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Uh, I am not in the business of psychotherapy unless I'm getting paid for it. I'm not into hearing other people's emotional displays.
Most people's ancestors, Irish, Polish, Ukranian, Chinese, or whatever went through centurys of oppression somewhere along the line. There was a time when an Irishman was worth more dead than alive. Blacks are nothing special in that regard.
As far as blacks "memories of centuries of racism," very few black people I know were around centuries ago any more that very many Poles. One can't have memories of what happened before you existed except in dramatic arts expositions. I'm not into dramatic arts.
As far as this, " If I were at a roundtable discussing certain issues about race and our history with some here, I will rip the lungs out of the chests of those..." shit, you have an attitude. It could get you in a pile of trouble.
Setting slavery aside, the first century or so of freedom for blacks in America was an abomination. You don't have to be too many years past voting age to have lived at a time when opportunity for blacks wasn't equal.
Republicans need to acknowledge that fact (not assume any misplaced blame) if they hope to attract black voters to an agenda that provides equal opportunity far better than the Democratic alternative. RDB3 is right, you can't forget recent history.
I'm not asking you to be my shrink.
I am asking you - no, demanding you listen to my views and concerns as you would anyone else's. I deserve no less than anyone else on that note.
Likewise, I have a responsibility to listen to and act upon your concerns. That's what good citizens do. It's called working together.
And as far as "centuries ago", most blacks don't buy that. They - as are Jews and Irish folk and others painfully affected by generational injuries - choose not to forget the pains and sins of their fathers. But in the same note, many are still alive who were directly affected by Jim Crow and by other forms of racism. I've had to deal with it in varying degrees in my lifetime. And while I remember those encounters, I don't wallow in my own self-pity. There is a difference.
Unfortunately, many of your compatriots would have me forget the unfortunate experiences of mine, and my father's and my grandfather's. I cannot and will not do that. It's unfair of anyone to expect me to do that. If that's the sort of attitude that you have a problem with, then I'm sorry, but that is who I am.
Now, would you rather someone like rdb3 or myself who tell you exactly what is going on in our own homes and in our own minds and hearts be ready to work with you to move into the future? Or would you have us change who we are to suit your "picture" of what we are supposed to be?