This post was an email to me sent by our fellow commenter and longtime blogging friend, Net Observer, in response to a lot of comments on THIS POST I did on the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman situation. The comments got fairly heated, very interesting, and Net Observer and I hoped we could continue the conversation with these words from him, a Black American:
"Sometimes I hear people classify Rush Limbaugh as "racist". as much as he irritates me, I would never say that. However, I get where people might think that, to a point.
I think there's a difference between "racism", "race hustlers", "race baiters" and "racial prejudice". and there are varying degrees in all of those.
In my opinion, most decent people harbor some level of racial prejudice even if it's very little or totally innocuous. I also think most decent people detest actual, undeniable racism. (e.g., "stormfront", "new black panther party")
However, race-hustling/baiting is trickier. A lot of media and media-driven personalities are guilty of this, even if they don't see themselves as doing anything wrong. I think Jesse Jackson and Sharpton "hustle". I think Rush and the Drudge Report "bait". and I think they all do it, in part, for self-aggrandizing reasons.
Unfortunately, these "media people" influence public thought, conversation, perception, etc., as much as anything. Jesse Jackson's "hustling" unnecessarily ticks off a lot of fair-minded white people. Conversely, Drudge making "headline news" of the most stupid young black male crime/flashmobs/etc., in the minds of most blacks, often serves as evidence of "white-rightist" bigotry.
I prefer that we all talk through these issues in depth, logically, honestly, seriously, and, without assuming defensive stances. it's a far more logical path to understanding and reconciliation. (end of Net's email to me)
Z: SO, I think Net and I'd like to know what you think of what he wrote. Do you agree? Disagree?
SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED DURING THE PERIOD BETWEEN MY ORIGINAL POST AND NET OBSERVER'S EMAIL TO ME IS THE JOHN DERBYSHIRE FIRING FROM NATIONAL REVIEW FOR HIS HAVING PUBLISHED THIS AT ANOTHER MAGAZINE....
HERE IS A FASCINATING REBUTTAL TO HIS FIRING BY MARK STEYN WHICH I HOPE YOU'LL WANT TO READ. THIS IS A MATTER WORTH TAKING SOME TIME, FOLKS....
What do you think of that situation? And .....Do you think things are better since Obama or worse and why? (and how?) Do you think most Americans are not racists?
SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED DURING THE PERIOD BETWEEN MY ORIGINAL POST AND NET OBSERVER'S EMAIL TO ME IS THE JOHN DERBYSHIRE FIRING FROM NATIONAL REVIEW FOR HIS HAVING PUBLISHED THIS AT ANOTHER MAGAZINE....
HERE IS A FASCINATING REBUTTAL TO HIS FIRING BY MARK STEYN WHICH I HOPE YOU'LL WANT TO READ. THIS IS A MATTER WORTH TAKING SOME TIME, FOLKS....
What do you think of that situation? And .....Do you think things are better since Obama or worse and why? (and how?) Do you think most Americans are not racists?
I want to thank Net for this and thank you for your comments.
Z
108 comments:
Semantics again.
Are you a racist if you make observations and come to a conclusion about a culture that is centered on it's melanin level?
I expect blacks to be liberal.
I have a friend who is not. He defied my expectations.
Am I a racist for my presupposition?
I left living in a neighborhood years ago that was predominately black. My wife couldn't take a walk without being accosted multiple times.
I didn't leave because of racism, I was still speaking in a predominately black church in Detroit.
I left because of the behavior of a group of people who were a certain skin color.
Some would call that racist (they could be any color) and some would call it smart.
Racism is in the eye of the beholder.
I had a close friend that took a business opportunity that was based on a federal law that required hospitals to buy from minority owned businesses. He was maneuvering himself to be the sole supplier based on his race. I saw that as unethical. It was a race based hijacking of business already awarded to a non-minority business.
The issue of race relations in America is the never-ending conundrum.
Abraham Lincoln in 1859:
Negro equality! Fudge! How long, in the government of a god, great enough to make and maintain this universe, shall there continue to be knaves to vend, and fools to gulp, so low a piece of demagogue-ism as this?
Are we not now, again, seeing the issue of racial equality being exploited all over the place?
I'm sick of it, sick of it, sick of it! The exploitation, I mean.
The reason why Rush and Drudge bait is because the MSM censors black-on-white crime perps and hypes white-on-black crime perps.
If the MSM simply reported both equally, Rush & Matt would have nothing to talk about.
Crime is crime. We shouldn't try and pretend that there isn't a heck of a lot more black on white crime than there is the reverse. And so, to make white-on-black crime "hateful" and the reverse, "invisible", is pure hyprocrisy.
Either stop the racial classification and categorization of crime entirely and treat crime uniformly, or expect the issue to be demagogued by ALL parties.
Putting a bounty on an American citizen who hasn't been found guilty of anything yet? I’m going to the gun store tomorrow.
My Lord, all this because an Hispanic Democrat shot the black kid who was pounding his head into the pavement
FREE OZZIE GUILLEN !!!!
What has been missed in the Martin case has been the original issue, the use of the "stand your ground" law as a fake alibi to gun down a kid.
The right's rush to defend Zimmerman at all costs including the fake photos of Martin that are still up at AOW's was quite enlightening.
Fact is that it demonstrates a truism: The right wing lives scared.
The idea that it would not have been reasonable and just for Zimmerman to gun down a scary kid in a hoodie made absolutely no sense to them.
Z - 'Do you think most Americans are not racists?'
I would like to address this question first - Z.
I believe that most Americans are not racists - and I'll go a step further to say that I am a huge racist. I am the very person that complains about racism - see my post about that - and yet I
AlWAYS - bring up skin color.
For instance - if I observe a person doing something - I consistantly say He/She was Black.
But here is how I believe that the core of America is NOT racist.
When my older daughter was in colloge - she is in her later thirties now - to earn money she babysat for a family to earn money - and even went on vacation with them that summer. When she finally came home she showed me a picture taken on the vacation -
AND THE PICTURE CLEARLY SHOWED THAT THE FAMILY ARE BLACK.
To me that is so not raciest. And I said to her - Julie - they are Black. And she looked blankly at me and said - 'and your point is?'
and that is how I believe most
Americans are - so what if they are Black.
Z - Before I go on and on - do you read me on this?
Levin makes some good points, but I understand why National Review fired him.
Derbyshire's column was blatantly racist (he has described himself as mildly racist), and I think this sort of writing helps nothing, and I said so in my blog post today, Foot (in mouth) Race
Net Observer, as always, has some wise comments, and I agree with him.
Bravo, Ed!
Ducky, although you do this on a daily basis, thanks again for the reminder about what an imbecile you are.
This is a radioactive topic right now, especially for those on the right. It's only free speech if the left says it's free speech.
Very substantive critique Sam.
Pretty standard for the Libertarian sandbox crowd.
What bothers me the most is that those n the left assume because you are Conservative you are racist. I too lived in a predominantly black neighborhood even though we grew up there. Over time it changed mainly because the houses were such that they were easily able to be converted into 2 family homes.We stayed as long as we could but it got to the point that after our house and my neighbors house got robbed and cars were getting broken into all the time t was time to go. Plus the fact I couldn't even walk my dog anymore due to the population of loose running pit bulls.
