I'm going to say it: I am ashamed to be white today.

[lildreamer316]

I cannot get this nagging guilty feeling out of my chest. I look at the devestation and I could not blame the African-American community there for hating every white person they see . Now before you go and yell at me for generalized statements; of course I know in reality this is not entirely the case; but I just have to say that the actions of my government shame me beyond words and make me want to beg these peoples' forgiveness at their feet. How obvious it is that we have not come more than 3 or 4 steps from 1964. How embarassing. How shitty I feel.........
(On a side note; don't even get me started about Native Americans; my only defense there is that I am 1/8 Cherokee).
Am I alone in this? Or just crazy?

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. No you are not alone

I have felt this way for many years now.

[Melodybe]

31. Me too

[nonconformist]

2. I could hardly look a black person in the eye for days

I felt so ashamed.

But I know that *I* am not responsible for this shambles and *I* have rallied against these morons that caused it for years, so my conscious is clean.

1/4 Cherokee myself. *high five*

[lildreamer316]

3. *high five* back atcha. n/t

[StellaBlue]

14. Okay, I'll join in

I have thousands of Cherokee ancestors, as well.

I keep that with me; I always wonder about all of those ancestors whose names I'll never know (unlike my white ones), whose places I will never know, whose songs and jokes I will never know. Thinking about them is one of the things that keeps me trying to fight the good fight.

Not that I don't have a few damn cool white ancestors, too. Too bad we can't all get together and talk, huh?

[ohio_liberal]

53. Well, stop that right now

Be angry at the situation, don't be ashamed to look me in the eye.

[nonconformist]

64. Yeah, I'm past that.

I know I had nothing to do with this debacle or with putting the people in charge who caused it.

[thereismore]

4. easily...same here

[NiteOwll]

5. We have made very little progress in this country

Although I knew it all along, last week it became very evident for all the world to see.

----------
http://media.putfile.com/Louisiana--2005

[DerBeppo]

6. what?

feeling guilty because of your skin color is about as re-fucking-donkulous as hating someone because of their skin color.

[FreedomAngel82]

7. You're not alone

It really is a disgrace. You would think by now people would be over racism but it's a live and well. What Bush and his people did are unexcusable and disgusting. On Maher this past weekend I believe it was Bradley Whitford from the "West Wing" who pointed out that if New Orleans was 60% white they would've been in there sooner. And he also stated how they claim to be Christians but where is the Christianity? *sigh*

[porphyrian]

8. There's no reason to be ashamed.

You aren't responsible for the actions of others just because you share a similar genetic disposition. Just learn from this so that it never has to happen again. Guilt won't bring justice and equality, understanding and action will.

[Pushed To The Left]

25. Exactly!

I was thinking the same thing and you put it perfectly.

[fortyfeetunder]

9. You have a conscience....

You have a clue. I don't hold you and some of the folks responding to this thread responsible. But I do hold others responsible for the predicament we are in.

Frankly I am ashamed of anyone who has watched these events unfold and not think it's a travesty.

[lildreamer316]

10. Well thanks.

As a southern white woman it is sometimes very hard to deal with my history (I am huge on my Irish and Cherokee heritage and big on the history of Great Britan/Gallic/Norman/Anglo-Saxon ppls; lots of ren faires!). I just hope that many African Americans can understand that I would never behave that way. I think you understand what I am saying.
I feel that because skin color has been made an issue in this country that it is now almost a barrier to others to understand that *I* really want to help. Again I know this is not always the case; but after a time such as this; how could it NOT be? I'm not being very clear right now; sorry.

[Skittles]

57. not just a travesty

honestly, I don't think the words exist to describe it - I haven't been sleeping or eating well and that's just from the sanitized versions I have seen on TV.....I simply cannot fathom being there, the destruction, the smell, death all around.....what it would feel like having to survive knowing you've lost everything....knowing your own government left you to die............gawd..........

[NorthernSpy]

11. affluent blacks were able to evacuate...

Race may be more visible at first, but economic class was really what decided who was able leave, and who wound up hopelessly stranded in the shadow of Death.

Race and class are certainly linked in Louisiana. But in the end, it mostly came down to class.

[sandnsea]

18. Nice band-aid

The reason most of the lower economic class isn't white is because of racism.

[NorthernSpy]

22. band aid?

I never said that racism wasn't playing a role in this situation. I merely said that class was the ultimate arbiter of who got left in the path of the hurricane. If you were white and broke and stuck in New Orleans, you weren't less broke or less stuck for being white.

