By gerard, January 11 at 12:20 am

Might make sense if I thought the jesus who all love and
adore ever existed but give me proof he/it did exist and
maybe I will consider your analogy or simile, I mean all you
have to do is gather some information from the historians of
that time who wrote anything about this guy/gal and what he
did, never mind any analogy about the ‘sun of god’.

But as for taste and sensitivity, negro/negra are terms for
black just as blanco is a term for white mostly used, I guess,
for a description of wine and to see how distorted all this
worthless crap is merriam websters has all the politically
correct ‘offensive’ warnings about negro and blanco does not
show up at all but yeah, the use of these words aren’t in much
use anymore as it would be more of an offensive thing instead
of maybe an intellectual way of describing something.

So what about the term niggardly? Meaning stingy, miserly,
begrudgingly, and what about niggling or niggle which means
find fault in a petty way, irritating, do we have to never use
those words as they just might offend, what a way to
censureship.

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acted like an idiot.”

As Forrest Gump said:  “stupid is as stupid does.”

dihey - “Mr. Obama has contributed to this by allowing himself to be classified as an African-American when in truth he is an Afro-European-American. How silly can you get”?

ROTFLMAO - BRAVO - VERY WELL PUT - be careful with such rational logic, you will cause the politically correct to blush - dihey gets the gold star for today for good ol’ common sense! I repeat, Bravisimo!

That something like this would eventually happen was totally predictable given the fact that we are still stuck in a pre-civil war mentality of classification. Then it was “quadroons”, “octoroons” and heavens knows how many-cornered names could be fancied. Today it is African-American which is a euphemism that includes 100% black, 50% black, quadroons, octoroons and heavens knows how many additional many-cornered names.

Mr. Obama has contributed to this by allowing himself to be classified as an African-American when in truth he is an Afro-European-American. How silly can you get? Why are we perpetuating classifications inherited from the days of slavery? Only because the skins of some people are darker than the skins of others?

I understand that there was some fight about the issue whether the term “negro” should be maintained on the 2010 census form. It seems to me that the annual income of a family trumps “Negro” or “White” or “Hispanic” to the extent that the distribution of incomes tells us all we need to know where help is needed. “Negro”, “White”, and “Hispanic” are superfluous meaning not needed.

Liquor Store Larry,
Ok, I’ll go with you there. I could wish for somebody even better than Barney Frank, too. Even better than Grayson. I can wish. God knows, we deserve politicians who have the courage of their constituent’s convictions. But if I had to choose between a clone of Reid and a clone of Frank…I gotta go with Frank.

Sadly, the Democratic Party has a filtering system in place to make sure that liberal and progressive challengers to Republicans are passed over for good ol’Beltway types. And so the system rolls on…

Peetawonkus - ALL CORRECT except for the Barney Frank part. I defended that creep through the entire Bush administration but no more ... he did not lift a finger for serious Wall St reform until the light shining upon him became white hot and even then his suggestion that we place 20% of traded “derivatives” on the books, is not acceptable and if WAY too little too late. Barney is also everything you so correctly called Reid! The entire Democratic Party needs a douche. There is no one among either of the major parties that is worth a sh*t!

Harry Reid is an idiot, and he deserves to be crushingly defeated in the next election. But not for saying something dumb like this. Stupid is as stupid does but Harry “Mr. Appeaser” Reid deserves to be kicked to the curb for being one of the Democrats who sabotaged universal Health Care at the one critical moment in history when we could have gotten it done. He’s a perfect example of these Third Way, Clintonite, Beltway, corrupted by corporate money Democrats. And if there is a God someone with the politics of Barney Frank will replace his sorry ass.

Why, considering that the book contains truly damning insights into the workings
of the McCain/Palin campaign, are TV newscasters focusing almost exclusively on
Reid’s comments?

The book gives new evidence that McCain and his fellow Republicans considered
Palin shockingly ignorant and grossly unqualified to do what a Vice President
must do: be able to step in as president should the president die or become
incapacitated - a fairly likely scenario given McCain’s age and health.