I remembered when I first started blogging I was on a left wing site(conservative blogs were not popular yet)I was called a racist for even mentioning the above.
I even had a friend and her daughter who were black living with us for about a year and a lefty had said just because of that doesn't' mean I am still not racist.
I have to say to those same left wingers that just because you vote democrat doesn't prove that they are not racist. I still wish one of them could actually prove what makes them so inclusive when all they do is call others racists.
My friend who since passed away that lived with us said something to me I always found pretty funny. Not to stereotype because these were her words not mine.
She said that the men she slept with do it like rabbits but a white man can take you around the world in in hour.
I think part of the problem is using terms inappropriately. I think some of this is ignorance of the definitions, some of it is out and out intentional by the media to push an agenda.
Let me explain.
I looked these terms (bias, racism, and discrimination) up at dictionary.com.
Bias: a particular tendency or inclination, especially one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice.
Racism: a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
Discrimination: treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.
Using the above definitions, I think virtually everyone has bias. If you think you do not, you are very likely deceiving yourself. How many people are not more comfortable with people like themselves? Whether it be race, culture, economic status, etc.
Many people have some level of racism. Who doesn't see a group of of people from another race coming towards them and cross the street or at least watch them closely as they walk by? This is not bias it is racism.
Reality is that we are a long way from eradicating either from society. We may never, it could be simple human nature to have these thoughts to some degree.
Now obviously we do need to continue to try to end racism. While it may be human nature to feel differently about people that are in fact different from us, it is not okay to hate someone because they are different. This is why most of us teach our children to treat others the same regardless of differences.
Now to the point.
I think the media uses these terms interchangeably to denote discrimination.
Discrimination is a whole different animal and, in my mind, is not acceptable in any way in society.
While I think we still have a lot of bias and racism in our society, I think discrimination is limited. Does it still exist? Yes. I do not think it is as widespread as the media will have us believe.
Where I have issue with "race-baiters" such as Sharpton and Jackson and a lot of the MSM is their seeming insistence that only whites can be racist or discriminate.
I think it is a benefit to society that we have people willing to stand and call out racism and bias. They are just doing a disservice with their bias, and even racism, in insisting (or at least hinting) that whites are the only perpetrators.
Hey Dwucky-Wucky, is George Zimmerman Innocent until proven guilty or just flat out Guilty if a black kid is killed?
Whether or not he's ultimately guilty I cant say, but he should be treated with the same sort of precaution that anyone suspected of murder should be. At least that's the way it was in "Pre-Obama" America.. Do Liberal's like Dwucky believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are the enemy of Liberals and Progressive's like him and like Shaw whats her name. . Liberals and Progressive's like him and like Shaw want more government regulation and bureaucracy, and more entitlements, hand outs, and redistribution of the wealth that honest hardworking people earn.
They support drugs, and oppose a strong military to defend our country. For the most part, liberal are simply bashers of everything that us Conservatives support. Progressive is just a buzz word for Socialism, Marxism and especially Communism.
I honestly think all libs like the above mentioned ones really hate America and love criminals and terrorists, I think they are suffering from a form of mental retardation.
"What has been missed in the Martin case has been the original issue, the use of the "stand your ground" law as a fake alibi to gun down a kid."
DUCK,
Give substantial facts to prove your statement. Such as eye witnesses, not hearsay. Direct statements from the shooter, not hearsay or recordings that have been tampered with. etc.
If you have such evidence then you have a point and an argument. If not you have nothing.
"fake photos of Martin that are still up at AOW's was quite enlightening."
Again show actual evidence that photos are fake and while you are at it explain why a photo of Martian at a very young age was used by Yahoo, MSNBC etc instead of current photos.
"Fact is that it demonstrates a truism: The right wing lives scared." And you know this is a truism how? No hearsay evidence Duck is allowed. You must present evidence that would withstand the litimus test in a court of law. If the last sentence is your attempt of proof then you fail in your argument.
Now Duck it's your opportunity to show that you can be a viable contributor or you can continue to show that your post are nothing more than duckshit.
Some added perspective:
What "set me off" a couple of weeks ago was a comment Z made about Barack Obama being a racist. I happen to think that's a bizarre assertion. And when she went on to cite Obama's siding with Professor Gates as evidence of his racism (back during Gates' encounter with the police a few years ago), I was even more dumbfounded.
So I insisted that Z cite a case of a white racist conservative. I was, frankly, testing her consistency. And (please correct me if I am wrong, Z) she didn't seem to think that there was such a thing as a white racist conservative. She essentially separated "white supremacists" from "conservatives", like they had no relationship to each other. This struck me as odd at best.
Conveniently, the Derbyshire incident occured, followed by a lot of his anonymous commenter-defenders, some of whom, I would describe as -- like Derbyshire describes himself -- at least "mildly racist".
Hence, the source of my frustration. If conservatives are going to freely toss around the term "racist" to describe someone like Obama, but are loathe to call people like Derbyshire "racist"...well, let's just say it's kind of a problem =)
And pointing out the same hypocrisy on the other side is not a sign of seriousness nor integrity in my humble opinion.
Ed, obviously, you've given this a lot of thought and I so appreciate your first-hand input here.
I wish I could respond to everyone right now, but I'm off to a job.
I will be back fairly soon and weigh in....
Sam....your comment gave me my first morning laugh, thanks.
Ducky, and your constant insults and name-calling are substantive? :-)
And, could you show us where the average Conservative was rushing to free Zimmerman? ...obviously, it was more saying that we had to wait till the information was in before rushing to judgment against him.
And I suppose you approved CNN (and FOX) showing only pictures of 12 year old, innocent Trayvon, not today's 6'3" manly Trayvon, still calling him "boy" instead of "man"?
Sue, I think your comment is extremely honest and that Net will want to address that and I think he'll share my feelings.
Thanks for that.
More later.
Darth, excellent observation...yes, the media was making him guilty because he killed a black kid.
Net, your email did not suggest you were dumbfounded with me and so I feel this is kind of a hijacking...and wish I didn't have to leave right now.
Let me just say quickly that I still don't see your connection with WHITE SUPREMACISTS and CONSERVATIVES...that's NUTS.
And I NEVER EVER suggested to you that Derbyshire wasn't a racist. Although I do agree with Steyn's article and thought you did, too!
And I do feel Mr. Obama's a racist....probably because I've read his books. Bothered me when he said the white blood in his veins was so unsettling to him.
And no, I don't have the exact link...you can Google it.
And, please, my integrity has never been questioned and I don't like it now.
I'll be back later.
to Chucks point:
Semantics again.
I like that you brought up dictionary definitions.
What is referred to as "discrimination" is typically "racial discrimination".
A real no-no.
Simple discrimination is when you way all the facts and make a decision.
z, i definitely didn't mean to say something that could be interpreted in the way you just did. not my intention, not my thought. defintely not a hijacking. my sincere apologies if i came across thw wrong way.
that's why i was careful in my words just now. note, i said, "she seemed to". i said, "please correct me if i'm wrong."
even though i honestly don't think i have done anything wrong here, i fully apologize for coming across in a way that offended you. that is absolutely not where i was coming from.
Net, this subject gets me really upset.
But we're too good friends for too long for me to have responded to you like that. I guess it stunned me that it was my comments that prompted the frustration you emailed me about originally.
