Why is the word black such a negative, insulting or offensive word? Any non black person when trying to insult a black person can simply say: You're black! Is that all it takes to insult someone? Is simply the fact of being black such a bad thing?

Why won't a "white" person be offended if called white?

In Brazil, the word Negro is not an insulting word. It's known as "black people's race" therefore we don't take it as a bad thing. The word black, as the color, is however an insulting word in Brazil. While here in the US, both words are insulting to African Americans.

I've heard recently from an older Jamaican lady who moved to New York many years ago: "We moved to the US for financial reasons. But until we came here, I didn't know my color was a problem". And speaking with a fellow Brazilian who's been living in the US for a few years now, her answer was: "It's more like I never had to be reminded of my color until I lived here". 

It is a fact that we are reminded of what ethnic group we belong to (on a daily basis even) anywhere where you need to fill out a form for anything in the US. Until not so long ago I used to think the reason for this "putting people into categories" was for census purposes or marketing purposes, I don't know.

When speaking to different black people about their experience, I find that most of them always have some terrible racist story to tell and it's sad to hear that people will treat others badly simply because of their skin color.

And this is not only a issue of Black American people. This issue happens everywhere in the world but for some reason it just seems like it's more intense here than anywhere else.

Because it makes people feel like they need to be aware of their skin color, and work harder on everything to be accepted. There are people who are very conscious of their skin color. Once while in a company meeting, this older Black lady turned to me and said: "wow we are the only two dark skinned people in here". I asked her why she said it and she responded that she wasn't used to it...that because she was from Florida, she was used to seeing more Black people around.

Now, how does one get away from being "Black"? How will black children feel when they have to realize that they are colored and it makes a difference to them being the few or only one in the crowd? They need to understand that the negativity on the word is only other people's opinion. 

For some reason I believe that (some) people do make themselves go through that consciously or unconsciously. The feed back I got are mostly from older people. But I still think that we are the ones responsible for how we feel about ourselves not other people. We have the power to let things affect us negatively or not.

If people start to look at themselves positively and not pay attention on how others perceive them it might make things a little better or easier to deal with.

Because, really, who said white people are better than anyone else? Who said Black, Hispanic, Asian and Middle eastern people are different from white people, except for the "outside" physical features? 

This is the 21st century, it's years and years from the beginning of times where ignorance and lack of information reigned and played a huge part in society. We are no longer ignorant...information is available everywhere and most people know that all humans have the same capacity and that there is no such thing as superior "race". 

People need to realize that they need to value themselves and not let words affect them in such negative manner. We no longer live in times where people can get away with killing others simply for disliking them for being "different". We have the freedom of speech power and laws to protect us.

I have not yet experienced racism in this country, at least not directly; but do not look for it and maybe this is why I don't feel it. Or maybe because 'black' foreigners here are not seeing as "African Americans" therefore we receive "special treatment"?!?

But I never had problems with the law, maybe because I never committed any crime; renting or buying a house, maybe because I have good credit; getting a job, maybe because I have experience and the skills required. And if I didn't, especially in this economy, it's because there are candidates way better qualified than me, etc.

Maybe I am being naive? I don't know...but there is racism in Brazil also! I don't expect or need to be treated differently because I'm from a different country. I'm a person just like everyone else. And being that the color of my skin is the first thing people see before they know me, this is especially why I do not like to believe in racism based on "race" alone. Because if someone doesn't like black people, they won't like me regardless of where I come from.

The more I get to know people's stories, the more I realize that yes, there are some really negative, ignorant individuals out there. But I also notice that there are those who are afraid, or aren't confident enough or simply can not get away from the negativity that other people put in their minds about their own selves.

We need to keep in mind that we can not change other people's ways or mentality and we have no control over anyone. We can however change ourselves and the way we think, and this is what makes the difference!

Being Black, or red or yellow is not a bad thing at all, be proud of who you are. It's actually awesome!! The idea that white people are better is a myth.  We are all humans, there is no one human better than the other, period!!

When is everyone going to realize that?

'Erstwhile colonies of the world unite!' sounds a loud call. Nevertheless, the loudness of the call does not undermine its relevance and legitimacy. The politics of colonization has been such that countries that had been close historically and culturally in the past, have now been distanced. Countries that would have been natural friends have become enemies. For example, Thailand, Mammyar and Singapore are very near to Indian culture and ethos. But the significant part of their trade and bilateral dealing are with Europe. The fact that our colonizers were the same people and they exploited and ransacked our different lands should actually kindle sympathy. Ironically, it is not so. 

In this caption, Mr. Firoze Manji talks about America and imperialism -- "Is it a real democracy you are living?"

I originally wrote about the novelist Colson Whitehead over a year ago and, for some reason, that essay has been my most popular piece to date. I return once more to address the ever intriguing personality of this singular American writer.

I recently sat in a section of Citi Field above my current station, in a seat priced by the seller to conform to the current ineptitude of my beloved New York Mets. I brought along three freshly constructed sandwiches, chips and bottled water as penance to a financial status that normally precludes activities involving the purchase of tickets. Sharing the mini shopping bag with the food was a trade paperback version of John Henry Days, a novel by Colson Whitehead. The book has floated around the edges of my life too long, taken up in spurts in hospital waiting rooms or during extended visits to the can. I don’t spend too much time in hospitals, or in doing my business, so this story of a weekend in West Virginia occupies a calendar period stretched to silly putty proportions over a space/time pothole.

It’s embarrassing for someone like me to admit being stalled on a single piece of literature. I’ve managed Proust, Bellow, and Vidal, to say nothing of Pynchon, with little of the turbulence that constantly bounces this book in and out of focus. Granted, it’s a long story; nearly four hundred pages of fine type and just at the perceptible limit that I set for paperback reading, to an overall thickness between Belgian waffle and a standard Carnegie Deli corned beef on rye. I somehow managed to negotiate Vineland in hardcover, so nothing else should feel too impenetrable. Yet, this book remains an incomplete examination, so I brought it along to the doubleheader, knocking down a few chapters during the train ride in and chopping off pages at a time between innings of the first game and between plays in the second. Three more chapters shifted to port on the ride home, leading me nearer to conclusion; nearer in a relative sense, like walking in the direction of a sunset.

There’s nothing wrong, from a structural standpoint, with the book. It isn’t as spirited, or as linear, as Whitehead’s first novel, The Intuitionist, but more autobiographical in its portrayal of J., a freelance journalist in the midst of running a professional marathon of invitation-only promotional assignments. The lone black among a group of peers, J. engages his white colleagues at the level of overgrown frat boys who treat skin color as an accessory to the grander object of employing their collective intellect to ridicule the subjects of their articles. The brief flashback to the author’s actual internship at The Village Voice provides a poorly disguised aside, but adds a bit of winking fun for the knowing reader.

The writing is pure Whitehead, flamboyant and exact, the flow of words metered erratically enough to keep eyes moving toward the next line, with descriptions piled forward to serve as backfill in those rare dull moments allowed for the reader to reflect. Colson Whitehead writes for himself first, and for other writers next. His own racial makeup is a consistent theme, but presents an impression more of isolation than solidarity. It’s easy to see why. If we produced short bios of him and me, headed by our first names and last initials, and played a game of Pick the White Guy, Colson’s list would be chosen ninety percent of the time over mine. It’s his unique personal history that moves him to pursue societal issues of racism at the individual level in his writing; this man, that woman, those children. If nothing else, his work speaks to the people who raised themselves to a higher place, using every available measure in our society, save for the unrelenting badge of overpigmentation.

Perhaps I’ve hit on the problem. The point of reference is unique – a black man who has transcended color in his own mind, but fully expects to have to excuse the rest of us our predilections. The only person reminded of in terms of this inner perception would be Frederick Douglass, a young slave who knew he was smarter than his overseers, smarter even than his owners. Douglass escaped, changed his name, turned orator and author, and eventually settled first in Massachusetts with his wife, and later in western New York, taking a leadership role within the abolitionist movement. His communication skills belied the expectations of people of any color for any man of color, let alone one raised a southern slave, and patronage from the northern elite allowed access to levels of a New England society where the only other black faces belonged to servants, cooks and nannies. Picture a possible scenario, beginning with a brief setup:

Two elaborately dressed Boston matrons meet on a wide boulevard. The elements of greeting etiquette at once established, they engage in more typically womanish gossip.

First Woman

Have you heard? The Clarkson-Parks are holding a dinner reception for Frederick Douglass.

Second Woman

Douglas? Is he the new conductor for the symphony?

First Woman

No, dear, Douglass the abolitionist. My goodness, you don’t know of him?

Second Woman

I have no interest in politics. Why should I care?

First Woman

Well, for one thing, he’s a Negro gentleman.

Second Woman

(Sneering) Oh, how mah-velous … a darkie guest of honor.

First Woman

I’m told he’s very wise and well-spoken.

Second Woman

Oh, pooh. My husband’s valet Jackson is blacker than a parson’s cloak and speaks as well as I do. Why not hold a reception for him as well? It all seems a bit odd to me.

First Woman

Really, Missus Broadsocket, such a comparison is appalling. Certainly your valet is not held at the same level of esteem as Mister Douglass. He stands as a symbol for the potential of his entire race, to say nothing of his forceful and intelligent arguments against the institution of slavery.

Second Woman

If you feel so strongly about it, why not hold a reception for him yourself? I would happily accept your invitation to attend.

First Woman

I thought you weren’t interested in politics.

Second Woman

Oh, I’m not, not in the least. Still, I am interested in observing the faces of your household staff watching you moon over a colored man.

First Woman

(Icily) Really … well … good day, Missus Broadsocket.

The reception began in the grand salon of the Clarkson-Park townhouse. The guests were attended by three white men in evening coats, hired by the host to avoid any unseemly impression. The guest of honor, Frederick Douglass, wore his hair thrown to one side like a crashing wave, while his style of dress, buttoned up gray and piped in black satin, reflected the air of a man unaccustomed to Back Bay propriety and unimpressed by its practitioners.

Douglass never spoke unless spoken to, either at the reception or during the dinner following. He didn’t need to initiate conversations – they were served to him incessantly throughout the evening. What he did not start he finished, dominating the field in discussions whose subjects ranged from Charles Darwin to Dred Scott to the imminence of southern secession.

As the evening progressed, Douglass found his perfect foil in the form of one Denton Muybridge, a dandy on the cusp of middle age, a womanizer living comfortably under the umbrella of a well-funded annuity. His presence at such functions was meant to honor a storied family line, for which he represented the final chapter. Douglass appreciated the younger man’s taunting wit, aimed as it was mostly in the direction of those obtuse individuals who took up causes strictly for the refreshments provided.