Why, oh why is the Reid gaffe the big story, and not the reckless, willful
irresponsibility of the Republicans who cynically promoted Palin while knowing
and believing that if elected, she would be a direct threat to our national
security?

Harry Reid’s Poor Choice of Words

Nevada is no longer bragging about HR.
Instead, it is now boasting about the fact that it now
offers prostitutes of both genders.
Well heck, HR has been working in a multigender brothel
for decades. Different strokes for different lobbyists.

Hey archeon of thrace:

Have you taken into account the brainwashing, numbing &
dumbing down, & basically a poor educational system
with a high dropout rate,largest drug consuming country
in the world?

By archeon of thrace, January 11 at 11:26 pm #
Holy fucking christ…..the American people are stupid.

Holy fucking christ…..the American people are stupid.

By Hammond Eggs, January 11 at 4:49 pm # 
“Obama is a cynic on the order of Dick Cheney.  He is a failure on the order of Herbert Hoover.  His heart is rotten.  That’s all anyone needs to know about Obama.”
In a recent comment somewhere our friend TaoWalker referred to “the lexicon of dominance” which we all use and react to, usually without being aware of it.
“The lexicon of dominance” is a phrase that deserves some consideration. Take, for instance the approach of HammondEggs above:  Comparison of a lesser evil to a greater one (Obama to Cheney).  As if when you fail you are a failure—and must be punished, not understood or forgiven; Ergo, thieves should all go to prison or have their hands cut off—and there are no extenuating circumstances;  it doesn’t matter if this is your first offense.  Then one step further:  “His heart is rotten.  That’s all you need to know.”  “heart is rotten” is loaded with negative associations of inhumanity, (implying the writer’s heart is pure!) Also, there is only assumed evidence for the statement which is based entirely on presumption and anger.  “That’s all you need to know.”  i.e. I’m giving you the last word on the subject. No questions! I am completely right and if you don’t believe me you are a fool.
  All this and more could be drawn from such statements made without thought or care.  This seems to me to be a good example of “the language of dominence” and we use it—all of us—every day of our lives, without recognition.  In the end it will “do us in” if we don’t become more aware of the damage it does.
  “My country, right or wrong!”
  “People who are rich are successful. Americans deserve to be the strongest.”
  “I want to be a millionaire.” (somebody said this to me just the other day and my heart sunk.)
  “Women generally don’t make good executives.”
  The “lexicon of dominance.”
  Am I wrong?  Let’s talk.
Thanks to HammondEggs for the example. Hundreds come into Truthdig every week. I find my own much harder to recognize.  Wonder why that is?

RussianPaul—I disagree with you in that distrust/fear/hatred is natural. I feel it as a progression of feelings turned into lifestyle through experience. A child does not go to school with these traits, but through experiences with peers, it can progress to hatred without a guiding influence to help teach them to co-exist and nurture relationships. Allowed to continue, hatred can be an end result instead of understanding of and confrontation with the existing problem. Not well stated, but I hope you catch my meaning. Be there to guide that youth. You can’t hold their hand every minute, but you can influence them easier at a younger age. My point being that it is not natural to hate anyone or anything. Can’t account for your experiences, but as a musician, “All you need is Love” and the right influences in your life. Maybe something we all suffer from. Even Hitler knew to start by influencing the young, the most influencial time of one’s life. Just my opinion.
The “Racism Fence” I spoke of is comment from reading your postings in entirety. It may not be that way in your heart, but it comes out to me in your communications here. You might re-read what you wrote like you don’t know yourself.

And Ron, I don’t know what you mean by a “racism fence.” I love all cultures,
especially as a musician, I am fascinated by different sounds from different
peoples. But EVERYONE has prejudice in them and we have to use our minds and
reason to combat it. I think political correctness is dangerous however, this is why
we now have this covert racism where people have to use code words to express
their hatred of other ethnicities, it is so much more insidious this way. I prefer
hatred be out in the open and exposed. I also think people should get over the
fact we elected a black president, we could elect a half-jewish/half-japanese
lesbian paraplegic and she would probably continue our murderous foreign
policies and domestic financial plundering. Maybe next time we shouldn’t vote for
someone funded by corporate interests?

