Showing how far we haven't come

[Brewman_Jax]

This letter is from my friend, the standard oblivious white guy that can't "get it"--yes, my favorite Johnny. :P Here's his letter to me called "Moving Forward" unedited:

What a roller coaster ride of an election. I would have voted for McCain against John Kerry immediately when he said tapping the strategic oil supplies which is worse than gasoline tax holidays for me. I voted for Kerry but grudgingly despite this but this was a vote against Bush. Barack Obama deserved and earned more respect of course so I went much longer and even took a trip to Richmond, Virginia to hear a debate between McCain and Obama energy and environmental experts. I liked both of their perspective focus but felt the supply side of the equation was so critical, I sided with McCain. Also, the Obama expert lied to me when I confronted him as compared to stone silence and a smile from McCain's expert. I felt each understood their side of the equation and feel neither understood many things I am aware of concerning climate and energy economics for lack of a better term. The McCain side understood energy security better and why not? McCain is more security conscious across the board.

Concerning his VP pick and how McCain ran his campaign. I was disappointed. He ran better against the Republicans. I rationalized his Palin pick based on watching him during 1 McCain rally I attended closeby. He looked energetic and healthy enough not to die in office. Palin may be better than people think given an 80% approval rating in Alaska but she attracted ridicule based on her demeanor and of course this was a negative. I felt McCain would have picked Lieberman (if he could) but the Republicans would never have allowed it. Based on my most recent assessment, I think McCain was forced by circumstances in the Republican Party because he "needed" their money plus their help to get out the vote. I think that he himself believed Palin was an asset and a reformer in his image and maybe more than people might give her credit for. They both had sons in the military and she is very pretty so I think all this appealed to McCain. He did go after the redneck vote too much and alienated moderate intellectuals and Independents who swung away from him. I did vote for him Cy but I hope my vote is proven wrong in the people's choice of Obama and I feel the excitement but not euphoria (initially) and I think in the end if McCain did not deserve to loose, the Republican Party sure did and Obama earned his right to win all the way. Obama beat the Clinton machine and a national hero. I think this says a lot about us as a people and I hope the message is that maybe we are not so racist as some people want to believe. I did not vote for McCain because he is white. I told you long ago that Obama had potential and he could win when you believed otherwise. I hope you remember that.

I will say is that the Community Reinvestment Act focus I think is very legitimate in being blamed for the cause of the current crises. But let's be clear about this. This law was modified and Republicans (good ones, ... they exist), tried to get these mortgage giants regulated. Even McCain cosponsored a bill back in May 25, 2006. The problem was not the Act but the "black power" associated with aggressive communities forcing the banks to make loans available to people who could not afford them and the standards went down very low. Of course, other factors were aiding this and people refinanced based on availability of loans to make their home larger. The sleazy way these loans were securitized hid the fact they were bad and insured this problem mushroomed into an international problem as foreign investment in these securities were passed to them as good loans when they actually had good and bad loans mixed up so these securities were not really even capable of being tracked as their worthiness as an investment. A lot of bad managers whom need not only to be fired but put in jail like Enron but it appears this is NOT happening.

The real tragedy on energy and the environment is too many large homes were built using precious resources and many are unoccupied. Many of these homes could have been duplexes, quadplexes, or small starter homes. When occupied, these homes had low occupancy and this creates high energy bills per human occupant and also greenhouse gases shoot up as well. I feel the outcome is contradictory in terms of energy independence and climate concerns. I have a serious of videos from the opposition who fairly showed the effect of ACORN in particular. We need not to have black power groups intimidate banks, sue them, protest in front of Bank official homes, etc. People should not "fear" the focus of this whereby it undermines the foundations of free enterprise. Loan standards must be independent of making anything afordable and I do not like the idea we have a new welfare class or low income people with homes too large and this also goes for CEOs and the rest of our society who have overindulged with respect to large homes and too much indulgence when we need to save energy and reduce some of our extravagant lifestyle. These types of contradictions will not create a unified focus on the real problems we face.