At the end of the dinner, the men retired in a group to the library, led by Clarkson-Park, while Frederick Douglass lingered in the dining room, thanking his hostess for the wonderful meal.

Muybridge

(Craning over the gentlemen to his rear) Come along, Mister Douglass. These men are not comfortable leaving you alone with their wives.

Clarkson-Park

Damn you, Muybridge. Try to behave as a gentleman and spare us these embarrassing comments.

Muybridge

I had no intention to offend, Clarkson. I was merely trying to protect the honor of our dear Mister Douglass.

The men sat and stood and wandered the tall room, surrounded by the great volumes of bound western thought and enveloped by the smoke of a dozen lit cigars of Cuban filler wrapped in Connecticut leaf. The conversation remained focused throughout on the aftermath of legal emancipation and the spectre of chaos in the South.

Clarkson-Park

Mister Douglass, as a lawyer I am painfully aware that the body of Federal law is unable to address the legal inequities of individual states, especially as they would apply to Freedmen. An enforced emancipation is bound to engender strong reactions in the legislatures and the passing of onerous laws that differ from slavery only in name.

Douglass

Freedom itself is the great hurdle. Once a human is released from bondage, the opportunity to contribute and play a part in a better life will present itself, as surely as it presents itself to white citizens every day. The Constitution is inviolable to that point.

Muybridge

What of our own Freedmen, Mister Douglass? We have had them among us here for nearly a century, as I am certain a population exists with you in Rochester. Are they truly free, or is it merely one’s state of mind that makes it so?

Douglass

The state of one’s mind need not be permanently fixed by conditioning, but I acknowledge that the ability to adjust differs in all people. It is not a malady unique to the colored man. We are all slaves, in some manner, to our past.

Clarkson-Park

This is so. My father practiced law, as did his father. It was never a matter of choice for me. At the age of eight, I knew what I was to be. In that respect, freedom was denied.

Muybridge

Poor Clarkson, your dream of being a coachman snatched at so young an age. For my part, my family always owned ships in trade with Europe and Asia and, for a time, do please forgive me Mister Douglass, in Africa. I was to be the owner of a great fleet.

Douglass

What happened to change that?

Muybridge

A great storm off the Newfoundland coast. My parents were en route to London with my two sisters. I was judged too young for such a journey, so was left behind, orphaned and in trust to my father’s business interests. When I came of age, I sold off the entirety of it. That, my friends, is true freedom. And you, Mister Douglass, are from abolitionist stock?

Douglass

(Laughing) No, Mister Muybridge.

Clarkson-Park

Muybridge … must you always engage decent persons with such cheek? I’m sure our guest is not interested in parading his enslaved lineage for your pleasure.

Douglass

(Looking directly at Clarkson-Park) My father was a white man.

The room fell silent for a moment, even the floor clock, and the wisps of smoke held position in the air as the span of a second stretched uncomfortably around the group.

Muybridge

What a coincidence, so was mine. What about yours, Clarkson?

Clarkson-Park

May we please return to more serious subjects? Mister Douglass has travelled a great distance and his time should not be wasted on frivolities.

Muybridge

Of course, Clarkson, that was so rude of me. Here’s a question, Mister Douglass, if I may. When you escaped, what was the aspect most likely to give you away?

Douglass

During my escapes, for there were many attempted, it was always my appearance that threatened success. I understand your point, Mister Muybridge. Our racial characteristics do confound any hope for a smooth road to full acceptance. However, for every day that passes, that much longer grows the road to a truly democratic society. Gentlemen, this is Boston. This is the heart of our movement. I expect to be challenged in other places, even in Rochester. But, here is where the faith in our cause, our just cause, must be resolute. The enslavement of human beings cannot be justified for any reason, and especially one as shallow as the level of temporary discomfort its eradication may bring.

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

That went a lot longer than planned. I’m not even sure whether it made any sense in respect to the subject of Colson Whitehead, American novelist. In the end, all that exists within the universe is the product of our own perception. For me, that includes the confident hope that I can flip over the final page of a certain novel and find my perception of the world has changed. Then, it’s on to the next Whitehead novel, Sag Harbor, Lord willing I should live so long.

What would it be like if we really remembered Martin Luther King and honored his memory?

Would we think about the advances he and his supporters made in civil and human rights? Would we work to preserve and expand them?

Or would we talk about "socialism" and "reparations" and all the other buzzwords cynical political pundits and politicians deploy to scare white people into thinking our (half) black president is going to take from them to give to those "others"?

Would we remember MLK's passionate opposition to the Vietnam war that inspired millions to protest and bring that unjust war to an end? Would we rededicate ourselves to his vision of a just and peaceful world?

Or would we just turn on the TV, turn off our conscience, and forget about the suffering our nation has both caused and endured as a result of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Would we reflect on how MLK died in Memphis while defending the right of public sanitation workers to rise from the ranks of the working poor by organizing and striking for better pay and conditions? Would we honor the laws that give workers the right to do this?

Or would we fall into the trap of maligning hardworking people and their unions, as if they—not corporate and political greed and corruption—caused our financial woes?

As the nation undergoes a self-examination and dialogue in the wake of last week's shooting in Tucson, let's remember that MLK, too, was gunned down in the midst of turbulent and violent times. Let's honor his sacrifice by striving for a better society where understanding and compassion prevail and acts of senseless violence such as this never happen again.

To some, that may be just an impossible dream. But to King, a dream was the beginning and the impetus toward a better future for us all:

Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Speech, August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington.

We honor and miss you, Martin. Your dream lives on.

Throughout the book — 219 times in all — the word "@!$%#" is replaced by "slave," a substitution that was made by NewSouth Books, a publisher based in Alabama, which plans to release the edition in February.

If this man didn't want to be President of The United States of America, I would ignore this. But this isn't the first time Mr. Barbour has tried to rewrite history on this subject.

Mississippi was in many respects the epicenter of all that was wrong with America during that period.

A poll conducted by the University of Washington concluded that tea party activists are more likely to have racist views than opponents of the tea party movement. Or so states Christopher Parker, a University of Washington professor who directed the survey. According to Parker, tea party supporters also have more homophobic and xenophobic tendencies.

Based on examples of tea party signs showcased in the media as well as by a multitude of Internet outlets, an undefined percentage of tea party activists clearly exhibit racist attitudes. The evidence speaks for itself and cannot be empirically denied. But to what capacity is clearly under contention. Is racism simply promoted by the fringe, the majority, or by those who occupy the middle ground?

Opponents perceive the movement consisting predominantly of racist, bigoted, and constitutionally inept individuals. They are viewed as disgruntled elderly white Americans who are constantly bemoaning the loss of their country. Supporters claim the movement represents a stance against big government and any display of racism is both infrequent and insignificant to the movement as a whole.

As Frank Newport, Editor in Chief of Gallup wrote in early April, "Each side of the political spectrum appears to have a vested interest in portraying the Tea Party movement in the specific way that best fits their ideological positioning."

Contradicting Mr. Newport's article is a report released on Wednesday, October 20, issued by the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. The report, which has since been endorsed by the NAACP, found that white nationalist groups and militias are attempting to infiltrate the tea party movement, a claim boasted by posters on Stormfront.org.

Entitled Tea Party Nationalism, the report states that the tea party movement serves as a covert infiltration point for extremists promoting a white supremacy agenda.

Excerpt from the Foreword
By Benjamin Todd Jealous President and CEO of the NAACP

This July, delegates to the 101st NAACP National Convention unanimously passed a resolution condemning outspoken racist elements within the Tea Party, and called upon Tea Party leaders to repudiate those in their ranks who use white supremacist language in their signs and speeches, and those Tea Party leaders who would subvert their own movement by spreading racism. The resolution came after a year of high-profile media coverage of racial slurs and images at Tea Party marches around the country.

Benjamin Todd Jealous also stated the following: "We're not attacking the tea party. We're not calling the tea party racist. We are asking them to repudiate the racists in their midst. We have challenged Democratic Party in the same way. We challenged Republicans when they embraced the old Dixiecrats."

It is no secret that the ultra rightwing racists are actively working to undermine President Barack Obama’s ability to govern.

I have a quote on the header of my homepage by one of my heroes from the past Thomas Jefferson.....

http://maddad0467.newsvine.com/

"When The People Fear The Government, There Is Tyranny: When The Government Fears The People, There Is Liberty."

It was recently pointed out to me that it is also a quote used by anti-government separatist. I must admit for a nano-second I considered changing it. But, then I remembered I also have it tattooed on the back side of my left arm. So I decided to give this some thought.....

I happened to be one of those weirdos that actually dose think the less government the better. A safety net should be in place for the disabled and aged, but short of that I have my doubts.

I may or may not have a gun in my home to protect my family, but we need to find some way to keep guns out of the hands of thugs.

Although when I was younger I grew up in a very redneck home and married into a hog farm family. (I couldn't wait to join the Navy....anything had to be better than walking in hog crap all day.) I was also taught from an early age that treating people differently because of the color of their skin, religion or lack thereof, was ignorant. I was blessed 2 years ago with the most beautiful bi-racial baby ever created, she is grandpa's little girl. I now, as then judge a man or woman by their character. I abhor the words and deeds of those that look to disrupt the peaceful growth of this nation.

So I will keep the header on my page. I will not allow the nut case skinheads or their cousins the klan to take it as their own and twist the words of a Great American.

JMHO

Maddad

In the winter of 1916, as Americans read the news of unimaginable slaughter in a distant yet rapidly spreading European war, it was easy to overlook stories like the one in The Chicago Defender reporting that several black families in Selma, Ala., had left the South. A popular ­African-American weekly, The Defender would publish dozens of such stories in the coming years, heralding the good jobs and friendly neighbors that awaited these migrants in Chicago, even printing train schedules to point the way north. Smuggled into Southern railroad depots by Pullman porters, dropped off by barnstorming black athletes and entertainers, The Defender emerged as both cheerleader and chronicler of an exodus that would lead about six million African-Americans to abandon the states of the Old Confederacy between 1915 and 1970. "If all of their dream does not come true," it confidently predicted, "enough will come to pass to justify their actions."