Ron, he is not killing brown people for no reason, he is enriching the corporations
that got him elected. The war contractors, the weapons manufacturers, the
mercenaries, etc are all profiting like mad, and if Obama didn’t do this he would
not get re-elected or worse. But that is his job. His life may be at risk, but he
should do the right thing. But he isn’t. He is expanding these wars and getting
more and more arrogant about it (I mean did you read his Nobel acceptance
speech? Compared to Kissinger, he sounded like a bloodthirsty warmonger). It’s
not just Afghanistan, we are still at war with Iraq as well as the secret war we’ve
been waging inside Pakistan, as well as Somalia and now Yemen. That is 5 Muslim
countries where we are slaughtering innocent civilians, just to make a profit. Of
course this will ensure more terrorist attacks and so we can enjoy this perpetual
war no matter who is president! It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white, Obama
has already made this deal with the devil.

AS a former enthusiastic Obama supporter who now feels like a sucker who was conned by these slimy Dems and was just becoming resigned to ignoring a woman’s right to choose, gay rights and other social issues until we get the economy back on track, I was just about to plan to vote conservative when I turned on Laura Ingram this morning and the trap door in her forehead opened up,that conservo-koo-koo came out chirping like a mother fu**er and reminded me that the Republicans are not the answer! No honest person could compare this to the meaning of what Trent Lott said or some of the even more preposterous comments. Ruth Marcus has this one right and that is ALL there is to this!

This is mainly a political issue for me, of course with the GOP using the race issue as it’s vehicle while admonishing the Dems for having double standards. Surprise—- surprise. I agree with the fact that Reid should go, but politically he can’t on the Dems side, they want to keep as many seats as they can,considering, and not because he is racist, because he of course has “been taught” racism during his life experiences. So was I, but I daily try to overcome this within myself and have taught my children differently. This does not mean that my parents were bad people, they were great, but this has a trickle down affect from prior heritage that needs to be eliminated completely. Something that Reid needs to do as well. A subject for another forum as far as I am concerned for now, except it is the vehicle used here. Politically, I would agree to remove Reid, if the GOP would remove their bible ranters who live the double standard of adultery and ethically illegal manipulation of their offices yet refusing to step down, while claiming to be the moral majority to the rest of us. Palin should also reconsider her perceived “God’s Plan”. Reid is not free of blame, and I have been cussing his existence in the Democratic lead position anyway, but I wouldn’t give him up just because the GOP pushes it. We all should push, demand within ethics reform, the elimination of these politicians so we can get totally better representation for all. Separate church and state, there is a place for those who have religious belief. GOP, you give up your injustices and we Dems will give up ours. This time you use racism, next time something else. I hope next time that it comes on the heels of cleaning up your own party first. Then you have a basis to complain. As a people we should be working on removing racism from our lifestyles together. Start with the youth, teach them, but check yourself first. We are all racist, closer to all then none.

** Note to RussianPaul
  Can’t be sure what side of the fence called racism you fall, but Obama is POTUS and must lead as a representative of all. As that man, he must ally with the soldiers that are there and support their previous efforts. I want this to end, but I don’t believe he is just into killing “brown men” for no reason. He was raised in Hawaii, where there is more compassion for all people then anyplace I have ever resided. I know he understands this situation and trust him to turn this to positive if it can be, and sooner now than later. I don’t think he will send anymore troops after the 30K he has allocated. Surely that is too many, but if he does, I hope he sends the Senate and House first so they will know what it is like before sending troops to anyplace—anymore. Politicians cannot relate to the value of life in that situation.

Outraged - You are kind of a condescending twat! Yep, I guess I haven’t “gotten
to your level” yet?
Yea, racism is definitely taught, but I still feel there is an inherent hatred in all
humans that can only be fought by discussion and contemplation, otherwise we
are truly just animals, and yes, it is natural to distrust/fear/hate that which is
different. You want me to PROVE this? What, send you links and shit? I am just
stating my humble opinion take it or leave it.

Gerard, I pretty much agree with you, I just think this fear of differences is more
enmeshed in our psyche than we would like to admit.

