While Scott Neyman’s March 7th article “Is racism still an issue for our generation?� has some good points, I disagree on some of his views. I do agree that we should not be extreme and quick to label someone a racist, but we also should not go to the other extreme and believe that racism does not exist, that racism exists just in our heads. Unless you are a hardcore supremacist, you are not going to make it public that you have racist thoughts.

We should not be quick to forget about the atrocious events that have added to racism. It would be easy to say, “Let’s just forget about it and move forward.�

Should we forget about the Holocaust? No — we must acknowledge the long history of racism, so that we can ensure that it never happens again. Silence is the co-partner of racism and helps racism persist. Maybe our society is hypersensitive — but maybe incidents like James Byrd Jr. justify the reality of racism.

Byrd was chained to the back of a truck, and dragged for several miles by several supremacists. His case is extreme, but you can find subtle cases everywhere.

Racism has many gray areas. Not everyone is a racist, nor is racism nonexistent today.

We should not judge a group by the actions of few. We should look toward the future so that we can build a better tomorrow. We should not forget how we got here as a society. Silence is racism.

Gustavo Enriquez