Racism in Social Media / Small Town Prejudice

Lately, I've started to become increasingly concerned with the amount of "friends" I've had to delete from my Facebook for racial slurs / comments. These comments are out of control and unnecessary in this day and age. It is the year 2014 and, surely, we have moved beyond such closed minded thoughts. I'm even more ashamed that the majority of the comments come from people from my own home town. With a population of a little over 3,000 people, it is understandable that some peer pressure / bandwagon behavior may go on; however, the behavior I've seen come out of my home town is ignorant and inexcusable. I am downright SICKENED by the words I have read on my news feed. Not only have racist comments been made, but comments about sexual orientation and religion have been thrown in, as well. This is unacceptable. While I am by no means a Liberal, I do believe respect needs to be shown for these individuals. No one deserves that kind of immature and harsh criticism about topics so near and dear to them. This behavior is simply archaic and I urge you all to exhibit that same type of response I had and immediately take action against this backward thinking. It is our job as a societal culture to mold and shape our future for the next generation, and that can only be achieved by setting a good example and shunning negative behavior. God bless, keep an open mind, and love your brethren. <3