[Drew]

[quote="ED!":b56e8]If reperations came through - which I seriously doubt - it probably would come from one of those FUNDS the United States seems fond of. I cant imagine the average american is going to see a REPERATIONS TAX on their checks. The African American community would be MORE THAN HAPPY with a simple acknowledgement as I said. Thats it. The president - hell MORE than one president - can go off on foreign countries and condemn their actions, but cant do the same here.

The point I am trying to make is I'm sick of excuses. I'm sick of the "oh I didnt mean it that ways" or "opps I cant believe I said that, I totally have alot of [minority] friends". People let shit slide all the time because they dont wanna make waves, and while at times it is best to turn the other check, but there are some times you need to say - screw that, that is NOT cool, and lemme tell you why.[/quote:b56e8]

I agree with a lot of that, but I think if you're going to say you support reparations, you need to explain exactly whose plan. Al Sharpton wants anyone who filed their census as Caucasian to be taxed to finance it.

I was the Vice President of the UNITY organization when I was in high school here in South Carolina. There is a lot of racism down here, and I was completely shocked when I saw just how much. For instance, people dropping the N bomb in casual conversation in the hallways. If you'd done that in my high school in Virginia, you'd be lucky to leave alive. Anyway, that's why I joined, and we made a lot of progress in the school. We did peer-mediation to resolve racially-motivated disputes without people being suspended or expelled. We also got a racial sensitivity program started through the guidance department to try and educate some of the rednecks who were raised to be racists. Basically, if a teacher or authority figure noted students acting in a racist manner, they received one on one counseling from one of the guidance counselors. Usually it was the head counselor, who was also black.

Anyway, ED, I hate racism just as much as you, maybe even more because I not only have to see my friends endure it, but I also have to suffer the consequences of it via affirmative action and such things. I just think that if you are going to be vocal, you need to choose your words wisely and be careful not to create double standards. I think you made some pretty generalized statements about white people, and that's not really fair when the racist sect of our culture is not the majority. I know that I myself have done a lot, including putting myself at personal, physical risk, and I was highly insulted by the assumption that my skin color defines me as inherently racist.