Jimmy Carter

[GoodWitch58]

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David Brooks is nearly always insightful. Certainly a take on this that I hadn't thought about.


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Yeah, I have been following his OpEds pretty regularly and I am impressed with the approach he has taken lately.

As he says, if one looks(reads) back in history to the populist movement (Wm Jennings Bryan, etc.) there were some pretty awful times.

I think a big difference these days is the 24-7 news and all the other means of communication. Everyone has instant everything, and many react without ever considering, much less checking, the source.

Many look at Fox News, et al, as entertainment and assume that everyone looks at it that way...when the fact is too many look at it as gospel...this is
what I think the Speaker was getting at in her remarks yesterday--even if one chooses to consider the source and do not think anything she says is important or accurate--I do think that the message she tried to convey is an important one: most of us are well balanced and able to filter most of the hateful stuff--some are not well balanced and often tend to believe everything from someone they consider to be "an authority figure". Those of us who have lived through some horrible events, know that it only takes one unbalanced person to cause a tragedy...

I don't know what to call all of this hate filled talk, and I really don't care what it's called, I just wish it would stop!

 

[fisher]

... there is a minority far right/extreme segment right now who absolutely cannot and will not accept Obama as their president.

Let's go back a few years and write this a different way-- there is a minority far LEFT/extreme segment right now who absolutely cannot and will not accept BUSH as their president.

Why is one racist, or potentially racist, and the other is not?

Sure, there are whites out there that absolutely do not want a black president. But, I would bet a million bucks that there are a decent number of blacks that would never let a white guy be president if they had their way. Can you say Louis Farakhan?

There are plenty of districts in this country that are majority black that will likely never, ever elect a white representative, mayor, etc. Does that mean that most of the blacks in the district are racist--absolutely not. This racist thing gets way, way overplayed. Now that there is a black man in the white house, it has become a shrill cry of the left against everyone that opposes Obama. Pretty disgusting.

There is definitely racism out there, but it is in all segments of the population. And, it is a small segment of the population thankfully. The left needs to stop using the racist card at every drop of the hat.

 

[Lynnie]

Well, the way I see it, which is the only way to see it, is that if you tout racism, you a racist. Projection 101.

I don't think this way, therefore it's a challenge to really wrap my arms around the fact that there remains racism in this country, but really in the world. What I do see are many people (some black), some democrats, who are using the word racism quite a bit. It could just be a crutch because they want so badly for this President to be the best and accomplish such great things.

And, I am not naive enough to believe that White Supremacy doesn't exist, just as Neo Nazis still exist.

But, 'racism' has been over-used recently. Being from the deep South, can we still use the term High Yella? He's part white. He's white. He's black. Think Tiger Woods likes being called a Mullato? By definition, President Obama is a mullato. So there! Problem solved!

 

[Linda]

Surely our new Diversity Czar, Mark Lloyd, can bring us all together :roll:

 

[mtlinscomb]

Surely our new Diversity Czar, Mark Lloyd, can bring us all together :roll:

this racism crutch will be the unraveling of the brief dem movement. it is sad as they held all the pieces necessary. think jackie robinson. he played through all the negative stereotyping and awful profanity and came out on the other side a hero. had tiger been hung up on the racist remarks fuzzy made, he would have made himself the spectacle. obama has the wrong people around him making him play from the old dem playbook, which will keep him from reaching whatever potential there may be.

 

[Teresa]

maybe people should take a little time to find out what the term "racism" really means. I am thinking there are many many good people in our country, in the world who do not really comprehend its scope, its history in our country, or its impact on real people in the past and now. racism isn't funny, but this website always manages to give pretty good insight with humor to its topics...

Is "Racism" dead?
An in-depth interview with America's most inflammatory and most misunderstood word





Don’t ever say that we don’t deliver. The We Are Respectable Negroes News Network (WARNNN) has scored an exclusive interview with Racism…Yes, the actual word Racism.

Enjoy!

...

Stuff White People Do / think racism is dead (guest writer)

 

[LuciferSam]

Well, the way I see it, which is the only way to see it, is that if you tout racism, you a racist. Projection 101.

I don't think this way, therefore it's a challenge to really wrap my arms around the fact that there remains racism in this country, but really in the world. What I do see are many people (some black), some democrats, who are using the word racism quite a bit. It could just be a crutch because they want so badly for this President to be the best and accomplish such great things.

And, I am not naive enough to believe that White Supremacy doesn't exist, just as Neo Nazis still exist.

But, 'racism' has been over-used recently. Being from the deep South, can we still use the term High Yella? He's part white. He's white. He's black. Think Tiger Woods likes being called a Mullato? By definition, President Obama is a mullato. So there! Problem solved!

Does the same thing apply if you tout elitism? Are these Joe Sixpack working class types who criticize Obama for being elitist really elitist themselves? What if you call somebody a fascist, Marxist or socialist? Does that mean you're really one yourself?

 

[Just Curious]

you have some very good points. but I think people (white) are denying the racial/prejudice issue regarding the country's first African American president. (people have always denied racism.. even during the worst of times in our history)... there is a minority far right/extreme segment right now who absolutely cannot and will not accept Obama as their president. The kind of behavior I've seen and read about is truly vitriolic to the extreme. If this group causes a big discussion on racism in America, then perhaps it is what is really needed. Are we really past racism in America? I personally do not think so.

If parents refuse to let their children watch the President of the United States give a speech about the importance of school and hard work - at school - well, I have to believe that racism is involved at least to an extent. maybe it is at the root of why white parents across the country reacted in such a way. maybe not.

Maybe Wilson is not racist... maybe he was motivated to act in such a way for some other reason. maybe he's just an ahole. we can't really know what motivated him to do such a thing. we all agree that what he did was unacceptable. We can only have our own opinions as to why he would do such a thing.


I believe Wilson's disrespectful outburst, and parents keeping their children home from watching the President make a speech at school, and a segment of extremists who wholeheartedly reject Obama as President - well I just suspect something other than merely political disagreement. and although I believe racism may play a part of what is going on in our society today, there are many other reasons people behave as they do.

people are complicated. none of us can truly say what motivates others. we can only offer our own thoughts.
we all have our different ways of viewing these things. all we can do is share our opinions, listen with respect and learn something from others that may help us have better understanding.

I find this sentence ironic given the topic.

 

[Just Curious]

I find the fact that you described the people as "white" ironic. I didn't know racism was only restricted to "white people".

 

[Teresa]

I find the fact that you described the people as "white" ironic. I didn't know racism was only restricted to "white people".

that isn't irony, but if you insist... it is the topic of this discussion - whether white groups are acting out so vehemently against President Obama in part due to racism. (white parents not allowing their children hear the President speak at school, white protesters with extreme views... and white citizens refusing to accept that racism could be at least partially at issue)... raising the fact that minorities can also exhibit racist behavior is irrevelent to this discussion, and it does not excuse racist behavior in whites or any other group.