“Derbyshire doesn't do the really obvious racist stuff — the stuff that goes up at FreeRepublic.com, for example — like post photos Obama in stereotypical tribal garb with a bone through his nose. Instead, he talks about how his East African parentage means he might be suspect to some black voters, who are more likely to be of West African heritage.”
The link is here: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/04/why-john-derbyshire-hasnt-been-fired-yet/50803/
The Atlantic then provides numerous links to various things Derbyshire has written, going back at least four years, with links, that don't sound very good.
I don't know enough about Derbyshire to have an intelligent comment on his views. However, I believe Jim Robinson and the community of those of us who post on Free Republic need to make **ABSOLUTELY** clear that Free Republic does **NOT** support racism.
Correct me if I'm wrong, Jim, but I think someone posting photos of “Obama in stereotypical tribal garb with a bone through his nose” would get in trouble here, especially if that was part of a pattern of anti-black ranting.
Maybe I've been lucky but I simply haven't run into a lot of the “bad blacks” that some people like to talk about. I've seen some, but not many, and I know from firsthand experience that even in high-crime areas, most residents are basically decent people who have been intimidated into a code of silence. That's coming from someone who, back when I was in college and graduate school, was living in the inner city and was attending a church that was in the process of successfully changing from predominantly white to predominantly black. Once my neighbors and fellow church members got to know me, they decided “he's okay” and I had no more issues.
Yes, I take precautions when in an area where I'm one of the few white people, but I'd do the same in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, and my Italian ancestors would have done the same in a predominantly Irish neighborhood, and a hundred years ago walking into a neighborhood full of “wops” and “dagos” would have scared the living daylights out of many WASPS.
It's not just blacks and Hispanics who get this treatment. When I walk around in Korea, I have to be careful not to hold my wife's hand, and I always have to wear a suit and tie in public, because otherwise people could look down on her as a “race-mixer” of questionable morality. That's reality; I don't like it, but I have to deal with it — there are lots of cultures where white people are looked down on as immoral wicked people whose goal is to “knock up” innocent Asian women.
Bottom line: if you act like and dress like a gangbanger, you'll get treated like one. Act and dress like a professional, and most (not all but most) people will treat you like a decent human being.
“Derbyshire doesn't do the really obvious racist stuff — the stuff that goes up at FreeRepublic.com, for example — like post photos Obama in stereotypical tribal garb with a bone through his nose. Instead, he talks about how his East African parentage means he might be suspect to some black voters, who are more likely to be of West African heritage.”
I believe it is essential that Free Republic respond to the Atlantic, and do so officially.
Unofficially, I believe americanintokyo and tigerlikesrooster are in especially good positions to write letters to the Atlantic defending Free Republic against charges of racism because of their long history with Free Republic and personal experience of anti-white racism in Asia, where American men are often viewed as sexual perverts on the prowl to seduce innocent Asian women.
Yes, I've seen neo-Confederate and secessionist stuff show up from time to time here, and I've jumped on the people when I saw it, but I've regarded it as either crazy wackos (which every site has, on both sides of the aisle) or trolls putting up garbage to hurt Free Republic. It is crystal clear that Free Republic does not officially back such things, and rebukes people when racist bigotry shows up.
Look at all the support here for Col. West and Herman Cain, for crying out loud!
Black people aren't the problem. Neither are Hispanics. The problem is liberalism. I don't care if conservatives are white, black, yellow, or purple with antennae sticking out of their heads. If you love God and the Constitution, you're fine with me, and if you love the Constitution but not God, I still like you and will probably invite you to church.
“The Atlantic then provides numerous links to various things Derbyshire has written, going back at least four years, with links, that don’t sound very good.”
What did he write that bothers you?
Mathematicians are trained to look at numbers, not to avoid them. Based on recent happenings in multiple cities, if the percentage of people at a public gathering suddenly goes from predominately white to black, it IS a good idea for whites to clear out.
There ARE racial differences between East and West Africa. And in Africa, those differences are critical to survival sometimes - remember Rwanda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide)?
Define "racism". Is doubting that all races are equally intelligent on average "racist"?
Oh, I don't know. Asian cultures have a long-standing, inherent aversion to public displays of affection such as holding hands or kissing. I live in Japan and it's the same here.
I do get the occasional looks of disgust, mostly from older people, but for the most part when the biracial aspect of my marriage (and offspring) is noticed, it is good-natured curiosity more than anything else that's on display. And I certainly don't feel the need to sport a suit and tie to boost the moral gravitas of either my spouse or myself. Perhaps it's different in Korea.
"However, I believe Jim Robinson and the community of those of us who post on Free Republic need to make **ABSOLUTELY** clear that Free Republic does **NOT** support racism."
Of course. I see this pretty much every time I post anything:
"Please: NO profanity, NO personal attacks, NO racism or violence in posts."
There have been actual photos of Obama posted here where he is wearing some sort of robe — they aren’t photoshopped, and don’t have nose rings, and FR is very good about taking care of racist stuff.
But it is a community effort — if you see something, ping the moderators, since they don’t read every last comment. We all have a part in keeping the good reputation of FR.
BTW, in what has to be a hilarious joke, when the Atlantic article pretended to find such pictures at FR, they provided a link to the offensive picture.
It was actually a link to Talking Points Memo, which is a left-wing site.
I dunno. That pretty much describes me.