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Comment by fermienrico | Hacker News Reader

I was with you until

> Everyone in the US was raised in an environment that inculcated certain racial ideas, subconsciously or not

I’ve always noticed the opposite. Americans are a lot more forgiving of race than any other country. Even places like Sweden has serious problems with racism whereas US has lead so many positive changes and civil wars about racism.

Growing up in US white suburbs, we were taught by parents to be cognizant of racism and even small things like “African Americans, not black people”. Always had many immigrants and people of color in school. Race is at the center of America as it is the biggest melting pot of cultures in the world for over 2 centuries.

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The Civil War was not about racism, it was about the South demanding that new states be slave states, which threatened the balance of power between the North and South. Lincoln literally only freed the slaves because he believed if would help preserve the Union. In his own words:

If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union...

Lincoln freed the slaves because it was expedient to do so. But it was a great act and certainly the right thing to do.

You were taught to be cognizant of racism because our country was a racial caste system for hundreds of years. Moreover, Jim Crow was less than a lifetime ago, racial redlining was legal as recently as the 1970's, and the crack-cocaine sentencing disparity existed as recently as 2010. Race is at the center of America because America put it at its center, time and time again.

I've made the simple statement that the US is farther along fighting racism than most of Europe and was downvoted for it.

There are places in Europe (mostly southern) where racism isn't even discouraged, still.

America draws the headlines because of it's violence, but it's progress on integration put Europe to shame. Not to say that both places have a lot of work to do, they do.

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