Thread: Is The Government Helping To Fuel Racial/Ethnic Animosity?

I'm in agreement with PeteEU that the actions of state governments are more responsible for fueling racism than the actions of the federal government, at least when considering current actions.

As far as Affirmative Action, it has its benefits but I find its promotion of racial discrimination troubling. I would favor eliminating Affirmative Action programs and replacing them with public works that would ideally, provide everyone with a right to a job.

Originally Posted by PoS

On almost every government form that one has to fill out, whether its for welfare, the census, job applications or whatever, one must fill out an entry for race/ethnicity. Is the government in fact overemphasizing race and helping to fuel animosity between different ethnic groups? Are government programs like affirmative action still viable or should they be dismantled because of a backlash or perhaps they may no longer be needed?

Should the government stop taking information about race/ethnicities? Could this be in fact part of the solution to the problem? What do you think?

Yes, but my yes is from a different slant. Since the government is responsible for the police, judicial, and penal systems, and those systems, that have historically held a very strong racial bias, weigh hugely on the futures of individuals and communities and businesses,... government is very responsible for stoking racial unrest.

I'm pretty sure the government's complicity in ensuring racial inequalities from 1776 until the 1960s probably have fueled racial and ethnic animosity far more than simple census measurements.

Originally Posted by PoS

On almost every government form that one has to fill out, whether its for welfare, the census, job applications or whatever, one must fill out an entry for race/ethnicity. Is the government in fact overemphasizing race and helping to fuel animosity between different ethnic groups? Are government programs like affirmative action still viable or should they be dismantled because of a backlash or perhaps they may no longer be needed?

Should the government stop taking information about race/ethnicities? Could this be in fact part of the solution to the problem? What do you think?

In a number of different ways the government requires us to be extremely conscious of race and ethnicity. It is so un-PC to say so, that nobody dares even say it anymore, but until we have a government who treats everybody as equals impartially and without prejudice, it is the government who keeps racism alive and well and shamefully exploits it for the personal advantage of those in government.

If we want to limit racism, we need to start treating skin color and ethnicity as having no more importance than hair color or eye color. Everybody is required to sink or swim on their own merits and we treat crime the same whether it is white on white, black on black, or any combination. If we don't note hair color or eye color on the periodic census, we don't note skin color either. Skin color ceases to exist as an issue period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s

Are there political ideologies and parties that are pushing racist ideas? Absolutely. When those parties are in power, they absolutely use the government to push forward their aims. I don't think you can say that the federal government is, all the time, doing so though. It's bad ideologies behind the leadership that are the problem, not the government itself.

Originally Posted by Cephus

Are there political ideologies and parties that are pushing racist ideas? Absolutely. When those parties are in power, they absolutely use the government to push forward their aims. I don't think you can say that the federal government is, all the time, doing so though. It's bad ideologies behind the leadership that are the problem, not the government itself.

We may not be that far apart on this issue, but I have to ask, who is the government if it is not the political parties in power and ideologies behind the leadership?

Originally Posted by AlbqOwl

We may not be that far apart on this issue, but I have to ask, who is the government if it is not the political parties in power and ideologies behind the leadership?

The government is the legislative arm of society. Without society, there is no government.

Originally Posted by Cephus

The government is the legislative arm of society. Without society, there is no government.

I agree that technically, the government receives its authority from the people. But that legislative activity doesn't happen without people representing political parties and people motivated and guided by ideologies who make up the government. The government IS those people. So you can't really say that the government is not promoting racism when it is obvious that it does.

"If a tree falls in the woods and there's no one to hear it, is it racist?"