Shadwell hated all southerners and, by inference, was standing at the North Pole. ~ Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman, Good Omens
As a continuation of the Henry Louis Gates thread I'll expound on Race. I don't know Professor Gates, it's possible he's a racist (by which I mean he hates people because they are white or projects his general bad feelings about whites onto specific white people), it may even be probable.
To me the whole concept of Race is a bullshit construct. Historically, it was used as a way to divide poor blacks and poor whites. The poor white share cropper could always hold in his heart the "at least I'm white canard" and allow himself to be duped into believing he and the rich white man were the same despite his malnutrition, bowed back, calloused hands and short life expectancy.
But, our current ideas on Race have been built upon the edifice of the incorrect scientific thinking of the 19th century. This is not to damn the creators of the ideas of race but to point out that as Scientific thinking has evolved and explored new and unforeseen areas while also self-correcting yet there still exist charlatans and demagogues (Jesse Jackson and R. Limbaugh) as in the past who will ignore this and use the 19th century constructs to sunder humanity, usually for political or economic gain.
Humanity is not divided into the distinct Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid classifications, but those divisions still underpin the thinking of many people. Archeology, Genetic Mapping and DNA have shown that all Mankind (to use the outmoded term) can be traced back to the Mitochondrial Eve of roughly 180,000 years ago. And even if you hold to the idea that man emerged and continued evolving several times from Africa as opposed to the currently more accepted theory that the modern strain of man came, almost exclusively, from the last emigration, all humanity are the same species, with minor,
mostly superficial, differences.
The Human Journey began in Africa, original home to us all.
But it is the doom of man that he must accentuate the differences between himself and his brothers.
In addition to the flawed thinking and perhaps superseding it, we also have the societal constraints on who you are and can be. People have the awful habit of projecting their notions of who you are based on what they see and we are slow too change our minds.
You are (or are supposed to be) what they say you are. You are black, you are white, you are asian, you are hispanic, and so forth. And being so you are also the preconceived notions they feel apply to a person of that persuasion. This leads to the chastising terms like
Whigger, Uncle Tom, Oreo when someone steps outside of the viewers' prejudice and does not behave in the way they expect and want you to behave. Don't step outside of the box I have mentally assigned you.
So, I am not the "white cop" who yelled at you, wrote you the speeding ticket and busted you for smoking pot at 16. You don't know my mind and I know you don't care what I think anyway.
I will note a very annoying thing Obama did when he was an Illinois Senator was mandate the completion of
"Stop Sheets" by Police Officers. To be completed after all traffic stops for a
continuing study on racial profiling by Northwestern. It's not the addition paperwork, but the 5 categories the Officer gets to choose from concerning the race of the driver. The categories are: African/American, Caucasian, Hispanic, Native American/Alaskan and Asian/Pacific Islander. There's no category for Arab or Middle Eastern or Indian. It forces Officers to think in the outmoded method!
Well, now we have the black-ish Obama as President. And old, fat, puffy faced, flabby assed, bigoted toxic white men don't like this, so they project unto him the feelings they themselves possess. They want Obama to hold to the racist views. They want him to be a disciple of Jeremiah Wright because if Obama thinks like Wright then it affords them the cover to vent their racism at Obama.
And woe be anyone who deviates from their bigoted thinking,
as Joan Walsh did, becomes the target of outright bigots R. Limbaugh (who labeled Walsh the "Magic Honky" for not hating black folk like Limbaugh) and the Free Speak (sic) police at racist
FreeRepublic and Moonbattery who label Walsh and others; race traitors and self-hating whiteys.
Would you contest a speeding ticket from an Officer with chops this magnificent?
Update:As far as the
Obama Kenyan Birth certificate recently revealed by Orly Taitz. Let us apply both the "reasonable man" standard and some conspiracies.
Is it reasonable to believe a paper document has survived for 45 years in the nation of Kenya, often beset by
military coups, droughts and famines, and the presence of the completely failed state of Somalia on it's northern border? Yet
this document survived, in good condition and was conveniently discovered by Orly Tatiz? That's a reasonable belief?
But, speaking of which, it's interesting to note Taitz is a
Soviet Communist, perhaps an unrepentant one at that, seeking to bring down America from within, using a "typical" communist ploy? And how did the Obama-ACORN-Islamo-Black Panther Brownshirts fail to destroy so damning a document? The Right likes to ascribe to the Obambots vast powers of intimidation, computer hacking and conspiracy but the Obama Thugs just happened to miss the one sure fire document which would interfere with all their work subverting and socializing America?
Update:More Obama Conpriacy the "Kenyan"
Birth certificate is from Australia.
Australia, Australia, Australia We Love Ya!
