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It's worn me down, friend.

So what is it going to take to turn things around? Or is it a lost cause?

The KKK was at the peak of power in the 1920's and then it's influenced waned rapidly. It was predominantly white people who saw to it that the Klan became an object of derision through very effective moral suasion.

So what about the dysfunctional percentage of black culture of today? As you pointed out in another thread, windflier, there was a time when blacks had to be deferential ("yes suh" and "yes ma'am") to white people half their age.

Now the situation has become largely reversed. When taking the DART Blue Line to the VA Hospital, I (a white older guy) find it in my self interest (self preservation?) to be exceedingly deferential even to the most brazen of black youth, much like a reversal of Rosa Parks, giving up my seat to placate them and to avoid a no-win confrontation once south of the Trinity. And I've learned the lesson of NEVER making eye contact with even a passing glance (after the last "whatcha lookin' at old fool" incident). I suppose I could take a Bernard Goetz approach but that would only inflame an already touchy scenario. So like the blacks of an earlier era, I'm now reduced to the 21st century equivalent of doffing my hat, "yes suh", and smiling (but not too much of a smile, that can also be taken as a "diss" nowadays).

For a while, I had hope with what Bill Cosby was saying but he never gained much traction. Likewise, the influence of fine people in leadership roles like Clarence Thomas, Star Parker, Jesse Peterson, Allen West and Thomas Sowell appears to be nil since they get categorized as "Uncle Tom" types.

So again I respectfully ask for some thoughts on just what (if anything) can heal this illness (for lack of a better word) that we all face?

Now the situation has become largely reversed. When taking the DART Blue Line to the VA Hospital, I (a white older guy) find it in my self interest (self preservation?) to be exceedingly deferential even to the most brazen of black youth, much like a reversal of Rosa Parks, giving up my seat to placate them and to avoid a no-win confrontation once south of the Trinity. And I've learned the lesson of NEVER making eye contact with even a passing glance (after the last "whatcha lookin' at old fool" incident). I suppose I could take a Bernard Goetz approach but that would only inflame an already touchy scenario. So like the blacks of an earlier era, I'm now reduced to the 21st century equivalent of doffing my hat, "yes suh", and smiling (but not too much of a smile, that can also be taken as a "diss" nowadays).

That only emboldens them more for next time.

Fortunately, I have a CCW, and live in a state with good self-defense laws. If I did not, I would hope I would move.

I rarely visit NJ or NY (used to when I was naieve about these things).

But I live my life as I always would....no special deference because of someone who may cause me harm. If they choose to go down that road, that is their choice, not mine, but I am not going to placate for the sake of a false peace or a false sense of security. That serves nobody's purpose and only kicks the can down the road.

I emphasize with your words. I too have found myself in similar types of situations more and more recently. To avoid a confrontation I too have done similar to your actions. I carry nearly everywhere I go these days, yet will still do my utmost to avoid a confrontation where I must pull my last line of defense.

So what is it going to take to turn things around? Or is it a lost cause?

I wish I had a good answer for you, but I don't. Your situation is one that no one - especially a veteran - should have to experience in what once known as the American dream. The root of the problem is not strictly racial although race has been injected into it. It has to do with personal responsibility which has been dying a slow death in this country ever since the birth of Johnson's Great Society. The tools to success are being denied entire generations now. In their place, they are given a enigmatic sense that they have lost out on something which drives them to anger. Any lessons extracted from trials and tribulations have been replaced with the ascent of victimhood as a justification criminal behavior.

Ever since government decided to replace the role of the father in those willing to accept it, the generations that follow have been sentenced to a mediocrity that kills off the soul. But then you know this already. You live in it.

I know what Christ would have me do in your situation. I can only pray that the Lord makes me willing. I also know that God would have me pray for those that persecute me. The rest is up to Him.

For a while, I had hope with what Bill Cosby was saying but he never gained much traction. Likewise, the influence of fine people in leadership roles like Clarence Thomas, Star Parker, Jesse Peterson, Allen West and Thomas Sowell appears to be nil since they get categorized as "Uncle Tom" types.

So again I respectfully ask for some thoughts on just what (if anything) can heal this illness (for lack of a better word) that we all face?

I know that I should formulate a 1,000 word response to your excellent and timely question, but to be honest, just thinking about it hurts my head.

As many have said, the problem begins at home. Babies having babies, having babies - all enabled by the left-liberal welfare state, and further reinforced by hip-hop gangsta culture and a virtually non-existent school system, are only a few of the primary perpetuating factors involved here.

How do you get through to someone who has no earthly connection to mainstream America, its values, its morals, its history, and its culture? How do you communicate our timeless American precepts to someone who is so completely disconnected from mainstream American culture, that they're a virtual foreigner?

If I had a ready answer for that, I'd probably be a best-selling author and speaker by now. Perhaps I still could be. I don't know, but I suppose anything's possible.

Earlier, I said that this question makes my head hurt. That's because I've grappled with it for over half a century, and haven't yet found a way to rapidly lead "my people" out of their darkness.

One thing I do know is this... Every time a member of the majority community backs down from some black cretin, it emboldens them to be even more brutish. Sadly, we all know where that's going to lead us, and it isn't going to be pretty. Sadder still, is that good folks on both sides are going to suffer horribly, if anything like a race war breaks out here.

Frankly, I don't even want to deal with this, but unfortunately for myself and other black conservatives, this burden is ours, whether we like it or not. I realize that we're the natural 'go to' people in this crisis.

There are black conservatives (and black conservative groups) who are doing their best to tackle this problem, and I'm aware of many of them. It cuts against the grain of my conservative mindset to join any race-centric group, but I'm coming closer to wrapping my head around that.

I'm afraid the plain reality is, that we melanin enriched conservatives are going to have to network together to tackle this. None of us will make a dent in the problem on our own.

Well, that's a start to answer your question. I hope I can do better, in time.

Yeah, elect Palin and real conservatives.

Then start impeaching liberal judges left and right.

Then get rid of the "hate crimes" laws or else enforce them against the thugs who threaten you (in order to clear the decks), then remove the laws.

Getting rid of Welfare entirely, and requiring people to support themselves would help. Those without sufficient education should be moved to take the place of illegal immigrants doing the jobs "that (educated) Americans won't do." Racist? No, practical. People without skills should perform unskilled labor; and jobs located within the US should go to citizens instead of aliens, whether legal or illegal.

Cheers!