Seriously? The former wanted to publish a book recounting how he killed his wife. The latter made some controversial statements because he was fed up with the direction in which his country was going. Sure, they both belong to the same group...

On the other hand, I am sick to death of white people as a group. The truth. that is part of the conversation Obama is asking for, isn't it? I live in Orange County. Every day I see young white females wearing blouses over fake breasts. I'm an old guy. I want to smack them. All of them. They are egregious stereotypes. It's impossible not to think unthinkable Words when they roll up beside you at a stoplight in their brand new Porsches and recordings that are so smooth it makes you ill. . . .

Amazing stuff, pieceofcake. (Glenn, you do a great job, too).

We're going to have this conversation about race. I just hope the country is up to it and sees the racism for what it is. I'm betting it will.

By birth I come from rural, bedrock, white America. I was born in upstate NY, but into redneck culture none the less. By luck and because the state used to provide true financial assistance through the Regents system, I was able to attend two good State Universities (SUNY Buffalo & Cal.Berkeley Law). Somehow, I was able to throw off most of the small minded attitudes. Yet I have have remained living in the working class white world, first in the Bay Area of California and finally back in my home town, a village of about 800 in upstate NY.

Unfortunately, I can report with no doubt whatsoever that the attitudes expressed by Instapunk and endorsed by Instapundit are firmly held by a large number(probably 90% or better, but I have no empirical data)of the white working class in the communities in which I have lived. Even with people that I think have some otherwise liberal ideas, when it comes to race they begin with a statement almost identical to "I am sick to death of black people as a group". Usually this is followed by the argument that black's always scream discrimination when they are now favored by the law.

Where I currently live and work even the supposedly college educated maintain these same attitudes, which ususally expand to include homosexuals (along with other religious beliefs more appropriate to the 16th and 17th centuries). I have tried to confront these ideas, but the believers have such a support group that I am beating my head against a brick wall. the gap between us is so huge that I have begun to think that there may be a genetic difference relating to consciousness and perception. Afterall, current reseach shows that the human genome has undergone very recent changes relating to the brain and consciousness.

This should be required reading for all those Black/Hispanic/Asian Republicans out there (true, there aren't that many, but Clarence Thomas is a Supreme Court justice). This is what they REALLY think of you!

There is an additional 'other' who has, as usual, been forgotten in the discussion here: Women.

Read the crap about Hillary and you'll see it all on display.

It's certainly a shame that people use skin tone as a convenient way of grouping people without having to actually think. History has provided us with a wide array of cultural groups who maintain their own identity. Southern babtists are one such group. Pennsylvania Quakers, Milwaukee Germans, Native Americans, East-Indians, Arabs, Persians, African-Americans and West-Indians are other examples of such groups.

As long as we acknowlege that we are discussing cultural groupings with unique histories we can have rational discussions. As soon as we pretend that there's some magical property called "race" that has anything to do with these cultural groupings, well then brace yourself because the stupidity is about to begin.

the editor should learn Obamas speech by heart before she keeps on with white grandmothers!

The "tribalistic" stance of vengeful fear under consideration here is genetically determined; those who display the standard conservative, right-wing characteristics of mind appear to have reduced discretionary control over their attitudes and moods. Maybe my own liberal tolerance and confidence in the humanity of others is also genetically determined, but I like to imagine that I'm able to weigh the evidence and use it to guide the development of my attitudes and conclusions.

I can't see begrudging this old black preacher his anger; I can't begrudge the outrage and resentment among any who've endured such systematic oppression as the centuries of enslavement and rape of the American black people. I'm amazed they are as nice as they are, in spite of their grievous past.

Perhaps the world is becoming too crowded to tolerate free speech from any who can't modulate their mental states on the basis of evidence and reason.

One of the things that continually puzzles black folks is the degree of animosity, if not outright hatred, felt by people who seem to go stark raving mad about the fashion statements being made by some young black men. I don't suppose for one moment that any of these people would be reassured by knowing that there are many, many black people who share their concerns about the appearance of these young men. We don't, however, share the animosity directed toward them and we certainly don't share the feelings that they are representative of black people.

If you travel to many of the towns and cities in that eastern state near the Mason-Dixon line (It is probably Pennsylvania.) such as York, Reading, Scranton, West Chester, Allentown, Harrisburg, Erie, North Philadelphia etc. you will find young white men dressed in similar styles. It is odd, however, that when black folks see these young white men we don't extrapolate from their appearance that white people are all low-life human beings. Nonetheless, whites who make such generalizations about blacks are accorded some type of cult status in America and given Brownie points for allegedly being honest.

Folks, they are not honest. They are plain old, everyday, garden variety racists. That is all they are and that is all they have ever been and will be with regard to their views of black folks. We don't want to have a dialog or discussion with them because there is nothing really to discuss. We have no interest really in being a branch on their learning tree.

We fret and worry about many of our young men and women and many of us are doing what we can to guide them in a different direction. What we are not going to do though is to waste our time addressing the irrational fears of people who are searching for reasons to dislike and defame black folks.

Instapundit and his friends are racists. The only black people they respect are the extremely few who share their views. They regard black folks as an alien presence in their so-called country. They will never understand and accept that it is our country too and we are not going to give thanks to them for anything, anything at all.