Who's Racist?

I will tackle this sensitive subject with my usual bull-in-the-china-shop approach, so be warned.

I saw this article on Yahoo, which started me thinking.
Just a sample quote in case you don't want to read the whole thing.

White people:

Burges Burrows, a self-described conservative Christian, hadn't been able to summon much enthusiasm for McCain. The choice of Palin, however, made him an instant supporter -- even though he'd never heard of her before McCain picked her. ``It's her beliefs as a Christian and the choices she has had to make,'' said Burrows, 47.

Pastor Mark Harris's members are energized by the choice of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate precisely because she so strongly opposes abortion. ``Republicans were waiting for something to get excited for, and Sarah Palin is it,'' he said.

Black people:

``I was already motivated to vote from the moment I registered 20 years ago,'' said Sandra Norman, 45, the director of a Virginia state agency.

Said Jones, ``How can we as Christians be part of their base when you look at the Republican National Convention and you see no blacks, no Asians on the floor. I don't know who that Christian base is, but it's certainly not us.''

Article conclusion:

In Charlotte [at a white church], views weren't framed in racial terms, but in terms of Christian conservatism.

``There's some number of people who if Jesus said to do it, they still wouldn't vote for a black person,'' said Green [a black man].

Both groups interviewed for the article claim to look at a candidates political positions and the whole Bible. But when it came down to it, the black church members are voting by "race" and the white church members are voting by party.

Maybe I'm naive, but I think white evangelical republicans would be just as excited if McCain had picked a black conservative such as Alan Keyes. And it seems to me that a lot of black folks would be willing to vote for a conservative if he was black. So don't tell me white people are racist and black people aren't. There is a racial divide of some extent in the USA, but it is about a LOT more than blacks being discriminated against.

Personally, I believe that there is one race - the Human race - and that physical characteristics such as skin color are nothing more or less than adaptation to climate and culture. The church we attend is about 1/2 black and 1/2 white, with a few Asians. The only friends we've made here so far are black. We aren't their friends because we needed a feather in our affirmative action hat, but because we have similar lifestyles and beliefs.

Anyway, sorry if I'm out of line, but it stirred me up a bit.

For the record, Jesus told us to give to the poor out of our own money, not rob from the general populace through high taxes and have some agency redistribute to the poor. History shows that the higher taxes are, the less people give to charity. So don't give me that "social gospel" stuff that says Democrats are more Christian because they want to tax and spend on social programs (which don't work anyway).

I guess that'll do for now... >running to hide for awhile<