And now on to a real story news: AG Holder: U.S "a nation of cowards" on race.

[woody60707]

This seem fitting in light of my last thread.

WASHINGTON — Eric Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, said Wednesday the United States was "a nation of cowards" on matters of race, with most Americans avoiding candid discussions of racial issues. In a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month, Holder said the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives.

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," Holder said.

Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."

Holder's speech echoed President Barack Obama's landmark address last year on race relations during the hotly contested Democratic primaries, when the then-candidate urged the nation to break "a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years" and bemoaned the "chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races." Obama delivered the speech to try to distance himself from the angry rhetoric of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Spoiler :

Holder cited that speech by Obama as part of the motivation for his words Wednesday, saying Americans need to overcome an ingrained inhibition against talking about race.

"If we're going to ever make progress, we're going to have to have the guts, we have to have the determination, to be honest with each other. It also means we have to be able to accept criticism where that is justified," Holder told reporters after the speech.

In the speech, Holder urged people of all races to use Black History Month as a chance for honest discussion of racial matters, including issues of health care, education and economic disparities.

Race, Holder said, "is an issue we have never been at ease with and, given our nation's history, this is in some ways understandable... If we are to make progress in this area, we must feel comfortable enough with one another and tolerant enough of each other to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."

In a country founded by slave owners, race has bedeviled the nation throughout its history, with blacks denied the right to vote just a few decades ago. Obama's triumph last November as well as the nomination of Holder stand as historic achievements of two black Americans.

Holder told hundreds of Justice Department employees gathered for the event that they have a special responsibility to advance racial understanding.

Even when people mix at the workplace or afterwork social events, Holder argued, many Americans in their free time are still segregated inside what he called "race-protected cocoons."

"Saturdays and Sundays, America in the year 2009 does not in some ways differ significantly from the country that existed almost 50 years ago. This is truly sad," said Holder.

Matt Miller, a spokesman for Holder, said later the attorney general used "provocative words to be clear that Americans of all races should stop avoiding the difficult issues of race."

Andrew Grant-Thomas, Deputy Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University, praised Holder's general message but said the wording of the speech may alienate some.

"He's right on the substance, but that's probably not the most politic way of saying it. I'm certain there are people who will hear him and say, 'That's obnoxious,'" he said, adding that what was missing from Holder's speech were specific examples of what painful subjects need to be addressed.

Hilary Shelton, vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called the speech "constructively provocative."

"Nobody wants to be considered a coward. We've learned to get along by exclusion and silence. We need to talk about it. People need to feel comfortable saying the wrong things," said Shelton.

Holder is headed to Guantanamo Bay early next week to inspect the terrorist detention facility there. Obama has assigned Holder to lead a special task force aimed at closing the site within a year.

Holder's Justice Department will have to decide which suspects to bring to U.S. courts for trial, which to prosecute through the military justice system, and which to send back to their home countries.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.co...al-calls-america-a-nation-of-cowards-on-race/

I think he is pretty much dead on. As long as no one says the wrong thing, it's not an issue. That doesn't fix the problem.

 

[LightFang]

That's true!

 

[Higher Game]

We have a black president that most Americans approve of. Theories of a white "good ol' boys" club controlling all of the US are starting to sound like 19th century Jewish financial conspiracies. That leftists still take them seriously is laughable.

 

[emzie]

I've never self-segregated for reasons of race. I self-segregated on scoio-economic lines. Those lines often overlapped with race, it's true. For the same reasons, I never went to social gatherings with millionaires.

 

[Dachs]

Hahahaha, that's funny. Most of my RL friends aren't white.

 

[Masquerouge]

I've never self-segregated for reasons of race. I self-segregated on scoio-economic lines. Those lines often overlapped with race, it's true. For the same reasons, I never went to social gatherings with millionaires.

Aye. What he said.

 

[Lay_Lay]

I talk with my black buddy about race more often than anyone needs to. It's a pretty nerdy discussion, but we cut deep. Very deep. I thought he was gonna punch me in the face once, and he has been both very positive and very critical of my ancestry - german.

I can take it, and he can take it from me. But he does not want some stranger talking about the plusses and minuses of the afro american culture to his face.

So basically, Whites can take criticism, but Blacks (if you don't know them very well) may take great offense if you bring up race. Also, some Blacks (only some of the chicks) are seriously hoping for you to mess up so they can display power by shouting you down in public, or otherwise creating a scene in an attempt to humiliate you.

Who really wants to deal with the 'strong black woman'. Eww not me. There are reasons why we don't hang out on the weekends, Eric Holder. Your wife is a <wife>.

Edit: Eric's wife is probably a sweetheart, but I think Michelle Obama probably fits the profile to the tee.

Moderator Action: Please do not use foul language. If you trigger the autocensor, please rephrase.

 

[Ulyaoth]

Black people love me...

 

[mrt144]

I have more asian friends than white. And I'm white.

 

[Nike Zeus]

I have more asian friends than white. And I'm white.

Same here.

