General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: "I didn't know how racist America was until it elected its first black President." [View all]bhikkhu
(10,718 posts)I almost never heard any racist jokes or hatred against black people until Obama was elected; I thought naively we were all done with that (in spite of under-the-radar discrimination). Over the last 20 years there has been a steady rise in anti-hispanic sentiments, certainly, but I also hoped that would pass...its hard not to be disappointed in people general.
I recall 20 years ago seeing and appreciating "hate is not a family value" bumper stickers. I grew up on that tail end of the 60's; peace, love, tolerance and intelligence seemed to be the very welcome trajectory of general society. Sadly, all that seems to have gone out the window during in the bush years. My grandfather was the only person I heard racist remarks from (rarely) when I was younger, and I always thought it was an anomaly or an echo of harder times, as he was born just after the turn of the 20th century and lived through a lot. The past few years I've talked to a lot of older people, not much older than me, who make him seem quite mild and restrained. Its hard to stomach sometimes.