Let's Stop Pretending

First things first: What is racism?
Racism is treating someone badly because of their skin color. It is also treating someone better because of their skin color. Racism is taking a physical trait which was inherited without consent and using it as a lever to judge someone or assume something. Racism is not always bad. Racism is not always good.

So how is racism used today?
It's everywhere. Wherever there is race there is racism, just as where there is smoke there is fire. You can use your race to get a scholarship. You can even (in some vague cases) use it to gain a job.

However, I firmly believe that one should never take pride in their race. Many people disagree with me on this, but I say that taking pride in your race is just the same as taking pride in your eye color, or your height, or the size shoe you wear. It is vain, it is idiotic, and it is just plain unreasonable. Taking pride in something you made happen is one thing. Taking pride in something no one has control over is another.
Race should be as disregarded as hair color.

Next, we shouldn't have to teach diversity in school. Why? We're already diverse.
To teach people to be different is ridiculous. We know we are different. That is why we try so hard to fit in, which everyone always says not to. "Be yourself! But remember to be different."
What sort of messages are we sending? Stop. Making. A. Fuss.

If everyone would simply sit back and relax on every issue to date, the world would be a much better place. Children would not think of race if we did not tell them to. If a five year old were to ask their parent "how come their skin is different from mine?"
and the parent replied; "No reason." Or "Because their skin matches their mommy's."
The child would go on playing in ignorance and would likely never think of the topic again.
But if the parent had sat them down for a long talk using many words they don't understand, the child will likely dwell on the topic, or worse yet, ask their comrades and generally start to regard people of "strange" skin color as a threat, an object of curiosity, or inhuman. (Although I must admit these seem rather drastic.)

So, what do we do to stop racism?
Nothing.
Not a single thing. We sit back, we accept that smoke comes with fire, and we wait. We wait because eventually everyone will stop feeding the fire wood, and the fire will die. If we continue with this constant push, if we keep feeding the fire, it will never die.

Now, we look at some other minor causes of racism.

Ah, the brilliance that is society has given us so many excuses. Though society is clearly part (if not all) of the blame for racism, we must remember something. We are society.
When you use such a vague, impersonal noun like "society" it's easier to push the blame at it.
But I am society. You are society. Your mother, your friends, the little old lady who fell last week and broke her hip are all that impersonal little noun. We are all society, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

I have long ago come to the understanding that people seek to be offended. Why, I'm not so sure. How often is a mystery to me as well. I have no scientific studies to prove it.
Proof, however, lies everywhere.
Whether it is someone who always brings up the past "It's because white people enslaved blacks." Or someone who creates problems "This shirt is white, so it looks good. #LOL NOT RACIST."
We need to stop.
The first step to getting others to accept you as an equal is to first accept yourself as equal! You cannot meander about life shouting "I'm different!" and reprimanding anyone who dares repeat the information back at you.

Acknowledging that someone is black or white or brown should be as easy as saying that they are short or tall or blonde. Telling jokes about people who are brown should be as easy and as light as telling a joke about a blonde girl. We all know that blonde jokes as funny, silly little stereotypes that have no logical facts. So why should racist jokes be any different?

Yes, racism is bad. Yes, racism is good. (A well-told joke never hurts.) Just as hair color is good, just as height is good, just as your shoe size is good.
They key to equality is realizing that we are already equal, and we were only ever unequal because we pretended to be. We do not have to work to create equality. We just have to stop pretending.