Replies

I’m not refusing to magically see something. Yes, the comment that generalized all people of one skin color as being violent offenders was racist. Was that because the person is racist? I don’t care. I just don’t care. It makes no difference to me. That’s the difference. A person can have a single racist comment/thought/etc, and not necessarily be a “racist”. If she is, fine. I don’t particularly want anything to do with her if she is.

All I know is that someone said that they had been attacked, and instead of saying “Oh, well that might explain why you have this wrong opinion”, and then working with the person to correct that wrong impression, that person was suddenly being accused of lying, and demands were made for the date, time, the name of the officer, the name of the building, etc. And frankly, that type of attitude is wrong too. Just because you don’t believe an incident took place doesn’t mean you’re on some moral high ground. And, don’t think that because you’ve said “once and final” like Al Gore does on the debate on Globull Warming, that you can just pronouce the debate and discussion over and you’ve won.

I put out two very severe incidents. I wonder if I’d started it with some comment that had been percieved as racist by you, would you have demanded the same level of “proof”? Because I can give you a majority of it. I can send you the links to the article in the newspaper on one of them. I can give you some of the court information. I can also tell you that one of the three perps is dead. Brutally and viciously murdered in a way that though I’m glad he’s no longer in the land of the living, I wouldn’t have wished upon anyone. You attacked and attacked because the person said something you didn’t like. Because I refuse to call her a racist on the head of the one comment she made that was racist, because I’ve never talked to her and don’t know her general attitude, and don’t know if the label actually fits or if it was a single incident propelled by a reaction to a negative experience, you’re looking down on me. I say you’re using the same emotional, knee-jerk reaction that many people use when dealing with race. If someone says something wrong once, then forever are they a racist. Me, I actually use logic and reason and rational thinking in the matter. If the person generally shows an attitude of racism, I will tend to believe it. David Duke. Jerimiah Wright. Al Sharpton. Was Don Imus a racist? Hell no. Did he say something that was a racist comment? I’m not sure. Did he say it to demean an entire race? No. He said it because the girls on the team presented themselves without the class and style that other teams do. And because he thought it was funny. Should Don Imus have been excoriated like he was? No. Punished? No. Fired? Hell no.

My whole argument, which you seem to look down on, is that we have to look at the person, the actions, and not a single bad comment. You seem to want to paint broad strokes. Brush anyone you can with the “R” label.

Unlike you, I believe that people can continue a discussion so long as there is still discussion to be had, and that I’m not some sort of dictator who can determine when the discussion is finished.

Paul