Holder

I thought that, as a matter of law, race no longer mattered in America. Could I have been wrong? Is there some kind of apartheid going on that I just haven't heard about? Course not. So why do we have this?:

WASHINGTON – Eric Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, said Wednesday the United States was "a nation of cowards" on matters of race, with most Americans avoiding candid discussions of racial issues. In a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month, Holder said the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives.WASHINGTON – Eric Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, said Wednesday the United States was "a nation of cowards" on matters of race, with most Americans avoiding candid discussions of racial issues. In a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month, Holder said the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives.

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," Holder said.

Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."

What? Is there some urgent reason to discuss Kwanzaa? Just what subject is being neglected? And do you mean that I should be talking about black issues with black people, or with other white people?

Don't get me wrong. If there is some aspect of race that needs discussion, I'm all for it. But being a white guy, who works with black people, lives next to black people, and has absolutely no problems with that, I have to wonder just where it is I'm coming up short. Should I be complimenting black entertainers? Should I be discussing sickle-cell anemia? Maybe, should I learn to rap? I can't imagine there are any superlatives regarding Michael Jordan that have gone unsaid.

Of course, I'm being silly; I'm a great rapper. In fact when the stimulus bill gets around to supporting rappers, I'll probably cut a demo. OK, no, I'm being silly again. In fact I have little interest in rap, or Kwanzaa, or shizzle-talk. The same as I have little interest in Jazz, the gay lifestyle, or anime. That doesn't mean I think there's something wrong with people who do have an interest in such things, they're just not my things.

So as far as race goes, Mr Holder, everything is settled as far as I'm concerned. I treat all people fairly and equally, I think. And I expect the same in return. Problem solved. You have an issue to talk about, bring it up. You feel socially shut out? Well, you can come over to my house to socialize if you want, but you'll have to stop this pathetic whining.

And if we must discuss race: be prepared to discuss Norwegians.

***Update:


Just to start the dialog ball rolling, Eric.... you weren't under the impression that you're a black man, right? Because most every summer, I'm darker than you. Could be, we should dialog about this.