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| I don't think any 'problem' has ever been solved by starting at the bottom. I think most people would agree that if the abusive husband is removed from the scene and all abusive husbands were no longer allowed in society, then the problems of the wife were solved, everything else would work out. |
Really? You REALLY think that if all abusive husbands were kicked out, then all the wives would cease to be abusive, too? Is abuse so simplistic as that? Or is there something else to human nature that makes abuse and prejudice something a little more endemic – something that crosses all cultures throughout human history . . .
The problem ISN’T being solved by starting at the bottom, and no one has suggested it. Huge changes have taken place in the last 2 generations alone – mostly starting in the middle, and swelling up. Now big corporations and governments have tremendous pressures to make change just to continue to succeed in the world, and so they are. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot more work to be done – there is. There are considerable complex institutionalized issues that need to be addressed – such as scholastic achievement gaps, that require more than just “fix it, white man”.
In an abusive relationship, if the couple wants to continue living together, they usually go to therapy. No responsible therapist will tell the wife not to work to contribute to the improvement of the relationship. No therapist will say, “oh well. You’re a victim. You just sit here and look pretty and I’ll make sure you’re husband fixes everything.” If it were that way, we’d call it paternalism. Which, if I remember right, is actually a form of racism. Which English poet was it that extolled the virtues of caring for our little black brothers? Learning to live together is a two way street, and both parties are responsible for contributing (usually in different ways, but still contributing). If they don’t, the whole relationship crumbles.
So, if we want to live in a TRULY multicultural society, we all have to work at it.
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| Also, continually shifting blame is exactly that. Shifting blame is not looking nor trying to solve the problem. |
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| I agree...and this is exactly what happens whenever we discuss white privilege. People start pointing the finger at every other race and saying "Well, they're doing it too." Let's just focus on white privilege and white racism...for once. |
If you’re reading my argument as “shifting the blame” then I’m either not conveying my message well, or you’re assuming something I’ve not stated.
As I’ve said throughout this thread, talking about how white people can teach their kids to be open-minded is a good idea. There are different issues to address. However, I reeled with the comments that took the OP’s question quite a bit further, suggesting that “racism’ is only a white person’s problem” in those words and in others. If someone gets to make such an inflammatory comment, then I get to disagree. My disagreement doesn’t shift blame. It doesn’t say I’m not responsible for making change. It doesn’t mean white people shouldn’t have a conversation about raising compassionate, open-minded children. But, it does mean that we’re ALL in this world together, and we are ALL responsible for communicating, for talking it out, for raising GOOD kids. ALL of us. And to insist that only white people can be racist (in a personal as opposed to institutionalized sense) is anti-social and racist in and of itself. It contributes to the problem, to the resentments, to the negative energy between the races.
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