[sandnsea]

35. See #34

It's how we cover up the wound of racism, by pointing to a handful of poor white people stuck in the same situation and saying "see, it's not race". Bullshit, there is a reason that poverty is rampant in the black community and it is racism. "so very poor, so very black" That says it all about white America.

[hfojvt]

28. you sorta have that backwards

because the majority of the lower economic class is white. According to SAUS in 1999 of the 32,258,000 below poverty 21,922,000 (about 70%) of them were white.

Of course those national numbers will not apply since Orleans county was only 39.33% white in 1984 while the nation was 85.11% white, but at least on the national level, poverty is not all about race, but I would agree that a greater percentage of blacks are poor and that is due in some part to racism.

[sandnsea]

34. Distorting statistics to deny the reality

Duh, the majority of the country is white. But poverty is always disproportionate in the black community and it is not "in part" due to racism, it is completely due to racism. The sooner white people stop lying to themselves about it, the sooner it will change.

[hfojvt]

41. you will have to show me a distortion rather than just declaring it

Duh, I recognized the disproportion of poverty among blacks. Also your certainty that it is "completely racism" is not proof any more than your ad hominem charge of "lying". It is not like I am fifteen years old and have never taken an economics or sociology course or read "Black like me" or "The other America". "Negro poverty is unique in every way. It grows out of a long American history, and it expresses itself in a sub-culture that is built up on an interlocking base of economic and racial injustice." According to Harrington there, at least part of the injustice is "economic".

[Name removed]

43. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tx_dem41]

51. I agree with you on a lot of things, and on this one I can empathize..

somewhat with the OP although I think its misplaced.

But your statement above is racist itself on so many levels. Its disappointing to see.

[etherealtruth]

63. What the hell does that mean????

[StellaBlue]

69. Agreed.

If black poverty is 'completely racism', then how do you explain thousands and thousands of desperately poor whites? e.g. in SE Kentucky, as posted elsewhere in this thread.

I wholeheartedly agree that the 'system' is inherently racist, classist, misogynist, and probably lots of other 'ists', and that black Americans are disproportionately poor due to racism. But that's not the ONLY factor. The factors that trap many whites in poverty also apply (unfortunately) to African Americans.

Which is why we need to throw out this elitist regime.

I have been so heartened by all the NOLA hurricane victims and how the vast majority of them have been helping the neighbors, regardless of color.

WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. People on this board should NOT feel ashamed to be white. Unless, I guess, you are a member of the privileged white overclass, like *. Then you need not only to protest, but to rebel. F*ck them.

[NorthernSpy]

80. insisting that it's ALL about race truly isolates blacks...

... and affixes the stigma of near-untouchability ever more firmly. I really don't think that the line you're spouting helps blacks at all, or does anything against racism.

I want your average white trailer-dweller to look at what just happened to people in New Orleans and realize, "that could easily happen to me -- I probably couldn't afford to evacuate on the spur of the moment either!"

[mzteris]

78. rethink the percentages......

Poverty spreads

Census Bureau says 1.3 million more slipped into poverty last year; health care coverage also drops.
August 26, 2004: 1:54 PM

http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/26/news/economy/poverty_survey/

". . .The percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty rose to 12.5 percent from 12.1 percent . . . Children and most racial minorities again fared worse than the overall population in 2003, . . .

The poverty rate of of African Americans remained nearly twice the national rate, with 24.4 percent of blacks living below the poverty line in 2003, slightly higher from 24.1 percent a year earlier.

***

The median income of (non-Hispanic) white households in the United States in 2003: $47,777
• The median income of African-American households in the United States in 2003: $29,689 (U.S. Bureau of the Census)

• The poverty rate of (non-Hispanic) white households in the United States in 2003: 6.1%
• The poverty rate of African-American households in the United States in 2003: 23.1% (U.S. Bureau of the Census)

• Percentage of African-American children under the age of 18 in 2003 who lived in poverty: 33.1%
• Percentage of African-American children under the age of 18 in 2003 who lived in households that received public assistance: 10.6% (U.S. Bureau of the Census)

• Percentage of (non-Hispanic) white Americans who did not have health insurance coverage in 2003: 11.1%
• Percentage of African Americans who did not have health insurance coverage in 2003: 19.6% (U.S. Bureau of the Census)

****

While 70% of those IN poverty may be white, the percentage OF white people in poverty is lower than the percentage of AA's in poverty.

