re: #123 Obdicut

Because racism has been being re-mainstreamed over the past ten years or so. It started with Islamophobia, and that was used as wedge to expand into other forms of racism as well. The Ayn Randian economics the GOP now espouse also go hand-in-glove with racism, since any economically disadvantaged group is lower on the scale of ethics and worth according to that unsympathetic worldview.

The media is afraid to call even obvious racists racists these days. They mostly just ask the question, at most “Is x racist?” and then usually invite X on to explain how X isn’t racist, not bothering to challenge him with the obvious signs of their racism.

When it does get into the media, it’s normally a concerted effort by political opponents— like was done to Ron Paul about his newsletters. I’m not in the least bit saying it shouldn’t have been talked about, merely that the timing of it was political; Paul’s been a racist his whole life, just pointing it out during the GOP primary season was cynical.

Here’s the thing: We’re probably all racist to some degree. Am I racist? Damn right I am. Do I like that fact? Hell no. Do I always realize I’m being racist? No, but sometimes I do. What does this all mean? It means that I, like everyone else, need to look at myself, my actions, and my reactions to spot the insidious racism that still lurks inside and do my best to purge it. I doubt I’ll ever be completely successful, but I need to do the best job I can to work towards that.

Anyone that claims to have no racism at all inside of them is likely either a liar or a fool, if not both.