I have 3 choices. I can work with the Democrats, work for Republicans, or focus on a third group either existing or I create one. I lean toward the later because I tried the first 2 before and Obama just reversed offshore drilling and I think we need this for energy security, environmental reasons (avoiding shale oil and foreign companies drilling in international waters offshore), and for global security because oil will be a short commodity and when we have more of it, it eases world demand in the future. The real problem is pricing. In my third party focus, I would make sure immigration, social security, and taxation be discussed candidly and educate people on the climate better. When oil prices are low, we either pump more oil into reserves or tax the oil to gain revenue. We may have to do both. The idea is to stabilize the oil pricing so it is uniformly growing forcing conservation plus allowing our reserves to grow during lean economic times (when oil prices are low). I would never ever suggest oil be drawn out of reserves for pricing but for availability only. If gasoline is readily available, the pricing is just right. When it is scarce and we cannot get it from wells or imports and long lines are forming, then we tap the strategic oil supply. If Russia cuts off supplies to our friends overseas, we send our tankers to bolster them up and use other tactics which show them that we can fight back with our horde of oil if needed. This is why I said to an Obama canvasser, "any candidate supporting a strong anti-war stance better be for hording oil".

On the future of the Republican Party. It appears Palin is a hero to them and this makes this party the Social conservative Party if true. See below.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/27648153/?GT1=43001

If a right of center party with a more pragmatic energy and climate policy with a moderate social agenda but a stronger sense of fiscal responsibility develops, I can see decent Republicans and moderate Democrats follow into it. This is of course if Obama governs too far left. If he is more right of center and takes the ideas from a group like this, then he will strengthen the Democratic Party. Still, I have argued that no one understands climate issues enough let alone policies which no politician can support right now. We may need a credible party to counter the resurgence of the Democrats. I do know we need to drill for more oil and if it takes 10 years, then we will be happy we have it then. We need all the energy we can get to power new water infrastructure, smelt ores and recycled metals to make the renewable components and allow expansion of our manufacturing base here. Otherwise the cost of oil will make expensive renewable energy even more expensive. We need a lot of electricity to power plug in hybrids and electric mass transit plus higher AC usage during heat waves when the Arctic melts down.

Obama is a lawyer and lawyers do not think broadly as engineers and ecologists. They may not have a decent economic acumen and are not necessarily business oriented. They may not understand military concerns. McCain helped us reduce violence, save money, save lives by supporting the surge. The Joint Chiefs of Staff, whom Obama will work out the Exit strategy, were against the surge.

I have heard great concerns from my friends and you as well as others about being less militarily focused. I agree we should but I will contend that the evil anarchists will not be swayed by Obama's charm or even McCain's bravado. They could care less about anything when they get people to commit suicide in the pursuit of their objectives. In this light, the world has to be tough on terror and Acadia was in Iraq as McCain said they call themselves "Acadia in Iraq" and so this must be self evident we were fighting our terror enemies there as well. The surge worked and "made" Iraq a non-issue over the economy.

I was very disappointed and even angry about the election based on the CRA stuff I read but once I moved past this, I see that maybe Obama has nothing to do with this militant wing of black power intimidation of the banks. I am very hopeful that he governs correctly and when we look at the makeup of America, any idea of offsetting others to compensate for black injustices of the past will backfire in not only white voters but Hispanic, and Asian voters as well. This idea is dead on arrival. In this light, I think we need to phase out all affirmative action based on race as well as the NAACP. We need tough and fair application of the laws already on the books to be applied equally to everyone. This is called equality. I hope you agree with me as I am finding this across the board so far. We cannot return our land to the Indians, Israel will continue to exist, and generations today cannot compensate for the generations of the past or take back the suffering of slaves which do not exist today. McCain is a perfect example as he suffered as a POW for over 5 years and returned to Vietnam helping us restore relations with them after suffering in their hell. As a credit to McCain, the Vietnamese community in Annandale voted overwhelmingly for John McCain.

