Thoughts and prayers. Psychological counseling. Promises of reform. We’re far too familiar with these phrases and ideas, but they aren’t proof of tangible change. These are bromides — statements intended to placate us with the hope of improvement — but they’re not solutions. Can they be well-intentioned? Yes. Can they help? Potentially. But will they make bad things better? Not likely. In our society, we have these things called structures. In most cases, structures run deeper than people’s feelings. Some structures are largely immovable: mountains, oceans, trees. Some are made by humans, and can be unmade, or at least modified. The 90-foot distance between first and second base seems perfect, but we made it — we can change it. The same goes for the five-day work week. There are more examples than the length of this essay could possibly enumerate. Relationships can also be humanly constructed, such as how we engage with racism, legalized guns, sexism, marriage and parenting. They, too, can be unmade or modified. Laws are made by people. Laws govern civil society in which discrimination lives and thrives.