Race Relations Be Damned

Listening to talk radio or watching even the network television news you find an avenue of opinions that run contrary to the current trend that favors Hillary Clinton because of the fact that Barack Obama just happens to be a black man. When I was trying to toss down a burger at the local Wendy’s I was shocked to hear the many controversial and frankly racist comments made about Senator Obama that were thrown at his campaign workers by so called residents of West Virginia.

When I woke up this morning it was 2008 and not 1968. Trust me, my five children let me know that fact is true every single day. In 1968 I was five years old and now I have my youngest that is five. In each of their eyes they do not see the color of a persons skin but the heart of the friends they choose. Race is not an issue in their eyes or heart and I thank God above that we as parents have been able to raise them without that ugly personality trait.

America was a very separatist society back before 1968 and in the progress that has been made in all that time since many African American’s have prospered and were finally free to be the potential person that they could become. My child has the potential that is the same as any African American and all they have to do is work for it and earn it. That is the American way. Then you hear the draw back on the polling numbers and reports of whites verse black voters and race lines in the vote and it all disgusts me to the bone. MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX did a non stop reporting of why white people would not vote for Obama in West Virginia and the undertone that I perceived as a viewer was that they were playing the race card simply because one of the candidates is a black man and the other is a white woman. Basically, they labeled everyone that didn’t vote for Obama as a racist.

Today I heard of all kinds of racist incidents that the Obama campaign is facing including a Curious George cartoon with an Obama 08 sign depicting Obama as the monkey. Even Rush Limbaugh is running from the mishap simply because he had no clue as to who Curious George was and why it was associated with Obama. Something I find hard to believe is that Rush was ignorant when he claims every single day that his brain is on loan from God in his broadcast. The character and authors of the Curious George character have been around for over 67 years! Margret and H.A. Rey, Curious George's creators worked on children’s books for decades! Rush apologized when he found out how racist the caller was. Then he banned the caller for life.

We don’t need hate in America for or against fellow American’s in any form, function, or broadcast. It serves no purpose other than to divide us as a people and prove out that ignorance of another human being is not only contagious but full of contempt. In the past decade we have seen separation of American’s based on wealth and this kind of thought on race bashing only serves that style of degradation of our people even further. It’s truly up to you as an individual to say enough is enough.

I’m just guessing but I think there are several different America’s and in parts of our nation there is still a racial problem. All of the MSM made West Virginia sound like the KKK headquarters and frankly that scares me. They single handedly manipulated the race for President into a racial bias and they sold it all across the airwaves and then the newspapers the next day.

My kids will grow up color blind and wear one pink sock and one blue sock to the school of life and if they are happy then so am I. No offense intended to the people of West Virginia that voted on the issues and not the color of a persons skin but the MSM made your state look like the racist capital of the United States.

Papamoka

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Huckabee wants U.S. To Be "Arsenal of Theocracy"

By Michael Linn Jones

From The Firesign Theater’s “Don’t Crush That Dwarf; Hand Me The Pliers”:

The Hymn For the Church Of The Presumptive Assumption Of The Blinding Light:

“Oh blinding light,Oh light that blinds,I cannot see,Look out for me!”

Prior to the involvement of the United States in World War II, President Roosevelt made the claim that the U.S. could be “the arsenal of democracy.” This was said at a time when isolationism was quite strong in America; there was opposition to Americans fighting in foreign wars, but no one could really argue against producing the armaments needed to keep the nation safe.

Almost exactly 70 years later we have a candidate for the presidency going right off the rails in his well-intentioned fervor. By stating that the Constitution be amended to bring it more in line with his God, Huckabee proposes fighting Islamic fascism with a Christian-based government.
Next thing you know, we’re going to have young knights, scribes, and pages storming the gates of Jerusalem. Or maybe not; those doing the assailing will be, as is custom now, members of the peasantry utilizing M-16’s, Abrams tanks, F-16’s, F-18’s, and Humvees.

Recently I wrote politely (for me, anyway) about Huckabee’s use of his particular faith in his quest for the presidency. This may be a little more blunt. Pandering to certain fears and suspicions is normal fare in some elections, but what is going on in South Carolina is a bit much.
We are still in the month of January, named after the Roman god Janus. Janus had two faces; one looking forward and one looking backwards. It’s an appropriate way to start the year, but not a presidential primary season.

I say this in light of Huckabee’s recent comments about the Confederate flag, and where the pole should be stuck if any “outsiders” want to tell South Carolinians where to put it. Like Janus, South Carolina can look either forwards or backwards, and it is sad to see someone pandering to the past. The argument about the Confederate flag can go on forever, but what cannot be disputed is that such a contraversy is NOT going to solve or address housing, healthcare, wars, economics, or anything else.

It is possible for a southern white male to see the point of view that the Confederate flag represents the best of southern ‘heritage’ without being inclusive of rascism. That same southern white male can look upon Robert E. Lee and Martin Luther King with equal admiration. Lee was a military genius who made the decision to help re-unite his nation rather than tear it apart with endliess guerilla warfare. King was a gift to America, a rare true philosopher who delivered a message that we still, nationwide, don’t pay much attention to.

