"I'm old fashioned" and "that's how I was raised."

[cab67]

22. Understood

I guess I was thinking about overt bigotry. At least in the parts of the country I've lived, if one had racist opinions, one didn't speak of them except around close friends and family. We're not supposed to be racists anymore dontcha know.

Moreover, a lot of the systemic racism out there is driven by people who might genuinely not think they're racists at all. This includes some of the de facto segregation you mentioned (though not all of it). They may not understand the impact of their words or actions on perpetuating privilege, or they may argue - in some cases out of sincerity - that they're worried about crime and drugs among impoverished people. They'll say it's not about race - why, they know all kinds of black people who live middle-class lives of virtue, and there are a lot of white lowlives in the country. Of course it's about race, but a lot of people would be offended if you pointed this out.

(They should be offended, I think.)