I read your comment here, wrote mine, then was getting ready to get out of here and was thinking how VERY much I dislike Obama and, believe me, none of it has a thing to do with his color. I hate about everything he's done (the way he insults Republicans is beyond the pale and not worthy of his office, his remarks to the SCOTUS, etc etc etc) but have always blogged things I've agreed with (I think there have been 3)...
and I DO think he's been disingenuous about MANY things, including race situations.
I want him to come out and HELP KIDS, not ignore them when black/black crime happens. Why doesn't he address that while he so quickly jumps into the fray of the Professor or Trayvon (before he has the details?)
I really do have to leave and appreciate your last comment.
We'll talk later, I hope...
ALL OF US.
z, i just re-read your response to me. this is a simple matter of misinterpretation.
your integrity is not being questioned whatsoever. not by me, anyway. at the same time, i will not allow my integrity be questioned either. so please read the following carefully and calmly.
i didn't say that you didn't think derbyshire was a racist. i was describing what was going through my head, a couple weeks ago, when i asked you to name one white racist conservative. this was before i even KNEW there was a "john derbyshire".
at that particular time, you didn't name any white conservatives that you classified as "racist" (i don't think you did. did you?)
yet, you proceeded to name several black liberals that you viewed as "racist". this suggested to me (and maybe this is where i am at fault for being a little hasty) that you didn't think there were any white racist conservatives.
i am not saying that you're a hypocrite or someone of low integrity. i don't believe that for minute and if nothing else that much should be obvious to you. but what i AM saying is this: i flat-out do not understand how you, as well as some other conservatives, can so casually call al sharpton et al "racist", but seem to struggle so mightily to point out examples of white racist conservatives -- like derbyshire.
i am merely seeking clarification. is that unreasonable or sneaky? i certainly hope not.
@ Mrs Z
With all due respect, etc...
You seem surprised that your comment should have "set off" Net ... and yet, even with this post, what you have appended to his e-mail runs so contrary to the spirit in which it has been written that i am surprised that you do not see it yourself.
I'm back...must say I taught a great class!
Net,
I had never heard of Derbyshire, so it would be hard to have named him as a racist.
If you're saying I don't think white conservatives can be racist, I never said that...you asked me to name some and, I'd have thought that means "well known" white conservatives (columnists, TV Talking heads, etc.)...
Rush is not, O'Reilly is not, Hannity is not, Gutfeld is not...Coulter is not...
I honestly can't think of one mainstream conservatives who has written racist screeds EVER.
Please let me know who you think is.
I don't see famous white conservatives marching in the streets, arms linked with others, against the killing of a white by a black, without having all the facts (actually, I have never seen it). I simply don't. But, I just might not have seen it. Please enlighten me.
and, please help me understand how you think a mainstream conservative has ANYTHING to do with white supremacists. That was a tough one for me to swallow.
We all have prejudices, it is just a question of what our prejudices are. Too many times, resentment of cultural based behavior can be interpreted as racist.
When I was a little guy, I went to a friends house where everybody spoke Italian, and I resented that. I could not understand them, especially when they were laughing about something. As a wide-eyed five year old, I thought they could be laughing at me. Because I resented those Italians, I was not, and am not racially prejudiced. I was just in an uncomfortable cultural position.
Similarly, I resent some gatherings of black kids when I hear them abusing each other with the "N" word, and calling the girls ho's and bitches. I don't think I am racist for resenting that kind of behavior. This doesn't mean I am racist.
There is a suppression of debating in this country. Why shouldn't we have that race debate some call for? I'm ready, but the left doesn't want a debate. Like Ducky, their minds are made up and they just want to control behavior.
The 1994 book, The Bell Curve caused a really big crap storm in the press and academia. The book is about IQ's as they are measured with opinions that IQ determines not only test scores, but career performance and station in life.
Critics called the book racist, and only one chapter was on race. The authors did not break any new ground, but just used decades of historical IQ test results to reach their conclusions. .
Derbyshire talked about race and relative IQ's. He knew that there was a taboo, and his management decided to call him on it.
We can't debate IQ. We should be dabating bahavior and cultural values.
nicrap. Well, there ya go...be surprised, that's fine.
Also, your comment's so full of "it's" about which I'm not sure you refer, and "your posts" that I don't even know what you're quite talking about.
With all due respect, the email I refer to in my comment here is not an email I have posted here...I thought I made that clear. YOu don't know what it included.
NET: let me explain my opinion about the Harvard Professor thing...
It felt like Obama was siding with the professor before he knew the details, which we know he hadn't got yet; he just assumed the white cops had screwed up, of course.
That situation wasn't racist because the cops did their job.
Was there a reason for the BEER SUMMIT? How's about a summit for white kids killed by black kids, and black kids killed by black kids. How about a huge summit embracing all of this type of stuff...with kids in a TV audience discussing their fears, their prejudices, their motivations, etc. With the president there.
A very close relative may soon be marrying a black young man.
My favorite of his relatives, whom I have yet to meet, is his aunt who doesn't really approve. I love her attitude because she spoke her mind. After meeting my relative, she's more than approving, for which I'm grateful. But that aunt had every right to exercise her fears in a loving way. ANd she did.
My dad used to tell us kids, as Armenians and marrying other Armenians (which was his hope which wasn't realized very much!) "it's easier when you both eat pilaf (an Armenian rice dish)" I got his point.
Of course, my husband and I both loved pilaf AND wienerschnitzel, if you get my drift.
But Bob's right...cultural things aren't racial things... sometimes it's just easier to be with, marry, employ, those we have more in common with.
Still, when I think of it, I just don't know that I don't share more things in common with my black girlfriends and their husbands than we don't share. It's only skin color we don't share and maybe they know more gospel songs than I do, and I know more hymns than they do?! And, of course, they have experienced racism...they must have. Or they perceived they did.
Sometimes, I'll see a gorgeous couple and smile at them, sometimes that's an inter racial couple (something I'm highly in favor of and always have been) and smile and then I worry they think I'm looking at them because I'm against it... I've had other friends share that same worry with me "what if they thought I was looking at them negatively?"
I experienced in France hatred for Armenians from a very vocal person who didn't know that was my background, so that helped me MUCH BETTER understand how Jews and Black Americans feel. It was a real gift. I didn't give a damn what that French general thought, anyway.
The ONLY way we can ever get through this perceived racism in America (and can you believe we're talking about this now in mainstream America again after most of us thought it had improved so much?) is to MEET BLACK AND WHITE FOLKS AND TALK ..and have a meal together and share our thoughts and feelings...
the only way.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trayvon Martin's parents renewed their calls for calm as a special prosecutor in Florida neared a decision on whether to charge neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Martin's death.
Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton says she knows "justice will be served" in her son's death. Zimmerman was not jailed or charged and has said he shot Martin in self-defense.
Attorney Benjamin Crump said the family wants communities nationwide to remain calm in response to the prosecutor's decision. "We don't need anybody taking these matters into their own hands," Crump said.
Fulton and Trayvon's father Tracy Martin spoke at a news conference in Washington, where Attorney General Eric Holder said earlier that he would take appropriate action if evidence of a civil rights crime is found in the shooting."
What does that mean? "take appropriate action if evidence of a civil rights crime is found in the shooting"?
