I don't want to minimize the racism though. Yes, that is a control tactic. But there is no doubt that it is also due to racism. A deep seeded, centuries old, plain old racism. Young black men are targeted for killing and long term incarceration because they've been able to consistently and constantly get away with it by using racism.

After all, who cares if another thug, gangsta, n*g*er is gone?

with it. After all, racism (and slavery) didn't exist simply because white Europeans and Americans wanted somebody to 'look down on'. They wanted to, and did, make enormous amounts of money off of treating humans as property. And we still see how racial injustice and social injustice intertwine every single day, with people of colour stuck in poor neighbourhoods near power plants, manufacturing facilities, garbage dumps, toxic waste sites. Economic injustice compounds racial injustice.

Yes, there are (mostly well-off) people on DU who will tell you that talking about economic injustice 'minimizes' racism, but that is a narrow, binary viewpoint of a complex real world. It's not a 'one or the other', and some folks will address one facet of the problem, others another, and some will address as many of the facets as they can.

I am just trying to point that out so the people who are saying that we're minimizing racism don't say it again

Completely off subject, may I ask where you are from?

SW Ohio, north of Cincinnati, south of Dayton if that means anything to you geographically.

I am so sorry to hear that. Must be hard.

I just asked because of how you spelled colour and neighbourhood

Most of my favourite authors are British, so I just picked up spellings and a handful of idioms over time.

That's interesting. Cool. And interesting.

... for aspiring socialists.

as far as the noms went....