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In reply to the discussion: "I didn't know how racist America was until it elected its first black President." [View all]BumRushDaShow
(129,096 posts)And this topic brings mixed reaction to me.
On the negative side, it underscored that we still have a long way to go to reach a "color blind" society -not in terms of forcing "cultural assimilation" by POC to non-POC cultural standards, but of accepting and even celebrating cultural differences between people who as humans, generally desire the same things.
However on the positive side, it also underscored how far we have come - where POC are now being elected to office - not just thanks to the previous "reliable" 20 - 25% of the white population, but by upwards of 30 - 40% for the first time in increasing instances, and THAT is significant, and was why Barack Obama was elected not once, but twice. I first noticed the phenomena with the election of Deval Patrick, who managed to garner that higher percentage of white votes to become Governor of Massachusetts - not by plurality due to 3rd party splitting (e.g., Doug Wilder as Governor of Virginia), but outright votes. This was a good indicator of what was to come with the Presidential election of 2008.
The main way to help shift the dynamic of cultural acceptance is "exposure". This country is so vast with tens of millions essentially isolated from others from other cultures (both rural and even urban), that any negative perceptions or stereotypes of those who are "other", only get reinforced, and passed on to the next generation.
I recently got chance to watch the animated film "Zootopia" and was amazed at the audacity of the creators to consciously attempt to tackle such a complex subject, and the entire film became a vast metaphoric exploration of modern society through personification, taking some oft-used stereotypes, and turning them on their head to make one think a bit.