Prophetic words, indeed, Isabel Wilkerson insists in "The Warmth of Other Suns," her massive and masterly account of the Great Migration. Wilkerson, who won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing at The New York Times in 1994 and currently teaches journalism at Boston University, has a personal stake in the story. Her mother left rural Georgia, her father southern Virginia, to settle in Washington, D.C. Wilkerson knows well the highly charged nature of this field. For many years, commentators routinely demeaned these migrants as the dregs of a failed society. Even the distinguished black sociologist E. Franklin Frazier fretted over the "ignorant, uncouth and impoverished" throngs that had invaded his beloved Chicago. Arguments raged for decades about the tangled pathology of black families divided from their rural roots and thrown together in dead-end Northern slums. "The migrants were cast as poor illiterates," Wilkerson says, "who imported out-of-wedlock births, joblessness and welfare dependency wherever they went."

First, the facts. Willie McGee, an African-American driver of a ­grocery-delivery truck, was accused of raping a white woman, Willette Hawkins, in November 1945 in Laurel, Miss. After deliberating for less than three minutes, an all-white jury sentenced him to death, and the "small-town crime," as Alex Heard writes, "became famous around the world." Bella Abzug, long before she became a congress­woman, served as McGee's defense lawyer during the appeals process, working on a case that today evokes the story line of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." Albert Einstein, Norman Mailer and Paul Robeson supported McGee, and left-wing journalists ranted about the trial in The Daily Worker. In contrast to their reports, "The Eyes of Willie McGee" does not crackle with rage, despite its horrific ending: on May 8, 1951, McGee was electrocuted in the local courthouse, leaving an odor of burned flesh in the room.

Just before noon on Aug. 28, 1963, John Lewis locked arms with other leaders of the civil rights movement and marched to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

"When we got to the top of the steps, I looked out and it was just a sea of humanity," says Lewis, the Georgia congressman who was then the 23-year-old chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

James J. Kilpatrick, a prominent conservative voice for half a century as a newspaper editor and columnist, author and television personality, died Sunday in Washington. He was 89.

The cause was congestive heart failure, said his wife, Marianne Means.

Mr. Kilpatrick was a prolific writer and a sharp debater, perhaps best remembered for his intellectual combat with the liberal journalist Shana Alexander on "60 Minutes." When he was not tackling national issues, he took aim at flabby prose and bureaucratic absurdities.

In the mid-1950s, Mr. Kilpatrick became something of a national figure, articulating constitutional arguments justifying the policy of "massive resistance" to the Supreme Court's decision outlawing school segregation. But as the South changed, so did Mr. Kilpatrick, who dropped his fervent defense of segregation a decade later.

Monday July 19th
11:18 a.m.*: Breitbart posts Sherrod video, calls her "racist."

On July 19, FoxNews.com reported: "Days after the NAACP clashed with Tea Party members over allegations of racism, a video has surfaced showing an Agriculture Department official regaling an NAACP audience with a story about how she withheld help to a white farmer facing bankruptcy."
...

1:40 p.m. (approximately): Fox Nation accuses Sherrod of "discrimination caught on tape" before she resigned.
The first reader to comment on the post is from July 19 at 1:41 p.m.:

...

7:51 p.m.: Big Government links to a FoxNews.com article reporting that Sherrod had resigned and USDA repudiated her remarks.

8:50 p.m.: On his Fox News program, Bill O'Reilly stated that "Sherrod was caught on tape saying something very disturbing. Seems a white farmer in Georgia had requested government assistance from Ms. Sherrod." After airing Breitbart's video, O'Reilly stated: "That is simply unacceptable. And Ms. Sherrod must resign immediately." (accessed via Nexis)

9:04 p.m.: "Fox News Alert": Hannity reports that Sherrod has resigned and discusses the incident with Gingrich. (accessed via Nexis)

...

Tuesday July 20 2010
...
6:08 a.m. Sherrod story hits Fox & Friends: "Exhibit A" in "what racism looks like."

6:43 a.m.: Morning Joe airs Sherrod clip. Co-host Joe Scarborough then said " I think its relevance relates back to the New Black Panthers tapes that have been out there."

8:05 a.m.: Ingraham: "Andrew Breitbart ... did a great piece on this whole thing."
...
11:06 a.m.: On CNN Newsroom, Sherrod claims she was told to resign because she would "be on Glenn Beck tonight."

11:20 a.m.: On CNN Newsroom, farmer's wife calls Sherrod a "friend" who "helped us save our farm."

12:10 p.m.: Limbaugh calls Breitbart's heavily edited video of Sherrod "great work." He later stated that "[t]he NAACP is as racist an organization as there has been and is in this country."

1:03 p.m.: Johnny Wilkerson, the owner of the video company contracted to shoot the video, told TPM "that the full speech is exactly as Sherrod described, and that she goes on to explain learning the error of her initial impression and helping the farmer keep his farm."

3:01 p.m.: Brent Bozell slams media for not covering Sherrod's "racist remarks."

...

5:13 p.m. (approximately): In a post titled, "Sherrod: White House Made Me Quit 'Because I Was Going to Be on Glenn Beck," Fox Nation linked to Big Government's post of the same title. The link has since been updated and redirects to a different Fox Nation post titled "USDA Reconsidering Sherrod's Ouster Over Racial Comments." The first comments on this post are time-stamped 5:13 p.m
...

6:41 p.m.: Bret Baier falsely claims, "Fox News didn't even do the story" on Sherrod.

7:15 p.m.: Breitbart refuses to accept Sherrod's "word that the farmer's wife is the farmer's wife."

7:45 p.m. (approximately): The NAACP released the full video of Sherrod's remarks at the NAACP banquet, noting that Breitbart's deceptively edited video "didn't tell the full story" and was "selectively edited to cast her in a negative light."

The full article is best accessed for its link and detailed work most of which is not captured here

By sacking Sherrod on the strength of a doctored video posted by a blogger on the Obama-bashing right, the White House seemed afraid of offending conservative media critics - and white voters who helped elect an African-American President.

But I dont believe he can ever do right for the group that revel in wallowing in Fox ginned up manipulations of their emotions, the doctored tapes against ACORN and Sherror, the false racial stories on dismissal of charges against the stick holding, guant irrelevant blacks in front of a black pollinig booth one that was actually sentenced, and on and on.

They play on the hearts of real people but for them it is about votes and returning to their position of power as in most of the past decades when the country careened towards disaster.

I was just watching a few minutes of a documentary on white supremacists gangs. Right off...this is not about white, black, brown or blue racists. It is about racists of all colors and races.

Four things came to mind as to why we will never be rid of racists. Rather it be in government, private sector business, education or the street. We most certainly can limit it and speak out against it, but the fact remains it will always exist in some form or another.

For whatever reason we have evolved to group together by race and color. Being around people that look like us appears to be comforting, especially when we feel threatened. After several years of working in a state prison I can promise you, inmates that did not have a racist bone in their body, got one quick after getting off the bus.

The other thing that came to mind was this. We live in a free country. These people are free to spout off their bigotry and hate all they want. These idiots were having a festival for thier combo of organizations. There were nuts screaming to music I couldn't understand. They were lighting crosses on fire, dressing up like little Hitlers and throwing around the hitler salute. When they were not involved in some "ceremony" or another, they were "dancing" I guess you could call it. All of this was going on in the middle of the woods in some hole, where nobody but them gives a damn. Either way they are exercising their freedoms. I served my country and we are fighting wars to protect those and our other freedoms. As long as we are free, racism will be a reality.

The third thought was, you simply cannot force a moron bigot racist of any color or race to change. Some of it is regional, some caused by gangs and immigration, none of which is going away soon. It is some kind of mental defect. They really do not believe that it is being human that matters, not color, race or gender. We will have the defective among us forever.

And finally, the Internet. These groups, White, Black & Brown can get their sick message out in an instant to millions by the click of a mouse, and those being sucked in are dangerous "lone wolves". This way of recruiting new morons is the most dangerous development in the fight against bigoty and racism. I don't see the Internet going anywhere.

So keep fighting and debating. The fights are entertaining. But to deny that racism has, does and will forever exists is just wrong.

Just My Opinion

Maddad

First of, I am truly intrigued by the history of the Ku Klux Klan and want to learn more and I am seeking to understand it. As a foreigner, what I knew originally about them was that they were a group of white people that believe their race is superior than all others and were mostly against the mix of whites with any other races. Nothing wrong with that. I do not judge anyone’s beliefs…everyone has the right to believe in absolutely anything they want.

Also, it is known to me that they were against foreigners, Blacks, Jews, Gays, etc. I could be wrong...I don’t really know.

I have been living in this country for 8 years now and I have always been very interested in knowing about them and would like to understand what the KKK is about. When you are from another country and do not know America, you hear stories and it's mostly all fictional...like in that movie "An American tail" where Fievel's father thought there were no cats in America and the streets were paved with cheese. The idea I had about the KKK was that they were a really scary group of people here in the US.

Anyway, I did some reading on Wikipedia and this is what it says:

"Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as The Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present right-wing organizations in the United States, which advocates extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy and nationalism. The current manifestation is splintered into several chapters and is widely considered a hate group."

also,

"Today, a large majority of sources consider the Klan to be a "subversive or terrorist organization".

But then I went on their website and this is what it says:

"Bringing a Message of Hope and Deliverance to White Christian America! A Message of Love NOT Hate!"

I'm not going to lie, I am very confused. The message from the National Director of The Knights, Pastor Thomas Robb, on their homepage seems to be positive and it talks about GOD, love, peace, and the Christian way. However at the same time, the history of the KKK is of violence and hate against blacks, Civil Rights Movement, desegregation, etc. and seems like many members of the group have been convicted of murders or some sort of violence.

How can a group preach peace and love and at the same time live a history of violence?

It's understandable that they do not wish to mix their race with any others, they have that right but I don't understand why of the violence? Is the KKK against the coexistence with those they do not tolerate or accept as equal human beings?

Once again, religion and God intrigue and confuse me. I don’t understand the Christian civilization and the God they talk about. Is it love, peace and acceptance only amongst themselves?

They have their own laws/rules, their own meeting, members/followers...would/could the Klan be a religion?

I am pretty sure that, for obvious reasons, they would never accept me in one of their meetings and I don't know if they would talk to me but I would really love to understand how it all works.

I don't believe that the republican party as a whole is racist. I don't believe that conservatives as a group or conservatism as a whole are racist. I don't believe that tea baggers as a group are racist. I do not believe that racism is ubiquitous throughout these groups.

Ok one more time into the third circle of hell - that would be any discussion about discrimination and/or race in these United States.

