What is the character of a racist? It's not a problem to society unless it manifests perniciously. Could it not eat away a person's mind and heart though? — frank
What is the best way to change people's hearts and minds?
Has anyone ever negotiated? What happens when you simply refuse to consider the other party's position? They dig their heels in. They will not budge without coercion.
I've seen the old trope of complaints regarding calling out those intolerant of intolerant people. But there is no logic in that.
You mentioned evil in your OP. Is racism evil? No, it is not.
Trump is considered by many to be a racist. Okay, so what? Some of our greatest Presidents have been racists. In fact, we have a monument to one of the alleged greatest, who is from the modern era - Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
How can people speak with moral authority authority about the wrongness of racism, when this country put up an idol to a racist? Trump is compared to Hitler, but he has done nothing worse than FDR.
Ah, but it was a different time, right? That is the most common excuse used. However, that confirms exactly what I have come to believe - morality is an exercise in subjectivity. It is all opinion. Do people like having their opinion dictated to them. I would say for the most part no.
I submit that a racist is entitled to their belief. I in no way say people should sit quietly in the face of racism, but the counter must come from a place of respect, as we are merely arguing opinion. As I stated before, a world without prejudice is not the principle we are seeking to implement. Given all the mixed messages our society has floating about regarding racism, pretending not to be racist makes one morally superior is absurd.