BlogHer - bill clinton - Comments

Your are so right and in

Vita lingus — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:52:40 -0600

Your are so right and in regard to all of it,,, As i said to you in my email to you you are not alone You actually sound exhausted and I am NOT surprised why ... I must say having spent time state side i was genuinely shocked in the USA at how aware of difference as opposed to sameness in the other was so prevelant and frankly exhausting to witness .... America is at stage of witnessing it's self and what it thinks the other is maybe !! We can but hope that the world will evolve

And thank you. Have you seen this ad 4 racial tension headaches?

Nordette — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:02:32 -0500

:-)

Nordette Adams is a BlogHer CE & you can find her other stuff through Her 411.

Thanks for the nod. I

siditty — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:14:41 -0500

Thanks for the nod. I loved this article by the way. I remember growing up and having friends who would say things like "My grandparents say racist things, but they aren't racist, they're just a product of their time" As if grandma and grandpa aren't able to evolve and control their tongue.

I also love that the Justice of the Peace kindly lets black people use his bathroom as proof of him not being racist.

It is amazing at what "I'm not racist, but..." can be used in this day and age.

I think we can break the "I

Nordette — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:11:22 -0500

I think we can break the "I am not a racist" group into three subgroups.

1.) The person who says it and actually believes it because they live in ignorance with a narrow view of the world. That's the Justice of the Peace down here in Louisiana. I don't think he's even examined what his words mean. He might change with a religious experience but no, not really. :-)

2.) The person who says and actually believes it because they've worked not to be "racist" and so they have a preset definition of what is racist. They don't understand the subtler racist thinking that seeps in from their subconscious and when confronted, their instinct is to say, "That's not me." These people, however, will think about what they said and try to be more in tune with others.

3.) The liar, that is the person who knows in his hear that he or she is racist, that what they said was racist, but understand society frowns on racism. Talking to them is like talking to a break wall. They are like the abusive spouse who wants to define for the abused what abuse is so they can slip through the first loophole they've created.

I definitely agree with you that silence is approval.

And since you suggest people speak up, I thought I'd share this video with you that I found at CrissWrites.

Nordette Adams is a BlogHer CE & you can find her other stuff through Her 411.

I maintain that if your

Nordette — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:58:31 -0500

I maintain that if your child brought someone of a different color home, and your immediate reaction is anything other than 'welcome', than you have to take a look at what your feelings really are and deal with them.

This is so true. Thank you. I think the average person, however, rarely steps back from her/his own behavior long enough to examine not so much what they did but why they did what they did. And some who do only look inside to find ways to justify unhealthy or antisocial behaviors. Maybe if we all encourage more introspection in our children and teach them how to put themselves in the other person's shoes, future generations do better.

Nordette Adams is a BlogHer CE & you can find her other stuff through Her 411.

Thanks, Maria. He's still in

Nordette — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:54:19 -0500

Thanks, Maria. He's still in the news down here. The couple he refused to married were married elsewhere. They are suing him.

Nordette Adams is a BlogHer CE & you can find her other stuff through Her 411.

Thank you, Suzanne. The idea

Nordette — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:53:13 -0500

Thank you, Suzanne. The idea came to me while my daughter and I discussed the Justice of the Peace's bathroom line. :-) I think this man is not as malicious as he appears, but pitifully ignorant. Nevertheless, I agree with the people going after him. He should not be in any type of public office where he can yea or nay anything about people's lives.

Nordette Adams is a BlogHer CE & you can find her other stuff through Her 411.

Silence is Tacit Approval

GreenInOC — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:27:09 -0500

Wow - thought provoking!

"...if people would do a little introspection before opening their mouths?"

Well, the problem with that, in my opinion, is that the people who articulate those thoughts and utter the "I am not a racist..." b.s. is that they truly believe that they aren't racist and they believe that they are right.

I live in a part of the country that is shockingly racist. Not outright but the insidious power- wielding type. I have a neighbor with a HUGE Confederate flag in his garage. I can't even recall the number of people that felt that they knew me well enough to confide some disgusting beliefs, since of course everyone in the room was all the "same".

I think one part of the problem, and thus solution, lies with with me. When I hear "I'm not a racist...", my stomach turns, my heart races and I try to figure out if I can quickly change the subject, leave, fall down and break a bone so that the conversation can stop and I don't have to hear it!

I am disgusted but more often than not, I am, embarrassingly silent. Oh, that was gut wrenching to write. I have rationalized that if I am compassionate I can help affect change with that person.

I tell myself that but my head tells me that my silence is read as approval (that right there, was harder to type than admitting my silence). I often offer some sort of rebuttal, sometimes if the situation is really uncomfortable I go out of my way to leave the situation, but I very rarely say "That is uncalled for.", "Please don't speak like that around me." or "That's ignorant and offensive."

