I think racism has gotten more complex as society makes more progress on the issue, but unfortunately fewer people want to critically discuss it. Today, it seems like more people are interested in virtue signaling, play the tribalism game, play the cancel culture game, play the "likes" game, try to "win" the "argument," etc.
Issue 1 - As a BIPOC born in Canada, I've seen little racism affect my life trajectory. And increasingly less racism as I've grown older - most of my memories of racism were actually white moms when I was in elementary school. So...progress! And what racism there has been in life, is more than counteracted by other gifts I've been bestowed such as my natural abilities, family upbringing and geographical upbringing. Increasingly, there are more and more BIPOCs like me given a leg up when we don't deserve one. Not all BIPOCs, but increasingly more and more.
Issue 2 - I have seen a lot of BIPOCs whine about racism when they clearly just don't work hard, aren't talented, have a bad attitude and/or have an irritating personality. And honestly, at points in my life, I've done that too. Very easy to throw your hands up in the air and blame racism for not getting a job or a promotion. You know when I started getting the jobs and promotions? When I stopped blaming racism and actually just became a better, more productive person.
But what would have happened if I just threw my hands up, blamed the untrue racism narrative I had constructed in my head and then used that narrative to accept defeat and ignore the role of self-improvement? Wouldn't have been good for me. I bet that happens to a lot of people
Issue 3 - racism still exists. Acutely so for some groups like First Nations in Western Canada and black people in Central and Eastern Canada. Show me a First Nation person anywhere who lives in Western Canada that hasn't been affected by racism. For women of color and white women in some professions too - finance, corporate and law come to mind - discrimination and glass ceilings are real.
Issue 4 - White people - especially first generation immigrants, whites with a blue collar upbringing and whites with a rural upbringing - are also victims of prejudice in white collar professions. I've seen it many times, often perpetrated by my white bosses of more privileged backgrounds. And I see it increasingly so. These white people don't talk the right way. They don't act the right way. They don't dress the right way. So many times, the privileged white guy remains privileged, but we burden the unprivileged white guy to make room for the unprivileged BIPOC. And then everyone calls the unprivileged white guy a redneck, racist, deplorable when he gets upset at the system.
Lots of flaws with the systems of affirmative action policies and I think a lot of the criticism is still warranted. We still have a need for affirmative action policies, but could affirmative action policies be reformed to be more targeted and more fair? Probably. Should they be? Probably
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