[StellaBlue]

12. I'm not even going to SAY anything

Okay, so I lied. We're all in this together. That's what I have to say. All of us working people, thinking people, loving people, giving people - we're all in this together.

THERE IS HOPE.



Emerson


Lucretia Mott


Paine


Thoreau


John Brown




Mary Wollstonecraft


Amy Goodman


Jane Addams


Rachel Carson


William Lloyd Garrison


Michael Moore

And, finally, one of my personal favorites, Sarah T. Hughes, administering the Oath of Office to LBJ.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_T._Hughes

[lildreamer316]

15. Thanks; that helps.

It's just that some days it is hard to deal with......that helped put it in perspective.

[Greyhound]

75. "Black people & white people have a lot more in common

than rich people do with poor people" - Chris Rock

[Guaranteed]

13. Well, I'm pretty proud to be a Democrat today. nt

[Solon]

16. You aren't crazy, but I wouldn't term it shame...

I, more or less, HATE with a passion the WHITE power structure in this country, that allowed tragedies such as the Katrina fiasco happen in the first place. To be honest, I don't even LIKE being around people of my own race, mostly from my own experiences with them, most are racist fucks, as far as I can tell. This didn't even start with Katrina either, I always felt this way, as far back as I can remember.

[sandnsea]

17. 3 or 4 steps from 1864

It's revolting and any white person who doesn't see it just flat doesn't want to see it. About the only difference between 1864 and today is that we don't intentionally shackle people of color and we add "American" to African.

[StellaBlue]

21. And

from the reading I have been doing lately, there was a much higher proportion of African-Americans in elected office (all the way up to Congress) during Reconstruction than there is today.

Wrap your mind around that one. That was pre-Jim Crow, when US federal troops were actually actively protecting (in some states, at least) African Americans' right to vote. Landholding African-American men, anyway. :/

[zalinda]

19. Didn't anyone notice that there were white people

left there too? I certainly did. What I did see that most were poor and in terrible distress. I saw people helping people, didn't matter if that person was white or black. They all seemed to take care of each other.

I have nothing to be ashamed about. I tried both elections to get someone else in office. I couldn't do more than that. Those that should be ashamed are those that are responsible for that man to be in office.

zalinda

[StellaBlue]

23. I noticed this, too

That's what's made me cry, more than anything else.

ALL the people HELPING each other. They are holding on to each other, helping each other, praying together, eating together, letting random strangers move into their HOUSES, providing medical assistance to each other, battling rapists and thugs together, feeding each other, feeding each others' BABIES, trying to show what little respect they can for the dead on the side of the roads - SURVIVING TOGETHER.

And that's what we must do, too. Be like those people we are seeing who make us so proud to be Americans, real Americans, and, beyond that, real people.

[sandnsea]

36. See #35

Keep telling yourself all is well in America. That is how this disaster happened.

[StellaBlue]

70. Umm...

I don't think anyone here is claiming that all is well in America or that there is no racism or that racism isn't a MAJOR, the DEFINING, factor in African-American poverty, or that racism wasn't a factor in this disaster.

But there is no reason to be ashamed to be white if you are actively working to end the racist, classist, etc., SYSTEM and you are not bigoted yourself. If you are white and privileged, you must give up your privilege. You must speak out when you are with a group of whites who are making racist comments. You must reach out and join multiracial, multiethnic, multifaith groups working for justice. If you are white and realize the problem and are actively trying to do something about it, you shouldn't be *ashamed*. You can't help that you were born white.

We are just trying to point out that there are lots of GOOD people, as evidenced by this disaster. People in NOLA were helping their neighbors regardless of color; people all over this country are donating their time, money, houses, food, and knowledge to help their fellow Americans. And WE are the hope for this country.

But we're not denying the realities of discrimination and injustice in this country. I have been living abroad for four years... I am under NO ILLUSIONS about the supposed 'greatness' of America. We are NOT the greatest country in the world. We are a country filled with many, many good people, some ignorant people who are complicit in the problem, and a few bad, rotten, greedy people.

[Beam Me Up]

20. Shame doesn't cover it. I am APALLED and HORRIFIED at this obviously

RACIST social catastrophe. Beyond that I am just sick with rage.

[Wizard777]

24. Get off the seesaw.

Black people don't have to be oppressed for whites to be all high a mighty and white don't have to be ashamed for blacks to be proud. This is nothing more an emotional seesaw. At least on the emotional rollercoaster ride you can get some where. All this up and down of of teh emotion seesaw just prevents both blacsk and whites from moving Forward and making progres. It's the only thing the seesaw is good for.