So I have read and heard many things about Rand Paul and his discussion of Civil Rights and I find I must speak about this. Before I do there are two points I'd like to make:

1. Law can not make anyone stop a type of behavior, it can only punish people for behavior.
2. Jim Crow Laws were enacted not to stop black folks from integrating into "white" society (though that was the intended effect)- No, they were enacted to control white businesses. What I mean by that is there was always open-minded whites in the south (mostly working class types) who were more than happy to work and trade with their darker skinned neighbors as equals. This was not good news for the upper crust of post-reconstruction Southern Society - hence the anti-integration measures called Jim Crow.

Now those points are important to understand when we begin to talk about Rand and his statements.

I do not know Rand Paul personally, but I do know Libertarians.

As a Libertarian Rand Paul understands the falsity of the Civil Rights Legislation effecting Private enterprise. If a private company only wants to hire one armed men over two armed men, should the government step in and protect the "rights" of the two armed?

Would not it be better for our society to allow folks to show their bigotry and racism for all to see? Then we could make informed decisions about who and what we support with our individual commerce.

Liberals, Socialists, Statists love to hate "The Right" and have no compunction about showing their hatred of their fellow countrymen simply for the ideas they hold (especially toward Libertarians).

Conservative Christians, Secular Social Conservatives, love to hate those who threaten their narrow view of the correct way of living, though these folks are usually more reserved in that expression of hatred - but it is there (especially toward Libertarians).

If you are a member of either of these two groups yet hold no hatred in your heart, then I am obviously not talking about you.

Both of these groups of folks are Anti-Liberty. They are also; So wrong they actually think that they are right! Freaking Silliness, I say. To be hated by members of either of these two camps is Great and I wear their hatred as a mark of pride.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of a massive police operation in Philadelphia that culminated in the helicopter bombing of the headquarters of a radical group known as MOVE. The fire from the attack killed 6 adults and 5 children and destroyed 65 homes. Despite two grand jury investigations, and a commission finding that top officials were grossly negligent, no one from city government was criminally charged. MOVE was a Philadelphia-based radical movement that was dedicated to Black liberation and a back to nature lifestyle. It was founded by John Africa and all its members took on the surname Africa. We hear from Mumia Abu-Jamal and speak with Ramona Africa, the only adult survivor of the bombing.

So, we reanimate George Washington, ask him what he would change in hindsight, and the answer said Tea Party costume ball attendee offers is some vague response about telecommunications. No, he doesn't mention the genocide of Native Americans, the second class citizenship of women, ending slavery, or expanding the franchise to property-less white men. Nope. He mentions the Internet. Our zombie George Washington could have massaged any of these answers with a bit of Realpolitik. Instead, he showed us who the Tea Party Fox News crowd has always been–a myopic group, robbed of moral and political vision, wrapped in the swaddling clothes of their own victimology laced patriotism. A state of affairs that would be funny if it were not so sad.

What would Arizona's revered libertarian icon, Barry Goldwater, say about a law that requires the police to demand proof of legal residency from any person with whom they have made "any lawful contact" and about whom they have "reasonable suspicion" that "the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States?"

A reply I made to a guy living in Florida who thinks I'm a pawn of the Liberal agenda, that evolved into an article I decided to post:

Go on thinking that, Richard in Florida-809880 - I'm not the one living in hurricane alley... :) (jk - stay safe, last year was a break, this year might be back to the norm)

As for being a pawn, lol, I weigh the information, check all sides of the story and choose my options carefully... and the facts I see are that this administration has accomplished in a little over one year what the previous 20 years of US administrations have not - regardless of which party has been in charge.

We are getting out of Iraq, and Afghanistan has a tentative timetable too. The economy took bad hits from years of off-shoring, down-sizing and unfair free trade agreements, coupled with irresponsible financial practices to get in the condition it is today.

Our foreign relations fared no better during those years. We supported some at the expense of others. We played countries off on each other and exploited the ones who had the resources we wanted while ignoring the plight of the ones who have problems, but no economically advantageous reason for us to help them.

Do you know why we play nicey-nicey with China? Here is a huge country controlled by a Communist government well known to have a history of treating their citizens like slaves, AND they don't have to worry about the cost of environmental regulations over there either, because there isn't any!

Oops, I just answered my own question.

Our corporations re-discovered how profitable it is to use slave labor and not have to pay for regulatory compliance! Ahhhh, the American way. We did that up until the Civil War then saw the light of equality and made some changes... To sweeten the corporate deal with China, they don't have to worry about the cost of environmental regulations over there either, because there isn't any. No matter that the air pollution produced blows this way and the products made from toxic substances are shipped to our store shelves... It's all good, because it's a free market, baby!

The fact has been aptly demonstrated, over the past decade or so, that

"Economic advantage at the expense of American labor is part of the Conservative's answer to a free market economy."

You can quote me on that.

Ummm... it didn't work out so well for most of us, did it? (except the 2% who made out like rich plantation owners, that is.)

So, lets try something else...

Now, I'm not saying lets trash the whole system! Oh, please let's not do that!

I like some Conservative beliefs, and I do hold them dear. I don't want a heavy-handed Federal Government. I like my freedom of choice in everything from speech to uncensored information, but I don't mind paying a little more to ensure my kid isn't eating poison and that's what Federal Regulations are good for; to ensure that all corporate entities and citizens of these States of the Union are operating under a set of agreed upon standards to ensure, or at least, have some expectation of general health and safety while we go about being the most productive country on this planet. (and the band plays on)

But... Can we just tweek it a little so we can have a better economy for MORE of us, not just the elite few?

Ignoring, or shelving an on-going problem with excuses of cost, trouble for some, and the idea that change in the status quo is not good is not the answer.

Change and the willingness to move out of our comfort zone is what brought us from a bunch of colonies clinging to shores and harbors of a new land (filled with Native Americans to exploit and overcome, but we won't get into that right now...), to a country that is arguably still the lone superpower that all other countries look to as THE world leader.

But, if we don't make some positive changes soon we may lose that position... greed has got to be brought under control!

Associations with strange bedfellows has to be handled with consideration to how it affects all of our citizens, not just the few benefiting from the warmth of a Chinese bed.

Pardon my shifting of gears... griind, clank, clunk (grrrr, stupid Japanese car!)

Some problems cannot be fixed overnight, others take going through a little pain to implement a solution. If you don't like the job the POTUS and staff has done so far it's likely because you are swallowing the rhetoric of people like Limbaugh who stated "I want him to fail" - the day BEFORE Obama and crew even began their term! LOL

Now, is that how we treat an incoming President who won the election fair and square? The actions and ideologies of certain Republican politicians and pundits are similar to what George Wallace was like when he was a political contender, and HE was a Democrat! Racism is not the domain of just one faction, anyone can be one.

Although certain factions this time around are capitalizing on all the pawns with racist tendencies to do their dirty work for them, but that's just dirty politics as usual...

So really, is one party better than another? They seem to take turns being the class clown and sometimes everybody is jammed inside that little clown car all at once.

So please don't label me anything but a person who believes in Larry the Cable Guy's sage advice:

"Git 'er done!"

Further, party affiliation and beliefs in either the Conservative or Liberal philosophies don't guarantee a firm position on the side of right or wrong. There is no totally right side, nor is there a totally wrong side, (unless you happen to be trying to push me off my side of the bed... ;)

'nuff said there...

What matters is the accomplishment of tasks that have gone far too long sitting on the back burner. If it takes elements of a little of this and that ideology to solve a problem then, so be it. As long as something is tried it's better than letting things slide into a total mess like they have, don't you think?

I do agree with you, we need to wait long enough to see how all this washes out, and if it doesn't work out, then it can be changed again. Just like they did back when the prohibition amendment was repealed after they realized all it did was grow and nurture organized crime and make it dangerous to walk the streets with all those Tommy gun toting hoodlums running around.

Anyways, take care, and buy some plywood before the price goes up, facts tell me nothing about the weather, but my intuition is saying something about a hurricane fun filled summer for the folks on the southern side of my home in the mountains.

Edwardo had just finished a tasty breakfast at his favorite restaurant, Sofia's. He had known Sofia since he was about 16, when she gave him a job washing dishes. She really didn't need another dishwasher, but she had taken him on because his family was very poor and here illegally. She paid him cash out of the register when his shift was over. He felt at home there, because when he arrived with his family from El Salvador she was the only person who showed Edwardo any kindness. Edwardo had learned little English because his parents had said he was too old for school and needed to contribute to the family by working and earning money.

He had worked at Sofia's until he was 18 and old enough to operate equipment. He had become friendly with one of the regulars, Fernando Vielmas. Vielmas owned a tire company that sold new and used tires. Vielmas had Edwardo drive the commercial truck used for picking up and delivering tires around a parking lot to make sure he had good control. Edwardo had been driving since he could see above a steering wheel, so he did the maneuvers Vielmas demanded with ease.

Today his assigned task was to go to Cherry Hills Villas, a large apartment complex that was a regular customer of Vielmas'. There was an understanding between the management and residents that although everything possible would be done to keep sharp objects out of the parking lot, there were carpet installers, painters, maintenance men and plumbers in and out of the complex many times a day. Often, the tradesmen would not pick up all their razor blades and nails used on the job and residents would run over them in the parking lot. This caused many a tire to go flat, much to the consternation of the residents.

Lately, the residents of the complex had either experienced an inordinate amount of nails in the parking lot or a huge shortage of coffee, by Vielmas' reckoning. Cherry Hills Villas had let him know that morning that if the company did not pick up the tires flatted and provide new ones, Vielmas would need to find another apartment complex to service. This was the last thing Fernando Vielmas needed to hear, as apartments were huge cash cows as far as tires are concerned. He told Edwardo vehemently in Spanish that no matter what, it was very important not to miss any tires left in the lot.

As Edwardo turned into the apartment complex, he saw a coned-off area. There were signs posted in English, but he didn't understand what they said. There were several used tires laying next to a dumpster just north of the coned area. Remembering his promise to Vielmas, Edwardo steered in the direction of the tires. All of a sudden, he felt the vehicle's tires lodge into something on the ground.

"What the hell?" Edwardo spat out, carefully exiting the vehicle. He got no further before a maintenance man in a Bobcat came running over, his face red, sweaty and furious. "You @!$%# for brains! Can't you frigging read? The sign says 'Do Not Enter'! Frigging wetbacks!" the man screamed in his face, spittle flying from his mouth.