The appropriate action seems to be arresting Zimmerman and investigating this thoroughly as a murder, not a race murder. And this will be happening...as soon as they find him as his lawyers say they can't even find him. He must be scared out of his WITS with the horrible bounty the New Black Panthers put on him (notable because that's a death threat and Eric Holder hasn't found it important to do anything about that).
Ducky, and your constant insults and name-calling are substantive? :-)
----
First of all it was Sam Huntington who went ad hominem as is his history whenever he's been put in a position where the Libertarian playbook and his dreams of the days of the robber barons are questioned.
The post of mine he call out for invective references the fake photos of Martin which some of your posters still have up at their sites. That desperation to make the boy what they imagined him to be is certainly evidential.
The there is my statement that the right lives scared. Not an insult, just a statement. I think it is borne out in the common irrational need for guns and the need to be able to fire on whatever frightens them. The "stand your ground law" which is becoming common and has resulted in large increases in gun deaths in the states adopting it is not open for question in their eyes.
No, I really don't see any insults in stating the facts about the right's reaction to this case.
As is common, the insults come from the Libertarians who get uncomfortable when they have to move outside their cliches.
Ducky, no problem with how CNN still has twelve year old Trayvon's picture as its typical default to portray him, though, right?
You constantly insult and name call.... to draw allusions to your comments here on this post is utterly ridiculous. but an excellent dodge again...
As for your "statement", believe it or not, your STATEMENTS aren't FACT...no matter how much you wish them to be.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/assault/videotaped-baltimore-street-beating-879234
"4/10 UPDATE: Baltimore's police chief today said that the videotaped beating of a white tourist does not appear to be a hate crime, but rather "drunken opportunistic criminality" on the part of a gang of Charm City assailants.
In a radio interview, Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III urged Baltimore residents to "distinguish between criminality and racially motivated crime." Bealefeld, who is white, warned against "race-baiting" and "fear-mongering" in light of the Trayvon Martin shooting and other recent racially charged incidents."
Why isn't it a HATE CRIME when this white man was a tourist minding his own business and he's beaten, robbed and tea bagged by so many people, NONE OF WHOM HELPED HIM?
ONe of the comments at that video site is this:
"If Obama has a son, would they look like these?"
In reference to Obama's saying Trayvon could have been his son because he supposedly looked like him (?)!
Can you blame the commenter?
It's a repulsive thing to say...but is the statement understandable?
MAN, what a filthy thing to beat and rob a white man. But, I haven't seen it on TV, have you?
No z, I'm am the one who is name called much more often than I initiate.
Your insistence that Martin should be portrayed as threatening is revealing although I give you credit for removing the false pictures.
I'm still waiting for someone to come up with a well known conservative who's a racist.
Ducky, please show where I've insisted Trayvon should be portrayed as threatening! ??
How about a normal picture taken at his age when he died? They exist, I've seen them, very nice pictures ...one with a white hood on, it's almost like a 'head shot' for agents.
don't be ridiculous.
http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2012/04/11/media_dishonesty_and_race_hustlers
By Walter Williams and well worth the read. This man knows how to put color aside and just tell facts with common sense, a dying art, I fear.
The right has been. Defending due process ducky
Elbro, I just wish Sharpton would speak out sharply against what happened to that poor tourist in Baltimore!
Well Zimmerman's in custody on a 2nd degree murder warrant.
z, we will likely forever butt heads on the definition of "racist". personally, i reserve that term for people who espouse beliefs and/or systems based on beliefs of innate racial superiority. sharpton, obama and jackson are not racists. neither is limbaugh or drudge.
but all those guys race-bait and/or race-hustle. and i find their tendencies in that regard quite reprehensible.
will respond to more later.
Duhkkky's a baseball fan...why don't you ask him what Sharpton's batting average is?
I know you prefer a public lynching duhkkky but you'll just have to let a jury decide now, eh.
The question needs to be asked about what political party/values support blacks the most.
The libs have kept African-Americans on the plantation by making them dependent on the government and creating the environment in which a whole generation of black children have been lost to abortion, thanks to the eugenically minded racist, Margaret Sanger (I'm not afraid to call her that). They've given us easy divorces, placing a higher burden on women to raise children and driving young men into criminal activities and prison. Through affirmatice action the liberals have asserted that blacks can't compete for jobs and scholarships unless they're given preferential treatment.
In contrast and more in keeping with Dr. King's belief in the "content of their character.." conservatives want the black family preserved, wish to end abortion and want a level playing field based on merit. Which side wants equality? I think it's clear.
he may very well be a criminal duhkkky but there hasn't been a basis for making this case about race other than the fact that the usual hucksters like Sharpton have shown up.
It is a matter of race, Elmo. Scary black kid in a hoodie couldn't have been up to no good.
Then we have seen the right mobilize with the phony pictures doing whatever they can to render Zimmerman not responsible.
Your own knee jerk reaction to Sharpton is indicative. He was asked by the family to get involved after the local cracker cops botched the investigation and ignored the case.
He got a proper investigation and kept the lid on any violence. Sharpton has changed quite a bit of late but in right wing world everything is static, right Elmo?
And don't pull the "content of their character" trick. The kid wore a hoodie, he frightened the punk right wingers who live scared and you had to find a way to justify his being gunned down. Look at your own character for God's sake.
The national teen abortion rate in 2008 -- the last year for which figures are available -- dropped to its lowest rate since 1972. That's a decline of 59 percent in the teen abortion rate from 1988, the peak year for the procedure. Continued decreases in the teen pregnancy rate, then, are likely to be mirrored by a similar decline in the teen abortion rate.
-------
Research it Tickle Me Elmo and then come back and tell me it's because of abstinence only programs.
Yeah, the left doesn't want sound families and a decrease in out of wedlock births.
Bore me later you fool.
In contrast and more in keeping with Dr. King's belief in the "content of their character.." conservatives want the black family preserved, wish to end abortion and want a level playing field based on merit. Which side wants equality? I think it's clear.
Well said Elbro
and the abortion rate among the poor has increased by 18%
why don't you stop being so selective with your facts
Low-income women (as an example, those earning $17,170 or less in a three-person household) accounted for 514,040 abortions, or 42% of all abortions, in 2008. The abortion rate for the poor rose from 44.4 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15-44 in 2000 to 52.2 in 2008. At the same time, the 2008 national abortion rate was 19.6 per 1,000, which dropped 8% from a rate of 21.3 in 2000.
Sociologist Carole Joffe of the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health at the University of California, San Francisco, says the report re-affirms demographic trends.
"There is an overrepresentation of the poor, of women of color, and clearly the economic recession that was at its height at the time this data was collected and had an impact on poor women's decisions to proceed or not with a pregnancy," says Joffe, author of the 2010 book Dispatches from the Abortion Wars.
Man, Elbro, BRAVO, man.
VERY well done....
I couldn't agree with you more. Before Lisa singled out that spectacular and true sentence, I was about to mention it, too.
"In contrast and more in keeping with Dr. King's belief in the "content of their character.." conservatives want the black family preserved, wish to end abortion and want a level playing field based on merit. Which side wants equality? I think it's clear."
