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I can empathize with your desire to live in a society where gender, racial, or other identity issues are disregarded because ...meritocracy. I'd like to find that one too. But, in THIS society, with its foundation in, and history of, racism, sexism, ethnic and religious discrimination... and diversity ...that is a fantasy. There are a multitude of legacy effects of all of that. redlining, ghetto-ization of black populations in communities where the tax base wouldn't pay for water, schools, services, electrification, or transit. Black farmers who couldn't get loans from the government so had to sell their land to white neighbors who could. Women who only achieved the ability to get a credit line without their husbands permission in the 1970!? Do we not need their perspective in governance and judicial decisions? And, no, white nationalism and Christian nationalism are having a moment. And much of the rage driving it is contrived issues by the propaganda arm of the Republican party. "Wokism"..."God help us if our kids learn what happened in the past." All so much "I don't see color BS".

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This is spot on, James. Spot on. America needs to look in the mirror and face what her history is so she can mature up and make decisions that protect her people, all of her people. She is a melting pot and her Great Experiment is still in the adolescent stages. And based on the seditious republican party members and leaders, they are grossly reversing maturity levels.

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I don't think the answer to past discrimination is more discrimination.

I do support helping those on the bottom of the ladder, be they black, white, Hispanic or anything else.

I think those who are sick of wokism just don't like the excesses, such as the 1619 project. Well, that and things like men can get pregnant, menstruating people, 3 year olds can determine they are another gender, etc. The US has done some great things and some terrible things. The millions who desire to still come here support the idea that not all is bad here and things may get better.

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It's certainly very convenient to reframe "making amends for centuries of past racism" as "racism" when your forebearers benefited from the systemic inequality and you likely did too via generational wealth.

Maybe for once in your life try to put yourself into the shoes of the people who were on the worse end of slavery, oppression, and then systemic discrimination intentionally formed to keep them in a second class status in society... and then tell me again that some amount of "more discrimination" isn't a necessary solution, because we've already determined we're not going to actually PAY in straight reparations for those sins. We've given plenty of systems the chance to reform themselves and be less discriminatory, and they routinely fail to do so... When those in power can't even level the playing field NOW, let alone admit the accumulated past harms and how that put generations of people behind economically... it would be pretty silly to pretend we don't need *intentional* policies to force their reformation.

Again I say, it's VERY convenient to decide "discrimination needs to end entirely" when it's finally white men who are the ones who might be minutely affected in any way whatsoever.

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I might add, that what he may mean by "more discrimination" is that white male privilege is curtailed. That is not discrimination.

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Thank you. So well stated.

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