Anyone who doesn't occassionally sincerely ask themselves the questions, "how might I be wrong?", "what might my own biases be blinding me to?," and, of course, "am I a bad person?" Is not only ignorant, but is indeed a bad person because they're not willing to reflect on how their willful ignorance is hurting both themselves and those around them.

Learning to be uncomfortable with your own beliefs and wrestling and coming to terms with them, and, most importantly, changing your point of view over time with the aim of increasing your empathy for others not like you, is part of what it means to be an adult. There are very few adults in this world.

No it doesn’t, not at all.

in what way are your further points contrary to what i have said?

racism certainly can be an individual problem. the OP is literally an example of racism manifesting as an individual problem.

it is also a societal problem at the same time.

we call such problems systemic.

why is racism a systemic problem? because it is a social construct. it does not exist in reality, it exists in the collective consciousness of society.

obviously it isn’t feasible to just cast a spell and make the social construct of race go away in an instant.

but it is a pertinent fact that without the belief in race itself, one would be incapable of racism. note, not incapable of bigotry, just incapable of being racist.

arguing anything otherwise is going to quickly become self-contradictory.

racism is not built into the foundations of society, it is race as a social construct that is, and then further inherently lends itself to racism, both individually and societally.

it is an important distinction.

we mustn’t need to divide ourselves unless we choose to do so. i’ll take the L on having strewn myself off topic compared to the OP, however. this definitely is unfounded under a post just looking to vent.

i just get upset seeing how ingrained social constructs are for people. nothing has to be this way. it isn’t a solution, it’s a hope for a better tomorrow. the way people are so hot to ridicule is shameful

obviously it would be goofy at best to point out the way race is a social construct in the face of a bigot hurling slurs. that’s clearly not the point being made here? don’t be intentionally obtuse.

race isn’t real the same way gender isn’t real. these things, despite their unreality, have massive confluence on the lives of people across the world.

it is our belief in these things that power them, like false gods. it isn’t some “gotcha” moment to point out the thing i’ve literally already clarified. like, yes? believing in race makes you a racist. no, it isn’t some magical cant that will make the bad men go away.

doesn’t mean it isn’t important to recognize.

this isn’t some enlightened centrist shit. recognizing the true nature of these social constructs is the basis of affectual change in society.

starting anywhere else is arrogant and folly