Starbucks and its 'race together' campaign --good or bad idea? (Page 2)

I don't agree with that at all.  I think people want to live in a peaceful society but they are too worried about what everyone else is doing.  There is no shortage of people willing to engage in the conversation......but good luck getting them to agree to live and let live.  Seriously, how forking hard is it to not hate? If you can't figure that out then there really is no point in talking about it.....you're too stupid/ignorant. (not you, Dan-L......the haters) What is there to discuss?

I love sheep....................wait, no.

That's a fair point.  I think people need to learn how to debate and argue.  Too often I get into a conversation with someone and I can tell that it won't be a debate where the other person is going to listen to an alternative point of view in order to develop their own and come to a common understanding.  I don't mean on the internet, i mean in real life. As you say - it's almost a wilful stupidity and ignorance.  People seem obsessed with being 'right' instead of trying to get to a better place.

I guess all we can do is try and encourage our kids to be more open minded and more tolerant and hope they do a better job than our generation is doing.

(And thanks for pointing out you weren't being specific to me but I didn't take it that way)

I make mistakes as a parent for certain.  But I'm just as sure that the one thing I have done right with my kids is to engrain the idea that "different from you" is just that.  It doesn't make you better, it doesn't make you right, it doesn't make you anything except different. 

I have told my kids from the beginning of their understanding my words.  You will ultimately be judged by how you treat other people.  (and I'm not talking about some judgement day or God)  And it's true.  Compassion toward other people is the greatest human virtue any of us can attain in this life IMO.  It will enrich your life and bring happiness to it.

My Grandpa once told me, "If you want to have a really happy life, find someone to help in some way every day, no matter how small or great the gesture is."  He was right........and the flip side of that, from my own experiences, is that if you want to be miserable in your life, hate someone or some group, it'll eat you up.

I think the problem with discussions involving race, religion. sexual preference, etc. is that everyone wants to come at it from a position of "we are all the same", or "we are all equal".  You know what......that's bullchit.  We are NOT all the same and we aren't even all equal.  We are all DIFFERENT and life's circumstances sometime dictate that we are all NOT all equal.  That's where the conversation should be.  If you want to solve the hatred then it has to be celebrated that we are all different, and sometimes not equal.  That's the best part of life, not the worst.

I see your point, and I knew the "equal" thing would be hard to quantify, but impossible to ignore in the fictitious  discussion.  I was thinking more in terms of physical attributes we are born with, or without.  There can be advantages and disadvantages to many physical qualities.....we aren't equal.  Being born into circumstances also come to mind.  I can't financially keep up with people born to old money........and that's just too bad.  Life is not always fair......it doesn't mean anyone owes you, or has an obligation to make things "even". 

I was looking back for something in this thread and saw this post that I had missed.  You have hit on an excellent point, Jim.  IMO .....You have to be willing to get away from people who will only validate your own viewpoint in order to see "different" as something that's not threatening and actually a good thing.  I didn't do that willfully, but my job over 3 decades forced me to.....and my eyes were opened by it.  It was funny over the years, because it didn't start out as "all people are good" in my mind.......in fact, it was quite the opposite.  I decided after about 10 years or so that pretty much everyone had the capability to be as much of an azzhole as everyone else, no matter their station or lot in life.  Somehow, as I got older and matured that morphed into pretty much everyone has the capability to be kind, compassionate, and helpful to other people, no matter their station or lot in life.  Once I started to look at life from that perspective it was easy to accept  people with different viewpoints/values/morals then my own.  I have no idea how it works for other people, but it made my life a lot happier.

I had to learn it as an adult.  I'm ashamed of some of my views as a younger man.

My kids won't.

I'm a Midwest kid........we're pretty intolerant of everybody.  

My wife is from California.  I learned much from her, and the rest from dealing with people over the years.  My views now still don't fit with many of the people I know and I'm actually still quite conservative politically, as I was raised. (as you rightly pointed out)  Luckily I was able to realize that my conservative political views didn't have to mean intolerance and not being acceptant (is that a word???) of other people and their views.  I like good people.....I don't really care how they're bent.

What is SB?

Duh!  HAHAHAHA!!