Am I Right About This?

I was reading this blog from a person at my local newspaper, the Tuscaloosa News.


Then, I decided to offer a response, in which I was questioning the concept of "good Republicans."


Now, after reading her post (the whole thing, below) a couple of times, I get the feeling that it is vaguely racist too.

http://wayoutwest.tuscaloosanews.com/default.asp?item=270681

:applause:

My fellow Tuscaloosan. ;)

I like the sound of that. :P

Hey, Syrinx, KC from Way Out West here. I don't mean to be creepy by following you around. At least you know who I am; you're still anonymous to me.

I just posted my bottom-line opinion over at my blog. I agree with a lot of what you said, but I think party alignment's more part of the problem than part of the solution. And I can't speak my mind the way I'd like to online because of my line of work.

Main reason I'm replying is because of your feeling that the post was "vaguely racist." I've spent most of my single, adult life (not counting a brief misspent period as a married suburbanite) in inner-city black neighborhoods, but there's nothing I can do to make my life experience anything like that of my neighbors.

Still, I get annoyed when Democrats take "us" (meaning people who live in majority-black ZIP codes) for granted. And I've heard black leaders, Sharpton is one Democrat that comes immediately to mind, say the same thing. There are plenty of black folks who agree that you have to do more than be a Democrat to earn their vote. I would never presume to call myself a member of the black community, but that's where I live, so that's what I know. That's all.

So the short answer is, yes, I'd call myself racist. I'm not ashamed or proud of being white, but I'm real aware of how different life can be for similarly-situated people of different races.

Peace to you. I won't be back, so don't worry about me stalking your forum posts. If you ever want to argue or demand that I explain myself, send me an e-mail.

Your fellow Tuscaloosan, KC

I've often expressed the opinion that I wish political parties didn't exist. I think we would be in a better situation if people ran as individuals, expressing their own ideas, instead of walking lockstep with their party.

I don't understand why you call yourself racist, though. Racism is a bad thing. And I'm curious how you happened to come upon my post. Not that there is a huge mystery involved or anything, I'm just curious, that's all, about the specific way you spotted my post.

Peace to you as well.

You caught me still in the forum obsessively proofing my post (copy editor is my real job).

Our Web system allows bloggers to see the hits and links they generate. So I just followed the traffic generated by you linking to my blog. :)

As to the racist thing, all I mean is that I'm keenly aware of race, and maybe play the race card a little too much. Like any good white liberal (though I'm not really one of those), I overcompensate some and still misunderstand quite a lot when it comes to race issues.

Thanks for the answer. Good luck. And tell Cecil to get Shula fired for me. :)

EDIT: Well, I AM a white liberal, and I NEVER "overcompensate." I called Earl Hilliard on his racism years ago, for example. (And, yes, I am now advocating that people write Hilliard in instead of voting for Davis. This is only because Davis voted to revoke Habeas Corpus and allow torture.)