Edwardo promptly inspected where his tires were lodged. There had been some mudjacking done, and he could see the chunks of asphalt lying on the edge of the lot. His tire was hopelessly wedged in one of the crevices, and it was at least 8" deep. Worse yet, he still had not recovered the tires. Edwardo was working on some pent-up rage of his own at this point. He got back in the truck, radioed Vielmas, rapidly explaining what had just transpired. Most of what Vielmas said Edwardo didn't feel comfortable repeating. But Vielmas was coming to Edwardo with the company tow truck to see if he could pull him out.

The red-faced maintenance man had gone inside the leasing office to continue his tantrum there. Edwardo saw the tow truck, manned by Vielmas and another worker, coming into the complex. Quickly and without speaking, they hooked up the truck and after a few attempts, successfully dislodged Edwardo's truck from the parking lot's abyss.

Edwardo quickly recovered the tires by the dumpster and loaded them on the truck. The red-faced spitting man ran out of the leasing office, angrily holding up his middle finger and shaking it in Edwardo's direction. Alas, he did not need any English skills to understand that Vielmas and Cherry Hills Villas would be parting company soon. Quietly, he removed the company sign that had been in its assigned place next to the dumpster on the northeast end of the complex for more than ten years. He decided to go back to the shop, where he could deliver the bad news to Fernando Vielmas personally.

He drove with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, and felt Sofia's breakfast burrito dangerously close to coming up with his next breath. He pulled over and parked, anxiously thinking about what to do next after he was fired. Vielmas would surely fire him; he had been responsible for one of his best customers taking their business elsewhere. Well, he supposed he could go back to work at Sofia's. After all, she was more like a mother to him than a boss. He had wanted to do so much more though; he had even harbored dreams of owning his own tire business. All that was lost now, he told himself. Be grateful you have any options, he thought.

He pulled into the company parking lot and set the brake. Slowly, he got out and braced himself for the verbal beating he was about to take. His father had always taught him to take it like a man, and he would do no less here. You make mistakes, you pay the price, right?

He went into Fernando's office. Fernando was on the phone, speaking rapid English that Edwardo couldn't understand. He waited patiently in the chair until Fernando was finished. "Edwardo, why are you here?" he inquired. "Shouldn't you be finishing your route?"

Taken aback, Edwardo explained the purpose of his coming back to the shop. Fernando Vielmas threw back his head and laughed a hearty laugh. He explained that the red-faced cussing man was actually the man in trouble, not Edwardo. It seemed that several residents of Hispanic origin and some residents of other origins had heard him use the word "wetback" in reference to Edwardo, and had telephoned the office to complain. One gentleman was a lawyer and threatened to sue.

No, they hadn't lost Cherry Hills Villas as an account. In fact, the management company for Cherry Hills Villas had given Vielmas all of their properties, five in all. It seemed that everyone who witnessed the incident was impressed with Edwardo's stoicism. Vielmas was clapping him on the back, thanking him for his patience and professionalism despite having a red-faced, spitting, cussing man in his face. "Now go finish your route, no screwing around, eh?" Vielmas said, sending Edwardo on his way.

Quietly, Edwardo drove back to Cherry Hills Villas and replaced the sign.
Qy

N-Word ALERT: The week started with the Republican type President of the Tea Party caught using the N-Word, then moved to the Census Form and Ended with the Democratic leader of the Senate caught using the N-Word.

In case you were culturally asleep this week, or had something better to do. Here is a three part sample of what the reporting and conversation was like regarding these symptoms of Cultural Poisoning. Also see my cultural commentary following each major story link.

1. Tea Party President caught using the N-Word in public Click Here

If you have your RaceDar on you know who these people are and you are familiar with their code words. They have repeatedly demonstrated symptoms of Cultural Poisoning, often rising to the level of overt racism in the past and they most likely will be caught again. Tea Bagger code words 101, if you hear anything about the "Obama" government, will "enslave" you, or the N-word from these folks or their friends and apologists your RaceDar should go from low and peg at near 100%

2. Census Bureau caught using the N-Word Click Here

This bureau has been historically culturally confused and a consistent spreader of Cultural Poisoning regarding the misuse of the term "race". However, this is a new low, even for them.

New Census Form Choice: Black, African American or "Negro"

In the 21st century to regressively add "Negro" to this form is and outrage and a direct insult to every Culturally Literate African American. I think there must be some Bush undead or Tea Party folks infesting the census bureau. They should be hunted down and fired.

Cultural literacy Minute 1: There is one race the human race and many ethnic groups.

Cultural Literacy Minute 2: "Negro" and all its culturally poisoned variations, as used in the United States, is a term invented by racist for the purpose of perpetrating racism.

3. Democratic Senate Leader caught using the N-Word Click Here

I am a Democrat and I have never said there is no Cultural Poisoning in the Democratic Party. Before the 1960's the Dems were the Party of Cultural Poisoning and overt racism with Dixiecrat's leading the pack. However, that is not the case today, with some exceptions.

This is what I said about it in comment #35

Hetep and Respect Folks, this must be the N-Word Week. So there is Cultural Poisoning in the Democratic Party, never said there wasn't, this is America.

The difference is Reid apologized immediately when exposed and directly to the offended party and the apology was excepted, end of story. Compare that to the N-Word President of the Tea Baggers, who is still dancing. Or the Republican Anti-humanists at Fox News who don't even bother with that apology crap.

Hay, if Reid helps us turn the corner on Health Care Reform, he will go down in history as one of the most effective leaders of the Senate in history. I will shake his hand and help him get reelected.

What is important to learn here, from a Cultural Literacy perspective, is that not all symptoms of Cultural Poisoning rise to the level of racism. A working RaceDar can help you make this distinction. Keep yours tuned up, if it is broke fix it and if you don't' have one, get one.

This has been an odd week for a strange and troubling set of words that still plagues the Cultural Health of the Nation. The Cultural Terrorists are hard at work, listen for them, they are easy to spot if you are paying close attention.

The question for you is? How is your Cultural Health? Are you adding to the dis-ease of Cultural Poisoning or helping to put people at ease?

As you will see with the letter copied below and the link to the publishing site, this whole Professor Gates arrest situation is continuing to shine a much-needed light on the racist/prejudiced psyche of this country.

This cop deserves the axe and his words are exactly why there is a persistent suspicion of racism that is backed up by attitudes of a lot of people who commented on the Gates situation.

It is pretty sad but it's true that some people might look at everything Obama does and go: that's great, I really like that my President did that. But as they look at him, they cannot help but feel anger or hatred, just because they are unable to see him as a person and let go of their racism.

As we take a good look at the world we live in, we can see many different groups of people. Whether they are racial groups or others, there are the differences that will always bother this or that person.

When President Obama was elected, the world looked at the United States of America and saw hope for the future; people from all corners of the world who have at least once in their lives suffered racial discrimination started to believe again. They believed in freedom and they started to regain faith in humanity.

They celebrated President Obama's victory as if it had been their own!

And for some whose family members that once were denied the right to even eat at a public restaurant, or were denied the freedom to live their live as a human being, could once again bring themselves to believe that humans can all live together in harmony without fearing for their lives just because they have a different color of skin.

Maybe the meaning of Obama's election to some of the other nations was greater than any American citizen can imagine. But little they know about what really goes on in this country. They may just have no idea of how far we really are from being a nation that accepts everyone without restrictions.

It seems to me that America just loves to be the first: The first to fly to and step on the moon, the first in flight*; the first to elect a black president…! Which could easily be completely for political purposes and to bring the USA's popularity back to the spotlight [accomplished by the way] but I certainly do not know any of this for sure.

Truth be told, as I mentioned in the beginning of this article, I think that there are people that just can't help but dislike President Barack Obama and his family for the simplest fact that they have dark skin or are African descendants. It doesn't really matter that his mother was a white woman.

The reality is they will always find something wrong to say about him; they will always have negative thinking regardless if President Obama brings this country's economy to the best it has ever been.
The world outside believes that the people of the United States of America are one step ahead of everyone when it comes to fighting discrimination. But how much truth is in that, really?

I think that this country and the rest of the world are yet to be openly accepting of the minority. We have a long, very long way to go until things can really change. They may change but it'll be a very extremely slow transition.

But whatever the purpose was, the fact is that America has elected a multiracial/Black man as the greatest nation of the wolrd's President. I guess that if the world at least follows the USA's positive steps towards this change, then the USA's contribution to this change will be the first and most important one. But this step towards change shouldn't just end there…America should keep on walking!

People that believe in progress, advancement or people that are racist?

Before I posted this I looked at urban dictionary for the definition of this phrase:
-1. The south will rise again

A term used by hardcore southerners in reference to former power the south had in the mid 1800's. Thought to be racist or redneck by most of the non southern persuasion it is actually a term that has come true in some sense seeing that the south is, in our day in age, a cultural, industrial and economic power. Cities including Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, Charleston (one of the busiest ports in the country), Jacksonville, Mobile, and Montgomery are all cities of industrial and cultural importance. This Phrase is often represented in unison with the confederate battle flag and associated by the ignorant people of non southern descent (aka northeastern folk) as being a symbol of racism and bigotry, a common misconception as the civil war was not about slavery, but states' rights; thus making the confederate flag a symbol of states' rights and their sense of independent identity. -

I know that Urban dictionary is what it is called: urban...from the people but who better to know the truth other than the people who live it every day!?

I ask these questions because the other day I saw on someone's myspace profile the song N***s suck, by Johnny Rebel [Clifford Joseph Trahan aka Pee Wee Trahan].
I was so curious I did a search for his songs and lyrics and I was very intrigued by what I heard and read. His lyrics show a lot of negative feelings towards African Americans. And that got me curious!

For 1, I am not very knowledgeable about the details of the civil war but I did not think that when people said: "The south will rise again" they were talking about going back to the time where African-Americans/black people had no rights and were mistreated by the white people.

I mean, from a foreigner's point of view, I never thought the South was that racist. After all there is a huge population of African Americans living in the south. I've been to Atlanta, NC, FL, New Orleans and some other cities and I saw more African Americans there than I saw in NY. I personally thought the southerners were warmer and friendlier than the people from the east coast. If you look from the outside, meaning you are not from this country and don't really know much, you'd think "well, if it was that bad, why would they live there?"

During the time that I have lived in this country, I have never met any racist people; at least not that I was aware of. Maybe because I have a good personality...I talk to everyone, I am nice to everyone. I don't know but I do not believe in racism...I believe in personalities and peoples' attitude. If you are nice to people, they will be nice back no matter who you are.