EXACTLY> Odd. I spoke to Mustang on the telephone this afternoon and we said exactly that.. "we conservatives WANT black Americans to do their best, to have the chances everyone else does (and they do), to EXCEL.." I added to Mustang "...be more successful than I ever DREAMED of being...! Go ahead and DO it"
I remember G. Bush talked about the Left's "soft bigotry of low expectations." It's my very favorite expression of his (which isn't hard to find considering he wasn't as articulate as he might have been!)
GREAT JOB, Elmer's brother.
Net, When you say you were testing Z, you give a good example of why we can't have, as you put it, a logical, deep, honest, serious discussion about race.
To say you're testing someone, is to attempt to put that person on the defensive, when she may have not felt defensive in the first place.
To suggest, btw, that flash mobs are unimportant in the scheme of things, and that it is somehow race baiting, is ridiculous.
Flash mobs are storming stores, stealing what they can carry. It's a sign of the times, which says a lot in terms of pushing the envelope, and daring someone to stop them.
I would be appalled at any mob who did that regardless of race. It's anarchy, for Pete's sake!
I take individuals as they come. Race doesn't matter, it's a person's values that matter. If we share the same values then we have something in common, and that commonality can lead to friendship. It's as simple as that.
I despise group-think. I oppose reporting vote results in groups. Women, Blacks, Asians, males, etc.
We don't need those demographics, we're all Americans aren't we?
I too believe Obama is a racist. His DOJ proves that. There were hearings on the fact that the people who worked there were told to lay off of black people. Why?
Does anyone here believe if the neo nazis called for a bounty on someone's head, and wanted him dead or alive as the NBPP did, they would get off scott free? Are we now allowing vigilantes? I hope not. Does it matter what color they are? Hell no!
Net...
Fine...."z, we will likely forever butt heads on the definition of "racist". personally, i reserve that term for people who espouse beliefs and/or systems based on beliefs of innate racial superiority. sharpton, obama and jackson are not racists. neither is limbaugh or drudge.
but all those guys race-bait and/or race-hustle. and i find their tendencies in that regard quite reprehensible."
When Mustang and I spoke today, we talked about how RACIST is more someone who goes out of their way to be unkind and ugly to someone who's of a different race...
I think that's right.
We can not like, for example, a black woman, but not liking her for who she is is not racist...if we don't like her for what she is and mistreat her, that is racist.
I will definitely agree on what you wrote... Agreed.
Pris "Does anyone here believe if the neo nazis called for a bounty on someone's head, and wanted him dead or alive as the NBPP did, they would get off scott free? Are we now allowing vigilantes? I hope not. Does it matter what color they are? Hell no!"
SO TRUE. You can bet the DofJ AND Homeland Security would be ALL OVER THEM if this had been NAZIS threatening Trayvon or anyone. It's absolutely astonishing that nothing's been done!
and yes, we all know the kinds of things Holder's done to show his feelings... awful.
Just not arresting the NBP for putting a bounty on someone is OUTRAGEOUS.
This is a topic that constantly drives me crazy....and angry. To think that after 50 years of "hands up" programs, AA, level playing fields and trillions of dollars squandered to that end...with barely any positive results.
HUGE INEQUITIES FOISTED ON AMERICANS too. In order to achieve "racial" parity.
Now we have a Racist in the WH...yes I'll say it. He is a racist and a divider not a uniter or healer.
From the Beer summit in Cambridge....to his college Bell days....to "African Americans" for Obama...his Rev Wright ties and now....inviting the most despicable, racist street agitator and thug into the WH along with Eric Holder....and that is the fraud Fat Al Sharpton.
A thug...a monster of a man responsible for the deaths of innocent people.
A charlatan. And not one iota different than a skin head or a David Duke. And the latter two forbidden to exercise their rights to speak.
And we're not supposed to be offended or notice? His plan is clear...capture the black vote and the liberal masses of asses with racial divisions.
I look at some American cities today...and I see mini Somalia's...South Africa's , Rhodesia's, Liberia's and Nigeria's.
Trillions of dollars wasted. To get where we are now. 1960...with blacks doing the Jim Crow on whites.
Imp, I forgot about his call for "African Americans for Obama"...
SO many of us have mentioned, since that happened, "how would it have gone over had Romney asked for a group to band together called "Whites for Romney"!??
It just CAN'T go unasked...
the hypocrisy is nuts.
NAZIS would (and should!) be locked up for publicly putting a bounty on anybody.
Romney would be out of the race and called white supremacist FOREVER had he said "Whites for Romney"
Robt Byrd was a K*lan RECRUITER and nobody mentions that, but let Strom Thurmond's name come up and it was all about racism, remember?
It's the HYPOCRISY which WOULD be noted if we had a centrist media, a media curious enough to get to the truth and point out hypocrisy...but, we sure don't.
"NAZIS would (and should!) be locked up for publicly putting a bounty on anybody..."
Not that long ago whites charged with crimes against blacks in ole Miss, Georgia, Alabama...had juries dismiss the charges ( even murder ) and they went free. There was righteous outrage and finally many of these whites were brought to justice, jailed and some executed.
Today...it's taken on the same tones...with blacks now suggesting kidnapping, lynching, murder, kidnapping and abduction of a man who is yet to be tried. Same as the "good ole boy" system in the old, democratic south.
We're called..pigs, pink people, honkies, crackers, oreos and worse by many blacks here.
Blacks freely use the term "Nigga" as an endearment. Supposedly it's a forbidden, verboten word....for whites. Yet 4 generations after the civil rights act....a 17 year old young man named Martin....uses the word freely? I thought by this time..his and all their parents would ban the word even among themselves. How can it be legitimate to use?
If the word is so unmentionable and terrible....why would even a black find it acceptable?
But if..I were to say it....I'd be crucified...charged with a hate crime...loose my job...be prosecuted and lynched if they'd get their thug hands on me.
Yet these names that the NBPP and a majority of blacks use as pejoratives when speaking of whites....is apparently acceptable?
Don't tell me the divisions have "healed".
I'm sick of it.
I wonder where "Reverend" Sharpton will hold his champagne celebration dinner tonight, now that his mob forced an arrest of George Zimmerman? Score one for the race-baiting bullies of America. They will now be more emboldened and empowered than ever. We all better hang on for dear life now. Disgraceful.
"We all better hang on for dear life now. Disgraceful..."
It was preordained from the gitgo....there was no way GZ would be allowed to "escape justice". Because the flunkies in Florida know...know that ( having been informed by Holder ) that cities would burn. That blacks would "rebel" and be justified in fomenting mayhem, chaos and destruction. Just like they do in Somalia and Johannesburg.
They took the usual cowards way out of this dilema...by sacrificing this man. And you can bet...bet that he'll be convicted by jury nullification.
Will GZ get a jury of his peers in Seminole County? Nope...it's jury nullification ala OJ.
There can be no other outcome.
And the tragedy really is....black on black murder...is never addressed.
Not by this gang of thugs and racists in this Kenyans administration.
People discriminate all the time. When people prefer RC Cola to Pepsi, they discriminate. Where there is no harm, there is no foul. However, when people discriminate against others because of ethnic identification or skin color, then we begin to discern racism. When they favor one group over another owing to race or ethnicity, then we begin to discern racism. When people grant access of goods and services to one racial group, and not another, then we begin to discern racism. No racial group has a monopoly on such behavior. I have heard the worst examples of racial epithets from blacks than I ever heard from whites, but it is odious no matter who does it.
