Given the calamity of slavery and Jim Crow, one must give slack to black anger. But there are limits, especially for an avowedly post-racial candidate.

Uh, No, I sure as hell do not. There is not one black person in this country that is being held back by slavery or Jim Crow laws. That is a crock of shit and saying so every time it is stated as truth would do more to end racism in this country than all the eloquent Obama speeches rolled into one.

And sorry to say so, Dean, but you are a prime offender in this regard, laughing off the insane ramblings of people like Rev. Wright. He is a grade A first class asshat and unless people start pointing out just how big an asshat he really is, people are just going to keep on following him.

Watch the movie “American History X” some time and maybe you’ll know where I’m coming from.

Elisha Feger’s last blog post..Update on the Met Opera Illnesses

Right now, you’re looking pretty cyan to me.

A few years ago, I was reading a magazine on health, directed at a black readership, in the doctor’s waiting room. There was an interview with former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders. She attributed the spread of HIV in black communities to “racism” – with no elaboration and with no other contributing factors mentioned. It was as if she felt that her pronouncement would be self-evident to the interviewer. Rather a narrow approach for a former Surgeon General, I thought.

I think that a lot of white Americans are just beginning to recognize how much many blacks continue to focus on racism. Dennis Prager noted that the reaction among blacks to the O.J. Simpson verdict would just about end white participation in the Civil Rights movement. I remember in our office a “walking on eggshells” atmosphere between blacks and whites after the verdict.

Since that time, I think that a lot of whites, myself included, have tended to “shrug off” – dismiss from mind – many statements by prominent blacks which deserved close questioning and clarification.

“You say “nation,” but what you mean is white people”

No I meant “nation” – white people don’t have a monopoly on denial. Like you said:

“On the other hand, there is a large group of Blacks who haven’t moved on. They see everything through the lens of racism. This is a choice they make, and there is little that Whites or other enlightened Blacks can do about it. They can’t heal those who wallow in racism, because they don’t want to be healed.”