Should I still be friends with this person?
Hello, I (20M) am looking for advice on if I should still meet with this friend after realising they have racist ideals. Basically I’ve known them for almost two years but haven’t had much of a chance to meet one on one as we are so busy working. 6 months ago I met them for a drink at a bar and after a few they revealed to me that they have racist thoughts. I of course was taken aback because I’ve never had that vibe from them but he explained it like this: growing up his mum raised him with these racist ideals, with the typical stereotypes you’d attribute to poc. He has autism and kind of just believed his mum about everything she said. As a result he was kind of brainwashed into thinking these things. He said to me that realistically he doesn’t think those things and that he knows certain races are not more dangerous or worse than another, and he’s trying to get out of that racist way of thinking but it’s hard. I told him that as much as I don’t like what he just revealed to me (cos I’m not racist lol), if he truly believes that his mindset is bad then he can make become a better person with hard work. I kind of forgot about it until a week ago when he messaged me asking to meet up, and I told my roommates about what he said. They think I would be weird to still meet up and be friends with this person. I don’t know what to do cos this guy is really struggling with his mental health and I genuinely believe he’s an overall good person that’s just been given shitty parents. Any advice?