The American Spectator

Bob| 8.10.09 @ 12:57PM

Antle, while I understand your comments, you, of all people, should know that "racism" is in the eye of the beholder. When blacks were polled regarding the Gates/Cambridge issue, almost 90% of them said it was racism at work. I would dare say that virtually no one who frequents the right win sites would say so.

So how do you measure racism? I accused Quin of having racially inspired remarks and he became indignant. I grew up in a black neighborhood and have seen forms of racism that whites would not notice. Yet, being white and attending a primarily white college, it became obvious to me that there was latent racism not remotely acknowledged by my white friends.

If you believe that racism starts with discrimination, then you must look for concrete evidence of its effects. The Republican party has a very low percentage of blacks and Hispanics -- and thus a form of discrimination must be in effect. I happen to believe that some of the tea party response is racially motivated.

Now I don't think the vast majority of people in the Republican party are overt racists, but I do believe they favor white opinions and white behavior. Is that a form of racism? Who knows.

But the evidence that Republicans are not as black or Hispanic friendly is not refutable if measured by results and voter affiliation.

So the issue here is NOT racism, but politics. The growing demographic segments of our country are young, black, and Hispanic. These groups will see the Republicans actions as racist whether they are or not. That is the problem with the party.

With the Gates/Cambridge issue, I believed that both the cop and Gates went beyond reason. They both had their testosterone pumping and did what males have done for ages -- locked horns.

If you had spent much time on the streets of NY, you'd know that all minorities use comments like "wise Latina" as an overstatement that is part bravado and part comedy. It is a typical "Bronx" thing. Do I think that the statement was a smart thing for her to say? Absolutely not. Was it racist? To those of us who grew up in minority communities, absolutely not. To those with a lily white evangelical background? Most assuredly.

This issue will hurt Republicans in the large and growing Hispanic community. Whether it was racist or not depends on the individual. The issue was not really this statement, but the social conservative belief that she will vote for abortion rights. I would guarantee that if Sotomayor was known to be pro-life and pro-gun, no one would have brought the speech up.

Oldefarte| 8.10.09 @ 2:16PM

To the """BOB'S"""" out there, let me 'SPLAIN' the situation! If and until, the African-American; Hispanic-American; Irish-American; Italian-American;etc 'COMMUNITIES' drop the prefixes; and become simply ''' AMERICANS"""; nothing will ever change or be accompolished in this racism issue. All of us are something Americans [or some kind of --- Americans]; but to emphasize the prefix to the word, instead of the word itself, the unification and blending of the cultures will never happen. Quit trying to be this,that or the other Americans, and become simply---------AMERICANS. If black children stop wearing baggy pants around their ankles and listening to hip-hop, gangster rap [and maybe listen to classical (true) music]; start studying and taking advantage of their free public education provided by taxpayers; stop comitting crimes and being jailed accordingly for same; etc; maybe just maybe things like the charges of RACISM etc will eventually disappear. Maybe if Obama would stop defending his BLACK friends [ie Gates] and stop calling everyday American citizens the MOB; maybe RACISM will no longer be an issue. Quit trying to be SEPERATE and become parts of the whole picture!!!!!!!!!

Bob| 8.10.09 @ 2:56PM

Well, it looks like "Oldfarte" gave away his own racial bias in this statement:

"If black children stop wearing baggy pants around their ankles and listening to hip-hop, gangster rap [and maybe listen to classical (true) music]; start studying and taking advantage of their free public education provided by taxpayers; stop comitting crimes and being jailed accordingly for same..."

Well, people, welcome to racist America. Actually, Oldfarte, about 80% of hip-hop listeners are white. Baggy pants are worn by white kids more than blacks -- especially the skaters and skateboarders, and there is no evidence that whites listen to classical music more than blacks.

It is your characterization that is even worse than one being proud of their heritage. You've proven my point -- you're a racist and don't even realize it.... Thank you....

A proud Mesopotamian American....

Ken (Old Texican)| 8.10.09 @ 4:01PM

Olde Farte. Congratulations!

I THINK you were talking about kids joining the mainstream of a better life.

Don't worry about Bob. He has finally admitted to being a towel head (heh)...(mesopotamia, get it?)
So why did his parents come here?
To give little Wahed access to a computer of course.

Hey Wahed, every single human alive has racial "bias"...IE: he/she aint just like me?

Hell my own kids wear their pants down around their butts like jailbirds who had their belts taken away.
40% of those jailbirds are black...out of a poulation percentage of 12%.....duh, just true.

Bob is biased as well. Anyone over 80 IQ is hated by him...they are Americans like Olde Farte.