I don’t like groups of people that label other groups of people as racist. Or of saying that they are doing things for racist reasons. I mean, do those groups of people even know what racism means?
The belief that races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors and that this endows some races with an intrinsic superiority over others.
Does the NAACP really think that a group of people, in this case the Tea Party, really feels that they hold beliefs that African American people have characteristics determined by hereditary factors?
It would seem so.
However, with that said, I don’t believe the answer to such gross mis-characterizations in such circumstances is to respond in kind.
Obviously disgusted by the continued racial characterizations coming from Barber and the North Carolina NAACP, one local lawmaker lashed out:
“I have no interest in receiving anything from a Racist such as William Barber,” LaRoque wrote in his reply, referring to the state president for the NAACP. “He and the NC NAACP represent everything that is wrong with race relations in our state and country. You should be ashamed of yourself for continuing to promote racism but that is the modern day legacy of the NAACP as a racist organization led by Racist individuals who are Cowards.”
My complaint is in specific words, not in the general message. In the same way that those on the Left discredit themselves for calling Tea Party members racists, so does the good congressman discredit himself for using the same poor choice of words.
LaRoque is correct in claiming that the NAACP, Barber and people like them continue to insist that we see the world through race colored glasses. They continue to differentiate on the bases of race. They continue to make race an issue even as the vast majority of America is really really trying to move past that. My kids have friends and play with kids of all colors and creeds. We work very hard to not to distinguish on those basis alone. But when the issue of race or creed DOES come up, we address it in the same manner that we would address the fact that the girl down the street has red hair.
I AM tired that the opponents of the modern fiscal conservative movement only have race relations as their weapon. I AM tired of seeing good hard working people being labeled as racist when the accuser clearly doesn’t know the meaning of the word AND doesn’t even mean what he’s saying.
Mr. Barber and the NC NAACP are clearly baiting. They are clearly keeping their name and agenda in the news by dropping bombastic statements and press releases. They are marginalized and have no coherent complaint or path forward.
They are what they appear to be.
But that is no reason to assume their tactics.