Spot on. But be careful, they've called me 'racist' for saying the same thing.
I've been called both a racist (rich, clueless kids I went to college with who wouldn't know what to do if they ever actually saw a black person but they try to emulate the "gangsta" life) and a "bleeding heart lib who coddles the blacks"(former friend's dad who's a retired cop). I state my opinions probably a little too much. I generally take the stand that I don't try to be racist, but certain things have smacked me in the face over the course of my lifetime as well.
The funny thing is that Flyers would probably still call a Republican a racist for saying the same. Or at least he used to a few years ago. He's said some pretty outrageous stuff regarding race relations and that was ok, in his eyes, but when I said things that weren't even remotely racist, he'd blast be for being a closet racist.
From knowing you over time, I know you're not. I just don't like it politicized. I know you're gonna laugh at me, but I found one of Barbara Mikulski's speeches spot on. It more eloquently put into words what I'm thinking with a few minor tweaks:
"America is not a melting pot. It is a sizzling cauldron for the ethnic American who feels that he has been politically courted and legally extorted by both government and private enterprise. The ethnic American is sick of being stereotyped as a racist and dullard by phony white liberals, pseudo black militants and patronizing bureaucrats. He pays the bill for every major government program and gets nothing or little in the way of return. Tricked by the political rhetoric of the illusionary funding for black-oriented social programs, he turns his anger to race — when he himself is the victim of class prejudice.
[He] has worked hard all his life to become a 'good American;' he and his sons have fought on every battlefield — then he is made fun of because he likes the flag. The ethnic American is overtaxed and underserved at every level of government. He does not have fancy lawyers or expensive lobbyists getting him tax breaks on his income. Being a home owner, he shoulders the rising property taxes — the major revenue source for the municipalities in which he lives. Yet he enjoys very little from these unfair and burdensome levies.
... [T]he ethnic American also feels unappreciated for the contribution he makes to society. He resents the way the working class is looked down upon. In many instances he is treated like the machine he operates or the pencil he pushes. He is tired of being treated like an object of production. The public and private institutions have made him frustrated by their lack of response to his needs. At present he feels powerless in his daily dealings with and efforts to change them. Unfortunately, because of old prejudices and new fears, anger is generated against other minority groups rather than those who have power. What is needed is an alliance of white and black, white collar, blue collar and no collar based on mutual need, interdependence and respect, an alliance to develop the strategy for new kinds of community organization and political participation.[2]"
Poll