I am a very sensitive person but I don't pay alot of attention to name calling because hurtful words coming from people that I don't know don't really affect me; I laugh at racist jokes because they are funny and creative and I think that this is how they should be taken, especially by those being attacked. But that's just how I perceive things.

This might be a naïve attitude of mine but it has worked out well for me all my life. I always thought that those who are racist are the ones that get hurt the most. They have to live with that feeling in them so I do feel sorry for them. And sometimes they don't even know why they are racist and that is when your attitude counts!

Anyway, back to my question...why does the South want to rise again? Is it about separating the country? Is it about regaining economic power?

Whatever the reason is, I hope that the intentions of those who wish the South to rise again are good ones.

Most people who really know me, know that I highly tolerant and accepting even. I used to be militant and wear my blackness on my sleeve. This was a result of being accused by my black peers of "talking like a white girl," and feeling like I always had to prove I was black enough. I know it sounds silly, but where I grew up proper English was a black kid's kryptonite and so I just got used to either being alone and eventually building a multicultural group of friends.

But back to my point, I was terribly disappointed to find out a picture sent out by a local mayor, depicting the lawn of the White House as a watermelon patch. Are you @!$%#ing kidding me?! How is this appropriate in any way shape or form? Unfortunately, the image wouldn't load to Newsvine, but here it is, see it for yourself if you haven't already.

I was disturbed to find that there are actually people who really do not to get why one might be offended by this image. They say those of us who are offended are looking for reasons to be so. Just for the record, there is historical context and reason for the offending in this case. What with our new African American president, the caricatures of the black minstrel with the big pink lips eating watermelon...Seriously? There's no reason to be upset or be disappointed in a public official who circulates something like that around his office?

There is actually a term for people who think racism is dead: enlightened racist. Yes, I know its harsh and I'd hate to think any of my friends (virtual or otherwise) are racists, but the fact is that's what you are, if you can completely ignore racism and accuse the target of overreacting...sigh

Like I said, I don't look for reasons to be offended. I was actually more bothered by the defense than the actual image itself. By the fact that people said that it should just be ignored. By this standard, this racist mayor would have been allowed to stay in office and that city would have reverted back to 40 years ago.

Seriously, 40 years is not that long folks...my mother was only a teen-ager during the desegregation civil rights movement. Obviously we have made huge progress between then and now, so I don't want to harp on the negative history. At the same time, the dismissive attitudes can take their toll.

Fine, don't be offended. But don't tell me I should just get over it, or ignore it. Don't pretend that it can't be racist because there are no racists anymore. Its not true and it makes you seem even more racist and ignorant than the person who created the image or circulated it. You, dear enlightened racist, are a barrier to progress with your turning a blind eye and denier syndrome. Racism is still very real and depicting the white house - currently inhabited by our first black president - is proof that as far as we have come, we still have a long way to go.

Cross-posted from KymleeIsAwesome.

© 2008 Kimberlee Morrison. Some rights reserved.

"The concentrating [of powers] in the same hands is precisely the definition of despotic government. It will be no alleviation that these powers will be exercised by a plurality of hands, and not by a single one." Thomas Jefferson

I believe that we, as Americans, are desensitized to the question of what racism really is.

Prejudice is an adverse opinion or leaning formed before sufficient knowledge is acquired. Everyone from the new born in the hospital to the old man in the rest home is prejudiced against something. It is a personal belief caused by the lack of hard data that is experienced.

I am prejudiced against chitterlings (chittlins'). I am prejudiced against women who eat chitterlings because kissing a women who cooks and eats pig intestines turns my stomach (besides the smell of them being prepared too!). Maybe one day I will actually try chitterlings and like them. At that point I will no longer have that prejudice.

Prejudice need not be based upon any racial motivation at all. People can be prejudiced against economic (like the poor), social (like skate boarders), or chronological (like the elderly) classes, also.

It is a natural safety instinct to mistrust things that we do not understand. Judging things on purely shallow criteria has kept humanity alive for millenia.

Unfortunately, our society has evolved in such away that we allow are leaders to start defining our own prejudices. Instead of waiting to see if anyone is offended by a remark or action, I often see leaders (media and political alike) telling people what to be offended about, with individuals blindly agreeing. Is this not trying to spread bigoted beliefs and furthering the machine that makes money and power by the use of the keywords like "racism", "prejudice", and "bigotry"?

Which brings up another word Bigot.

A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, without regard to what the facts really are. In fact, these types of people will try to change or manipulate the facts to justify their position. It is the bigoted people who take words and thoughts out of context, snippets and sound bytes, and present them in a fashion to further the prejudices of others.

Ultimately, they want to manipulate you into becoming bigoted yourself through the use of misinformation and manipulation. That is why it is important to find the facts out for yourself, not through hearsay, and I include most media coverage in this category.

Please remember that the people we put into power are not saints, or perfect, they are just people with opinions we agree with, and not fully sometimes either. These public people become popularized and idolized in the public view at the cost of their personal privacy and lives.

Dr. Martin Luther King was a great speaker, a great human rights activist (not just black rights), but also a liar and a philanderer. Walter White was a powerful Caucasian "Black" civil rights leader. He caused scandal by not only admitting that he had 5/32's African blood in his lineage, but also infidelity in his first marriage. Even Caesar Chavez had a political legacy of personal scandal. Some of his family disowned him because of his stance on the hiring of illegal immigrants and wanting to limit immigration.

I am a man of color, I am Caucasian of Russian Decent, and I am colored of Navajo (Dineh') decent, . What I see is a bunch of people using the accusations of racism to justify being bigoted themselves!

What ever happened to free speech? In America, we are allowed to pursue life, liberty (including free speech) and the pursuit of happiness as long as it does not hurt some one else.

Everyone is prejudiced against something. When your prejudices supersedes truth is when you become a bigot.
Everyone is allowed an opinion. When your opinion hurts others, by not being based on personal experience, and breaks the Golden Rule is when you draw the line, and you need not be a Christian to agree with that.

"All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression. " Thomas Jefferson

There are those who claim that the recent New York Post cartoon depicting the author of the "stimulus bill" as a chimpanzee is not racist.

Last night Rev.Al Sharpton called for my neighbors to march in protest on The New York Post at high noon. The Governor and other public officials have weighed in on the "race" cartoon code that has offended the African American community and people of good will.

The Post is the "News" disgrace of my home town. I have not bought the paper in 30 years. The post as been identified as the most racist big paper in America by African American leaders and organizations. This is just another example.

Readers might be surprised to know that we ran this paper into bankruptcy years ago because of their Cultural Poisoning. An African American brought the paper and fired the raciest reporters and they refused to be fired by a Black man and came to work any way. When you are talking the Post you are talking long time hard core enemies of African Americans.

CEMOTAP (Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive To Afrikan People. has tagged them as such and has been boycotting them for years. Dr. J, Dr. Ben and virtually every cultural soldier I know has condemned the NY Post. Rupert Murdoch is one of the most dangerous cultural terrorist in the world, this latest incident at his Post uncovers to more people he and his organization's cultural orientation.

The question is what should be done about it. This is America and there is free speech. If you are a person of good will and you buy the paper stop like I did. Reduce or don't use myspace go to facebook. Hit the owner in his pocket book.

2/20/09 Update: A first for the New York Post, up until now thought to be impossible, something I never expected to see in my life time, the Post "apologized" for offending African Americans. After hundreds marched, thousands clogged their phones, hundreds of thousands of bloggers fired up the blogOshere and millions commented the Post cried uncle. In the new era of responsibility pressure has and effect. Details Click Here

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• New York Post Cartoon: Connecting Chimp Attack With Obama? (inquisitr.com)
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Everyday people bring change in America. Albert Einstein was a simple Patent Clerk. Most of the men who crossed the Delaware with George Washington were farmers. Contrary to popular opinion, ordinary citizens should feel empowered to bring about any change they see fit.

I have two dilemmas to set before you today. I would ask that you give these two situations more than a passing thought before you give an answer. I look forward to the discussion that follows.

Dilemma #1:
In this election, I have faced the dilemma of voting for the "lesser of two evils" which I consider to be Obama, or to vote for a candidate from a non traditional party who is certain to lose. I've been told that to do the latter is to "waste your vote." I remain undecided concerning which route I will ultimately take. In all likelihood my vote will go to Obama but not primarily because I do consider him to be the "lesser of two evils." All things considered, in my case the final deciding factor will likely be that I will be able to tell my grandchildren and my great grandchildren that I did vote for the first viable African-American candidate in our nation's history. I think that the only good that may come out of this election may be an opportunity to set an example for my future descendants that their "Granny didn't cotton up to bigotry and racism." My position now being stated, let me pose this question concerning the "lesser of two evils" argument vs. the "wasted vote" argument:

In election year 2000 and 2004, if you voted for George W. Bush as a "lesser of two evils" do you now feel your vote was "wasted?"

Dilemma #2:
As we stand by and watch our economy crumble, we argue the many factors that have led us here. Some of the factors cited have included political corruption, corporate corruption, corporate greed, individual greed, trickle-down economics, the "undeserving" getting home loans, suspicious financial products based on shaky or non-existent capital, outsourcing of jobs, globalization, unfair political influence of the wealthy, etc. In reality, I think all of these factors jointly are to blame. That is just my opinion. I will say that all of the factors share a unifying root in a single factor: GREED. Now for the second question:

You are a millionaire or a billionaire but the economy is tanking badly. You have to make a choice between extensive curtailing of the lavishness of your lifestyle or laying off a lot of employees, many of which may have to exchange their very modest lifestyle for homelessness. Which will you do?

Which do you think that those fortunate enough to even have that choice will choose to do?

Now, let the games begin...

McCain/Palin Smear tactics, and character attacks seem to have incited the average person beyond what was ever expected against Obama. Did they think that once the Mob Mentality set in that they would be able to control it?

"Unhelpful for establishing the tone McCain sought in Davenport was the Rev. Arnold Conrad, past pastor of the Grace Evangelical Free Church. His prayer before McCain arrived at the convention center blocks from the Mississippi River appeared to dismiss faiths other than Christianity and cast the election as a referendum on God himself.

"And Lord, I pray that you would guard your own reputation, because they're going to think that their god is bigger than you, if that happens. So I pray that you will step forward and honor your own name with all that happens between now and Election Day," he said. "

Disclaimer: I favor a criminal trial for all three people I am about to profile.