What confuses me is the double standard being applied to Americans by the present government. We do not wish to prosecute anyone in the New Black Panther Party for interfering in elections because “no violation occurred,” even though the individuals had already been indicted and were schedule to appear in court before Eric Holder pulled the plug. Similarly, we do not wish to prosecute anyone in the New Black Panther Party for issuing threats and proclaiming death warrants because such is not a hate crime unless perpetrated by the International Order of the Moose.
Have there been examples of racial discrimination in the past? Surely, but while no one group owns the monopoly on this behavior, I must say that historically, it has been the left who benefits most from a divided America. As an example, one of the arguments we hear from the left is that more blacks are in prison than whites. Not true. In 2009, the white non-Hispanic prison population was 326,400 inmates. The prison population of non-Hispanic blacks in 2009 was 300,500. So then the next argument is, “Oh yeah? Well, that means that as a percentage of general population, blacks are given jail time at a disproportionately higher rate. This is probably true. Is this because innocent black kids are framed by white police officers, or shafted by angry white judges, or could it be that a disproportionately higher number of blacks commit felonies? I can understand the anger within black communities for having to live in high crime areas; what I don’t understand is why aren’t those citizens doing something about it?
Some time ago, Chicago arrested an older black citizen for possessing a weapon he claimed was for purposes of self-defense. As a result of this court action, the Supreme Court upheld the citizens’ right to keep and bear arms. Given the crime statistics in Chicago, I wonder why the entire city isn’t carrying torches down to city hall. If anyone thinks that black on white assaults are high, take a look at the statistics concerning black on black assault, murder, rape, and kidnapping in south side Chicago.
Whenever anyone attempts to have a dialogue about race, accusations of racism abound. And then Eric Holder has the temerity to call Americans cowards for not having a dialogue about racial issues. Either we want the dialogue, or we don’t. I personally don’t think a blog will facilitate meaningful discussion … as evidenced by this particular post, but I do think it is worthwhile to have the discussion. Part of that dialogue must be listening and thinking, as much as it is talking and pressing forward our own point of view. I think we can do better, but all I hear so far from the Divider-in-chief and his corrupt Attorney General is lip service and bull tacos. Now let me say this again: George Zimmerman shot Treyvon Martin … but Martin’s own parents killed him through neglect. It’s time for the black community to fix the black community.
I agree with Net.
I think most people don't think about the other races very much at all actually. If it wasn't for the constant banter from the media, we'd all be much more likely to be just people that sometimes look different.
***For this reason, I believe obama has kicked up racism, because he's
injected himself into so many inter-racial situations.
Just like we don't think about homosexuals, or any other type of person that are easily labeled as a 'group'. Atheists. Scientologists. 'teh scientists'..
Could care less about them. Until they either get in my face, or get on the air and tell me they deserve something more from society than I do. BS.
Suck it up. I didn't ask to be born poor and stupid. Nor did I ask or even consider asking to be compensated for it.
We all need to be comfortable being uncomfortable in certain situations as well. I would be uncomfortable being unarmed or armed and deep into a neighborhood of predominately black people who are likely juiced up over the Zimmerman situation and prone to hit back indiscriminately. It's happened before. I'm white in Cincinnati, and that spot would probably be in Over the Rhine where 99.999% of homicides occur in the area.
I'd be just as uncomfortable in the middle of Stupid Haystacker Redneck land, full of drunken idiots often out for some violent fun to compensate for their ignorance induced insecurities.
There is nothing wrong with evaluating situations that sometimes will involve historical knowledge of how a a particular race or group concentrated area might be dangerous.
Nothing wrong with Profiling. Profiling isn't anything ore than pattern recognition of the freeway to avoid accident prone situations. Profiling is intelligent.
I may have gotten a little off track here. Maybe not.
Well, if nothing else, we're getting some great thought written down here and I thank you for it.
There's talk among some politicos that the level of Trayvon/Zimmerman outrage is to build bad feelings in the black community (at least those who'd buy into the Sharpton/Jackson mess)...because black support for Obama is flagging.
Let's see how things go.
I hope that's not true.
Z, the hypocrisy bothers me 10,000 times more than the ignorance.
There's a cure for ignorance.
Kid, that's exactly right.
And hypocrisy = media, doesn't it.
That Americans are not informed is the very worst thing. That our kids are getting so badly indoctrinated in colleges instead of being thought to think.
And, I guess we've come to the point where the newest generation to university doesn't really even understand the difference ... they don't know the America we knew which celebrated success, celebrated democracy, celebrated honesty, celebrated a good education, independence, free enterprise, philanthropy, etc etc.
Today they just don't care...they haven't started to 'reap' what their professors have sown because their parents are still paying for their iPods and tuition and car and vacations. Later, they'll be saying 'What the heck happened?' then someone will have to tell them "You were raised on the coattails of the greatness our generation knew....now that's gone and good LUCK."
Imp, a riot's a great story for the msm, isn't it. I guess they don't realize their children could be stuck in a riot.
And dead.
I think we have to be careful when we say "BLACKS"...they're as un-monolithic as all WHITES are...
Nobody I know who's black even likes SHarpton or Jackson, let alone follows their lead!
We've all seen horrible videos of black women telling Obama they 'want their stuff'...and worse...but I like to think that's rare.
i think some Black leaders miss the mark when they don't speak out to Black youth who need a good lecture (so do white kids) about good behavior, drugs, morality, education, faith, etc...
I've pushed for Obama to do this because I feel he has SUCH a voice (a bully pulpit, for pete's sake,right?) to reach them, but I've sensed that there are liberals who feel this could turn voters away.
WHY?
I guess Bush could have spoken to ALL kids about drugs...Mrs. Reagan tried.. Mrs. Gore tried to awaken parents to the lyrics on albums, remember?
Why not Obama?
Rading the comments, I'm compelled to write a poem entitled. "obama, how do I dislike thee, let me count the ways".
I dislike thee:
- for giving all of your political opponents the finger on Natl TV during the campaign.
- for calling Sarah Palin a pig, then laughing after a pause that gave his howling monkey audience a chance to enjoy the insult. (Let's remember than an army of PI's and lawyers went to Alaska and found Nothing negative about Sarah other than she doesn't kill her babies, and her husband had a DUI before they were married. Subsequently, thousands of Governor Palin's emails have been gone through with a fine tooth comb, and .... Nothing. Regardless what you think of her, and your free to think whatever you want.)
- For turning the mass murder event in Tucson where Congresswoman Giffords was shot and many more Killed, into a campaign event complete with obama T-Shirts and howling monkey supporters. If I was there and a family member of one of those killed, I can't even imagine how hard it would have been to observe that most disrespectful of scenes. Had I been obama, I wouldn't have stood for it. I'd have had them blocked out from coming and admonished them on site for their disrespect.
Balance it against R. Reagan's speech after the Challenger
If Ronald Reagan had flown to the launch area to give a speech, I concede some 'right wig nutjobs' may have shown up and some may have cheered Reagan's presence. But moist would have been respectful and maybe that's why Reagan gave that speech from the Oval office.
- For lying to the nth degree about virtually every campaign promise. Important things. Lobbyists. Earmarks.
- For putting the most incompetent SOB's in cabinet positions and on the supreme court that could be found in the land.
