Will We End Racism, Bigotry, and Intolerance? |

Read Time:1 Minute, 39 Second

By Richard Coleman, Stafford County Democratic Committee Member

For all human history there have been robbers and murderers, yet society has not found a way to prevent robbery or murder. Society realizes that robbery and murder are undesirable, so society has come to an agreement that such acts should be discouraged. Recognizing that we or our loved ones can be victims has been sufficient motivation for even those who have never been victimized by robbery or experienced the loss of a loved one by murder to support actions to discourage these crimes.

I believe that all are victims when racism, bigotry and intolerance deny any member of society the opportunity to be a fully contributing member. But my belief is not the question. Nor is the question whether we will end these outrages. The question is, are we going to choose to be a society that considers such actions as undesirable, or will we ignore it when only others are affected. Tightly closing our eyes to avoid seeing, insulating our lives to muffle the stories, or being silent is no guarantee of protection. Even those who are not today’s victims of racism, bigotry, and intolerance, should realize that actions to discourage such practices are the best path to guarantee protection for all.

November 2020 is a pivotal point for our society. Either a majority of the country makes a statement that racism, bigotry and intolerance are undesirable, or we take a step towards more of the same. The concepts of liberty and justice for all as envisioned in the Constitution have not been perfectly implemented, but either this society stands ready to continue fighting for that perfect implementation or we surrender to authoritarian rule that condones these abhorrent practices.

This is a post by a member of the Stafford County Democratic Committee. This post does not necessarily reflect the views of the Stafford County Democratic Committee, the Democratic Party of Virginia, or the Democratic Party of America.