Sociology Discussion Responses Response to Post #

I agree with you completely that racism is one of the most significant social problems in contemporary society at every level from local communities to the international global community. As your post illustrates, racism occurs both overtly such as in the case of explicit acts of prejudice and discrimination, as well as covertly, such as within institutionalized settings. Combating racism requires addressing the most obvious manifestations such as the violence you describe as well as the less obvious but equally prevalent manifestations, such as systemic prejudicial and unequal treatment of minorities within governmental or quasi-governmental institutions.

At its most fundamental level, racism is a social problem that is largely attributable to social learning and other aspects of socialization. Therefore, the most effective approach to addressing it requires intervention at this level to prevent the formation of biases in the first place. Unfortunately, by the time racist attitudes and beliefs develop within individuals and in communities, it is much more difficult to reduce them after the fact.

Response to Post # 2

While I agree that hunger is a tremendously important problem among the poor communities in many nations and within the largest segments of the population in many poor nations, I would not necessarily agree that the most effective approach to resolution lies in increasing food production. That is simply because in many of those poor nations, there would not be such a shortage of food and other resources but for the inefficient utilization of resources by the governments. In many cases, the corrupt governments in the poorest nations commandeer the available resources for profit-generating sales to other nations while their own populations are starving. Likewise, international aid in the form of donated foods are also intercepted by dominant political groups and criminal enterprises with political connections and sold for profit instead of distributed to the needy populations for whom they were intended.

The other approach I would consider most important would be to apply international pressure on for-profit companies that have usurped the natural resources (such as access to fresh water) in parts of the world where indigenous farmers relied on those resources without free access to which they cannot continue to farm productively for the benefit of their communities.
Response to Post # 3

Your post perfectly illustrates the importance of addressing racism at the most fundamental level of socialization instead of retroactively by trying to reduce its manifestations once racist perspectives have already developed and been internalized within the dominant population and its governmental institutions. Racism and prejudice among police officers is a long-known example of some of the ways that racism in society more generally can influence its institutions and perpetuate racism in government functions. By the time police officer candidates receive their training and appointments, it is often too late to make significant changes to personal beliefs, attitudes, and expectations in regard to racism through sensitivity training or to change behavior through formal policies and procedures. The more effective way of eliminating racism in public servants is to address the formation of racist attitudes much earlier so that fewer individuals in society reach adulthood with those types of prejudices.

For the same reason, it would seem much less effective to try to resolve deep-rooted antagonism between youth and law enforcement institutions in society after the fact, such as once they are already established. Therefore, the most effective approach to reducing the antagonism that often exists between youth and police…