Racism vs. Discrimination

 

Is the United States a racist society?

In 2020, the topic of "racism" has come front and center stemming from a police-related killing of a black suspect in Minneapolis, MN.  While everyone has condemned this event, it spurred protests nation-wide against police forces in larger cities under the accusation of "systemic racism." Riots, vandalism, and violence erupted in several cities to fight back against brutality by police forces against minority communities.

Does this really happen in this day & age? Haven't we progressed beyond racism? The death at the hands of the police is a terrible thing, of course, but why does it happen? Is there a bigger problem behind this event? What is it? 

Many an article could be written about "why" ... but first, what is the accusation brought by protesters, rioters, and their larger movement? Is it valid or is it magnified or exaggerated? 

What is systemic racism? Are people (white people, specifically) intrinsically racist? Is the legal and judicial system in the United States based on race, with the intention to oppress minority groups (black people, specifically)?

Or is the system discriminatory? Are laws written against a specific group of people? Do people of authority (police, politicians, bureaucrats) actively deny people of color the things they give to others?

What's the difference?

Equality vs. Equity

The conversation is changing in 2020 ...

In a search on this topic, this image is almost universal.

When this topic started to peak my interest, I thought it a simple difference in definitions. But it isn't. It's a huge topic, one more prevalent in today's society than I even began to imagine. For a long time, there was a difference in what people were actually referring to when they spoke about equality, discrimination, and racism in this country.  The difference could be due to context of a conversation, or just simply interpretation of the laws of the country as we currently know them.

Is our society striving for equality? Do our laws provide for equity? It depends on who you talk to, right? Why?