How do we ease racial tensions in America?

By recognizing that racism exists and is an asymmetric problem.

 

We could probably start by getting cops to stop shooting un-armed teenagers. That would be great.

 

Promoting diverse environments might help a bit. If we create homogeneous groups of a race, tensions break out between the differing groups.

 

As long as it's us vs. them, there's never going to be harmony.

Self-segregation perpetuates the us vs. them problem. When you live and work with people of different races, there are less tensions. But when they're in separate communities and separate worlds, you naturally develop assumptions and prejudices about them. I don't know the solution to that, but an end to self-segregation would help. Segregation might not be enforced by the government anymore, but it happens anyway.

 

YUS^
This guy gets it!

 

This. I highly doubt I'll still be alive and kickin' when things start slowing down or the generation of proud racists will die out.

 

How about the police...stop killing unarmed black people?

 

This. I would also like to add that improved communicate and understanding of terms that are used in a way that is either misleading, an oversimplification, or plain incorrect would be a step in the right direction for improving racial relations. Terms such as Black on Black crime or any equivalent, reverse racism, self segregation, political correctness, etc.

 

The first step to solving any problem is realising there is one. When people finally realise that African American and Latino Americans are more likely to be racially profiled, arrested for things white people get off easy for (see: crack vs powder cocaine disparity), and much more likely to have lethal force used against them, then we can start moving on as a society with legislation that protects minorities that are being unjustly profiled.

We must also realize that racism is not only a problem on an individual basis, but systemic racism is another way racism is a problem. As many have said, the war on drugs and the hard sentencing of nonviolent drug offenses is the new Jim Crow.

 

This as well

 

Can you tell me why you require it to be a two way street?

 

^ the minorities can be just as guilty of grouping themselves together and refusing to be diverse. Everybody can work to end racial tensions.

 

You can start by getting all true Americans to "clean house" by going to Washington DC and beheading all those vicious, self-serving, egotistical, ego-maniacal Nazi politicians, and replacing them with REAL human beings.

 

We need to do a honest nationwide clean up in this country. Corruption exists every day and it most often takes place from a place of power. Sadly time and time again we keep putting people in power who abuse it and in some sick way they enjoy it. They are getting way with these acts of corruption at every level of government. We need to have strict guidelines enforced on every level which includes school officials, police officers, community leaders and so on. Also we need to improve our communities. Sometimes we leave a community in poverty and despair and we need to stop ignoring these communities and take full attention at how to improve them and make their lives better. In my opinion this world cannot be great until everyone succeeds and I think ignoring these communities and allowing corrupt officials to run communities has increased racial tensions and made things more divisive. Because obviously people with power can longer be trusted and i myself lost my faith in authority a long time ago.

 

It's possible you may know more about this issue than I do, so I am hoping you will point me to some scholarly sources that will clear up my error. I have a few questions related to your statement.

1) By "grouping themselves together," in what context do you mean that?

2) How are you sure that "refusing to be diverse" is the overwhelming driving reason behind segregation, say, in housing?

3) How are you sure that over plausible alternatives do not exist, like different access to education and employment?

 

It doesn't make any sense to imply that "easing racial tensions" is the burden of only one race. It might mean that one race has more to do to ease racial tensions, but it takes everyone to truly ease them.

 

one way would be to look at the gun laws for everyone as well as police .