I am not a racist...but.

DeeNigma — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:35:53 -0500

I can remember growing up and being told that people were just a product of their times. I never really got it because that would mean that people who speak up when they see a wrong were the exception, not the norm.

Now, as an adult, I love to see the hoops people jump through to prove that they are not a: Racist, bigot, sexist, homophobe, and on and on.

I maintain that if your child brought someone of a different color home, and your immediate reaction is anything other than 'welcome', than you have to take a look at what your feelings really are and deal with them. In a mutil-racial society (not quite post-racial), we have too many positive opportunities to grow from our past. I just wish people would get that and move on to the bigger picture.

Oh...and one more "I'm not": I once had a boss tell me that he wasn't racist because he loved Michael Jordan. Sigh.

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

The bigger picture

Maria Niles — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:55:18 -0500

Thank you, Nordette for this excellent, thorough and informative post and for putting the issue of the LA Justice of the Peace into a much wider context.

BlogHer Contributing Editor PopConsumer Beyond Help

Excellent top 10 list

Suzanne Reisman — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:39:57 -0500

and even better analysis. (Part 1 was one of the most painful things I've ever read.) So not to focus on the humor at the very end, but I really loved how you pulled all of your extensive, thoughtful commentary into a painfully funny short list that any thoughtful person should be able to understand.

Suzanne Reisman, Contributing Editor - Feminism & Gender Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants

we're planning on spending that much money ...

lucyinamerica — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:39:19 -0500

There is an Irish joke that goes something like this. It's Christmas Time, a Dublin man, sprawled out on the sofa, watching the telly, when his wife comes home with the shopping. He looks up at her, and says, "so, wha' do y'want for Christmas?"The wife, clearly exhausted, drops the shopping bags on the floor and says, "I want ... a divorce," (thick Dublin accent).
And the man goes, "ah now, I wasn't plannin on spendin' that much muney."
And so it goes that Hillary gets to have her name included in the roll call at the convention. She gets to speak -- last speech of the night on Tuesday, so the climax of the night if you will -- her husband gets to speak on Wednesday, and then either on Wednesday or Thursday, her delegates get to line up behind her and acknowledge their support. A good thing, everyone is saying. Cathartic. Healing. A way to bring the party together.
To me it seems like the final deal to end all deals (cut all ties?) between the Clintons and the Obamas.
We're planning on spending that much money. http://lucyinamerica.blogspot.com

Holding Out for Hillary

traceesioux — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:03:30 -0500

Well, my first reaction is - she earned all those delegates so why wouldn't she be on the ballot? She's only 200 delegates shy of the nomination herself. Supposedly the convention is where all the actual counting is supposed to take place - it's only the news that makes us believe a winner is predetermined.

That said, I was surprised to hear two Republican women say, at a party, they were holding out hope that Hillary will actually still take the nomination.

I examined, on Blog Fabulous, today any possibilities where this might occur. I came up with only two:

Obama's untimely death between now and then
Obama's confession of a horrendous act in his past. Like Edwards, but it would have to be pretty dang bad to top McCain's own philandering that hasn't effected his campaign a bit.

I'm not hopeful of either of these two things. But I very much hope that Obama will respect Hillary's wide support and names her Vice President.

Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me

Blog Fabulous

Remember the courtesy that has been extended

Anghiari — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:46:38 -0500

One wonders if the tables were turned, if the same courtesy would have been extended to Senator Obama? Politics has always been played as hardball as possible and the winner simply does not have to accomodate the loser...age, race, gender notwithstanding. Winner takes all!

On the other hand, one of the areas which Senator Obama has discussed is changing the tenor of the dialogue among those with whom we disagree, agreeing to disagree and extending his hand to those on the other side of the aisle as well as those on the same side of the aisle...(although Lieberman is pushing the envelope beyond its capacity). I respect Senator Obama's decision to extend this courtesy to Senator Clinton for whatever reason. I trust him and support him therefore I am comfortable with HIS decision. I must say at this point I doubt this has as much to do with her supporters as it has to do with the unspoken rules within the halls of Congress and among legislators themselves to allow their colleagues (especially those on the same side of the aisle) to walk away from a hard fought contest with pride and honor. I think it is the mark of this honorable man to always be gracious.

Just Politics

Lauriesm — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:13:43 -0500

This is what they call making everyone happy. Happens all the time in all sorts of arenas. At the end of the day, everyone gets to walk away with their heads held high. But, it really doesn't mean much to the voters at all, now does it.

Laurie J. Storey-Manseau