I'm Not Racist. Some of my Best Friends Are Black.

Originally Posted by SamSpade

You know, when someone says "some of my best friends are...", I gotta admit, it sure sounds stupid, but it convinces me of at least extremely obvious fact. They're not racist. They may have prejudices, and they may not understand things well and they may say rude things unintentionally, but it doesn't make them racists. People who are *RACIST* do not make friends with the people they despise.

I look at that statement differently. I know people who have said similar things, and I look at who their "black friends" are. They are usually always people they work with or people they are on teams with. And when they are not at work or playing ball, they have nothing to do with them. And here's the other observation: I would bet that in most cases, if you went to the "black friends" of someone who would use that defense, and ask them if they considered the maker of that statement a friend, they would say "no, in fact I barely know the guy".

[cwo_ghwebb]

Originally Posted by nhboy

"Geraldine Ferraro tried to stick her foot in her mouth but her loafers were too small. So instead she unpacked a whip and stuck that in there and it fit just right. This week she theorized that a self-made black guy with a Muslim name has a political advantage over a white woman who is the wife of a two-term President.

Put in historical context, a statement like that doesn't make sense. That's why Affirmative Action exists. Ferraro should know this. After all, she's a white woman white women have benefited more from Affirmative Action than any other group the legislation was created to serve. Don't take my word for it, let's conduct a poll of all the presidents and see which of the black ones felt their ethnicity aided their ascent to the White House. Wait, there's never been a black president. All the black people who ran for this office before Senator Obama were so thoroughly marginalized that you can't even call what they did running for president."

Orlando Lima: I'm Not Racist. Some of my Best Friends Are Black. - Politics on The Huffington Post

Let's set the record straight on this race issue yet again. I'm a black man. Despite how close my skin tone is to white I can't think of a single instance in which my color has worked to my advantage. I can however produce examples of being wrongfully arrested, denied jobs, and refused services because I'm of African descent.

You don't have friends, only fellow tinfoil hatted Socialists.

[Go G-Men]

Originally Posted by Bruzilla

I always challenge that thinking when I hear it. Blacks are not denied anything because they are of African descent. They are treated the way they are because of what members of their racial group have done since becoming Americans. They are not denied anything because some people dislike the fact that they are from Africa, or used to hunt antelopes, or lived in mud shacks, or fought the British. They are denied anything because some people are upset that they were forced onto slave ships, brought to the US and sold, and were forced to work as slaves. It's more of the entitlement mentality, broad unfounded accusations of racism, amount of violence, and other such negatives that lead people to dislike/distruct them.

As far as coming over on boats or hunting antelopes or being sold... All of that is irrelevant now. Slavery ended some 140 years ago and yes over the intervening 100 years racism was very real and generally pure in America but in the last 20 years things have changed and if people keep living in the past things won't continue to change.

America today provides an opportunity to anyone, who wants to hold themselves accountable and be responsible for themselves, a rewarding life and the prospect of happiness and fortune.

If "a" people as a whole want to blame "others" for their failures then said "others" are gonna stop listening and start fighting back. I think that is where we are as a country today. If you want the brass ring go get the damn ring, don't wait for someone to give it to you.

[Go G-Men]

Originally Posted by toppick08

By their own .....

Who put slaves on the ship doesn't matter... Slavery doesn't matter anymore...

It is history. When will we learn?

[SamSpade]

Originally Posted by Bruzilla

I look at that statement differently. I know people who have said similar things, and I look at who their "black friends" are. They are usually always people they work with or people they are on teams with. And when they are not at work or playing ball, they have nothing to do with them. And here's the other observation: I would bet that in most cases, if you went to the "black friends" of someone who would use that defense, and ask them if they considered the maker of that statement a friend, they would say "no, in fact I barely know the guy".

Hey what do I know? Heck, I always jump immediately to the conclusion they are talking about space aliens who happen to be black. I mean, one wild conjecture is certainly equal to any other, right?

See, I've been on this side before. When someone says something to someone like, my brother, that he is prejudiced against Latinos, and he answers them "well I married one and adopted another - so how far up your azz did you pull that one from?". It's not typically been my experience that the accusee is in fact racist - it's been far and away my most common experience that the accuser is reaching up his butt to hurl an accusation of racism when the fault lies a lot closer to home. People like my mom being accused of racism against just about any minority you can think of because she fired someone who refused to do their job.

And you can't really do much about it, except just do what you think is right. I remember I knew this Asian man who lived with us and he insisted that I hated him because he was stupid. I had no idea what he was talking about, except that he accused me of using words he didn't understand, and that meant I was mocking him.

I tend to turn a deaf ear to charges of racism because in my experience it almost never stands up to legitimate scrutiny, because real racism is hard to conceal. I know a couple of bona fide bigots, and it ain't all against blacks. Never in a million years would they claim that a person of their hated group was a friend. If they hate Jews, or Catholics, or Muslims or Vietnamese or Hungarians or Pakistanis - and all of these reflect the opinions of real people I've known - they make no point to disguise it.

What I think is idiotic is the premise that a person can be racist and not even realize it. And that they may still be racist even after it's pointed out to them, and they're not aware of it. If that's the case, you might as well hang it up altogether, because it's impossible to wipe out a problem that no one can see, and that no one knows they have, including people earnestly trying to change it.