National conversation on race, ACTIVATED!

Try to strike a balance in this post. Racial profiling does happen to some black people. There are a lot of white cops out there who still harbor racial prejudice against minorities

Only in backwards places like Chicago.

I don’t know where you live, but in Chicago (where the police have their hands full dealing with more serious problems), you’re still guaranteed to get stopped if your tailight is out, period – every time. It’s not about profiling or assumptions, it’s all about the revenue. So at least in my neck of the woods, your theories have no basis in reality.

I guess when you mentioned your wife dealing with boorish Asians and Latinos, apparently along with boorish (or whatever) black and whites, I envisioned a workplace that’s typical in today’s era of self-censoring political correctness, which in the context of 2009 means most people erring on the side of feel-good leftist sentiment.

As for white co-workers mouthing off such overtly racist opinions, and assuming they label themselves as rightwingers (if not ultra-rightists), they deserve a contemptuous reply of “well, you believe in meritocracy, don’t you. You believe our society has moved away from judging people on the quality from within instead of the superficial BS from without, don’t you?

“You believe people should be judged for something that’s grown less and less common in our feel-good, do-your-own-thang culture, don’t you? I’m referring to people who are decent, honest, hard-working, self-reliant, level-headed?”

I’d say the only good thing about the election of Obama is it makes people like the bigots you describe even more loony and livid. Knuckleheads deserve to have the highest blood pressure possible, and all the health consquences that go with that.

The cops who pull my Hispanic/Arabic looking son out of crowds of white friends at the Boardwalk for no reason except to ask his business are black and white.

I’m guessing that means your wife is white/Caucasian and you’re Latino or black, or Middle Eastern? If so, that makes the crap spouted off to her by a racist co-worker (or co-workers) even more pathetic and disgusting.

BTW, overt anti-miscegenation sentiment has become more pervasive throughout the black community over the past 40 years. And if the people who express such views also are generally of the left — blindly loyal to the Democrat Party — then they really are worthless. That’s because I’d say the only good stereotype associated with liberals is their being supposedly more open-minded, tolerant and big-hearted about legitimate diversity. So if they don’t have even that to their credit, and since they’re likely also deficient in common sense, they’re 0 and 2. A big fat zero, coming and going.

We didn’t see this kind of behavior when we lived in Omaha some years ago — we definitely see it quite a bit here.

Context definitely is everything. Certainly when the flip side I’m more familiar with is the uber-”lefty” parts of America where, if anything, one has to be homosexual (or bisexual) and openly involved in promoting same-sex marriage to look hip and sane. Or one has to promote the legalization of pot while also sneering at the existence of tobacco and cigarette smokers. Or one has to run around in a Che Guevara T-shirt while talking dreamily about Gore’s plans for ending global warming.

The citadels of sloppy leftism and asshole rightism throughout America deserve one another.

The similarity of pathology is startling to me.

Comment by Mark — 7/26/2009 @ 3:46 pm

The people who speak like that around her are white not black. “If god meant for interracial couples to be birds would cross breed”… and other beauts like that are what she hears. They would be quite shocked if my wife were to deliver your suggested speech as most call themselves christian conservatives.
The people who spoke around my daughter are black not white. They would be quite irritated if my daughter told them her first Presidential vote was for a Republican and she was still okay with Booosh.
The cops who pull my Hispanic/Arabic looking son out of crowds of white friends at the Boardwalk for no reason except to ask his business are black and white.
The workplace is not the appropriate venue for political/religious discussions. And all of my kids have had the “how to respond to a cop” speech. Step 1 be polite, step 2 don’t argue, step 3 call them officer/sir/ma’am, step 4, be honest, and step 5 can the attitude and don’t blow off steam till you get home.

I’m very proud of all of them for holding their heads up and maintaining their cool. They have chosen to believe it is less about “overt racism” than very narrow minded folks that look silly.
We didn’t see this kind of behavior when we lived in Omaha some years ago — we definitely see it quite a bit here.
Seeing this through your loved one’s eyes does give one a different perspective.