GatewayRedbirds.com

The problem with this is that it takes a lot of time and energy to know the content of one's character. It literally takes years to really to get to know someone. In this day and age, it's almost a luxury that we cannot afford.

As a species, we have evolved to make snap judgments based on appearance. And without a doubt this favors certain characteristics in our society often associated with success. A crude oversimplification is that professionally, it helps a lot to be tall, good-looking, and white. But whatever. Point is, Malcolm Gladwell write a lot about this type of stuff in pretty understandable terms.

So where does that leave us with regard to race? Not in a very good place, but it's also a place that most other societies find themselves in. Racial bias and racists attitudes exist everywhere, or at least in every country where I have spent any appreciable amount of time, which includes several.

So I am not waiting for the day that MLK spoke of, because I think it never arrives. But that does not mean you should not make an effort to get know somebody before making any real conclusions about them.

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Silence is golden.

Sad to hear that Hungary.

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Your friendly neighborhood bigot since 2012.

The difference between Rush L and the Hindenburg: one is a flaming nazi gasbag and the other is a dirigible.

bada bing.

And the times I've heard people repeating a line or bombastic talking point brought forth by Rush Limbaugh and the likes - many many --typically my Father in-law, but often by GOP politicians.

The times I've heard Jesse Jackson's talking points regurgitated in the last 5 years(other than in an SNL skit) - negative 250.

I AM SOMEBODY

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lol

Yes, it comes across as very cynical in a way, but it's also a view that boils countering racism down to adopting a code of personal conduct. It starts with not pursuing and shooting kids of a different color because you might be scared or suspicious of them. For the more evolved types, it means making a conscious effort to withhold judgment until you have had some significant interaction with them.

Racism is always talked about as if it's some disease that infects everybody else but you. I guess the Jessie Jacksons of the world do a service by forcing the issue to the top of the heap of yap that bombards us on an hourly basis from the punditry-infested media. But it's a broken record that just keep screeching away the same old themes. If you really want to combat racism, stop beating your chest and pointing fingers. It's a matter of personal conduct, not public persona.

I am not sure Hoffman's acts were racially motivated. From what I have read, he sounds like a freakish cop wannabe consumed by thoughts of stopping crime and protecting his turf like some roguish beat cop. His sequence of poor judgment and then horrendous acts are as much a commentary on the role of policing, guns, and vigilantism in our society as they are on race relations.

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Silence is golden.

That's why you ask for a facebook password.

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"I have had craps that make my leg feel like it is being torn off
by a pack of angry chihuahuas, lets hope that is all it is...." -wart57
"Good lord. This is a family site." - G Keenan

Gateway Redbirds Facebook Group

At some point, our personalities will be digitized and downloadable from the cloud.

I am only half-joking.

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Silence is golden.

Disgusting propaganda. Completely changes my view of this affair. NBC duped the nation.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/nbc-fires-producer-of-misleading-zimmerman-tape/

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Your friendly neighborhood bigot since 2012.

Again, drawing conclusions about racism and race relations in this country based on what comes out of the media is a fool's game. It is such a polarized and sensationalized subject, and you just cannot trust anything that gets "reported."

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Silence is golden.