The Secret Haters

Amazingly, this comes when American politics are heating up. It sounds like someone 'secretly' wants Obama to win the election. Please, your intent is obvious to the those of us who can read between the lines. Just because a viable black candidate appears does not mean that he is the candidate for the rest of us. And if we we vote for Clinton or McCain, WE ARE NOT RACIST. I am writing from Chicago, Illinois (Obama's home) and many DO NOT want Obama as our next president. He does have some good things to offer but the president needs real world (i.e. World) experience. Obama has done nothing for the local folks so why would he have anything to offer the big world (U.S.) picture? If ever I've seen smoke and mirrors, it's with the Obama campaign. Regards,

Prejudice in my experience is part of who we are as human beings, it can take many form and is not always as clear as black and white. It can be directed against fat people, thin people, short people, uggly people, spotty people, etc. etc. etc. I think we always try and find the weakness or faults in others to boost our own position in life. Equally we are all the victims of prejudice in one form or another, somebody out there is going to dislike you, maybe because: you are poor, you are rich, you are not from the right class, you did not have the proper background, whatever we are all vistims and we must learn to shrug this off and just get on with our lives instead of wallowing in self pity. This in no way diminishes the wrong of mass prejudice aimed against the black communities of America or any other ethnic hate campaign but as individuals we must learn that prejudice is part of life and at some stage it will touch all of us.

I am from SE Georgia. My Daddy owned and farm and he share cropped way back when with a black family. Frasier working with Daddy side by side in the fields and Rachael his wife and Inez her sister always helped my mom. I loved those folks just like family. They helped my mother raise me. I never thought of them as maids etc which they weren't. They were just two wonderful black ladies that help mom. Hence these stories....I never will forget Rachael and Inez telling about a young black man in their church that had come home from the army and brought a white girl back with him. They said that everyone in this totally black church felt uncomfortable. At the time I was little and I didn't understand why it would make them feel that way. As I grew up with these folks in my life we shared alot of stories and experiences. One of which was the showing of the Movie Helter Skelter on tv. The day following we had a riot at our high school. That afternoon when I got home Rachael and I went fishing. I talked to her about what had happened and I will never forget her saying. Child no matter how the world wants to change the relationship between races ....we are indeed different and we should be to each their own. I really never understood what she had meant until I got grown. I guess a really simple way to look at it is to look at birds. They are all of the same species but blue birds group with blue birds, red birds with red bird and so forth. They dont really fight but they prefer their own company. They all have equal flyng space and room but socialize with their own, I think all people should be treated equally but I think most folks black and white feel more comfortable with folks of their own culture.

Southern Chic

As a former New Jersey dawg myself, this writer knows what he's talking about. I was among the early asian families in a very catholic NJ borough at the time-- I faced violence from Italians and Irish, but not solely out of racism, also from economics. I was a small kid, and I had money in my pocket and they knew it. They never called me names, they just beat me down and took my cash. Same thing happened to my white protestant neighbor; we had to share lunch money sometimes. My best friends were Italians, worst enemies were Irish, my wisest mentors were newcomers from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who were mirror opposite from my Irish bullies. This was the 1970's, not WW2 or anything. I fully agree with this internal prejudice going on. Not because of my experience back east, but rather, my experience as an adult on the west coast; where people are polite, but sometimes hard to figure out.. the bullsht factor out west is thick .... like talkin to used car salesmen. A local town historian gave me a really good explanation-- he pointed at the historical and cultural by-product of frontier settlers and farmers who were genuinely friendly and gracious but very protective and territorial at the same time, and likely that mentality has passed down the generations intentionally or unintentionally. Wow. Food for thought, huh?

Here is a point of view. I think that minorities are OPEN MINDED. It is a wise defense mechanism. Being open minded is an example of DOING ONTO OTHERS. I like to be FAIR about criminal laws. I want them to be firm, but fair. WHy ? because one day the SYSTEM may apply those laws on me.

That's why I think that Filipino families don't mind if their daughter dates a white guy. It is a form of assimilation. As George Lopez (the comic says), even Mexican women date white guys because they want to own a house someday.

THat;'s all for now