Ethnic relations: the too ignored factor of education

Sam Smith - Imagine a baseball coach who teaches his team everything that players do wrong but never gets around to showing them how to pitch, catch or bat. This isn't a bad metaphor for what is going on in ethnic relations.

Yes, people do bad things and, yes, it is not something to hide or ignore. But there is also the reverse issue: how do you get them to do things better? The overwhelming reliance on the first approach, albeit seemingly morally correct, has ironically even turned things against those who want a more culturally diverse society, witness the election in Virginia where "critical racial theory" became a tool of the right.

The fact is that scolding people is not a particularly effective way to change their habits especially for those who feel they're at the bottom of the heap. Calling them "deplorable" or bashing "white privilege" comes across as liberal elitism and one more reason not to relate to the policies being proposed.

Racism has many roots. It may reflect a fear of those different from oneself. Or the opinions of one's parents and neighbors or the plantation hegemony that still exists in the south. The child being taught these bad feelings can't be changed by being cast as evil. They need to be educated about the virtues and achievements of multiculturalism.

The job before us is not just to do away with racism but to create a society in which its varied cultures are valued. You won't do this just by law or by ranting against racism. It will come because our people have learned the pleasure and the virtue of living with those different than themselves. And school is a great place to start.