Just to let you know

I wasn't really sold on this racism accusation thing, but you've changed my mind. It really is much more politically expedient/convenient than actually debating repukes, it has no expiration date,and it fits in a nice little box. Let's go with it.

:thumbsdown:

to do with any kind of civil discourse. It started last November the night of the election

It started long before last November.

lol

for giving people a lot of justification for being mean and hateful toward Republicans.

Some of them (birthers/teabaggers) aren't all that eloquent and can't really explain why they feel the way they do about Obama (or any black person). So instead of trying to see these people as human beings who have their own doubts and fears, it's just way easier to objectify them...call them "racists" and then it becomes almost permissible to loathe them.

they might not even be "racists", but just very afraid of things they can't put a name to. They're also being led around by the nose by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Billow Reilly and Ann Coulter, etc.

But, like you said, it's just way easier to see the unfortunates as evil racists than to try and find some common ground somewhere.

But having a black man as president just pours gasoline on the fire.

Many of them may not even realize that is a part of their fear and anger. They just 'know' he is wrong, dangerous, and must be fought at all costs. When asked to articulate this, they just spew emotional bile. I really don't think they realize they are being manipulated by their own unconscious prejudgements (ie black man = scary).

Of course there are some who legitimately have policy differences and are not particularly racist.

And there are some who are unabashedly racist and full well know it.

But it's hard to break down because some people are not racists, but get their talking points from racists. Rush Limbaugh, for instance. He's a hardcore racist who issues lots of talking points to a large cross-section of stupid people. But how do you determine whether or not the stupid people understand the talking points to be racist? And even if they don't understand the talking points to be racist (or inspired by racism), does the mere fact that they get their talking points from a racist make them racist?