-For putting the complete imbecile racist eric holder in as AG over and above that last bullet point.
- For providing verbal aid and comfort to the barbarians in the middle east, while disrespecting our longest term allies. England for example.
I could go on and on and on, and for that I also dislike you. Against all my efforts to ignore your Anti-American ass, you have taken up way too much rent space in my mind hat should be concentrating on Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
You bastard. I can't wait to scrape you off my shoe.
Z... April 11, 2012 5:56 PM
Wouldn't change a word.
I'd like to add...that those who think my comments and observations are inflammatory...check my record.
Check my record in the AF...check my record of my best man at my wedding 42 years ago. Check my statements as to who I really owe my life to a few times in service.
Check my record as to who I loved flying with back then.
Check my history of my affection and devotion to two of my very BEST...BEST friends and allies. From service time...to NOW. From San Antonio to Kelly AFB to Witicha to Shreveport, La.
To my time in theatre....to the most savvy, honorable black American loving men I ever knew. We / they didn't give one shit...or a rats ass about color.
We were American soldiers....airmen and defenders of a country for ALL MEN...black or white never entered into the discussion.
I salute....I honor....and I'm forever devoted to these men that I'll never forget and always honor.
Johnny "Rivers" and Ronnie "Apples"...two of the bravest black men I've ever known in my life. My heros...and my close friends even to this day.
Johnny...back in Lousiana...Ronnie....back in New Jersey. I might get to see them at my 50th class reunion. OOOOO...rah.
I only wish I could post pictures of me and my true buds from that time here.
Imp.. You're a lucky man. I hope you never doubt that.
"Imp.. You're a lucky man. I hope you never doubt that.."
Kid...clearly..I know I am. I know that there used to be another side. I knew that back in '67, despite all the turmoil that race was never a factor among serviceman.
I've had the pleasure and the experience first hand to appreciate that all men...ALL MEN were created equal...in my time. In my AF. I never saw color...they NEVER saw color.
They saw duty and service...honor and commitment. A purpose we all shared equally.
And "rank" had little to do with it. Very little.
Which is why my heart breaks with the nonsense that we see today.
And why race hustlers...and frauds are given any time at all today. It disgusts me....as it does Johnny and Ronnie.
I'd gladly go back in time if only to show...we used to coexist.
Imp, from my point of view, racism was about dead in the 70's. It along with many other subjects have devolved greatly since then.
Z: "I've pushed for Obama to do this ....but I've sensed that there are liberals who feel this could turn voters away. WHY?
Probably based on the reception Bill Cosby gets whenever he quits joking and talks about serious subjects. Like parenting, education, responsibility.
After watching the past four years' ever increasing divide of the races I am slowly coming to the sad realization that the chasm may never be healed.
It seems so ironic that when America elects it's first bi-racial President, he seems to be at the forefront of keeping the races divided.
This Martin/Zimmerman event leaves me wondering if that isn't Obama's intent.
He was aware of the increasing racial tension, some of it caused by his own statements. He had to be aware of Sharpton's race baiting riot-inspiring rants.
And yet, he remained silent and watched the calamity grow worse.
Now that Zimmerman has been arrested, just what do you think will happen if he's tried and found not guilty?
If you think we were close to a riot before this time, imagine if there is not enough evidence to convict him.
The jurors would have to be as isolated as Zimmerman has been. Zimmerman will never be able to come out of hiding even after being found not-guilty.
And.
Then there WILL be bloodshed in the streets and I worry about how long it will last, how bloody it will get, and widespread it will be.
And if that occurs, I will certainly believe that Sharpton, et al will be responsible, but it will be Obama that I blame even further when he could have smoothed some of these first tensions over and he did not.
Kid:
I am in an inter-racial marriage. I can tell you with 100% certainty that racism did not end in the 70's. It is alive and well. Much more muted and more hidden then what it once was. I can also say that it comes from places you don't expect more often than not.
I am not allowed in the home of the guy my husband grew up with. I am the white bitch. Add that we are conservatives and it can get really ugly.
You wanted a name of racist conservative Derbyshire is one. There are others I am sure. I have blocked some on facebook. I don't deny that some hate Obama because he is black. But that is far from the majority. In fact, it is a small minority. But it does exist. Anyone denying that is only lying to themselves.
We have to own up to our own stereotypes. We have to own up to own biases. We have to own up to many things. Such as the breakdown of the black family has a great deal to do with the welfare state. Which is directly linked to the high rates of crime in the inner city. The school systems that are inferior in inner cities only keep the problems going. There are many things in the black community that need to be fixed. Many of which have to be done from within. That also has to be owned up to.
Viburnum , you say "Probably based on the reception Bill Cosby gets whenever he quits joking and talks about serious subjects. Like parenting, education, responsibility."
First, a lot of that great stuff that's attributed to Cosby isn't really his...secondly, MY black friends are 100% behind responsibility and education and good parenting!
Other Americans (Black and White) must just not want to be reminded about the hard work and sacrifice it takes to raise kids who won't walk around with their hands out ready to be filled for free!??
KID, thanks, and thanks for giving the time of the comments you respond to.
Elbro and Imp don't always do that, or don't put quotes around the comment they've pasted and are responding to.
Please, Elbro and Imp...remind us what you're addressing, okay?
JUST A CONSERVATIVE GIRL:
Man, what a good day that I got to your excellent blog and said "come on over" (something you know I never do).
I did not know your husband was Black and I wish you'd write about it...extrapolate more on the excellent remarks you wrote here.
YOU WOULD KNOW something we don't and WE SHOULD KNOW.
How awful that your husband's friend is like that to you...even knowing that his buddy loves you and so your character must be good...but, yes, add CONSERVATIVE in the mix, and STAND BACK!
I'm so sorry about that.
Please consider doing a post...although it's not really fair to put that on you. That's your MARRIAGE, you don't need to write to us FOR US...that's for sure.
Anyway, God bless you and your husband....and keep you safe and happy from moronic racism.
Just a Conservative Girl.
I based my statement on growing up/living in Pittsburgh from the 50s to the 70s (and leaving for AZ in 1979). I and my friends had wonderful and completely relaxed relationships with a high number of black people there for years.
You said --"I am not allowed in the home of the guy my husband grew up with. I am the white bitch. Add that we are conservatives and it can get really ugly. "
Good Lord, that's brutal. That'e eve brutal by today's standards, which weren't as good as back in the 70's by a long shot.
Well, you know what? I hope you can shun those who shun you and enjoy your life. I sincerely believe the majority of America supports you and I hope you are able to experience that. All the best.
well said, Kid. I truly believe most of America supports her and her husband, too.
should go without saying.
Z: "First, a lot of that great stuff that's attributed to Cosby isn't really his...
True he's not the first to raise the issues. Aurthur Ashe, for instance, harped continuously on the necessity of education years before. Cosby did use his position to make the points though, and he has stood by them in the face of great criticism. It was that backlash I was referring to regarding "turning voters away".
Thanks Z, Yes, it should go without saying.
viburnum...Cosby did speak out once and then people started 'quoting' him with more stuff that sounded great and they were checked and he hadn't said them.
There's a Robin Williams one like that, and a few others. Just never happened, but got us Conservatives' knickers in happy twists :-)
I've heard Cosby on Larry King talk so well about pushing education, etc., and then he's disappointed me when he's gone to blaming white America (again).
i have a great Cosby story.
