The Race War, page 1

Just to define the terms I'm using:

Racism:

1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

Race Card:

the act of bringing the issue of race or racism into a debate, perhaps to obfuscate the matter.
...
The invocation of a person's race in a discussion in order to score points in that discussion

Originally posted by David9176
Do you feel that all men/women are equal and deserve the same rights?

Yes. Without equivocation. And any equivocation to your straightforward questions, in my opinion, indicates someone who needs to look further at their beliefs.

Not only do I believe and feel that we are equal to the depths of my heart, but the Declaration of Independence states:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...

And the 14th Amendment of the Constitution guarantees all persons equal protection under the law.

Do you believe in freedom to the individual....blind by race and religion?

Yes.

Are you a racist?

Absolutely not.

Originally posted by onapaledonkey
We're ALL racist, to one extent or another

I strongly disagree. Noticing physical differences in people is NOT racist. It's observant. Noticing that a person is pretty or handsome or ugly, fat or skinny, black or white, blond or bald, old or young is NOT racist. It's sighted and discerning. It's what takes place in the thought process AFTER the discernment that determines whether one is racist or a bigot or not.

WE ARE NOT ALL RACIST. I don't know why you think that noticing differences in people is racist, but you are mistaken.

David, I agree with you that racism and the race card are being displayed rampantly on this board and I hate it. I rarely hate anything or anyone, but when I see it pop up every day, I feel a contempt that I don't often feel. And the T&C prevents me from writing what comes into my mind and crosses my lips.

I actually see the Race Card played more frequently on this board than blatant racism. Blatant racism is usually kept to one's self or discussed only with those of like mind, for fear or public retribution. Playing the race card is much more socially acceptable, unfortunately.

Examples of the Race Card I have seen on this board (see definition above) paraphrased:

"You voted for Obama because of his race so you could make history."
"You just hate Obama because of his race."
"Obama's not even black, he's 50%."
"Stop saying he's the first black president! He's not"

And a disgusting mixture of racism played with the Race Card:

"Those black kids singing a song is racist! Where are the white kids"?

People tend to think that to be racist, they have to use the N-word or be blatant in their thought or word, but that's not true. The most dangerous racism is the covert thoughts or words that indicate racism. Racism can be a BELIEF. One doesn't have to DO or SAY anything to be racist.

The sad part is that there is some number of people who DON'T want Obama to be president because of his race. Plain and simple. These are the covert racists, so we don't know who they are because they'll deny it to their death. But we can only speak of that segment of people in general terms because any single person who might be "against" Obama might have other reasons, having nothing to do with race. So it does no good whatsoever to say "You are against Obama because of his race" or "The birthers want Obama out because he's black." Because while it's probably true that SOME of the birthers feel that way, not all of them do. And it's not fair to paint them all with the same brush.

So, we might as well just give up trying to identify who is racist and who is not. Because a racist will not admit it and many don't even know it. All we can hope to do is call out the blatant race card players (that's easy) and have our own private thoughts as to who is racist and who is not. In the scheme of things, it doesn't matter if we ID them or not because they're going to have their thoughts and beliefs and we can't control that.

I don't think there's going to be a "race war". The racists will lose before it begins. Racism is a dirty stain on our country and most people WILL NOT stand for it. A "race war" will not be "black against white", it will be "racist against non-racist" and the racists will lose immediately. This country has no tolerance for these people. They go against everything that America stands for. They will hide in their groups and keep their thoughts among themselves where they belong and the rest of us will carry on.

Thank you, David, my friend, for bringing this up. It's an important topic, but one, I fear, we may not be able to do much about.