However, such a perspective took years of experience and thought. What anyone proudly waving the Confederate flag must acknowledge is that Dr. King is as much a part of southern heritage as any confederate. On the other hand, waving that flag as a token of resistance to non-whites being recognized as equal citizens appeals to some.

But not all, and to ignore those who choose to look forward is an insult to a region and a state. I am not a great admirer of Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina. He’s too conservative for me in many ways, but recently he made an observation that underscores the insult of Huckabee’s remarks.

Sanford made the point that while he would never vote for Barack Obama (as a Republican and a conservative he could not endorse his policies), he said that South Carolinians had a unique opportunity to welcome Obama’s candidacy. This is so because for the first time in history, the cradle of the Confederacy may, in its Democratic primary, select a black American as its candidate.

Sanford deserves credit for stating something that needed to be said. A generation ago he would have ended his career by saying such things. Time marches on….forward always…and so has South Carolina. Gov. Sanford is a fine example of that, no matter how misguided his views on economic policy are, and I say that with respect.

But Gov. Huckabee? No. He has lost all credibility. His appeal for a new Crusade and his veiled pitch to the Klan are not in step with an America aching for a positive change.

You’re offering us a sweet-smelling crap sandwich, Mr. Huckabee. How about something with a little beef?

Originally posted at Michael Linn Jones.com

Did Bill O’Reilly Pull an Imus?

Picture courtesy of Yahoo News

Bill O’Reilly is on the hot seat for talking about black people. Black people? Most of my friends prefer to be called “African American’s” but let’s move this little tour bus ahead. Next stop is Harlem at a nice little “African American” owned establishment called Sylvia’s and Bill is shocked to see that there is not a rapper crowd sitting down for a great meal? Is it just me or is he a racist with a stereotype opinion of all “African Americans”?

Over at the Washington Post they have this little story on Saints preserve us and save us Billy (I know the world and you better listen to me) O’Reilly pulling an Imus…

Fox's Bill O'Reilly Says His Stereotypes Taken Out of Context
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Bill O'Reilly says he thought he was dispelling stereotypes when he told his radio audience last week about his recent trip to Harlem with the Rev. Al Sharpton. Instead, O'Reilly found himself yesterday fighting accusations of racial insensitivity.

During a 35-minute discussion about race relations last Wednesday on his syndicated "Radio Factor," the pugnacious host repeatedly decried "demeaning" portrayals of African Americans, particularly in hip-hop videos. To illustrate his contention that such images provide a false impression of black culture, he recalled having dinner with Sharpton at Sylvia's, a famous soul-food restaurant in Harlem:

"I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City," he said. "It was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks [and has a] primarily black patronship. It was the same. And that's really what this society is really all about now here in the U.S.A. There's no difference."

He later added: "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, '[Expletive], I want some more ice tea.' It was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there ordering and having fun and there wasn't any craziness at all."

His point, he said, is that "some whites fear blacks based on irrational notions. They're afraid to go into Sylvia's, they're afraid to go to Harlem. But there's nothing different in Sylvia's than any other place in the U.S."

The flap -- which CNN's Rick Sanchez covered again in prime time last night -- has faint echoes of the controversy that drove TV and radio host Don Imus from the air in April. In that incident, the Washington-based Media Matters was the first to note Imus's comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team, and Sharpton was prominent in condemning those remarks. - Washington Post

What I truly find offensive in his so called discussion of race in America is that he was shocked to see that “African American’s” don’t fit into the mold that he has stored away in his own head. What other group of Americans don’t fit into his little fixed mindset? All of us Mick’s must be drunkards and bar room brawlers. All Italian’s must be in the mob and are out to kill him. I’m not even going to guess what he thinks about Polish Americans. Mexican American’s must be all veggie pickers… Sorry Bill Richardson, get off the campaign trail and hit the fields bro! All you people of English descent must be royalty bound snobs in his mind. Russian’s, I’m just guessing but Bill might just put you all in the KGB column. Germans… umm, don’t think about waving at Bill within one thousand feet or he just might place you in the Hitler youth corps category.

His comments don’t need to be taken out of context, he proves it in his own defense. Running to the coat tails of Rev. Al Sharpton, who is on his television show more times than you flush the toilet in the house is not a “Fair and Balanced” judge in this case. Will the good Reverend Sharpton take his bread and butter off the table with a condemnation and forceful real opinion of Bill O’Reilly? I honestly can’t see Rev. Al Sharpton burning O’Reilly no matter what he hears on the tapes. Money talks and Al loves his paycheck from Fox News.

Let’s see if O’Reilly fit’s the Don Imus test of what race relations really are in America. I’m betting that he will not be held accountable simply because Billy says so. At least Don Imus apologized and he was at the least remorseful. That isn’t going to be the route O’Reilly will ever take. He knows he is always right and your opinion is nothing to him.

What do you think?

Papamoka

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