YEARS ago, I was at the WHisky A Go Go disco...and I was on dance floor in a big crowd of dancin' fools!...and there was an all black FABULOUS band...sort of like Blood, Sweat and Tears....and it's crowded, lots of smoke, the music's blasting, and I notice the drummer, and I think to myself "Wait, that guy's BILL COSBY!" and I think "don't be ridiculous.." But then I look again and now he's caught on that I'm looking at him and he makes this adorable funny face at me. And I laugh and he does it again!
Suddenly, the music stops and the loudspeaker says something about the band and "...the Whisky's proud to present BILL COSBY on the drums!" He looked at me and cracked up! Such a great moment...I always loved his humor and have a few of his old albums!
I try to put others quotes or pastes in italics to denote its not my thought. Is this what you mean?
Hi, Elbro! Yes, quotes or italics would be great, but you can see it didn't happen here (from a comment of yours above)
Blogger Elmers Brother said...
It is a matter of race, Elmo. Scary black kid in a hoodie couldn't have been up to no good.
Gee duhkkky a kid wearing a hoody wasn't the issue...a kid running around in people's back yard was.
Then we have seen the right mobilize with the phony pictures doing whatever they can to render Zimmerman not responsible.
Gee duhkkky...what about the pictures the leftist media put up of a kid about 14 (when he was 17 and over 6 foot) trying to sway public opinion.
Z: Does it look like italics when you have it on your screen and isn't translating here? Italics are a great idea, but it doesn't seem to work :-(
so it's kind of confusing PLUS I hate for people to think YOU are saying what DUCKY said, you know? xxx
I just saw a video tonight that I had not seen before. I believe it's from the same tape of Zimmerman cuffed at the station. But tonight a different view of a view not previously shown had a police officer standing behind Zimmerman.
The officer then moves closer to him and he very clearly looking at the back of his head. It's not a casual glance or a quick look. It appears as if he's inspecting something in the back of Zimmerman's head.
If Zimmerman is some sick racist who wanted to kill a black kid who was casually walking through the neighborhood, he should get th maximum sentence.
But I have yet heard anything that makes me believe that. The evidence might be there, but I haven't heard it.
I'm just appalled from this national outcry and the outright lies delivered by the race baiters. It sickens me.
Blogger changed the tags I used the old tags but it still shows up at least on my PC and I think it was pretty clear o was addressing duhkkky
It does show as italics
It doesn't always show on my phone though but do know that I put italic tags on the quotes
Blogger used to use the tag but now uses
Blogger used to use "em" and "I" but now only uses "I"
Elbro, whatever you're seeing, I don't see italics and it isn't at all clear to people who don't know you and him...or even me, at times.
RITA...odd you'd say that just now because I heard on the radio tonight that a look at the video, enlarged, revealed gashes in the back of Zimmerman's head...and the media's said nothing about it. They DID say things about how it didn't appear he was at all injured, however :-)
I'm not sure who was confused but I removed the comments
Elbro, Quotes are the easiest thing to do....and it makes it easy for everyone to see.
The New Black Panther Party is getting plenty of media as they call for RACE WAR.
What do you think Homeland Sec. would have done had any white group called for the same?
@ Mrs Z
...perhaps just as well that you should find my comment confusing. :)
Have a nice day!
Hi Z, very thought-provoking column. The truth is Net Observer is correct in his statement that ... "most decent people harbor some level of racial prejudice..."
The important thing is whether those decent people act on their personal, innermost prejudice. Do they allow those private prejudices to violate the rights of others. Or do they abide by the laws of this country? Do they rise above their prejudice?
I think the answer is overwhelmingly, yes they do obey the law, they do rise above their prejudice. They do the right thing.
If not, there would be no President Barack Obama. His election proves that the majority of Americans have succeeded in their goal to end racism.
Keep in mind, that I said the majority of Americans have achieved this, not all.
just to let you all know, Net Observer's PC isn't working well so he didn't comment much yesterday...
he wanted you to know why.
"Italics are a great idea, but it doesn't seem to work :-(.."
You have to use these tags for italics..
<> <> with the last one closed with "I" between the greater than less than
brackets.
I always use italics and I was careful yesterday to.use em in <> but blogger now only accepts I in <>… I apologize for the confusion and promise it wont happen again. I'm not sure who I upset with the italics thing but I'm sorry.
Elbro...let's just let it go?!
You say you're seeing italics and my screen doesn't show them...
if you're good with that, I am, too...I just like my commenters to be better represented than to think they're writing what Ducky actually said :-)
Imp, it's much easier just to type quotes around those comments we'd like to paste and comment on. I think so, anyway. And I think that delineating who said what does make a world of difference.
A very neat aspect of the "stand your ground" legislation movement is that the fools don't realize that Bangers are going to learn to use this to their advantage.
So keep up the pep rally for Zimmerman. As usual you might be surprised by what you get.
thanks, Ducky...but where's the pep rally? Link it or something, okay?
DO YOU GET IT? WE WANT JUSTICE. THEY'VE INVESTIGATED AND THERE'S FINALLY AN ARREST AND NOW WE'LL SEE BETTER
Don't forget, COnservatives don't believe in judging someone before all the facts are in...we're just like that, I guess.
Hi Elbro,
I do think that putting quotation marks at the beginning and end of a quote, or remarks by another commenter, or author makes it much easier to discern who spoke it and separates it from what you are saying.
I tend to skip over comments which don't make it clear. This may be a small matter, but we want to understand what and who you are referring to when you comment and I'm sure Z want's that as well.
I think she cares about your opinions and wants others to pay attention to them too.
As to the racism issue, as opposed to blogger formatting :) ...
Recently, I saw a FOX fluff piece on a group of young blacks from Alabama in NYC to see a play called "Memphis".
They said they were also attending classes on discrimination because their grandparents had told them about that.
I gathered they had never experienced it themselves.
Ed, I think I saw that, too...sounds familiar.
I guess if kids don't feel discrimination, they must be taught it somehow, huh? GOD FORBID!
"So keep up the pep rally for Zimmerman. As usual you might be surprised by what you get."
Yeah Ducky unlike the "Mob Rule" that Holder and Obama are smugly enjoying.
Lisa, I think duckboy is a paid stooge for the DNC. Seriously, no one is that stupid other than critters like liberalboy. Idiots like him/her/him-her expose themselves by being barely able to post a comment.
The duck can craft a comment, albeit frontal lobotomized nonsense, which possibly outs him as a tool for the DNC.
Anyway, to the main point... WHO is doing a pep rally for Zimmerman?
I think anyone with a brain knows that there is MUCH to the story that none of us know and we'd all like to see a formal investigation in the least.
Lisa and Kid....that's Ducky's way; put it out there and people will believe. Kind of like Obama.
But, Kid, Ducky's not a Democrat, he's an avowed socialist. I'm not making that up; he thinks Obama's waaaay to conservative.
"Ducky's not a Democrat, he's an avowed socialist."
Z, that's pretty funny. Socialism is only good for the lowest of the low life and the elitist of the elite. I wonder where duck fits in.
Kid, but you understand it's not a joke, right? :-)
Socialism, which enslaves everyone except for the politician 'masters' is definitely no joke. It's pure evil.
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