The 'Southern Avenger' Repents: I Was Wrong About The Confederate Flag

[BrotherIvan]

44. I don't know who this guy is

But I must say that to say what he says...I don't think it's a ploy. Conservatives mostly dig in their heels rather than admit they are wrong. And looking weak to liberuls or us coloreds is like a death sentence in their minds.

I think this is a brainwashed person seeing a tiny crack of light. And I think it is because of the infinite grace shown by the families and church members in Charleston. When they see people (justifiably) rioting in Ferguson and Baltimore, that feeds into the story they have been told. But when they see something that contradicts that narrative, it made him question it (if only a small part of it and only for a fleeting moment).

This is very important. It has been shown in studies that a person raised in a racist/bigoted household, if they meet and have a positive experience with a person of color or a gay person by the age of 18, they will question those beliefs and most likely abandon them (for the most part). Not so after that. Conservatives absolutely know this and this is why we have seen the rise of the homeschool movement and "Christian"/segregated universities because they want to raise more racist bigots. They were able to do it before with economic segregation, but the basic growing and changing of the population has made that less possible.

So my head is kicking around, if we really want to end racism in this country, could we do it within a generation or two? Just by ensuring that children meet and interact with children of a different race in a positive way. And then to have those interactions reinforced by teachers and authority figures. The people I have met with the most racist baggage always say, "In my school there was only one black/brown kid--or none." It wasn't until college that they met someone and then had to change years of teaching.

But that would require the sacrifice of many people of color who are willing to wade into these snakepits and who really wants to do that. And if we could get some kind of fairness laws to deal with the national white supremacy dog whistle network (fox) and hate radio then the daily broadcast reinforcement of racism could be turned off.

I don't know the answer. But I know it is the only solution I have ever seen. Once hatred takes hold, it is hard to get it out. Many articles are saying the shift in attitude toward LGBTQ came from people coming out and family and friends realizing that they knew someone gay. It is personal and familiar. Authoritarians only change their minds when it effects them, so let's change their minds early.