Holder: US is nation of cowards on racial matters

[alienlovechild 75]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder described the United States Wednesday as a nation of cowards on matters of race, saying most Americans avoid discussing unresolved racial issues.

In a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month, Holder said the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives.

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," said Holder, nation's first black attorney general.

Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, Holder said, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."

He urged people of all races to use Black History Month as a chance for frank talk about racial matters.

"It is an issue we have never been at ease with and, given our nation's history, this is in some ways understandable," Holder said. "If we are to make progress in this area, we must feel comfortable enough with one another and tolerant enough of each other to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."

He told Justice Department employees they have a special responsibility to advance racial understanding.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9...;show_article=1

[Chica Yeyé 41]

and I would agree.

[Danno 1,228]

Usually a "conversation" is a two way thing.

Until we're ready for that... it will continue to be, just be posing.

PJB spoke for a lot of folks right here.

-------------------------------------------

BUCHANAN TO OBAMA

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America . Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to. This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known. Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ' 60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream. Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants. Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated their time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.

We hear the grievances.. Where is the gratitude??

Barack talks about new 'ladders of opportunity' for blacks. Let him go to Altoona And Johnstown , and ask the white kids in Catholic schools how many were visited lately by Ivy League recruiters handing out scholarships for 'deserving ' white kids.? Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America ? Is it really white America 's fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?

Is that the fault of white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?

As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barack Obam a aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?

Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?

We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing.

Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.

[Shad and Dani 3]

I'm white, and prefer to associate with white people. Nothing wrong with that.

[dalegg 143]

I agree with him really. Until I can joke around and actually say the "n" word instead of saying "the n word" without fear, we as a nation are no better off than we were 200 years ago.

[Tahoma 2,292]

Usually a "conversation" is a two way thing.

Until we're ready for that... it will continue to be, just be posing.

PJB spoke for a lot of folks right here.

-------------------------------------------

BUCHANAN TO OBAMA

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America . Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to. This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known. Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ' 60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream. Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants. Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated their time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.

We hear the grievances.. Where is the gratitude??

Barack talks about new 'ladders of opportunity' for blacks. Let him go to Altoona And Johnstown , and ask the white kids in Catholic schools how many were visited lately by Ivy League recruiters handing out scholarships for 'deserving ' white kids.? Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America ? Is it really white America 's fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?

Is that the fault of white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?

As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barack Obam a aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?

Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?

We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing.

Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.

I have to agree with Danno that Pat Buchanan "spoke for a lot of folks right here". Namely, the clueless. It is a mystery to me how 300 years of the Black experience in America is so conveniently ignored by some.

[almaty 19]

I think, he is 'spot on'

[justashooter 430]

when do we get to have "white history month"?

color is no boundary for me, but culture is.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

when do we get to have "white history month"?

color is no boundary for me, but culture is.

There is no overarching "white culture".

[Big Papa Zone 93]

I'm white, and prefer to associate with white people. Nothing wrong with that.

Nope, nothing at all. Just so long as such social enclaves are a matter of individual/group choice (as opposed to any kind of forced/legislative segregation) then it's totally not an issue in my book.

In fact, trying to force people of different ethnicities to "hang out" in their spare time in the name of "equality" seems a little asinine to me.

[pedroh 21]

I agree with him really. Until I can joke around and actually say the "n" word instead of saying "the n word" without fear, we as a nation are no better off than we were 200 years ago.

yea because racial equality means u can call someone your #######'

poor white opressed person, who can't call 'his boyz' the way he wants...

it's not about that..

[Danno 1,228]

I'm white, and prefer to associate with white people. Nothing wrong with that.

Nope, nothing at all. Just so long as such social enclaves are a matter of individual/group choice (as opposed to any kind of forced/legislative segregation) then it's totally not an issue in my book.

In fact, trying to force people of different ethnicities to "hang out" in their spare time in the name of "equality" seems a little asinine to me.

I'll second that!

Seems to me people "hang-out" with similar people. This is a general principle which is not exclusive to race by any means.

The more people have in common the more social interaction they tend to have.

This notion that, if people don't have friends of various races ... why they must have hidden hang ups about race is counter productive.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

when do we get to have "white history month"?

color is no boundary for me, but culture is.

You've had it all along, all year round. What exactly do you think the history and Social Sciences curricula are made of??? Man, you are thick.

[DeadPoolX 9]

I'm white, and prefer to associate with white people. Nothing wrong with that.

Nope, nothing at all. Just so long as such social enclaves are a matter of individual/group choice (as opposed to any kind of forced/legislative segregation) then it's totally not an issue in my book.

In fact, trying to force people of different ethnicities to "hang out" in their spare time in the name of "equality" seems a little asinine to me.

I think that's a good point. Racial equality aside, forcing anyone to agree with an ideal or act a certain way is bound to meet with resistance. That means fewer people will willingly acknowledge and adopt the idea. Who likes being told to do something? Who likes being told they have no choice? I know I certainly don't and I can't imagine many people do either.

Those who wish to act racially and ethnically sensitive will do so, while those who're against it, will do so as well. There's no point in forcing others to change. If anything, that'll be counterproductive and cause resentment.

Edited February 19, 2009 by DeadPoolX

[SMOKE 1,426]

when do we get to have "white history month"?

color is no boundary for me, but culture is.

You've had it all along, all year round. What exactly do you think the history and Social Sciences curricula are made of??? Man, you are thick.

justashooter = eric?

Edited February 19, 2009 by SMOKE