can help if we just calm down and try not to hate each other over it all.