Seaver

There IS racism involved in the Birther and a few other movements.

There... it's out there.

However, to proclaim this as unique or particularly bad is absurd. Bush faced identical Hitler signs, and even had hanging effigies of him, well before the election. The Left even made movies about how lovely it would be if someone assassinated him. Finally, the Truther Movement is identical to the Birther Movement in it's blind distrust and stubborn steadfastness against all evidence.

This is absurd to proclaim how bad the pot is while ignoring (or even embracing) the kettle. There are people even on this thread who are discussing the racism while defending the Truther movement.

In my opinion, we would all be better if the media ignores the ridiculous extremes or at least stop giving them "balanced" coverage like there's something worth reporting.

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"Smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge, and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth." - Ashbel Smith as he laid the first cornerstone of the University of Texas

aceventura3

First, it was a mistake for me to get involved in a debate on race. In my experience there has never been a positive outcome.

Second, I agree my ethnicity or race is not relevant. However the fact that I play bass guitar is not relevant either. You jumped all over me pointing out my ethnicity, but not me pointing out i play bass. There is a significance to that, a significance that I am sure will be lost and I am not going to comment on further.

Obama doesn't support your position either. Obama went on Letterman and made jokes about the issue and laughed.

Did you defend Palin? Was stuff like this sexist?



We simply do not share a common definition of racism. I do not confuse distasteful attempts at humor with real racism. This is racism:





My parents went to segregated schools in the south - that is racism.
My father not being allowed to join certain trade unions as a young man. That is racism.
The black unemployment rate compared to the general unemployment rate. That is racism.
The black male incarceration rate. That is racism.
High School graduation rates for blacks. That is racism.
Black teen pregnancy rates. That is racism.
Black children rates of being in poverty. That is racism.
Black life expectancy. That is racism.

Distasteful attempts at humor has no impact on anything or anyone. No views get changed as a result, no jobs are gained or lost, no children are helped or hurt, etc.

However, if instead of people getting bent out of shape over distasteful attempts at humor actually did something current things referenced above would change. There is personal responsibility, and I believe in that strongly, however, I also believe people wanting to improve their life need encouragement, mentoring and counseling. Mostly our nation is race neutral, however the remnants of race based society still linger. For example - the black teen pregnancy rate, the solution is not handing out condoms, the solution is pushing abstinence. For example - the black student dropout rate, the solution is not throwing money at broken school, but giving parents who care the choice of picking a school for their child. For example - black teen unemployment rate, the answer is not raising the minimum wage for unskilled people, but lowering the minimum wage to give unskilled teens an opportunity to get in the door, get training and marketable skills. Republicans have the right prescription for fixing these problems, liberal have not been helpful and in some cases make things worse.

I could go on, but I am conservative in a discussion on race. Nothing I present will be taken seriously. I should have known better from the beginning. Have fun with this unhelpful focus on posters , photoshop pictures, and distasteful attempts at humor.

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"Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on lunch."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions on vegetarianism while the wolf is of a different opinion."
"If you live among wolves you have to act like one."
"A lady screams at the mouse but smiles at the wolf. A gentleman is a wolf who sends flowers."

dc_dux

Racism is not limited to being institutional or even cultural.

Racism exists on the personal level as well. Words and actions need not have an adverse outcome in order to be racist.

I think you know that, at least, I would hope you do.

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"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

Charlatan

This little video might be useful for this discussion.

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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

FuglyStick

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AZIZ! LIGHT!

Walt

Um. How are any of those things caused by racism?

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Calmer than you are...

william

Is race a factor in this debate? Definitely. So is party affiliation. The far right hates that Obama was elected as President. President Obama has been in office for 9 months, and pretty much attacked from day one.
President Bush, VP Cheney (Haliburton/KBR) have been carrying out a war for over 8 years, and nobody complained. You honestly do not think the cost of war would cover a health care plan?
I do not agree w/all I heard about the health care bills. It needs work. Seriously, of the three bills, who has downloaded and read the one that is 1,000+ pages long? I've got high-speed and I'm not doing it. But I've seen the highlights.

ottopilot

They aren't caused by racism... they are examples of racism.

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"It rubs the lotion on Buffy, Jodi and Mr. French's skin" - Uncle Bill from Buffalo

Walt

Ok, how are any of those things examples of racism?

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Calmer than you are...