[maskedmelon]

Originally Posted by loramin [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Individual adoption of kids of any ethnicity is (obviously) a good thing. But if we're talking about fighting discrimination we're not talking about individual adoptions; by definition we have to be talking about mass adoption, because no one thinks adopting a single minority kid will solve anything.

It will for that single minority kid, but it's a tremendous investment so of course nobody wants to do that because it is easier to battle the illusory demon with words than it is to actually do something.

And as I said before, large scale adoptions to integrate minorities into society (which is what we're talking about in both the Native-American and African-American cases) has an ugly and racist history.

But there's also a larger issue to the whole thing, and that's the assumption that the problem is the minorities.

no, it's not. that has nothing to do with my argument. that assumption has no part in it. my argument is that you, whoever you are (or anyone else for that matter), whether you are brown or pink or black or yellow or red, you as a parent have absolute authority over your child and their environment (whether they are brown or pink or black or yellow or red) and with that control of their environment, you (whether your are brown or pink or black or yellow or red) can exclude discrimination from that environment. That is the point. It has nothing to do with racism or colors of people or anything else. you have that capacity as a parent. THAT is the point.

Now, if you believe that discrimination is an issue, you can exclude it from the environment of your children, THEREFORE you can eliminate roughly two decades (possibly much more) of discrimination for an individual by adopting them as a child.

If we could only adopt and teach these black children to act like white children then the problem would be solved!

nobody has argued this except you just now, here in this post.

Except a black adopted child is going to face the exact same discrimination for the color of their skin as a white child (only they'll have the added awkwardness of parents who don't share that with them).

So if mass (or individual) adoptions won't fight racism ...


How about writing a book, movie, or TV show where the black (or any minority) character is not defined by their race? Like where a main character is black, but they're not The Black Panther, they're not the villain in Luke Cage, there's just a person who happens to be black. Or where the hot dog vendor, x-ray technician, or whatever side role is black, and their race is completely irrelevant (eg. it's not in a crime show set in Baltimore).

Or write one where the African-American character is a criminal, but the viewer empathizes with their actions and see them as a result of their circumstances (the way you do with, for instance, the main character in Slumdog Millionaire) rather than as a consequence of their skin color.

Or how about making a commercial where the black kid isn't just the "token black kid", they actually have a central role which has nothing to do with being "urban" or black?

Or what about fighting racist in the courts? On average blacks are convicted and given longer sentences than white people (for equal crimes). An individual lawyer or judge could make a huge impact not just in their own courtroom, but by convincing their peers to confront their latent racism and how it impacts their legal decisions.

Or if you're a cop, fighting back against the stereotypes within your fellow law enforcement officers that blacks are dangerous criminals and/or deserve less rights.

Or if you work for a pharmaceutical company make band-aids for all skin colors, not just "white".

Or if ...

all excellent examples of effortless platitudes that accomplish nothing, but foster a sense of purpose in the actor all the same :c

in a free society (one which respects individual liberties and private property) you can't change people, but you can change sections of the environment.

I could go on but hopefully you get the point: the solution to solving racism isn't to adopt kids who will just face that racism (along with the awkwardness of having parents who don't), it's to influence your fellow humans to not be racist.

how terribly convenient! change for one is of no value, so let us continue painting the window until the night is no more.

i get your point and it makes me very sad, because it speaks to my original point that nobody is willing to face reality for a better tomorrow. we take refuge in our delusions until it's finally over and we can rest.