What? No mainstream media covering this? Shocking!

[kandrathe]

...the CBC tried this....

Well there's your problem...

...you don't convince people, you wait for them to die. Cynical, but not entirely without merit.

Oh, great. Here comes Stalin and the great purges. I'm moving to Canada!

The lemming leaders I was referring to were the FOX's, the MSNBC's, bloggers, pundits and the other propagandists out there actively shaping public opinion. We've got to tune them out, or I fear the result will be civil war. They are destroying America. For both sides... the game of "AHA! Gotcha!" needs to end.

If you travel around the south, you'll find that almost everyone has figured out how to get along, and the race issues have been buried. That doesn't mean they live in a color blind society, and I think much of the talk of 'color-blindedness' by pundits masks an inherent friendly racism of mere tolerance. The divisions are pretty clear though, especially in more rural areas. There are white churches with a few black people in them, and black churches where whites would feel unwelcome. The two cultures have learned to live together, but they are by no means well integrated.

Is the number of "racists" 25%? I dunno, but that seems pretty high. I've looked through many surveys who all come up with vastly different results. It is a hard thing to measure "racism" by asking people survey questions which may be tainted by ideology (e.g. blind justice and equality), religion (e.g. proscribing homosexuality), and the lack social diversity and any experiences other than the homogeneity of their small community.

I feel that race issues in the north are more pronounced, where minorities are slim, and have been mostly herded into urban HUD 'reservations' and we haven't been able to live together as a single people. Although, I would say that in the North, its the xenophobic fear of the unknown, rather than ages old grudges that separate them. Crime, sex, drugs, and violence in the meaner parts of the ghettos (where the majority of minorities are forced to live) taints the perspectives of generation after generation of people who are not from the projects.

I'm more apt to say that everyone, of every background, who hasn't had the opportunity to experience diversity is bound to harbor some inherent xenophobia. And, when you ask people questions about whether one person should get preferential treatment due to injustices from prior generations they may not have perspective, or empathy. I'm thinking that if you need to label them, there is something shy of outright "racist", more like culturally ignorant, or culturally insensitive. This goes for Ms. Sherrod's past, whose prism of white people was heavily influenced by the situation in her county. Or, for those who let things slip today, Harry Reid, David Gergens, Chris Matthews, ad infinitum. We see people many people, especially inebriated entertainers, accidentally let their ignorance and insensitivity slip out once in a while, and have to apologize and give the PR people a huge mess to clean up.

Even affirmative action, while ensuring an opportunity, results in the unintended consequence of perhaps of "carrying" a person who can't forge that opportunity into bringing about true equality. In essence, by opening up the pool of applicants to those less qualified, it increases the probability that the opportunity will be given to an individual who may not succeed. At some point in their career, merit will apply.

How much of the anti-Obama sentiment is due to; partisanship?, performance?, unkept promises?, lack of change?, economic hardship?, and race? While, race may play a role in coloring a slim minority of people's opinions (e.g. looking for a reason to protest or hate him), I'm not sure it's as high a factor as the leftist pundits and bloggers are portraying. Or, as Maureen Dowd implies here from the NYTimes; Obama's administration may not be Black enough.

Look at a select few snapshots in the extensive history of "Race Card" playing since Obama became a factor in even seeking the nomination;

Chris Cuomo, December 21, 2007
Politico January 11, 2008
Jacob Weisberg, August 23, 2008
Carter, September 17, 2009
Dave Matthews, September 21, 2009
Chris Matthews, January 10 2010
Harry Reid, January 11, 2010

I still see race used as a divisive weapon to attack political opponents. "You won't vote for him, because he's black", "You won't support him because he's black", and now, "your protesting unprecedented government spending because he's black". I think Spencer Ackerman's comments in the "Journolist" reveal the subconscious of the liberal left. When they want something to go away, they play the race card (consciously or not) to put their opponents onto the defensive. It works. What the NAACP should have done was to demand that the GOP renounce racism, and eliminate it from it's ranks.

...all those apathetic ignorant voters will wake up as informed, concerned, active citizens.

I was thinking about that while I wrote it, and the person who came to mind was Dr. King. I think we need a leader, such as him, who can bring people together on principles, and stand up against the forces of division. What I'm saying here is that the subconscious racism is not going to just evaporate, even across generations, unless someone leads us away from it. It's going to take action to get people to address the topic, otherwise things will continue on as they have for another 150 years. It's far too easy for people to remain where they are and ignore the uncomfortable.