An interview with a woman from the Cincinnati area whose child died after being left in a hot car for eight hours airing on The Oprah Winfrey Show on October 2 has, along with two more incidents including one arrest, reopened the issue of children being left in the car unattended in hot conditions. The timeline of the three incidents is thus:

August 23, 2007: Cecilia Slaby, daughter of Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, dies in hot car after being left unattended by her mother

August 20, 2008: Jenna Edwards, daughter of Jodie Edwards, dies in hot car after being left unattended by her mother

September 13, 2008: Yovani Gonzalez leaves two small children in his care in a car for a half an hour until 911 is called and police come and remove the children from Gonzalez's car and custody after saying they were sweating profusely and warm to the touch.

Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby left her young daughter unattended in her car for hours as the heat went up in the car and the girl expired. The daughter's name was Cecilia Slaby. Apparently Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby and her husband felt that losing their daughter was the worst punishment imaginable when she was facing criminal charges. Now they feel that losing her job, even though she was not brought up on charges for causing the death of her daughter, was pretty heinous per an interview with WCPO 9 News in Cincinnati:

Brenda Slaby, Daughter died in hot car:
"I do need to respect Jodie's privacy. She works for an absolutely phenomenal community who I think probably would've reacted the same way if this hadn't happened to me, but I think maybe the community has learned and they knew what could face her and her school chose to support her and to back her, um, the staff at my building were very supportive. The head administration at my district chose to, um, turn their back on me in the face of a lot of scrutiny – and that was very hurtful."

9News Anchor Julie O'Neil:
"Is there anything you want to say about how Brenda has been treated and how you feel about Brenda?"

Gary Slaby, Brenda's husband:
"Some of it angers me, my love for her and moving this family on and forward is the most important thing to me and that's where I'm at.

Source

For simplicity's sake instead of recounting the events of the Edwards case I will paste in from a local news organization and link to where it came from:

CINCINNATI — A woman who left her 11-month-old baby in a hot van for nearly eight hours will not face criminal charges, according to WKRC-TV Local 12.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters made the announcement about Jodie Edwards Wednesday night, Sept. 10.

Edwards' daughter, Jenna, died Aug. 20. Police said she left the infant in the car seat of a Honda Odyssey around 8:30 a.m. that day as she arrived for work at Cincinnati Christian University in East Price Hill.

Edwards, a professor in the university's counseling department, called 911 at about 4:30 p.m. to report her daughter was dead. The girl was believed to have been there since morning, police said.

Edwards told police upon returning to her car late that afternoon she discovered she left her baby in the vehicle.

Source

Yovani Gonzalez' story is as follows, according to WCPO-9 News in Cincinnati:

CINCINNATI - A 911 call served as a lifesaver Saturday for two kids left in a hot car in Elmwood Place. A woman called into police dispatchers when she noticed two children left inside a hot car. She was able to give them a description of the car while police officers were sent to the parking lot outside a hair salon, NewsChannel5 sister station WCPO-TV in Cincinnati reported.

Officers believe the two babies were left alone in the car for about a half an hour.

Police have charged the children's father, Yovani Gonzalez, with endangering children.

Source

I should also add that every story I have read on Gonzalez (and I believe I have read every one on the Internet) do not mention his children by name and nearly all point out that the children were sweating profusely and hot to the touch.

Now, if you are keeping score at home, it is currently Rich White Women - 2 and Latino/Hispanic People - 0. While all this happened in Southwest Ohio, one should keep in mind that both Jodie Edwards and Yovani Gonzalez were subject to the same criminal justice system in Cincinnati. In fact, to use an old adage, the score makes the game seem a great deal closer than it is. Consider the following important points about the cases:

- Cecilia Slaby and Jenna Edwards are gone from this earth, they are dead. Gonzalez's children, the two of which the media still has yet to bother to tell us the names of, are still alive and, as best I can tell as an observer, healthy.

- The two white women, whose children are deceased because of their actions, are currently free and move about unimpeded by the justice system here in Ohio. Gonzalez, according to the latest information I could find, was under indictment for child endangerment.

- The best part (actually, in reality, it is the worst part) is that one white woman is angry that she is not as privileged as the other white woman such that she can be responsible for the death of her child AND keep her job. There is something very wrong when a rich white woman is jealous about the treatment another rich white woman received after they both got away, with allowing their child to die on their watch. Meanwhile, poor Mr. Gonzalez is left to argue not over who was coddled the most in the aftermath of causing their own child's death but rather over who gets the top bunk in the local jail.

It really bothers me that two rich white women (Slaby from West Chester/Clermont County which is moderately rich and Edwards from Wyoming which is super rich surpassed only by where Nick and Drew Lachey live which is Indian Hill) have the luxury of discussing how supportive their communities were of them when they left their children in the car to die of exposure while a man that is not rich and has brown skin sits in a jail cell awaiting a court date for leaving his two children in his car which they emerged from alive unlike the other two poor victims.

I put a disclaimer at the top of this article and I am now going to share my conclusion with you: either try them all in court or charge none of them but by charging the person with the least money and influence who did the least wrong (his children are still alive, let us recall) it is proof that the version of Lady Justice that reigns over Southwestern Ohio does not wear a blindfold and has abandoned her Scales of Justice so that she can more easily pocket the large sums of money put forth on behalf of those that are connected. If you live in Southwestern Ohio, you should be disturbed and ashamed. If you do not live in Southwestern Ohio, you should participate in making sure people know about this miscarriage of justice and make Cincinnati and its suburbs feel disturbed and ashamed, very disturbed and very ashamed.

We look at two cases of free speech in the classroom: Karen Salazar speaks out about her dismissal from the Los Angeles School District; historian Rodolfo Acuna discusses the Arizona bill that would ban schools from using some books, including Acuna's Occupied America: A History of Chicanos.

Last Friday MSNBC aired a documentary, Meeting David Wilson that could potentially help white and black Americans deal with the nation's racial divides.

The documentary co-directed by Wilson tells the true story of Wilson, 28, a black man who grew up in the ghetto, meeting and befriending an older white man, also named David Wilson, 62, whose family once owned the other Wilson's predecessors as slaves. Besides the obvious difference of their race they have different middle initials, the elder Wilson is David B. Wilson while the younger Wilson is named David A. Wilson.

The documentary could have gone wrong at many spots, from turning too much into a reality show with their anecdotes and experiences -- summed up by one observer in the film as being "real" – somehow implying new realities and solutions, or making absurd suggestions that all slave families should have a representative of their slave owners.

But this documentary wisely side-stepped those directions which would have made it flawed and, if not ill-conceived, at least poorly handled. Instead we get to watch eloquent members of both families address "real" issues including whether reparations or apologies are owed to black Americans – with an elderly friend of David A's making the most eloquent argument against apologies or reparations I've heard, especially one coming from someone whose relatives were slaves.

The movie was shown live in Washington D.C., appropriately at Howard University, as it was broadcast on television for the first time and can be viewed directly from the MSNBC links poted above and below.

MSNBC made some mis-steps during a panel discussion after the movie's screening but I don't want to dwell on those for two reasons. First, some other Newsviners that attended the screening, which just happened to be occur during a Vinemeet planned months before we knew of this screening, have indicated they will be writing about some problems with the panel discussion. In brief those problems ranged from the lack of audience participation in what had been publicized and billed as a "conversation about race" to the mere semantic (it only focused on two races, white and black, when more complete conversations are needed that involve other races and the important factor of class).

More importantly the movie itself stood up on its own and, I think, should be treated as a separate entity from the panel discussion. While I might give the panel discussion a D, I'd give the movie itself an A.

I thought it appropriate that the two best comments during the panel discussions came not from either of two panels that spoke about the film but came instead from the two Wilsons. After a protracted discussion during which participants at times seemed to be using talking points more than actually having said conversation about race,David A. said, essentially, look, he wanted the movie to show what can happen when two average men meet and talk and try to address the complicated relationships between the races. That conversation does not, as he said, need to be between people representing various interests and groups.

I both agreed and disagreed with this statement, agreeing that discussions and conversations of this type do need to occur and not just because of a tie-in with a broadcast network that I expect played a role in some of the panelists' participatation. I disagree at the suggestion that the two Wilsons were "average" – both were much more intelligent and eloquent when talking about such difficult issues. If everyone was all articulate and considerate as these two "average" men this nation would be a better place.

Then the anchor, Brian Williams, my favorite of the news anchors (and well described and defended in Howard Kurtz's excellent book, Media Wars) asked David B. for a few final thoughts, adding that time was limited. Incidentally, Williams seemed off his game or out of place in the discussion. It would have been much better for Tiki Barber, who narrarated part of the film, to lead the panel. Indeed I just noticed the MSNBC page about the event said Barber WAS going to be the host. Weird.

So there it was, the pressure of having to sum up not just a night of many ideas and opinions, as well as dealing with the implied expectation of if not solving centuries of racial oppression at least dealing with the current state of race relations. Many, myself included, would have folded under the pressure.

Instead David A. made what turned out to be the best suggestion of the night. He asked everyone to question their own beliefs, about themselves, about others, be they stereotypes or anecdotal experience, and see if those beliefs can be justified or if it is time to amend those beliefs.

While the panel discussion was disappointing, the event itself sparked conversations about race that cropped up off and on for the rest of the meeting of the Vinemeet. I won't speak for what other Newsviners thought of the movie and event – instead I'll ask them if they want to share their thoughts below – but I know that personally it had a great impact on me and encouraged me to not only consider my own beliefs, but through this and other articles to encourage others to see this movie and have their own conversations about race.

Coincidentally I have been having a series of discussions about race at my church, as I wrote about in a few past seeds, through an excellent PBS series about race called Race: The Power of An Illusion . I plan to mention this movie and event to the participants of those discussions.

One final thought: it felt a bit weird for a group of Newsviners, all of us white (except Calvin, who is of one of those races not addressed at the event) to be going to a screening at Howard, a historically black college, and finding ourselves the racial minority at the screening.

I was reminded of a similar experience which I would also encourage others, especially white Americans, to happen. About two summers ago I took a science class at historically black Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md. I was the only white guy in the class and when I would walk through hallways or across the campus often the only white guy in sight. I watched, uncomfortably, as people's conversations would stop as I pass and tried to ignore those pointing at me or directing comments about me.

I gradually realized this might be as close as I, a white man, could come to having an idea of what it's like to be the only member of a racial group on a campus. Then there were the stereotypes. As was noted in the movie and the panel discussion, the problems are not just stereotypes white have about blacks or how accurate those stereotypes are but it must also included how black Americans view themselves and their stereotypes about blacks and whites. Those students in this science class knew nothing more about me than that I was a white guy. Yet some went out of their way to ask to be my study buddy or to look at my homework. The clear implication was that I was smarter or more knowledgeable because of my race. The reality was the opposite was true – I was taking this class because I was worried I'd flunk out of a science class at a community college.

