

Because Most Americans Are Cowards - StandardFuture
https://medium.com/race-class/because-most-americans-are-cowards-1541f13487ba

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ciconia
Thanks so much for this articulate and eye opening article on such a painful
subject. As a white guy, who always belonged to the ethnic majority in all the
countries I every lived in, I must admit it was always hard for me to
understand the feeling of being discriminated against.

I agree perfectly that racism is cowardice. I have frequently identified
feelings of fear when interacting with people of ethnic minorities, who are
always tainted with a criminal disposition, by default. I also frequently
identify this attitude in people around me.

I'm not an American, and have lived in America only briefly, but this problem
is actually not limited to America. You can see the same phenomenon in other
countries, even those enlightened European countries (I currently live in
France) where racial relations are much more relaxed, there a lot of mixed
couples and a great emphasis is put on equality. Beneath the surface, in day
to day dealings between people, in small talk or offhand remarks, or even
looks that people give each other on the street, racism is always there, and
it's because we're cowards.

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cafard
I think that this essay could use a good deal more thinking through. Having
the upper hand and preferring to retain it is not lovable, but it is not the
same as cowardice. Having a badge, a gun, and a bad attitude is quite
orthogonal to cowardice. There are undoubtedly bad-ass racists who are as
brave as you want them to be.

