Time to get real:
No, I don't think racism will "burn out". I think there will be another social/cultural/whatever forms of oppression that will evolve as a means to keep certain groups down. (Hell, we already have a new one... socioeconomic class.) Whether these groups are blacks, latinos, women, older adults, gays, lesbians, asians, poor, whatever. It's a sick mentality of the human race. It's a social construct ingrained into our history that is consistently repeated in some other way. There are so many oppressions depending on where you come from. The divider is that you are being oppressed, in some way or another. If you feel like the macrocosm is taking Your right to be who you are AND they are unjustly trying to control your group, you are being oppressed.
It pains me when people say "racism" is no longer. Fuck you to those who seriously think that way. Just because you have not been treated unfairly because of your skin color doesn't give you ANY right to invalidate others who have. I have, plenty of times. Because I am multi-racial, I have felt oppressed, victimized, and invalidated on many fronts. I've been included in some ethnic groups because of my skin color and also excluded because of it. People LOVE to ask me "What are you?" and ASSUME that I'm "insert ethnicity here", instead of ASKing me my background.... and then they discriminate against me accordingly.
Racism is not just "white" vs. "insert group here". We have discrimination between groups and minorities against minorities. In the Puerto Rican/Latino culture, you have an outdated class system created by the Spainards that is still used today. It's based on your skin color. That is where you get terms like "mulatto (black parent/white parent)" or "pardos ("mixed race"), etc. In the Dominican Republic, Trujillo used it to segregate dark Dominicans from light skinned Dominicans. Being light skin was better because you could blend in with the white, rich, Spanish elite. This mentality is still around with plenty of DR, Haitian, and PRican immigrants. I've even seen black-on-black hate as well. I'm not just pointing fingers at my Latino community because of these racists beliefs. I'm also shining light on the fact that a lot of this discrimination within minority groups dates back to white European imperialistic thought.
And yeah, The popo racially profile all the time. Again, I live in NYC so its VERY common here. I touched upon it my Eric Garner case post. I don't think it will stop either. The stereotype of a black or latino man walking through a neighborhood is ingrained in many people. You know damn well that you would get anxious or feel more cautious if you saw a black man with a hood on in your neighborhood. This stereotype has been ingrained into your mind for a reason -- to make you unconsciously discriminate against others.
I think people need to stop, take a seat, and think about a lot of the biases that they hold. They need to be aware that they are detrimental in some way. We need to talk about stereotypes --- the good, bad, and ugly sides of them and how they lead to discrimination and racism. We need to talk to our kids about covert and overt racism. We need to think before we speak... think about the stereotypes that we perpetrate in casual conversation. Think about the implications of your biases. I'm guilty of it. Your guilty of it. Your mama is guilty of it. Instead of feeling uncomfortable or guilty about racism, let's continue to Talk about it at the dinner table and come to an understanding. If you continue to act blindsided by it, you are another sheep. Think critically of the world around you and try to foster solutions. I'm not sure how to tackle this issue as a whole but I think it ultimately starts with the individual.