[ofrfxsk]

26. Oh for God's sake. Stop being ridiculous

Yes, there is racism in this country but do you honestly beleive all of those THOUSANDS of white folks be they military or just plain charity volunteers are racists? Do you think the hundreds of thousands of white people who have given money they didn't have are racists?
Do you think the thousands of white people who are dead from this storm are racists? Do you think the other hundreds of thousands of whites who've lost everything are racists?

Maybe some of them could feel better if they were 1/8 Cherokee. That would make it all better. Right? That would make them more suitable for rescue.

We are human beings. All of us. Black, white, hispanic, asian. We are Americans and our government failed us no matter what color you are or what percentage of Cherokee or Irish or African you have in your blood.
You were doomed if you did not get out.

Bush is a god damn idiot. I think Blanco is a fucking moron. I think Nagin is extremely questionable. Admit it. We had NO leadership on any level throughout the most critical hours of this disaster. Stop blaming those who do not have the power you imagine they have.

[Dan]

27. No reason to be ashamed...

....the guilt is not yours....

In some ways, you are as powerless as those people in New Orleans...

and with this administration,

you could be next.

So, my friend, don't you divide us by race,; leave that to the GOP and their allies. The rest of us, Black, White, Brown, Yellow, and Red - we're Americans.

[U4ikLefty]

29. Use you "whiteness" to challenge racism, then you are courageous

Sometimes the toughest thing is to speak up in a group of all-white folks when they start on about minorities. I have had to stick my neck out & actually lost "friends" over some of the confrontations.

It had lately made me a pariah in some of my circles, but fuck them if they can't get real.

...and don't even get me started about the time I took a black woman as a date to an Iron Maiden concert...she loved Bruce Dickenson's voice from the minute I played them...and his body too, lol!!! Every time I heard "nigger" I died a little more inside. The cool part about it was that a HUGE metal-biker type came up to me after I almost got into a fight with a punk-assed biggot at the beer counter & he came to back me up when the biggot's friends wanted to beat my ass...lol he couldda took aboout 4 of them. He was like 6'7" & 350 pounds of pure muscle...I freakin love that dude!!!

BTW, he was wearing a biker's jacked with a bnch of MIA/Vietnam Vet patches on it. A true American...bless you man!!!

[StellaBlue]

30. I forgot

Joe Hill


Mother Jones

[OneBlueSky]

32. what if all those faces on the news had been white? . . .

think BushCo might have reacted differently? . . .

think the American public might have reacted differently (i.e. called for Bush's head)? . . .

[zalinda]

44. Not if they were poor white. n/t

[arewenotdemo]

33. Now add "American male" and we can talk...

[enigmatic]

37. I'm not

And you shouldn't, either.

The color of your skin has zip to do w/ your soul and character as a human being; MLK nailed that perfectly. There are many, many white people out there that are outraged at what's going on down in NOLA and The Gulf; because those in power are Caucasian doesn't mean that it's an indictment of all Caucasians.

I'm a quarter Ojibwa, so I somewhat straddle this; I've seen what Caucasians have done to the Natives, but I can pass for White easily, too.

Yes, there's Racism involved in a good chunk of what's going on; there's no doubt about it. But it's HOW you react to that racism as a human being that defines you, not the color of your skin.

You're a good person; everybody here sees that. You care and realize the insidious dynamics going on down there, and are doing your best to change it. That's something to be very, very proud of, no matter what color your skin is.

[lildreamer316]

42. I appreciate that.

I don't think I was very clear in the OP but I'm glad you can see throught to what I really mean. I guess the fact is that I don't *want* this to be about race but it is PAINFULLY obvious that we have made little progress. Especially when you can look at the poor in this situation and see that a race line has been drawn. I don't like admitting it; I would rather pretend that equality in class has parallelled equality in race relations. Dosen't look too good and I guess I am ashamed of being so naieve. I hold hope to be able to help to change this. It is just that this massive tragedy has made that all the harder. I *can* say that I do feel the anger of the disposessed........

[okieinpain]

38. sorry, but that's kinda of silly. the people in nola don't hate white

people I saw more then one black person concerned about a white neighbor, and vice versa. if anything it looks like nola is a real melting pot. to bad those folks have to deal with the crooked officials, and such. but maybe that's what get's people to start to take a person for what they are instead of what they look like.

