Dixie - In Memoriam
New member
What you are saying dovetails with something I have always said. All people have "prejudice" it's hard-wired into us as humans. We can't change that, it's part of the human condition. Everyone has preferences regarding the type of people or culture they associate with and relate to. There's nothing wrong with this, it makes us human. It is when those prejudices become bigoted and based on stereotype, we have a problem. Racism is the thought or belief that one race is superior or inferior to another, and this is borne from bigoted stereotypes, and ignorantly wrong.
That being said, when we encounter issues like "Affirmative Action" we actually see an underlying racist viewpoint in play. The idea or thought, that a certain race of people are inferior and require some degree of "extra help" to offset this inferiority. It pisses off liberals when I ask them, "Just how long do we have to give special advantages to blacks before they are equal to whites?" (...I'm usually in my Willy Wonka pose when I do this, you have to be there.) But the point is, these antiquated ideas are a throwback to a time when racism was widespread, and are actually the byproduct of racial stereotyping, which continues on today. LBJ, a white liberal good ol' boy from Texas, was certainly not devoid of racism, let's not be silly. He is the forefather of White Liberal Guilt. His policies, many still in place today, were designed to placate and patronize black people, instead of recognizing them as equals.
Blacks historically support Democrats because Democrats endorse policy specifically tailored to blacks, to give the blacks some advantage over everyone else. Republicans don't single out blacks for special favor, they view us all as equal Americans, entitled to opportunity on an equal basis, not favoritism because of what color you are. From the black man's perspective, are you more satisfied with actually earning your achievements on merit or does it mean the same to you if the achievements are the result of tables being tilted in your favor? I say this as someone who is 1/16 black and 1/8 Native American, I am much more satisfied in knowing I achieved my success on my own, without special favor. I expect equality in opportunity, not advantage. I could personally claim my Native American ancestry and receive all sorts of governmental benefits, casino shares, educational perks, etc., but I never have applied for these, because I want to achieve my success on merit, not because of what I am.
I'm sure if there was a study that showed the opposite you'd be all over it. And FYI, I've been spending time trying to find such a study and so far, coming up empty so maybe you and your pals can help me out here. As I said before, it would be great to find something that refutes this.
