I agree. I for one am sick and tired of hearing about this issue. The color of your skin is not the issue. The ignorance of people is.

i think all races can be racists - i dont its just the whites

the bible says" all have sinned and come short"

people seem to go with thier own kind as can be seen in this silly 08 election -most the blacks have voted for obama

nothing has changed i guess
edwards would have been better and could have actually won i think

welcome to 4 more years with republican mccain

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

13Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

14Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

15Their feet are swift to shed blood:

16Destruction and misery are in their ways:

17And the way of peace have they not known:

18There is no fear of God before their eyes.

19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

21But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

27Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

29Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:




http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...er=3&version=9

Herekitty

I agree. My relatives in Arkansas on my father's side disowned me when I married my ex-husband. My sister in Texas was allowed to remain a beloved family member, and she was very close with them.

When my sister was planning her wedding, she asked our uncle Sam (Baptist minister) in Arkansas to perform the ceremony. She had a beautiful wedding planned. However, my father became ill two days before the wedding and couldn't travel to Texas to give her away - so she asked my husband to fill in for dad. My dad really liked my ex-husband, so he was pleased with the arrangements - someone he knew and liked was filling in for him.

Our uncle was livid and refused to attend the wedding altogether. My sister was forced to find a stranger at the last minute to marry them. She was so upset because she had her heart set on having her uncle present. Naturally, my relatives in Arkansas blamed it on ME. My uncle proclaimed innocence for hurting my sister - he said it was God's will, according to the Bible.

My current (and forever) husband and I traveled to Oklahoma recently. On the way home, we drove through a corner of Arkansas. I felt a little uneasy because I take disownment seriously, and I have relatives all throughout the state. The welcome sign made me feel uneasy. It said "Welcome to Arkansas, Where Jesus is Lord." It also kind of made me laugh. I sarcastically thought to myself "Nuh uh - my Uncle SAM is Lord - AND master"

There are none so blind as those who will not see! God Bless Omama for opening the dialogue....we have to start somewhere.

KathyM,

That was a long list of 50 very justified problems. I grew up with Martin Luther King's ideology ringing in my young ears. I stood among my white peers thinking things had changed radically.

As an adult, I know life is still basically racially unchanged, for the most part. There are more African American leaders in government...I think, I am not sure.

The Democratic Party is trying to choose between a woman and an African American.

That says progress, does it not? Am I still thinking like the very white Pollyanna?

I live in a white bread neighborhood. I do not fear those of another color but I cannot call any of them friends. It is not a conscious thing, I just live in a predominantly White area.

I do not think anyone of any particular race will steal my purse as I hobble to my car. I am looking for any suspicious character, such is the world we live in. Since more people are White, I am cautious of more White guys than not!

Your list was long and your list was justifiably angry. You speak from experience.

How would I be treated in a predominately Black neighborhood? I am not challenging, I am sincerely asking. Would the anger of your list of 50 spill over into anger toward me?

Has there been any improvements during your son's life? Any good? (there goes Pollyanna again, wanting to hear the upside...)

To Kathy M:

Well said my dear, well said:

Mel

Oh, forgot to mention one thing.

Bigotry makes no sense whatsoever. It's not based on fact, it's not based on how a person treats you. It's based on what a person had been taught.

"You have to be taught to hate and fear, It has to be drummed in your dear little ear. You have to be carefully Taught!!!"

That's a line from South Pacific, when the guy felt he could not marry the daughter of Bloody Mary because she was Tonkinese.

And when Bloody Mary tells him "we make very special babies", well you should have seen the expression on the guy's face.

It was a Broadway play before it became a film with Mitzi Gaynor, and the italian guy (can't think of his name, but Etzio Pinza sang the vocals).

The guy who loved the Tonkenese girl (played by France Nuyen) was played by John Kerr.

He sang a song about prejudice and the words have never left my mind.

I always thought "how the heck can you hate someone because of the color of their skin?" "Shouldn't you get to know a person first, before you form an opinion about them".

Try telling that to my mother. Holy Cow, talk about a bigoted italian.

But she was taught that by her parents.

I remember reading about the descendants of Thomas Jefferson (he had plenty of kids with his slave Sally Hemings) who he had freed a long time ago, but she chose to stay with him and bear his children.

