@Hisclarkness:
Going back to page 9, Concerning "systemic racism":
Important distinctions need to be made. "Systemic" racism implies there is racism inherent to the "system". I think being precise is very important. When I think of the "system", I think of the laws, the founding ideas, and the universal principles that under-girds the government. It is the framework that we all operate within, the system of laws that define the "ground rules" for the interactions we have. To be clear, it goes deeper than the laws themselves. It is the principles that give justification for the laws. There have been times in the past when those principles were tossed to the side and laws were created that violated those fundamentals. Those laws are examples of "systemic racism".
I think we part ways in the definition of "system". I could be wrong about this, but after re-reading your posts, it really sounds like you define "system" in a different way. Although I can't put my finger on it. It seems like a vague definition. For example, if a bank decides not to underwrite a certain area because of risk, you perceive that as "the system" and as racism (instead of just risk management). Or even if a bank refuses to underwrite a certain redlined location based completely on race, not risk, because maybe its a bank of KKK members, you see that as discriminatory action by the "system". In reality, the "system" is on your side because that sort of redlining is illegal.
In my mind there is a clear distinction between what is the "system" and what could be attributed to individual racist acts. This distinction is very important because if you listen to the rhetoric of BLM, they want to tear it all down. To BLM (the topic of this thread), the US is racist from its founding. The entire things needs to go and that helps us understand what they define as "systemic", even though you might have a different definition. It has been noted by many people, including black people, that if BLM really were to live up to its namesake, it would actually care about all the black lives lost each day in the inner cities (at the hands of other blacks). They don't. Because its not about blacks mattering. It is about a political and economic ideology.
Eventually you said:
This is why racism is systemic. Sure, the KKK and like minded individuals still exist. But racism today is less an individual problem. There is no one person to point the finger to and this is why the subject is often so hard to have.
To me, this is an amazing statement. It is as if you feel the racism is "systemic" because you can acknowledge objectively that "racism today is less an individual problem". And, you are right - individual racism is not an issue. Nobody is out to be a racist, except the 11 members of the KKK, as you point out. Businesses, corporations, politicians, are bending over backwards to virtue signal this. Nevertheless, you feel the racism out there. It is as if you want to assert that there some nebulous cloud of racism out there, a racist fog that you can't really see or hear or touch. It is just permeating society, and the "system". It has to be the "system" because individuals aren't the problem.
Believe it or not, this was acknowledged on page 9, and Simon gave a really good explanation of it - you are feeling the "Democratic Plantation". It is exactly what your community has voted for, and continues to vote for.
