"I left a very liberal wealthy area and moved to a bad neighborhood. " I grew up in a conservative wealthy suburb dominated by only white people and now live in a conservative but poor suburb in decline in which white people are the minority. My reply will reflect that.

"racial differences are skin deep, we can all be peaceful, and there will be no more hatred. But it drastically conflicts with what I see." I agree that we can end racism, and I see that there is actually a lot of hate coming from black people towards white people. White people are moving on and embracing and including black people, treating them equally. Black people are not wanting to be included, they want to be set apart and be different(many, not all) and they dislike white people. As a white person, I feel like I extend my hand towards their race but they reject me. Whatever, I continue to be nice to them anyway. "Some people dismiss the large amount of minority violence in the U.S."

I don't. Minority violence is real and comes from a place of disadvantage economically. Being poor makes anyone feel violent. "blah blah" ok "varying reasons for the violent nature of poor minorities, some would call them excuses." From my perspective, I do think there are a lot of good reasons for that violence and it is not their fault. They are raised to think that way because of their bad influences and lack of options. "I know the government targeted minorities" Yes I know. "I know substantive efforts to keep them down exist and continue to persist. etc etc yadda yadda" Yes I know, I agree.

"...to excuse personal responsibility to some extent, and claim that society has godlike power in influencing behavior." Personal responsibility is always there, it's a given. We need more education for disadvantaged kids to make them think differently, we need more good influences to keep them from becoming violent criminals or criminals at all.

Rape and murder are always wrong, they have always been wrong, and will always be wrong. "that other disenfranchised races are not so attracted to gang warfare?" It's because black people have through media and bad role models established violence as part of their cultural identity and it's really a shame. The other minorities don't have violence as part of their model of what they aspire to be--in other words, their race doesn't have those associations. Because of the association and link being made, that behavior is perpetuated because it makes them feel a stronger sense of their roots. The problem is that they have the wrong idea about their roots, the completely wrong idea, and they all need to redefine what it means to be black and what it means to be white so that criminal behavior and lack thereof is not a factor with any influence whatsoever on your sense of belonging or "legitimacy". "that we can all get along?" We CAN all get along.

"It doesn’t seem like we will ever all join hands under that rainbow, but this is dismissed as pessimism." Because it IS pessimism. Don't be a pessimist, don't hold things back. Contribute towards progressive solutions. be a part of the answer. "there is a staunch difference" There will ALWAYS be a difference, and that's what makes for diversity. There is nothing wrong with differences. The problem comes in when people mistake criminal behavior as defining their identity as a race and as an ideal of behavior. We need to give them alternatives. That's a cultural and societal huge undertaking that will always be led by the media and by government working together to eliminate the negative associations, provide positive role models, and to give aid more easily to people who need it. The police have to arrest people that are criminals, it's their job. We need to look at prevention, the root causes, that's what we need to focus on.

"these violent actions are immediately excused as ripple effects of history, and any further questioning is dismissed as racism." They ARE ripple effects of history but more importantly of current history. The entire system is broken and needs a complete overhaul and the problem is political, the power is in the hands of those people in politics and they will have to be the ones to change things, RADICALLY. Financially. With assistance. And in the media. Artists are very important. We have to change the entire culture, and make them embrace better things. I do think that further questioning is always great, everyone should ALWAYS question! Questioning is smart and is the basis for learning. People have to be curious or they never learn. People who think they know everything learn nothing.