After a few classes the students realized they could benefit more by switching to sharing homework and class notes with different students. But for a while there I was wondering, do they really think so little of themselves that they assume my work was better? If so, that self-hatred is sad, distressing and self-defeating. Hopefully there were other reasons for their actions.

In closing let me encourage you to watch this film and not just share your thoughts with us (though I'd love to hear your opinions of the movie and what ideas and reactions it sparked) but more importantly share your thoughts with relatives (especially if they hold racial stereotypes) and people of other races. Also, do as David A. suggested and do the racial version of the saying, "physician, heal thyself" – Americans, dig deeper into your own thoughts and beliefes, question those beliefs and see if they need to be changed as American can, hopefully, move to a place where conversations like those that occur between the two David Wilsons becomes not the exception but the norm.

Thanks again to Calvin for helping us get in to see this event

Related: Ten Things You Should Know About Race

and
How is Your Race Literacy?

and this PBS film series.

"The concentrating [of powers] in the same hands is precisely the definition of despotic government. It will be no alleviation that these powers will be exercised by a plurality of hands, and not by a single one." Thomas Jefferson

I believe that we, as Americans, are desensitized to the question of what racism really is.

Prejudice is an adverse opinion or leaning formed before sufficient knowledge is acquired. Everyone from the new born in the hospital to the old man in the rest home is prejudiced against something. It is a personal belief caused by the lack of hard data that is experienced.

I am prejudiced against chitterlings (chittlins'). I am prejudiced against women who eat chitterlings because kissing a women who cooks and eats pig intestines turns my stomach (besides the smell of them being prepared too!). Maybe one day I will actually try chitterlings and like them. At that point I will no longer have that prejudice.

Prejudice need not be based upon any racial motivation at all. People can be prejudiced against economic (like the poor), social (like skate boarders), or chronological (like the elderly) classes, also.

It is a natural safety instinct to mistrust things that we do not understand. Judging things on purely shallow criteria has kept humanity alive for millenia.

Unfortunately, our society has evolved in such away that we allow are leaders to start defining our own prejudices. Instead of waiting to see if anyone is offended by a remark or action, I often see leaders (media and political alike) telling people what to be offended about, with individuals blindly agreeing. Is this not trying to spread bigoted beliefs and furthering the machine that makes money and power by the use of the keywords like "racism", "prejudice", and "bigotry"?

Which brings up another word Bigot.

A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, without regard to what the facts really are. In fact, these types of people will try to change or manipulate the facts to justify their position. It is the bigoted people who take words and thoughts out of context, snippets and sound bytes, and present them in a fashion to further the prejudices of others.

Ultimately, they want to manipulate you into becoming bigoted yourself through the use of misinformation and manipulation. That is why it is important to find the facts out for yourself, not through hearsay, and I include most media coverage in this category.

Please remember that the people we put into power are not saints, or perfect, they are just people with opinions we agree with, and not fully sometimes either. These public people become popularized and idolized in the public view at the cost of their personal privacy and lives.

Dr. Martin Luther King was a great speaker, a great human rights activist (not just black rights), but also a liar and a philanderer. Walter White was a powerful Caucasian "Black" civil rights leader. He caused scandal by not only admitting that he had 5/32's African blood in his lineage, but also infidelity in his first marriage. Even Caesar Chavez had a political legacy of personal scandal. Some of his family disowned him because of his stance on the hiring of illegal immigrants and wanting to limit immigration.

I am a man of color, I am Caucasian of Russian Decent, and I am Navajo (Dineh'), . What I see is a bunch of people using the accusations of racism to justify being bigoted themselves!

What ever happened to free speech? In America, we are allowed to pursue life, liberty (including free speech) and the pursuit of happiness as long as it does not hurt some one else.

Everyone is prejudiced against something. When your prejudices supersedes truth is when you become a bigot.
Everyone is allowed an opinion. When your opinion hurts others, by not being based on personal experience, and breaks the Golden Rule is when you draw the line, and you need not be a Christian to agree with that.

"All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression. " Thomas Jefferson

Karl Rove begins his racist smear campaign in the WSJ against Obama—and is not even subtle about it. He sends out the call to the right that this is where they will need to go to smear him.

Bush's lead Republican basically says, why would anybody want to elect a lazy Black, trash talking, basket ball punk to be President. The tragedy is that he might have tricked Bill and Hillary into adapting his revised Southern Strategy.

Does reverse racism exist? Who invented the term? Are you some kind of racist? Give yourself a holiday spirit check up from the neck up.

Words come out of our mouth after thoughts. Words represent thoughts so we must be careful which words we use. Orwell in his book 1984 pointed out that it is important that words agree with reality, less we be easily deceived. "War is Peace" is not a statement connected with reality. The Bush administration should remind most writers of the lessons of Orwell.

A Newsvine article from earlier in the week reminded me of the fact that too many "writers" have not thought about certain phrases as carefully as they should. I commented on that article. Then it dawned on me that as we come to the end of the year, and people are in reflection and re-orientation mode, this is a good time to turn that comment into a cultural health check up from the neck up, end of year article.

I hope my readers will use this article to help them answer two end of year questions.

1.What do I believe about the phrase "reverse" racism?
2.How can I use my knowledge of this term to improve Cultural Health in 2008?

Lets see if I can be helpful in improving Cultural Heath regarding the phrase, " reverse racism". anti-humanists have been very effective at confusing most Americans with doublespeak phrases like this. A few facts can correct the Cultural poisoning that this type of doublespeak is designed to create. See quote from previous NV piece.

"...and non-whites cannot be racist towards whites because they do not hold privilege or institutional power over whites..."

The doublespeak concept of "reverse racism" can be defeated by this explanation alone however, this is not the only reason the phrase is unrelated to any demonstrable realty.

Power is part of racism, but it must be understood that racism comes out of an ideology (philosophy). Understanding who created it, how it transitioned from ideology to a "legitimate philosophy", its language and its purpose, will put some meat on the bones of this basic argument.

Lets start with a Cultural Literacy minute:

CLM: There is one race the human race and many ethnic groups.

Understanding this reality is critical. If this is not understood all discussions of "race" will only confuse you.
The word "race", as it is used in America, was invented by racists. These anti-humanist individuals created and believed in the philosophy of White supremacy. Racism is simply the activation of the ideology (philosophy). The activation makes the philosophy the law of the land in America and incorporates it in the country's institutions and society at large. The remarkable effectiveness of racism can be seen in the institutions of American "Slavery", Jim Crow Laws, etc. The good news is that humanist Americans worked against this ideology.

The concept of White supremacy starts academically in German universities and in short says, that The White 'race" is at the top of the human species and all other "races" did degenerate from the White "race".

This ideology has long been discredited by science, along with the bogus concept of "race" itself.

One hundred million Black man women and children were killed as racism was implemented in World War Zero (African Holocaust). Later, Hitler used this ideology to invent the Jewish "race" and then proceeded to cause others to attack his invention,

As far as I know there are no Blacks that subscribe to the philosophy of White supremacy or that have killed 100M Whites.

Understanding the basic facts set forth above should inform you that "reversing" this process is at best problematic.
Power, is only one element of racism. Philosophy, Power and the actual successful "Attack" on an invented "race" are required to constitute the activation of racism.

For racism to be "reversed", all three elements Philosophy, Power and the Attack (PPA) would have to be activated. I have never met anyone who could demonstrate this three-element reality in "reverse". A reasoned conclusion from the facts, as I understand them, indicates that "reverse racism' is invented by racists as a smoke screen to obfuscate the activation of the anti-humanist philosophy we have been discussing.

Lastly, it should be understood that everything regarding ethnic conflict, is not humanists on one side and racists on the other. The middle ground is culturally poisoning. It has been my experience, as I point out in my book DoubleSpeak, 90% of us Americans suffer from some degree of Cultural Poisoning.

The bad news is that Cultural Poisoning exists. The good news is that is can be self-cured.
How can a humanist use this information to improve their cultural health? The antidote to the doublespeak term "reverse" racism can be found in understanding the three elements of racism, PPA.

We will end as we began: Does reverse racism exist? Who invented the term? Are you some kind of racist? Give yourself a FREE holiday spirit check up from the neck up.

The best place to start in your assessment is always one's self. Ask yourself, what is my cultural orientation regarding racism.

I recommend that you take the racism test by click here.

Come back and let me know how you did and if this information and the test was helpful.

Note: for the few very ambitious, you can also find the sexism and other tests at this location. I apologize for torturing those who read my comments that lead to this article, as they were not edited. I have used my limited writing skills to improve that here, I hope.

For more polls, click here.

Original Article that inspired this one.

http://generaldecay.newsvine.com/_news/2007/12/11/1156094-reverse-sexism-and-reverse-racism

As the nation continues to reel in shock from recent outrageous outbursts uttered by celebrities and media titans, it is time for us to examine a much deeper and pervasive problem that lurks within our insensitive and bullying culture.

... say I'm going to declare divorces invalid because of someone who feels they weren't treated fairly in court, we are getting into a tar baby of enormous proportions ...

Those who suffer from Cultural Poisoning, only think they can hide it. In the end it always comes out.

4/1/2007 I have added to my original commentary above because many non-African Americans do not know how "Tar Baby" has and is used by White supremest. Webster's second definition of Tar Baby is, "something from which it is nearly impossible to extricate oneself." At Redstone Arsenal, a Tar Baby is a Black person you can't get rid of.

For more info click here

African Americans who live in Alabama and those who have served in the military as I have and my father before me, know how "Tar baby" is used. Like "Macaca" this will be a learning experience for most humanist Americans.

Last night I went to bed in a really bad mood

Some people on Newsvine can be so darn rude!

I just told a friend on the Vine yesterday

I am doing my best to stay out of the way

I just want to have a good time, don't you see

There are plenty of places that I'd rather be

Than in senseless battles of will with no end

No solutions -- resolutions … just opinions to defend

The words tossed around are all reeking of hate

Here are just a few that I've seen as of late:

Neo-Cons, Nazis, Racist Zionists and such

Racist Bush-ites, Bush-ite backers, Islamophobia (?) – it's just TOO much

Anti-Arab, Anti-Semitism, people from Texas being dissed

Why can't we be civil? This is something I miss

Part of my daily journal … things I needed to say

"Happy Friday all y'all, and y'all have a NICE day"