There's a big to-do about people now getting tested and they find out that they are related to the black descendants of Sally Hemings.

I find the whole thing fascinating.

Oh, I have a little story about a guy I worked with when I was 20 or so. We used to call him Happy because of his sunny disposition.

He was our mail delivery guy in the office. Every day he would come in wearing a baseball cap. He looked Jewish. We all thought he was Jewish. He didn't look italian or latin. He looked Jewish.

So we were all talking to him one day and someone piped up and said "Happy, what's your nationality?" and he said "I have no idea, I was adopted when I was a baby, and there's quite a story in that fact alone".

We gathered around him and we couldn't wait to hear the rest of the story.

He said: "I was left on the door step of an orphanage when I was a few days old". (This had to be over 60 years ago when they still had foundling homes and orphanages).

So he was given to nice loving parents who adored him UNTIL HIS HAIR GREW IN. Now as he is telling the story, we are looking at him and he takes off his baseball cap and he had a small afro. Everybody goes "You're black??" and he starts laughing and says "who the heck knows what I am, I don't know, I'll never know".

So, as the story continued, it seems his newly adopted parents didn't want to raise a black child, even though he looked caucasian.

THEY GAVE HIM BACK.

He was given to another white family who couldn't care less. He was raised to be whatever he felt like he was.

So we asked him "so what do you think you are". And he said "well, my skin is white, but my hair is black". So I'm half and half.

Never forgot him or that conversation.

This was 40 years or so ago.

Just imagine the bigotry way back then. I think he wore the baseball cap to feel more accepted. We usually never saw him without that hat on his head.

Someone told him to shave his head bald so NO ONE COULD EVER TELL.

Oh brother.

Aarcyn

There has absolutely been progress when it comes to laws, but not as much progress when it comes to hearts. I'm thankful there is less overt racism displayed, but subtle racism can be so frustrating to live with.

I'm fully aware there are white people who carry no malice towards people of color and truly believe in equal rights for all. However, so many have used loopholes in the laws in order to mask their hatred. As a result, I can no longer trust a friendly smile. I can't call that person my friend until I fully know their heart. Unfortunately, the only way I can tell is when I've seen a person pushed to the limit. I hate doing that to people. It goes against my grain to push people over the edge, and everyone's edge is different. However, I need to know exactly where I stand with my friends. If they are forced to choose - will they remain my friend, or will they grab a torch and come after me and my family?

I sometimes question the progress that has been made. It looks more to me like a planted garden rather than natural field of wildflowers.

When I worked for the dept/residency program at the hospital we judged applicants based entirely on CVs - training/experience/skills. No one even bothered to look at race, creed, or gender until after a decision had been made. As a result, we got the best of the best for us.

I left that job and went to work for the president of a large corporation. It was a bit of a culture shock to me. Virtually all the executives were white males, virtually all females were treated like secretaries. We had one female executive, one Hispanic, and one Black. There were NO "handicapped" employees - not even a ramp available for access to the building.

We had an opening for an executive VP position, and my boss was thrilled with one candidate. He came from an IVY league college and had everything my boss was hoping for in a candidate.

The candidate shows up - a black man. I talked with him as he sat and waited, and he was a very nice man. Out of the corner of my eye I could see everyone peeking their heads out of their offices or "casually" walking by us.

Once the interview got started and door closed, one of the executives came running up to me and asked why that man was with my boss. When I told him he was the candidate for the job, his response was "He won't get the job - we don't need anyone like that here." When I told him of his qualifications and the intention of my boss, he said "You know what I mean." I laughed and teased him "Why, because we already have Ted?"

He was open and honest with me because I had never mentioned my son's race to anyone at that job after seeing the atmosphere. I was afraid I'd lose my job.

Needless to say, we didn't hire that black man from the IVY league college. I felt really bad because we had previously given him every indication we would.

I heard a MOUTHFUL while working at that job over a period of 3 years. Boy were their faces red at the end when they discovered my son is bi-racial. A whole lotta back-tracking.

Back to the original question, is he black or is he white?

He could claim to be white, but he looks black.

He is light black, so one could assume he is bi-racial. When one looks at him they see what the eye sees.

I'm pretty happy that a black man finally has the oportunity to be equal in this country. I don't think the color of his skin will harm his chances of becoming president....it's about time!