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2016 Postmortem

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HerbChestnut

(3,649 posts)
Sun Feb 14, 2016, 04:47 PM Feb 2016

You cannot legislate whether or not someone is racist. [View all]

But you *can* legislate the institutional mechanisms in which that racism is allowed to permeate. For example, you can pass laws that hold police officers responsible for targeting black people. You can create jobs programs that focus on lifting poor minority communities out of poverty. You can offer educational opportunities to everyone regardless of their or their family's income. You can change drug laws so that minorities don't become imprisoned at a disproportional rate. None of these things will change the fact that people are racist, but at least they close some doors on ways racism can be expressed.

I, for one, do not believe that people are born racist. I think racism is something that is learned either through personal experiences or societal upbringing. This is something that cannot be solved over night nor by any politician. It takes an entire country to say enough is enough, and it will take time.

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