In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., dreamed of a day when his children would "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." I suggest that we whole-heartedly work towards making that dream a reality. Lets START JUDGING people by the content of their character. Lets condemn anti-social and un-civil behavior, and the people who engage in such behavior not because of the color of the skin of the actor, but because the behavior is bad. And lets not be afraid to call out behavior for fear of offending some group or another.
Judging people by the content of their character, and not the color of their skin forces the judge to abandon stereotyping. Assuming that one race or one culture has certain characteristics means that you have judged every member of that group by some external factor (race, ethnicity, gender, nationality). However, no single group has a common "character" and so judging a person based on an affiliation with a group is both stupid and -ist (fill in the blank based on the particular prejudice) If, however, you judge a person by the content of his or her character--then no other factor (race, gender, ethnicty . . . ) will have any impact on your judgment.
The key to all of this is that we become MORE judgmental. Its ok not to like people if they are mean - whether they are black, white, red, or yellow. Just don't pre-judge them based on some affiliation that they didn't choose. It's o.k. to condemn dead-beat dads, just don't assume they are all white. It's allright to condemn absent fathers, just don't assume they are all black.
Sadly, the issue of race is often raised in national issues. This blog will comment on an occasional basis on some of these issues. From jury selection to judge selection, diversity initiatives, civil rights for all people, and the ignorance of racists. I hope you find the discussion interesting.