 

[LightFang]

I talk with my black buddy about race more often

A bunch of racist junk

Since we are on the verge of electing a black president, it seems important to explain why white people want black friends. Every white person wants a black friend like Barack: good-looking, well-spoken, and non-violent. Obviously, whites want black friends so as not to appear racist (see earlier Obama post). However, if we dig deeper what we notice about white people is not if they have black friends but in fact, how many black friends they have. White people like numbers. They like to count things like stars in the sky and the death toll at Mt. Everest and the number of times they&#8217;ve seen Tori Amos and/or Phish in concert. Counting the number of black friends is then clearly a divine imperative. The number of black friends white people possess also illustrates their comfort with black culture. Here&#8217;s a handy guide to the number system:

1&#8212;The white novice. This black friend is the gateway to helping white people understand gang signs and Vietnamese beauty supply stores. This black friend is probably the only black friend for many white people and when they all hang out (because white people hang out) they bring their &#8220;mutual&#8221; black friend with them.

2&#8212;The white black club-goer. Two black friends serve as bodyguards when white people go to black clubs to see how exactly one &#8220;pops, drops and locks&#8221; it.

3 -4&#8212;The white BET-er. See Justin Timberlake/ Robin Thicke/ Jon B for more information. For old school reference, see Michael McDonald.

5 and up&#8212;Impossible.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/21/14-having-black-friends/

 

[Ulyaoth]

stuff white people like is the dumbest sack of crap I've seen in ages. Well, that's an over exaggeration, plenty of just as dumb things around especially recent times, but it's still pretty stupid.

 

[Bill3000]

stuff white people like is the dumbest sack of crap I've seen in ages. Well, that's an over exaggeration, plenty of just as dumb things around especially recent times, but it's still pretty stupid.

You're from Long Island, like me. You only hate it because it's true for both yourself and everyone you know.

 

[Lay_Lay]

Since we are on the verge of electing a black president, it seems important to explain why white people want black friends. Every white person wants a black friend like Barack: good-looking, well-spoken, and non-violent. Obviously, whites want black friends so as not to appear racist (see earlier Obama post). However, if we dig deeper what we notice about white people is not if they have black friends but in fact, how many black friends they have. White people like numbers. They like to count things like stars in the sky and the death toll at Mt. Everest and the number of times they’ve seen Tori Amos and/or Phish in concert. Counting the number of black friends is then clearly a divine imperative. The number of black friends white people possess also illustrates their comfort with black culture. Here’s a handy guide to the number system:

1—The white novice. This black friend is the gateway to helping white people understand gang signs and Vietnamese beauty supply stores. This black friend is probably the only black friend for many white people and when they all hang out (because white people hang out) they bring their “mutual” black friend with them.

2—The white black club-goer. Two black friends serve as bodyguards when white people go to black clubs to see how exactly one “pops, drops and locks” it.

3 -4—The white BET-er. See Justin Timberlake/ Robin Thicke/ Jon B for more information. For old school reference, see Michael McDonald.

5 and up—Impossible.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/21/14-having-black-friends/

You forgot
6 I grew up a few houses down from the guy

You think you know why a person has someone as a friend, trying to pass judgement on me in the process, and you missed the most obvious (we've always been friends, Always.)

I can acknowledge that differences exist and certain types of people are more likely to possess a personality trait than other types of people. You label it as rasist. Nice.

 

[LuckyAC]

My Facebook friends break down as 47% white Jewish, 27% Indian, 13% Chinese, 7% white Catholic, 7% black, 0% WASP (religion being used ethnically, all are agnostic/atheist as far as I know)
I don't have anything against WASPs, just don't tend to mix in the same circles, I guess.

 

[LightFang]

You forgot
6 I grew up a few houses down from the guy

No, 6 is precluded by the entry of "5 and up".

You think you know why a person has someone as a friend, trying to pass judgement on me in the process, and you missed the most obvious (we've always been friends, Always.)

I don't have pretensions of knowing.

I can acknowledge that differences exist and certain types of people are more likely to possess a personality trait than other types of people. You label it as rasist. Nice.

YOU'RE THE RACIST HERE! ONLY RACISTS WOULD OPEN UP WITH "My black buddy."

But then again, every white person wants to have one friend of every race so he can be the least racist person in the world. So I can understand why you'd be angry at my calling out of such shallow thinking.

Edit: Come on, lighten up, and smell the roses. Enjoy some ironic, self-deprecating humor (well, only for you. Since I'm a minority, I'm allowed to say racist things because I've been oppressed and everything.)

 

[Ulyaoth]

You're from Long Island, like me. You only hate it because it's true for both yourself and everyone you know.

No I hate it because it's stupid and acts like any of those things are bad, oh god forbid we recycle, I guess we should just start loading up container planes full of garbage and toxic waste and dumping it over third world places.

 

[Lay_Lay]

ok it was a joke then, fine.
But I qualify my rasist commentary with words like "some of them."
You claim that "every white person..." which is much more blatant.

 

[LightFang]

No I hate it because it's stupid and acts like any of those things are bad, oh god forbid we recycle, I guess we should just start loading up container planes full of garbage and toxic waste and dumping it over third world places.

Those things are not inherently bad, it's just that the baggage a lot of white people bring (like being pretentious and all that.) It's funny!

ok it was a joke then, fine.
But I qualify my rasist commentary with words like "some of them."
You claim that "every white person..." which is much more blatant.

Don't care for my straightfaced humor?

 

[Bill3000]

No I hate it because it's stupid and acts like any of those things are bad, oh god forbid we recycle, I guess we should just start loading up container planes full of garbage and toxic waste and dumping it over third world places.

I think you completely miss the point of what "Stuff White People Like" is about. It is most certainly not saying that recycling is a bad thing.

Edit: crosspost with Lightfang.