USA Was Post-Racial For...Thirty Seconds

We're more divided by race than ever because the status-quo was upset in the largest way possible in this country when we elected someone other than a white male; particularly a male who is half-black. The fact that he is also half-white was summarily discounted because in this country, that one-drop rule is still in full effect when it comes to males. For the uninitiated, if an individual was considered to have even one drop of black blood in the USA, he/she was legally black; period. I frankly don't understand it, but the fear of black men by white men can be traced at least as far back as the days of the African slave trade, and the white men of course instilled that fear in many of their women. Could it be a perception by whites that there is more strength and virility inherent in black men? Projection of one's own feelings/insecurities can be a dangerous thing for one(s) upon whom those projections are directed. The root of racism is a core belief that the "other" is less than. Until that belief system can be changed, we are doomed to remain a racist society, both covert and overt. There are even some black/brown people who also harbor a core belief that they aren't "as good as" because they have been told and shown over, and over, and over that they aren't as valuable, so their anger is turned inward and/or outward toward others who look like them. It's a b**ch of a way to live, but there are so many living like that in this country, the home of the brave and free; but they aren't free. It's very sad situation indeed and it won't self-correct. Those of us who are working hard to become enlightened must pick up the mantle and attempt to bring others to a place of enlightenment. Let's do the difficult thing and solve this unsavory issue before judgment day arrives. Harvard has been awarded a $10M grant to study/address racism in the Boston area. They will do field work, interacting with people of various backgrounds to gather information for this Racism Study. I will be more than happy to accept a portion of that grant money to give them a history lesson, sociology lesson, and psychology lesson. Then they can take the remainder of the $10M and put it where it will really do some good, because spending it on this study isn't going to give very much bang for the buck in my humble opinion. At least one of the commenters on this article in The Boston Globe basically stated that "minorities" like to blame everything on racism, including getting busted by the cops for selling drugs, not having good jobs, and being on welfare. A broad brush is very seldom a good tool to use unless you are actually painting a wall. That said, ALL people of color don't blame racism indiscriminately (no pun intended); however, to deny that racism is still prevalent in American society is to choose blindness over seeing clearly. Racism is endemic in American society because it is inculcated without conscious awareness of the recipient much of the time. I believe that in present-day, most of the brainwashing is subliminal and not malicious, which is why it's so prevalent and accepted. But it is pernicious. Thus, we must be willing to admit and face our prejudices without fear; but none of us wants to believe that WE are/have been contributing to the problem. So we have to step up, pull up our big girl/big boy pants and help ourselves and others to be better human beings by choosing honesty over denial. No, I don't excuse those who choose laziness or selling drugs over hard work, but I do recognize that there are some people who seem to not be able "to catch a break" no matter how willing they are. All citizens of America are not on a level playing field and every one of us needs to grow up and accept that. I challenge anyone who does believe that the playing field is level -- would you be willing to trade being white for being black/brown for one year? I'm 99.999 percent sure that your answer is "No." Why is that, if you think that everything can be hunky-dory for everyone if "they would just get up off their behinds and work hard like the rest of us?" Racism in America is real, and pretending that it isn't just exacerbates the problem. Peace and Love