To all the participants in this thread that have taken the time to discuss this topic, seriously, I want you to take this quote and understand it.

"But the facing of so vast a prejudice could not but bring the inevitable self-questioning, self-disparagement, and lowering of ideals which ever accompany repression and breed in an atmosphere of contempt and hate. Whisperings and portents came borne upon the four winds: Lo! we are diseased and dying, cried the dark hosts; we cannot write, our voting is vain; what need of education, since we must always cook and serve? And the Nation echoed and enforced this self-criticism, saying: Be content to be servants, and nothing more; what need of higher culture of half-men? Away with the black man's ballot, by force or fraud,- and behold the suicide of a race!

Nevertheless, out of the evil came something of good, --the more careful adjustment of education to real life, the clearer perception of the Negroes' social responsibilities, and the sobering realization of the meaning of progress"

I am not going to go back and quote any of the absurd comments as to how a person, or people, should react to slavery and discrimination.

"Get over it and move on", "It's in the past, this is the future", "Obama is president, white guilt is over", "Black folks pull the race card to much", "Other people went through slavery too", "Black man is president which shows America is not racist".

Those comments above come from ignorance to the truth. Having friends that are black does not bring the feeling of racial discrimination full circle. There is no way to feel it unless you live it. Did I, or any other black people on this board live through slavery, lynchings, jim crow, and willy lynch? No, but that does not mean the pain of knowing my ancestors struggles can't hurt. It does not erase the reality that I face now, as I type from Tulsa, Oklahoma. My dress, how I present myself, the job title that I hold in a company that does hot have much black leadership shows the road ahead for me. If, as a white person, you were wrongfully stopped by a black officer, I see where your frustration 100%; its not right. Though, with that said, let me leave you with another quote.

"After the Egyptian and the Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is sort of a seventh son, born with a veil , and gifted with a second-sight in this American world--a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feel his twoness--an American, and a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn assunder."
In the case of Gates arrest, no one on this board (or any other) can argue definitively who was wrong. The officer did not show his badge after being asked several times. The proof WAS shown that he lived at the residence, but Gates was probably also irrate. He was arrested on his property, after proof being shown to validate his ownership of the home, for disorderly conduct. None of it adds up, but in the end the charges were droppped. In this reality that we live in, Stephen hit the nail on the head. Had this been an elderly white woman, and she was just as irrate, she would not have been hauled off to jail. With that said, we don't know what was said during the incident, and most of the facts out in the beginning were from the police report. Once Gates was released and the interviews began, the other side came out and the grey dividing lines of America were bolded.

People on this board do what they do best, hop the fence and point the finger. "Black folk always pull the race card". Well, you know what, if THOSE whites that put the race card in the deck, it wouldn't be pulled. Did anyone read the story about Senator Boxer and her condescending comments towards Harry Alford?

Also, there has been a severe decline in the notion of "the white man is holding me back". That bullshit has been handled internally, if you catch my drift. Another thing, stop referencing Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson in light of the race card. These to men have a mind set that few can understand; I sometimes shake my head. Sadly, if they didn't call out the smallest hint of racial discrimination, THOSE people would try to replicate the 1800's.

Carry on this discussion respectively, and with an open mind, in order to learn and understand. From what I gain, everyone here wishes things were level and just. Getting to that point well never end unless the teaching of hate is stopped everywhere. Like I said, I do not hold any responsible for the past, I hold you responsible for your actions in the present. The actions and notions on the slave days in America is still in the minds of many white american, as in the black american. Can it be forgetton? NO. Can it be deleted? NO. Will it kill the progression of this nation? Yes, as long as it is still used as a crutch on both sides.

Pull the card, shuffle the deck, and play fair.



P.S> Do not correct my spelling errors if they exist