I agree with you, but I also acknowledge that the less severe it is, the easier it is to guide someone out of it. My now best friend was quite a racist, sexist, homophobic piece of shit when he was a teenager, but learned to move past all of that and is an ardent activist against all types of prejudice now. He understands what our ancestors knew, that simply feeling bad about past actions and beliefs isn’t enough, that one should do what they can to make up for them.
Yeah, I have some compassion for kids who are on that path, because I was there when I was a kid, though not as bad as your friend. Thankfully, I had some friends who cared enough to pull me aside and tell me how I was being a fuck head and to be better.
A lot of people have shitty parents who pass on their toxicity to their kids, who have to actively repair the damage done to them before they knew how bad that behavior was. I saw a comment from @wopalopa@lemmy.world the other day that really stuck with me, because it really resonated with my experience:
its not your fault for turning that way. but its your fault for keeping that way.
Should every breach of law be punished with the same severity? Should petty thief be treated the same as a killer? That is the same black and white thinking you are engaging in here.
By putting oblivious racists at the same level as active supermarcists you are saying the oblivious ones might as well be actively killing people. You are giving them a ‘free’ pass to escalate.
You are engaging in some teenage-level virtue signaling.
You know what, you’re right. Make all racism a felony. Doesn’t matter if they escalate in solitary. The normal people can finally have some fucking peace
I used to think so, too. Like I was trying to justify for some people. Racism is racism no matter how you swing it
I agree with you, but I also acknowledge that the less severe it is, the easier it is to guide someone out of it. My now best friend was quite a racist, sexist, homophobic piece of shit when he was a teenager, but learned to move past all of that and is an ardent activist against all types of prejudice now. He understands what our ancestors knew, that simply feeling bad about past actions and beliefs isn’t enough, that one should do what they can to make up for them.
Yeah, I have some compassion for kids who are on that path, because I was there when I was a kid, though not as bad as your friend. Thankfully, I had some friends who cared enough to pull me aside and tell me how I was being a fuck head and to be better.
A lot of people have shitty parents who pass on their toxicity to their kids, who have to actively repair the damage done to them before they knew how bad that behavior was. I saw a comment from @wopalopa@lemmy.world the other day that really stuck with me, because it really resonated with my experience:
Should every breach of law be punished with the same severity? Should petty thief be treated the same as a killer? That is the same black and white thinking you are engaging in here.
By putting oblivious racists at the same level as active supermarcists you are saying the oblivious ones might as well be actively killing people. You are giving them a ‘free’ pass to escalate.
You are engaging in some teenage-level virtue signaling.
You know what, you’re right. Make all racism a felony. Doesn’t matter if they escalate in solitary. The normal people can finally have some fucking peace