American's Cowards by US ATTORNY GEN.

[customloaded]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090218/...6YY5cuX.Rp24cA

WASHINGTON – Eric Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, said Wednesday the United States was "a nation of cowards" on matters of race, with most Americans avoiding candid discussions of 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 I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," Holder said.

Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."

Holder's speech echoed President Barack Obama's landmark address last year on race relations during the hotly contested Democratic primaries, when the then-candidate urged the nation to break "a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years" and bemoaned the "chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races." Obama delivered the speech to try to distance himself from the angry rhetoric of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Holder cited that speech by Obama as part of the motivation for his words Wednesday, saying Americans need to overcome an ingrained inhibition against talking about race.

"If we're going to ever make progress, we're going to have to have the guts, we have to have the determination, to be honest with each other. It also means we have to be able to accept criticism where that is justified," Holder told reporters after the speech.

In the speech, Holder urged people of all races to use Black History Month as a chance for honest discussion of racial matters, including issues of health care, education and economic disparities.

Race, Holder said, "is an issue we have never been at ease with and, given our nation's history, this is in some ways understandable... 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."

In a country founded by slave owners, race has bedeviled the nation throughout its history, with blacks denied the right to vote just a few decades ago. Obama's triumph last November as well as the nomination of Holder stand as historic achievements of two black Americans.

Holder told hundreds of Justice Department employees gathered for the event that they have a special responsibility to advance racial understanding.

Even when people mix at the workplace or afterwork social events, Holder argued, many Americans in their free time are still segregated inside what he called "race-protected cocoons."

"Saturdays and Sundays, America in the year 2009 does not in some ways differ significantly from the country that existed almost 50 years ago. This is truly sad," said Holder.

Matt Miller, a spokesman for Holder, said later the attorney general used "provocative words to be clear that Americans of all races should stop avoiding the difficult issues of race."

Andrew Grant-Thomas, Deputy Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University, praised Holder's general message but said the wording of the speech may alienate some.

"He's right on the substance, but that's probably not the most politic way of saying it. I'm certain there are people who will hear him and say, 'That's obnoxious,'" he said, adding that what was missing from Holder's speech were specific examples of what painful subjects need to be addressed.

Hilary Shelton, vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called the speech "constructively provocative."

"Nobody wants to be considered a coward. We've learned to get along by exclusion and silence. We need to talk about it. People need to feel comfortable saying the wrong things," said Shelton.

Holder is headed to Guantanamo Bay early next week to inspect the terrorist detention facility there. Obama has assigned Holder to lead a special task force aimed at closing the site within a year.

Holder's Justice Department will have to decide which suspects to bring to U.S. courts for trial, which to prosecute through the military justice system, and which to send back to their home countries.

Here it comes. Seems like "WHITE GUILT" is being played upon and very soon we'll be forced to associate with folks whom we have "ZERO" in common with. I have had in the past, indepth conversations with black people and in the end, I was white and racist and they were still black and right. So, I ponder this man's motives for stating what he has. No matter what a "WHITE" person says on this social race division, we'll be wrong. Mr. Holder, look no further than your fellow blackmen for this Willing Social Ethnic Segreataion. Find me millions of blacks who are not pro-welfare, are non liberal or democrat, enjoy shooting guns, hunting, nascar, quads, hockey, and who live in rural america, and by god whole heartedly believe in Apple Pie and chevrolet trucks, and their only desire is to expand our Constitutional rights. Then Sir, I do believe, I for one wouldn't be a social segregationist, (freely pick and choose whom I interact with). Oh, don't forget proper English speaking skills, NO HOOD RAT type speech, loud music, no asses haning out of their pants, wearing ball caps the way they were designed, oh, I don't know,assimilate with the established culture and don't play the race card whenever the wind blows. Just a thought.....

[Coops]

And yet when an innocent political cartoon bashing the stimulus bill is published by the New York Post some people scream racism because a monkey is used as a metaphor for stupidity.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_167841.html

[pirateron]

Yeah, "don't be a coward" use straight talk, but, don't insult us, make sure you're politically correct, and don't put down our culture, even if we put yours down.

That'll solve ALL the countrys problems.


Now be a good boy and drink all your kool aid

[Whiskey Delta]

I as an open minded white male, welcome any dialogue on race that isn't immediately drug into insults from both sides.

It is wonderful to create such a statement, but as Atty General, but I would suggest he find better topics on which to opine...

How about the restoration of real civil rights in this country?

How about a truly color=blind system of hiring for jobs and admission to colleges? It would mean an abolition (how about THAT word) on affirmative action.

How about recognition that the modern welfare system has done more to enslave minorites than every Southern Plantation owner by a factor of 5?

How about resolving to create a system which enforces paternity tests and seeks to force fathers to pay for their illegitemate kids?

[shooter357]

I have had some very positive conversations with black people. There are some I would call a friend. However it is those "in charge" such as politicians, community leaders, and the such that have made it almost a crime to speak of such things. It doesn't help that there are those(black folks) who would use any such conversation as a means to file a lawsuit against anyone(white folks) who would bring up such a conversation. Personally, I find Holder's comments ignorant as well as offensive.

[Robert Kayland]

Well, okay then... what are we well-intentioned young white liberals calling you folks nowadays?

People need to feel comfortable saying the wrong things," said Shelton.

/raises hand excitedly

[Robert Kayland]

"This 'Black Power' thing, Jeeves... what do you make of it?"


All seriousness aside... take my word for it, Holder... the LAST thing you want is for white folks to regain their courage and speak frankly.

[Warpt762x39]

So now we are going to have a law passed that says we have to have a minimum of 2 friends from each ethnic background and spend an alotted amount of time with each person every month. They are going to hire people (no whites of course) to supervise each visit to verify that each of us is mingling enough with other races.

Fu** that. I will be friends with whoever I damn well please. I'm sorry if I don't find ebonics and gangster rap interesting enough to spend time with the average black person my age. I am not trying to stereotype or be racist about this but this is my personal opinion based on my experiences.

I'm tired of being called a racist simply because I am white. I know you didn't choose to be black. But guess what? I didn't choose to be white. So take your pity party elsewhere. Let your past experiences define you and who you are or let them make you stronger and overcome them.

So Mr Attorny General, shove your opinion up your ass and let if fester. I will choose what I do with my life as long as it doesn't cause anyone else harm.

[andrewjs18]

I'm from a small town with like 98% white folks. Sorry, but my friends are almost all white.

if you go into a black community with 98% of the people living there being black, do you think they're going to have a large group of white friends?

I don't think so...

And honestly, being a White person from a town with very little 'major' crime, do you think I want to go into a shitty city (Philly) full of crime?

Al Sharpton needs to get a fucking life and move on......

He can't let racism die in America because he'll be poor. He'll have to turn back to the good ole' hard working man mentality.

As someone mentioned, I'm all about people getting things they qualify for and deserve.

The civil rights act and affirmative action is so slanted in this country.

[LastManOut]

Just wondering, when is White History Month? Who runs the United Caucasian College Fund? Which Congressperson is president of the Congressional White Caucus? Is black on white crime considered a hate crime?
I honestly do not have any particular biases in regard to race, nationality, religion, sexual perversions, etc. I am bigoted against people that act like assholes.