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April 28, 2008

A Black and White Conspiracy

It's just as plain as the nose on your face -- the news is all about race right now:

- Wesley Snipes gets the maximum sentence for not paying his taxes.
- Three New York cops are found not guilty for killing a black man in a 50-bullet shooting the day of his wedding
- Obama continues to be plagued by Rev. Wright's comments
- Bill Clinton has 'incensed' black Americans, per the highest ranking black Congressman
- Planned Parenthood accused of 'black genocide'

It really does not matter where you stand on any of these issues. Snipes, for example, may deserve it because he was cheating our country out of money we need to support the things we do together. Of course, you may think he's only going to jail because he is a black man. Maybe you think the black groom sadly asked for what happened to him because he was in the wrong kind of place and didn't react as he should have. Or it could be you think the cops would never have gone on a mindless shooting rampage if he had been white. Maybe you think black Americans' fury at Clinton is misplaced. Or maybe it's about time they realized he was manipulating them. And the very idea that a liberal group like Planned Parenthood would be all about killing black babies, a la Bill Bennett, may be utterly ridiculous to you. But then maybe it is completely believable because it's run by whites (or worse, white "librals"). The thing is, your opinion on each of these issues does not matter now any more than it mattered whether you believed O.J. really did it or was set up by racist cops, or Rodney King really deserved it or would never have been beat up if he'd been a white man.

What matters is this: America is right now, whether by fate or intent, being pushed to the brink in the matter of racial conflict. All of our buttons, inflamed for decades, are being pushed -- hard. What are we going to do about that? What kind of America do we want? Can we find a way through this craziness and misunderstanding upon misunderstanding before it all explodes?

Posted by Becky at April 28, 2008 04:41 PM