It appears, my friend, that a paradigm shift just happened. I think we will not know the full score of it until more time passes. We may not be able to conquer our problems but maybe we are forming the ability to put our past behind so we can focus on them and really move forward and do the impossible. I have been so cynical and so depressed and so pessimistic. This never helps anyone and neither does anger. I hope this is more than a feeling. Emotions are what define us as human beings maybe more than intellect. I can feel good about the outcome now, even though McCain lost. He challenged and strengthened Obama which was his right of passage to be our leader. It says something good about all of us I think.
____________________________________________________________


I gave it its own thread as a glaring example of the double standard that black people have to deal with all the time, not to mention that it's rather long. POC still have to be twice as good to get half the respect. :eyes:

[Karenina]

1. There's little critical thinking there

Just emotion-based, pseudo-intellectual bloviating.

[Brewman_Jax]

2. Quite right

but, as so many threads and posts show, there are way more ignorant Sallys and Johnnys than smart, critical-thinking, enlightened individuals. Unfortunately, in a country based on racism and racist attitudes, the election of the first non-white President won't change hearts and minds overnight, or even over years. :(

[kwassa]

3. I'd like to see a shred of evidence about the "black power" groups

intimidating banks into giving out bad mortgages.

Aside from being completely false on a factual basis, it is also, being fact-free, fundamentally racist in outlook.

This essentially makes the current financial crisis the fault of black people! How far divorced from reality is this guy?

The problem was not the Act but the "black power" associated with aggressive communities forcing the banks to make loans available to people who could not afford them and the standards went down very low. Of course, other factors were aiding this and people refinanced based on availability of loans to make their home larger. The sleazy way these loans were securitized hid the fact they were bad and insured this problem mushroomed into an international problem as foreign investment in these securities were passed to them as good loans when they actually had good and bad loans mixed up so these securities were not really even capable of being tracked as their worthiness as an investment. A lot of bad managers whom need not only to be fired but put in jail like Enron but it appears this is NOT happening.

[Brewman_Jax]

4. Reads like a FR entry, doesn't it?

Most of the above is unsubstantiated recycled racist RW garbage. The sad part is that he's such a Johnny, he will never understand. :(

[cyndensco]

5. Your friend's letter was l-o-n-g and difficult to follow at times.

Good thing you prefaced it by stating it was presented as received...

My question to you, though off-topic, is this: is your friend a "Johnny" only with respect to politics, or does it spill over to other arenas? How are you able to overlook such flaws and still consider him a friend?

I had a "friend" back in the 80's who I thought was cool until she gleefully told me that the newly crowned Miss America, Vanessa Williams, really set "you people" back. We remained friendly, I guess, but she was no longer a friend. During the election, I avoided calling another woman, my lifelong friend, because I knew our conversation would turn to politics. I was not sure where she stood and feared she might say something upsetting.

My sons have shared with me several statements left by their HS friends on Facebook. I found many of the posts highly offensive - no n-words, but "you're only supporting Obama because he is black" and the like. For me, some of the statements would have been deal-breakers, but my sons were able to give their friends a pass. I recognize it is probably healthier to forgive and forget, but I still do not get how my kids can remain friendly to them. (I told my younger son he better never bring one particular offender into my house ever again). }(

How much are you able to put up with, and when do you draw the line? Just wondering....

[Brewman_Jax]

6. Since you asked...

he's a "Johnny" in general. He somehow thinks he's "diverse" because he sits at the bar of a Korean restaurant not far from his house, thinks Asian girls are hot, has friend who's a black guy, among other activities.

After reading the above, I feel that it's time to end this. He's shown time and again that he can't "get it", in spite of repeated lengthy conversations, and he still felt the need to send the above. The fact that he's no longer in the local area makes it a bit easier.

I have taken much time to think about this and I find myself returning to one basic concept: If this were sent by someone I didn't know and if it makes me think that there's a set of klan robes in the closet--that's no one I want to call friend. It's like trying to explain a rainbow to a blind man--it's outside of his experience, beyond his ability to comprehend, and he can't see it.

[bliss_eternal]

7. I love the people that think....

...having interracial sex (or a "thing")for women of other cultures, somehow exempts them from blatant racism, racist attitudes, language, or general insensitivity regarding matters of ethnicity.

http://www.mixedmediawatch.com/2006/07/21/i-cant-be-racist-i-have-interracial-sex/

http://www.ocweekly.com/2006-11-02/news/yellow-fever/
(article about the issues inherent to "asiaphiles.")


