There are some instances in the American culture that can twist your mind around if you don't know the history of things. And if you don't understand the impact that defining someone as "other". If you are in a group that has been defined as "other" in some way, you know how this feels, and what behaviors there can be around it. It doesn't have to be the Holocaust. It can just be a seemingly small experience, like being not popular in high school. My brother's first wife once said to me that she thought it was more important for her boys to be popular than to be smart. This from a white woman who has the kind of beauty that still in her 60s causes people to gaze longer at her than others. Power comes in interesting ways. Hers was an astute coment,
although it is seemingly shallow. This is mild in the extreem when compared to racism.

So, when someone is visably in a group that is defined as "other", it can have immediate impact on their living in daily life. This is a serious factor. It is how we get such automatic brutality in policing against a specific group, black men. It is a sad, statistical reality. We need our police, and we need to be able to trust them. Education in Human Rights is a place to start. Look around you. Each person you see has basic rights as a person. These are the same rights that you have. When we start with an education in Human Rights at every level of our educational system, we will have a true way to balance our experience as part of the Human Race. Until then, we will have bit and piece legislation and policing, which will be controversial as we can see. "Human rights must be made a reality, not an idealistic dream.", L. Ron Hubbard. www.youthforhumanrights.org