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Is social isolation the right response? Does it produce a good outcome? Does it result in anyone deeply learning the lessons of history behind it all? Or do th

Is social isolation the right response? Does it produce a good outcome? Does it result in anyone deeply learning the lessons of history behind it all? Or do they just learn to keep their mouth shut? If someone is expressing bad ideas, then you can use their comments a an opportunity to teach a deeper lesson. If they just shut up, the conversation never happens and no learning takes place. I suspect that a lot of well-meaning people do not really understand much about racism. How could they? It's such a dangerous topic that you can't even ask basic questions without putting yourself at risk. Maybe that's fine in the sense that fewer people are offended. But I am not convinced that such a shallow lesson will last more than a couple generations, and the "shut up" lesson creates a lot of collateral damage to the overall culture.

unsatchmo 8y ago
Most of the offenses given (exposing yourself to subordinates for example) are not in the category of things you’re talking about. Well meaning people are racist and say racist things and when they are called out, they apologize and try to make it right. Someone who has a pattern of abusing their superior position to force people to be a part of things against their will is anathema to a free society.
- jeffdavis 8y ago
  Isn't that the problem the author is talking about? That Rosanne is thrown into the same bucket as Cosby?
- DoofusOfDeath 8y ago
  > Well meaning people are racist and say racist things and when they are called out, they apologize and try to make it right. I'm not sure if this is a tangent or not, but I suspect there's a lot of social pressure to apologize for racist statements even when the speaker continues to hold racist beliefs. On numerous occasions, I've tried to have reasoned debate about topics such as race, religion, etc. I've been disappointed by how frequently those discussions go off the rails when I'm arguing for the possible validity of less-than-popular positions. Based on those experiences, I can easily see how a person would fear the consequences of not recanting certain statements about race, religion, politics, etc., irrespective of his/her actual beliefs.

unsatchmo 8y ago

Most of the offenses given (exposing yourself to subordinates for example) are not in the category of things you’re talking about. Well meaning people are racist and say racist things and when they are called out, they apologize and try to make it right. Someone who has a pattern of abusing their superior position to force people to be a part of things against their will is anathema to a free society.

jeffdavis 8y ago
Isn't that the problem the author is talking about? That Rosanne is thrown into the same bucket as Cosby?
DoofusOfDeath 8y ago
> Well meaning people are racist and say racist things and when they are called out, they apologize and try to make it right. I'm not sure if this is a tangent or not, but I suspect there's a lot of social pressure to apologize for racist statements even when the speaker continues to hold racist beliefs. On numerous occasions, I've tried to have reasoned debate about topics such as race, religion, etc. I've been disappointed by how frequently those discussions go off the rails when I'm arguing for the possible validity of less-than-popular positions. Based on those experiences, I can easily see how a person would fear the consequences of not recanting certain statements about race, religion, politics, etc., irrespective of his/her actual beliefs.