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'Holder: US is nation of cowards on racial matters |
2009-02-19 |
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. Speak for yourself, buddy ... 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. Here's a frank question Mr. AG. Is it necessary to have something called Black History Month? Isn't it a part of American History? When is White History Month? Yellow History Month? Red History Month? Like I said yesterday, he doesn't want us to "talk", he wants us to shut up and do as we're told ... "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. I would think they had a special responsibility to enforce the law. |
Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
#21 There isn't really much to talk about race-wise amonst anglos. We're pretty well over it - as evidenced by the recent election. Where race is still an issue is among minority groups where a lot of resentment is still harbored. |
Posted by: Mike N. 2009-02-19 22:48 |
#20 Whatever |
Posted by: Icerigger 2009-02-19 22:37 |
#19 Jack? Not in the budget |
Posted by: Frank G 2009-02-19 20:32 |
#18 The only white guy the some in the black community (and for that matter some in the white community) needs to blame thier problems on is Jack Daniels. |
Posted by: Whotch Scourge of the Lichtensteiners5559 2009-02-19 19:19 |
#17 Holder: US is nation of cowards... Racist! Holder's black? News to me. Actually it was news to me too. *google google* Hmm. Handsome devil, with big, sincere puppy eyes. Beware! |
Posted by: Angie Schultz 2009-02-19 17:58 |
#16 I'm not, HB. Neither are the other denizens of Rantburg, |
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-02-19 17:10 |
#15 Hmmm...are American whites afraid to say what they think of AfrAm conspiracy theories, gas-bag leaders, Oprah and redistributionist politics? |
Posted by: Hupise Brown8031 2009-02-19 16:32 |
#14 Stop black racism and you will achieve much. Blacks in the USA seem to have an anti-white racism not seen in blacks elsewhere. American Blacks tend to blame everything on white people. They do not look at their own "black culture" which is the major source of their problems. Guns, violence, drugs, wild males, abandoned females, pregnancy outside of any sort of relationship, intentional government dependence, glorifying the violent and criminal and profane whilst looking down on academics and achievement. It is all there in "black culture", which seems to be a suicidal self destructive tribalism run amok. |
Posted by: Lagom 2009-02-19 16:24 |
#13 Holder's black? News to me. I was contemptuous of him based on the assumption that he was one of those easelly little white boy lawyers that tend to follow in the Clintons' wake like so many VD-ridden camp-followers. No, I don't watch TV news. So sue me. It turns out I hated Holder based on the content of his character and not the color of his skin - which obviously, I have never seen. |
Posted by: Mitch H. 2009-02-19 13:15 |
#12 I agree with Holder. If we had any courage on the issue of race, the nation would simply laugh at idiots like him. |
Posted by: Iblis 2009-02-19 11:58 |
#11 It doesn't take a PHD to realize that the disproportionate numbers in the criminal justice system have more to do with single parent households then racial profiling. Nice three card monty. Just gets back to why the amount of single parent households is disproportionately high in a community. Let me paraphrase the Rev. Jackson in a rare case of self reflection - it's not white boys sneaking into the windows at night making girls in the community pregnant. |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-02-19 11:39 |
#10 I agree completely with Holder. Further, I think he was calling out leaders of the so-called Black community to temper their ambitions of “continuing the struggle”. It doesn’t take a PHD to realize that the disproportionate numbers in the criminal justice system have more to do with single parent households then racial profiling. Discussions of racial matters have been at a plateau for decades – and still continue. Take President Obama’s “Race in America” speech in Philly during his campaign. He talked about how whites in America are not immune to racial injustice but went on to dismiss those who oppose Affirmative Action as somehow duped or misguided. Yes, “Cowards” is a fitting description. |
Posted by: DepotGuy 2009-02-19 10:31 |
#9 okay, we can talk about it. I highly doubt Mr. Holder you'd like to hear what many have to say on the issue. |
Posted by: Andy Ulusoque aka Broadhead6 2009-02-19 10:06 |
#8 'Holder: US is nation of cowards on racial matters Like the community that avoids directly addressing why they have a gross disproportional ownership on crime statistics and prison population in the country. |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-02-19 09:02 |
#7 So, when little Jared or Courtney gets out of high school, they've never heard a teacher tell them that all sorts of prejudice are bad, only that hate and bigotry towards a select few groups are bad. But, but, but we are the party of |
Posted by: Besoeker 2009-02-19 07:22 |
#6 Did he add "Lucky for me", in sotto voice? |
Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-02-19 06:33 |
#5 Gorb, that's because we no longer teach about the evils of generic biotry and prejudice in shcools. Only certain types of prejudice are deemed "bad" by our education industry - racism, sexism, and homophobia. So, when little Jared or Courtney gets out of high school, they've never heard a teacher tell them that all sorts of prejudice are bad, only that hate and bigotry towards a select few groups are bad. If a concerted effort to teach kids that ALL such things are evil were to take place for a generation, this issue would largely evaporate., but I'm not holding my breath on whether or not it will occur. |
Posted by: no mo uro 2009-02-19 06:19 |
#4 Democrats are a party of cowards on matters of truth. |
Posted by: newc 2009-02-19 03:15 |
#3 Uh, it's because if you dare to speak of race in public, you can be harshly socially santioned, fined, or even imprisoned for speaking incorrect ideas. |
Posted by: gromky 2009-02-19 03:09 |
#2 It's OK, Spot. He's black. Blacks can have all kinds of clubs and societies that exclude whites. It's OK, you see, because it's not racism unless it is coupled with the power to oppress another social group. Well, it makes sense if you're one of the "oppressed", anyway. If it doesn't, then you're part of the problem. By the way, what color is the Rainbow/PUSH coaliton? |
Posted by: gorb 2009-02-19 02:09 |
#1 Cheez, we got to listen to this idiot for 4 years? Imagine the outcry if John Ashcroft had said something similar. |
Posted by: Spot 2009-02-19 00:38 |