[AndrewB]

"Come off it, Drew. I wasn’t using a barbecue as some sort of derisive event. I’ve been to his place for movie nights, for cards, and when I used to drink, for cocktails. I could’ve used any of those social events as an example but chose barbecue. Why did you find it necessary to draw attention my choice of social outing?"

Because you used the old "some of my best friends are black" chestnut....weak...it destroys credibility. Nothing to do with the nature of the outing.

[rarestia]

I understand it’s an old canard, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true nor does it mean that it doesn’t hold any weight. By virtue of my association with the black community, I am disinvolved from the politics of racism. Any old white cracker with a chip on his shoulder would have nothing to do with a man of color, but I readily embrace any black man or woman willing to converse intellectually and openly about all ideas.