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The country cannot rely on states to legislate themselves when it come to Civil Rights. Just look at how the Southern states didn't address, in fact subverted, Civil Rights following the Civil War during Reconstruction. Jim Crow would still be the norm in the South if the Federal Govt. hadn't weighed in. It took the Federal Gov't to provide the leadership (even if LBJ was not keen on the idea) to pass the 1964 Voters Rights Act (Civil Rights Act). In fact they are actively attempting to turn back the clock on Georgia and Florida.

t1nick 8 June 28
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The discussion on this topic has heated up quite a bit, I don't know where it will end. I'm still looking to see what happens to the community. play scrabble online

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I agree. There are some things which the states could have addressed but never have. Centuries on, we still have civil rights issues, child marriage, child abuse under the guise of religion etc.. I cannot believe that if we leave Alabama to itself, for example, that it will ever sort these matters

I concur. I worked in the oil field in Louisiana and Texas in the 1980's. I saw overt racism first hand. I could work and sweat with a black coworker all day, but not go have a beer together after work. There was not any laws against it, but accepted practice, a line that nobody crossed. It may be better now, but rural LA and TX was both sad and scary. The cities may be better than the rural South.

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IMO it is not a matter of reliance on the states. Our civil rights are enshrined in the US constitution and states can not legally circumvent the constitution. I’m not convinced that politicians at the national level are more benevolent than those at the state level and can be better relied upon.

It helps to a degree to make laws, but for real progress we need awareness—awareness of the inherent dignity, beauty and value of every person. Focusing on sectionalism will get us nowhere. For that matter, screaming at other people about their racism will not make them change.

It’s a personal thing. Lead by example. It’s not about Florida, Georgia or New Mexico.

[google.com]

Agree and disagree. Civil Rights per se were spoke to inthe Constitution, but not truly defined. At the time of the writing of the Constitution at the beginning of our Nation, Civil Rights were intended solely for white males who owned land (landed gentry). Blacks and Native Americans were not considered fully human and not deserving of full rights and participation. It was deemed that women were to "fair" and delicate to participate in politics. So yes Civil Rights were alluded too, but for only a few.

Secondly, if we do not continue to "scream" about racism as you put it, then it will continue unabated. We may not change some closed-minds, but we can affect ultimately affect legislation that protects the targets of racism ftom those close-minded individuals. So I say, "scream-on" until the racists are drowned out and their efforts to cause harm is elimenated.

@t1nick I agree with you.

And racism is NOT a personal thing. It's a systematic issue. It is larger than one individual. It is larger than a town, a city or a state. The awareness will not be achieved without a direct and systematic challenge to the racist worldview.

@AtheistReader
Unfortunately. you are correct. It is systemic and it is only through systemic actions, laws and regulations, can its impact be mimimalized. We can never wipe it out completely as there will always be small-minded individuals that need a hierarchy and a pecking order to feel better about themselves.

@t1nick Even if you are going to “scream on”, I think a person should address racism in his own neighborhood rather than off somewhere else, and address it in the present, not in a historical context.

[google.com]

@WilliamFleming

I do all the time. Thats why I teach in a minority population andcrepresentbtheir interests whenever I can.

@t1nick Great. We need teachers like that.

@WilliamFleming

TY

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I worry that our country can't be trusted to legislate itself in ANY area. Democracy depends upon an educated and informed electorate--which sadly we do not have. Our elections are primarily popularity contests which are easily swayed by the media. Well guess what, the media are for sale--in most cases to the highest bidder. If you have extreme amounts of cash, for all practical purposes you can buy elections.

mischl Level 8 June 28, 2019
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I have just finished reading the book "Separate", the story of the Plessy vs Ferguson case and the sham of justice that ensued through SCOTUS. Also the South took on the "resurection" rather than the reconstruction. The North is highly at fault here because the Union made a decision to let the south return to business as usual by electing all of the trouble makers back into power rather than banning them from political office. The north also had the "separate but equal" thing going on and there are pockets of racism that run very deep in many northern states existing as we speak. Although many northerners hated slavery, many also didn't picture a country that would have equal rights and commingling of the races. In fact many were hell bent on freeing the slaves, abolishing slavery, and then shipping blacks back to foreign countries where they would feel as if they were surrounded by their "own kind". And many northerners fought the Civil War in order to preserve the Union - for some it wasn't as much about slavery as it was that some southern states want to dissolve the union. At this point I wish we were 2 countries or maybe even 3.

I totally agree. While a Masters candidate at the Univ. of Ill. Urbana, I argued that point in a Sociology of Education class in 1994. I was invited to continue into the PhD program as a result.

I worked in the oil fields in LA and TX in 1982 and saw the racial segregation (practiced, not legislated) and I taught US History this summer beginning with the Reconstruction in summer school.

My point. I saw the overt racism in the South, and less overt, more covert racism in the industrial North.

@t1nick My dad taught history after leaving the Air Force. His favorite time period was the Civil War. I live so close to Gettysburg that it is an easy day trip to go there and let it all soak in. My grandson just finished a unit study on Reconstruction in his school. He is fortunate because I know of no public schools in my area that do anything but white wash the entire thing.
You are totally spot on with the north's covert racism. Institutional racism is alive and unfortunately well, in our country. I also feel that given the president we have in power we as a nation are being urged to express our deep hatred of anyone who is not like us. Anything goes and white male heterosexual supremacy is on the rise.

