Sledge

Know why there haven't been any "legitamate minority candidates" represented in the major parties?

Because the people in charge of our country know that that he or she wouldn't fucking get elected.

The biggest problem facing modern civil rights crusaders is people who insist that racism is a thing of the past. If you decide that a problem isn't there, you're not going to do a damn thing about it. That may not be your fault. You might not be a racist person. That doesn't mean racism doesn't exist.

I don't see why people refuse to believe minority citizens when they say that they're still being discriminated because of their race. "Other factors," they claim. Tell that to the young black men who enter a crowded subway and get baleful looks and see hands tighten on handbags. Not everyone, but enough. That shit does things to you when you're young: it changes how you see yourself, it changes what you think you can do.

In one study children were asked to draw pictures of American Indians. The one thing all the pictures had in common was feathers. Other themes: tomahawks, peace pipes. Yes, American Indians aren't as common as other groups. That doesn't mean that we should be okay with letting our young swallow what the media tells them "those people" are like, not when "those people" are still with us, living lives in parallel with us. See 2wolves' post above for an example of what I mean - Jesus, scalping?

Filtherton is dead on: overt racism is long gone in most places. It's been replaced by covert racism - the associations people unconsciously make between ethnic groups and certain traits, then apply to anyone of that ethnic group anywhere. It's not as bad as it used to be, and it's getting better all the time, but how can anyone say "problem solved, let's not talk about this anymore?"

Racism will truly be dead once the actions of minority individuals are no longer construed as representative of their group. Will we ever get there? Is that a realistic goal? It's gotten us pretty far over the past century. Let's stick with it and see how it goes.