[KC_25]

39. I am ashamed that you are ashamed...

Poor are poor regardless of where they are at. In New Orleans the poor happened to be black. If some sort of tragedy or disaster were to strike in SE Kentucky vast majority of the poor affected there would be white. Give the economic state of that region I doubt a federal response would be any faster. What does race have to do with it?

[stevietheman]

40. I'm not ashamed to be white, but I am ashamed there are some...

whites like Bush and other scum (who just happen to have a similar skin tone and ethnic heritage as me) who practice a hidden racism that doesn't appear so hidden any more.

What's the difference between the War on Drugs and the Bush "response" to the Katrina disaster? In terms in how they both try to remove blacks from the population, not much difference at all.

[StellaBlue]

66. "similar skin tone and ethnic heritage as me"

That's the only thing we have in common.

Most of the white people on this board have more in common with their black neighbors than with *. He doesn't represent me.

[LWolf]

45. I'm not.

I have, periodically during my lifetime, been ashamed to be human. When I am faced with the levels of fear, hatred, greed, and destruction that humans will willingly sink to, I am ashamed of my species.

Until I focus on what people accomplish when they choose to act with love and grace; then I can love them all for all of that magnificent potential.

I think we're seeing both at work here; the depths and the heights of humanity. I will hope, and work for, new levels of interracial understanding and appreciation as an outcome. Racial hatred has been here all along, gliding smoothly under the radar of too many. Katrina has brought it out of hiding and into the light of day, where it can be targeted and eradicated.

[LostinVA]

46. Sorry, I'm white and I'm not guilty

There is racism and extreme classism in this country, but I am not, and never have been, part of any of this. I have done everything I can to make things better.... what little a white, gay, upper lower class female can do. I am definitely NOT part of the power stricture is this often screwed up country.

I am, however, outraged beyond anything I've ever felt in my life, and I've been outrage an awful lot since 1980...

[tx_dem41]

49. Great answer! I agree. n/t

[slor]

47. I am African American and I say...

I BLAME BUSH! I do not blame you.

[Marymarg]

48. Good for you

I am white and I do not feel ashamed. I did not do this and would not do this. I could not be more horrified or angry. I am energizing my anger by doing all I can to help the victims of Katrina, donating money, shopping for the evacuees who are in my city, and volunteering at the location. Doing something positive helps me and hopefully helps them.

I do not anymore take responsibility for what my racist, elitist brothers and sisters do than I take credit for what my wiser and more compassionate brothers and sisters have done.

I put the shame on the ones who are truly responsible, starting with Bush and including his entire cadre of heartless, greedy thugs and goons. I do not identify with them at all and am terribly ashamed for all of us for what these maniacal criminals have done--and left undone.

Feeling ashamed because of the color of your skin, rather than what is in your heart is also racism.

[ohio_liberal]

52. Amen...

and at the risk of sounding like a Rushbot, I say "ditto".

[bunkerbuster1]

50. Not at all alone. Frank Zappa speaks for me

from a Freak Out track, "Trouble Every Day"

Hey you know something people
I'm not black
But there's a whole lots a times
I wish I could say I'm not white

[Skittles]

54. I'm guessing it's another reason a lot of people didn't leave

besides having no resources and nowhere to go, they simply did not trust the "outside world". And why should they? Look at our prison system, our health care system.....it's just stacked against black folk - I can't take it any more.

[StellaBlue]

74. I'm white

And I have relatives in prison and very few who have healthcare (including myself - I have none).

[Swamp Rat]

55. Race is just a construct... Don't worry, you sound like a human to me.

[tx_dem41]

58. Hi Swamp!

What's the latest on your mom?

My family is in Alexandria now.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

56. it wasn't really about race...it was about economics n/t

[DemocratSinceBirth]

59. Being African American And Being Poor Aren't Synonymous

Over 65% of Americans live above the poverty line...Let's commit ourselves to bringing up the other 35%....


Most of those left behind were poor and poor doesn't know color....

[Silverhair]

60. Sorry, I don't buy into reverse racism.

Racism is racism is racism. To say that I am guilty because I am white is just as wrong as to say that someone is guilty because he is (Insert race/sex/ethnic group, here)

I am trying to help them because they are people - period.

[Libby2]

61. I'm ashamed to be an American

[StellaBlue]

76. BINGO!

I am ashamed of our 'leaders'.

[ElectroPrincess]

62. Absolutely, I feel very ashamed ...

The poor Sioux Indians were the oppressed peoples in the small Town in South Dakota where I was raised.