@AmelieMatisse
I concur and appreciate you comments and insights. I have been waging a war (so to speak) with members on this site regarding white male supremacy. Most of my opponents are white males from the South who do not want to believe that white male supremacy is real and insist that its just a liberal distraction.

@t1nick As a woman I can speak directly to the white male supremacy issue. It is real, it is harmful, and it is as strong as ever.

@AmelieMatisse

agreed

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Interesting you compare today to the time just after the Civil War... and then want to invoke a J. Crow reference, as if the country is more racist now than it was then.. Do you think our country is more racist now?

We only addressed the most overt racism (Jim Crow) in 1964. The instutional racism that permeates society today was not addressed. We did little to ameliorate racism, just forced it to take a more overt face.

It is the 21st Century, the world, through satellite connections, has become smaller, yet our (The American) vision has grown smaller and mean spirited. So yes. It is much worse today.

@t1nick Once again, you avoid answering the question... Typical..

@Captain_Feelgood

what question did I miss?

@Captain_Feelgood

I answered it three posts up?

@Captain_Feelgood

Like usual, you want a simplistic answer to a complex question. Do you always work at that level?

@t1nick While we're at it... What do you suppose Federal, or State for that matter, Gov. do that hasn't been done?

@Captain_Feelgood

First off, lets begin with racial profiling and a different justice system for minorities and the poor, from the rest of society. Take the weapons of war that Bush dumped into domestic society away from the police and make de-escalation and mediation a emphasis. Thats not to say disarm, but to elimenate military weapons that have no business in a domestic setting away and change the mindset. Remove the temptation to shoot first, ask questions later.

Why can a white male mass murderer be taken alive, and a black man with a phone or a burned out tail light have to get shot (even if they comply). The paradigm from which cops operate need to be changed. Serve and protect, not seve and protect if you're white.

@t1nick First off, let's begin with reality. When a robbery call goes out to the ones on duty, and to look out for a young late 20s black, or Hispanic male, 5-8 wearing jeans and a grey hoodie, guess what... Every young black or Hispanic male in a grey hoodie in the area is going to get stopped, searched and questioned.. That's not profiling, that's the Cops doing their job..

Weapons of war?? You said " Take the weapons of war that Bush dumped into domestic society away from the police and make de-escalation and mediation a emphasis. Thats not to say disarm, but to elimenate military weapons that have no business in a domestic setting away and change the mindset. Remove the temptation to shoot first, ask questions later." What does that even mean?? Just start with that first sentence please... I don't understand it at all. Do you mean allowing "Assault Weapons" to be sold to the public? "elimenate military weapons that have no business in a domestic setting" ... so tell everyone that owns an AR-15 style rifle to turn it it? Ban them?

Your perception of the real world, day to day life from city to city, State to State, etc... with regards to who's getting shot by whom, and why,,, is a bit askew.
[usnews.com]

@Captain_Feelgood

[forbes.com]

Tracking Military Weaponry and War Machines Flowing to America's Local Police Departments
Adam Andrzejewski

[en.m.wikipedia.org]
1033 program

You are incorrect on the majority of your points. It is profiling.

The dumping of surplus military equipment changed the paradigm regarding how the police view the community they are supposed to "serve and protect". The militrization of local police turned their community from something to work with, to a view of them as combatants.

@t1nick That's a crock of shit.. the most commonly requested items include ammunition, cold weather clothing, sand bags, medical supplies, sleeping bags, flashlights and electrical wiring. Small arms and vehicles such as aircraft, watercraft and armored vehicles have also been obtained. The aircraft are not weaponized, nor the vehicles. They're only troop transport vehicles. They may decide to put water cannons on the trucks, but that's about it.. The 'bayonets and 50 cal. weapons' is ridiculous.. Pfffft... bayonets indeed... Bwaaaahahaha...

@Captain_Feelgood

Race as an Institutional Factor in the Arrest, and the use of Excessive and Deadly Force against African American Males
Larry D Stokes, Zaphon R Wilson, Kenneth A Jordan, Davida M Harris
Endarch: Journal of Black Political Research 2017 (1), 3, 2017
[scholar.google.com]

@Captain_Feelgood

Once again a conservative who scoffs in the face of facts

@t1nick And for the record, I'll believe a black Police Chief over you concerning profiling any day.

@Captain_Feelgood

you have a real hard time with recognizing context and credibility of source material. I guess two years of college wasnt enough.

@t1nick Ahh.. more projecting... good job.. 😣

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What do you think the federal government should do where civil rights are concerned?

In what way are states failing to uphold civil rights?

The post was meant to be about the fact that there are areas of legislation that necessarily needs to be addressed at the Federral level and not left up to the states

@Bigel

All laws are. My ex was an environmental scientist and would complain about infractions she witnessed as we were driving. Like you, I said its only a law if enforced.

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But right now, we can't rely on this Court to do it either. Or this Senate. Especially not this president.

And the GOP as it stands today.

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