I've posted these link in the multiracial relationship forum.

[Brewman_Jax]

8. This is also a glaring example

of how little white people know about race, racism, and dealing with those that aren't white. To most, racism is a character flaw of individuals, not a social/culture/power problem. IMO, that's why most white people can say, with a straight face, that: blacks can be racist, and can spew racist crap (see above) and say, that "I'm not a racist." To them, racists are the pointed-hood-wearing, cross-burning, confederate-flag-waving, goose-stepping, swastika-painting, angry screaming yahoos seen at white power rallies. As long as they aren't doing any of the above, (and extra points for "being diverse", i.e., hanging out with non-whites), to them, they aren't racists, regardless of what they think or believe.

[noiretextatique]

10. if i hear "everybody can be racist" one more time

i think my head will explode. gosh...if i had a dollar for every time i've said what you wrote...i'd be a millionaire. talking about race with the average white american is like a trying to discuss quantum physics with a two year old. they just don't get it...they don't have to get it.

[noiretextatique]

9. this guy is delusional...and he's a racist

he constructs fantasies that fuel his racist worldview. he wants to "phase out" the NAACP...how ignorant is that?

[Brewman_Jax]

11. I was very disappointed to read this

but it shows one thing, racists do make themselves known, no matter how they try to hide it, sooner or later. There will be an incident or article that comes up and the mask falls off and the truth is revealed.

[bliss_eternal]

12. Have you talked with him since this incident, Argyle...?

Or did you decide to distance yourself?

Will understand whatever you decided. :hug:
I'm so sorry you had to learn this about someone you considered a friend.

Regarding your recent comment...so true.
They will eventually reveal themselves. No matter what. :( :grr::mad:

It's one of the reasons I find comments on line (penned by those lacking pigment) about "what constitutes racism" ridiculous, and frequently laughable. Lately I've grown fond of calling such comments "white world's permission slips" of what we are allowed to deem as racism.

There are still these notions that one can't possess levels of unawareness, and in the process express some "insensitivity" regarding ethnic issues. Some still believe if people don't have skinned heads, white robes or look like some stereotypical bigoted cariacature on tv--then it isn't racist/racism.

Case in point, the prop 8 aftermath.
I saw members that have routinely spoken out against various forms of ethnic discrimination say some incredibly insensitive things. Was some of it racist? Yes. And I was surpised. But given the source and having seen them speak out against racial bigotry in the past, I was willing to cut some slack and merely go with "racially insensitive."

But, when I saw the same called on their comments by members...whoa! "...how dare you call me a racist. You don't know what you're talking about! How dare you?!" lol! ;)

When all was said and done, people of color were still dictated to by caucasians (even those that identify as another minority group) as to what they were "allowed" to be offended by. The proof is in the threads from that period, linked in this forum (no matter how much some may want to re-write what happened, after the fact).

Interesting example in this sub-thread (thread concerning evidence that prop 8 stats were "overblown"):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=8069057#8069721

specific example shown in sub-thread beginning w/post 94.
Point continues on through 128/118 (and comments by kwassa).

Note how post #97 is soon after contradicted by # 128.

[Brewman_Jax]

13. I haven't

but to paraphrase one of my posts above, he, like most white people, understands race--when it doesn't work in his favor. Case in point: anytime black people do something to annoy white people, like the threads blaming black people for Prop. 8 in California, they flame like hell, but listen to the crickets when a racist caste system singles out and/or hurts black people, like Prop. 424 in Nebraska, or allegations of racial-motivated murders of black people by white people after Hurricane Katrina.

[Brewman_Jax]

14. Chicago Tribune section on race

Exploring Race, found at http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/race/ Just read some of the comments--makes wonder if this is the 21st Century? :eyes:

[Raineyb]

15. The stupid! It burns!

If I were to bang my head for every ignorant comment put up there I'd be in a coma.

Post racial they say? My ass!

Regards

[Number23]

16. Thanks for an actual working link!

There was a post in GD-P about this and it looked interesting but the link wasn't working.