Today I read an article that got my emotions rolling. The topic is Racism.
If you don't want to hear alternate views on this topic please stop reading now.

To me a person's skin color is simply an easier way to recognize them and it has nothing to do with their worth or potential. I don't look at people through a filter that starts with their race or gender or the color of their skin and I haven't in many years. Though I grew up in a culture where race was a constant issue and much discrimination was present, I have long since outgrown that world view. But some folks just won't let racism die. Most of them are in the black community. No, I didn't say "most of the black community" because only a small percentage of blacks are racists. I said most of the racists are in the black community.

Now, lest you think I'm just ranting and deflecting, look at my own "white American" background first. I grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas in America's "South". The use of the "n" word (and it bothers me to have to refer to it that way) was constant and common. In 1957 when race riots took place at Little Rock's Central High School, my father was one of the National Guard officers called to active duty there. I attended Hall High School (with General Wesley Clark) and remember vividly when the first six black students arrived on campus.

Later when I was on my own I worked as a bill collector for a bank and then a finance company and had to go into the impoverished areas of Arkansas to collect the payments. I've been on the "poor side of town" in the dark, alone, many many times. I've been in "poor" people's homes on hundreds of occasions and I know what it is like there. I've also done work in prisons across the country and have often been alone for hours with groups of inmates. I get it what the down side feels like.

Really, I know. I can recall a time when, as a new parent, I had less than two dollars to buy dinner for my family. I have had to vacate an apartment because I could no longer afford to pay the rent. I remember not having a car and having to plan my day around the means of getting to and from work. I've mowed lawns to earn extra money and I've done the dirty work that most people aren't willing to do. So, I get it as to what it's like to be broke and to have no special privileges available to me. I've been fat, depressed and cynical. I've been through US Army boot camp and life's "boot camp."

I've been humiliated and ridiculed in front of others. I've been "dissed" by some real jerks. I've had my heart broken and I've been deeply insulted. But I got over it.

Calling me a derogatory name (no matter what letter it begins with) does not harm me, it merely upsets me. Then I let it go. It's time the black activist community did the same.

The recent flap caused by the racist anti-American preacher in Barack Obama's church has not made this an issue, it has simply elevated an existing issue to public scrutiny. There is not and should never be a "black value system." It can only work to separate blacks from others. You never see white people connecting over their whiteness, they simply relate to each other as individuals. Some are respectable and some are despicable but it is not due to their color. If people find something meaningful in common, fine, but skin color shouldn't be it.

The racists in America are the ones who keep making race an issue. They are usually not white Americans. Ironically, they are usually people who go by the title "Reverend." They claim to be operating by a religious value base, yet people like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Jeremiah Wright and their followers are doing enormous harm to millions of honorable, noble and worthy black Americans.

Blacks in America have the best circumstances of any blacks on Earth and most other races as well. They hold positions of high political power, lead major corporations, enjoy celebrity status in entertainment and in sports, and count among themselves numerous respected educators and multimillionaires. Even among the lower income families; they get more privileges, special services, first consideration, supportive services, entitlement programs and breaks than any other group in America.

Certainly they get far more than the whites, who keep getting blamed for things that were done by now-dead people against other now-dead people. Well, I say to these activist leaders, GET OVER IT! Stop carrying around the pains and fears of your great grandparents. The Irish, Italians, Chinese, Japanese, Jews, Poles, Latinos and scores of others who immigrated willfully (and some against their will) have all had to deal with prejudice and discrimination. Yes, the blacks as a race endured more than most but; Somebody has to be the first to rise above the controversy and stop whining about hypersensitivity to prejudice. It only stays active when you stimulate it.

Obviously there are still bigots among whites and people of all colors and categories, but: overall our systems have evolved, our culture advanced and our society developed to the point that neither race nor gender nor age is the barrier it used to be. Can we do better? Certainly, but we don't have a "racism problem" today when compared to any other time in history. We can always do better but that's no excuse for keeping racism alive.

I'm tired of being told that I should feel guilty for things others have done. I'm also tired of the entire black activist movement discriminating against me for not being black.

I'm not a Scottish American or a White American, I'm an American. It's time the black community's self-proclaimed leaders came over to America's side too. Forget this fabricated allegiance to the country of your long dead ancestors. Respect your ancestors and enjoy their culture but Be an American if you choose to live here, and stop insulting those of us of all colors who pay for the entitlement programs. Honor your heritage, sure, but either be an American or immigrate to the country you feel connected to. If you tell us that you are an African American then the first word we hear is African. Stop it or move. Get over the ugly burden of poverty mentality that is being sold by the racist leaders.

It's one thing to be broke and without money. It is quite another to be poor. Poverty as a mindset perpetuates the conditions of poverty. I've been broke but I refused to live in poverty.

The racists tell us that the mere act of noticing someone's skin color is a form of "racism." Bull!
Some claimed that calling Senator Obama "boy" was a racist remark. That's absurd! It is a reference to his comparative youth and implies that he is inexperienced but there is no racial component to it.
They also tell us that the use of the "n" word is a sin. Don't be silly. It is offensive, yes, but a sin or a hate crime or evil offense...No.
Hate Crime is another concept of racism. Crime is crime. It is breaking a law. If it's a felony then have a harsh penalty, but to make the punishment especially harsh because someone can be labeled "hateful" in their intent is absurd! It's the ACT that is the crime. We cannot and should not try to legislate the management of intent. (Though much of our legal community is built on this.) We need to stop trying to control how people think. Your words and your actions are what make the impact.

People should be judged by what they do, not by why they do it.
People should be punished based on their criminal actions, not by their intent.
People should be rewarded based on what they achieved, not by how hard they had to work to achieve it. The concept of a "level playing field" is also silly. There is no way to make all challenges equal for all people. People are different and forever will be so.
Keep the rules the same for all of us, so that those of us who have had to work harder to catch up, can in fact do so and know that we did it on our own, not by getting special breaks due to our race.

It is so frustrating to witness the monumental waste of energy, money and resources on efforts to compensate "victims" who weren't even victimized. Someone recently insisted that the US Government should apologize to all blacks for the slavery of the early years in our country's history. Well, first, it wasn't our government that was doing the slaving, it was our people. And second, Abraham Lincoln did publicly apologize for slavery and he backed it up with the Emancipation Proclamation. Nobody should be compensating anyone else for their ancestors' suffering unless direct personal culpability is evident.

So I say to the racist leaders, Let your people go! It is not the whites who are keeping "black values" alive and preventing people from becoming mainstream Americans. It is the racists who lead the marches against crimes that weren't even committed. Check out the percentage of whites victimized annually by blacks vs the blacks victimized by whites and you will find far more reason for whites to rise up. But there is no public outcry against the blacks. So, come on, join me. Let's be Americans. No hyphens, no racism, no special deals, just a group of people committed to a world of peace and freedom. Tell those who would be leaders to stop yelling "Racist!" and start offering hope and direction toward self-reliance.