If it's not racism, sexism THEN you depend it will be *class warfare* ... If you got the money, you will be held in higher esteem.

I have faith that Saint Peter will sort this mess out at The Pearly Gates ... I hope to be permitted to cross "The Rainbow Bridge" and be with ALL my beloved (both human and K9) for eternity.

Please remember dear folks: The first shall be last.

[Lilith Velkor]

65. I'm not ashamed: I had no choice in the matter.

As an odd coincidence last week, I didn't happen to speak with any white people personally. And I couldn't help but speak about how upset I was. It hurts that so many people had to die to illustrate to all but the most brainwashed that institutionalized racism still exists.

I even told a stranger on a train that if it happenned here, I wouldn't let her drown if I could help it. She probably just thinks I'm a freak, but she thanked me all the same.

[txaslftist]

67. Did you do something to make you white?

'Cause if you didn't you don't have any reason to be ashamed.

You can certainly be embarrassed for the way some whites act, but you can no more control how they act than you can control how some Fundamentalist extremist acts.

[Catherine Vincent]

68. No, you are not alone.

Although I am not white, I understand how you feel. Just last night I ventured over to some nazi website where I read posts that said terrible things about african americans (regarding the NOLA tragedy) and it really got me depressed, not upset but depressed. My ony hope is that there is only a small percentage of people that way in this world (it wasn't freerepublic).

[all.of.me]

71. a white american.

i'm not ashamed, just embarrassed, but then embarrassment only has to do with our egos and what people think of us. but i would certainly like to claim some other nationality, a decent one, at this point.

[lateo]

72. I have been ashamed to be white for some time.

[Mutley]

73. Yesterday, I had just finished walking my dogs and...

I was in the lobby of my building waiting for the elevator. When it came down an African-American man and two small kids came out. The kids started petting my dogs and I was talking to them, telling them my dog's names, telling them how I got them, how I named them, etc. After a few moments the man said, "It's good to see not every white person is racist." I felt so bad that he would feel the need to point that out, and at the same time I felt good that he realized we are not all like Bush and his buddies and followers.

[Jersey Devil]

77. What does skin color have to do with it?

Why should anyone be ashamed of their skin color?

I am not responsible for white bigots and have nothing to be ashamed of.

[StayOutTheBushes]

79. All white people should be ashamed always. They have

brought nothing but death, destruction and slavery to the world since the beginning of time. I don't think they can ever make up for it.

[NorthernSpy]

81. oh, brother...

:eyes:

[Ron Mexico]

87. Hey, NorthernSpy...

...looks like we found something we can agree upon on this one. :)

[Catherine Vincent]

82. You forgot your sarcasm emoticon.

[TheFarseer]

83. God damnit stop this kind of talk

What difference does it make? You didn't have anything to do with this. Don't be ashamed of what you are. You can be ashamed of what YOU have done all you want, but never be ashamed of who you are or where you came from.

[slackmaster]

84. Don't break your leg kicking yourself in the ass

You are NOT personally responsible for the misdeeds of others.

[Ron Mexico]

85. You're obviously not alone, but

if my house is robbed by blacks I'm not going to hate every black I see, and some of those black people down there are being saved by whites, too. If you can excuse black hatred of whites over this, where does it stop? Black hatred of the government I understand, but black hatred of whites?

Be ashamed of being white if you want, but I wasn't ashamed of being left-handed the day Ted Bundy was caught. You're overreacting and giving credence to the way the Repugs mockingly say the phrase "liberal white guilt." Unless you're a member of FEMA who took Mike Brown out for drinks the night before Katrina hit, give yourself a break.

[Is It Fascism Yet]

86. I went into the grocery screaming "Impeach The Sonofva Bush!"

and a black man tried to silence me, putting finger to his mouth and saying "Shush! It's not safe for you to say that!" So, not only do they rightly feel abandoned, some of them also feel it's not even safe to say so. I have to agree. It is not safe to speak the truth in America. I can't say I am ashamed to be white, because it was not white people who purpetrated this crime, but greedy people. And I don't believe it was so much about race as economics. I think they will let the poor white people go down too. It's a class distinction. If you are poor, you are on your own in a disaster. And, now that they have screwed our economy, aren't more of us poor? But I sure am ashamed of America for not impeaching this treasonous little bastid yet.

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88. I am not ashamed, I am ashamed of others

the year is 2005 not 1905 or 1950 or such