By glider, January 10 at 8:55 pm #

Reid (a Corporatist scoundrel) is simply commenting on political reality in America.  BFD, as it is little different than saying racism still exists in this country and Obama was a smart a smart enough campaigner to be aware of how best to behave in front of various audiences.

I must agree with glider, although I do wonder about someone who refers to black people in this context. He’s of another generation, he grew up during a time when black people were Negroes and colored and a lot worse, during segregation, etc. I don’t imagine this man has had a lot of close black friends that he socialized with regularly.

That said, he’s a member of a dying generation as well.  Let’s hope his archaic terminology and viewpoints are interred with him.

I’m sure if you ask Barack Obama and his crew, his racial/ethnic presentation was very much on their minds. Don’t we all “shapeshift” according to the company we keep?  Obama had to be careful not to appear like Willie Loman in order to get the white vote.  He rarely took pictures in all black settings. He still doesn’t, I suspect because some people would begin to mischaracterize him as the black people’s president who’s has a stealth plan for reparations.  That’s how he was characterized here in the south on “conservative” radio when he was campaigning; his tax plan was described as a secret reparations scheme that even his white cronies were unaware of. 

It’s too bad. I’m not sure what Obama is all about these days especially vis a vis his health reform lite and his economic crew. I’m pretty dissapoinnted, to be honest. I never thought he was a radical, but I did think he was a progressive.

Do you see the progressive mentality in Obama?

Obama is a cynic on the order of Dick Cheney.  He is a failure on the order of Herbert Hoover.  His heart is rotten.  That’s all anyone needs to know about Obama.

Russian Paul:  (from another of your posts) “As long as people look and act differently, there will be those that hate these differences. You cannot wish this kind of primal hatred away. It is
nature.”  Nature?  I doubt it.  More like ancient tribal struggling for existence. As to “as long as ...etc.”  The more people get together and know each other personally, the more racism disappears because personal understanding overcomes propaganda and it is propaganda that is used deliberately to separate people from each other, to prevent them from uniting for political action. Using fear of “the other” distracts them from their goal. Racism is a tool deliberately preserved by those who have an interest in maintaining power over others.   
  History should have made that clear to us by now, but ... there’s something else—the fact that differences are easily rejected automatically, without thinking—an issue of ego not confined to race.  If you are different from me, you might be “better” in some way, and I can’t allow that to happen. Therefore I insist that I am “better”—whatever stupid definition I have for “better.”  I think (though I don’t know of any proof) that maybe that’s the “primal” part, and, as with all fears, the issue is to overcome them, not react automatically by rejection and denial.  Of course that’s the hard part, but ...

Russian Paul:  I thought we were talking about language, not Obama per se and again (for the upteenth time) his racial background, which in this country is always “interesting” for a number of racially tainted reasons. He has disappointed me and many others by not being able to stand up to Wall Street robbers, but I consider him more a hostage than a willing collaborator.  The military industrial crowd was well installed before anybody ever heard of Obama, and we as citizens should take responsibility for that. Moving forward is the important thing, and for that we need to get our act together rationally, realistically—and cease performing like a passel of spoiled children.

Ruth Marcus is right on the money!

Harry Reid is a moron but NOT a racist. This entire issue is so fuggin stupid it’s pathetic. Let us not pretend that as a generality many if not most American blacks do not speak with a certain timbre and cadence to their speech. I can recognize a black voice on the other end of a phone call 97% of the time, unless of course it is a European black person which for whatever reason seems to have evolved differently in that respect. It is not by coincidence that ever president for more than 200 years was a white man and when Reid put his finger in the wind to speculate on whether white and black America would buy this dude as a candidate he put it in some pretty inept terms but IT WAS HARDLY THE SAME AS TRENT LOTT SAYING THAT “THE NATION WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER OFF IF WE HAD ELECTED STROM THURMOND” or in other words we should have stuck with segregation. That is just stupid and so is this entire tempest in a tea pot. Reid is a moron, not a racist. We don’t call Asians “Orientals” anymore and we don’t call African-Americans “NEGROS” anymore which I think is a manifestation of our own tortured self consciousness and is quite stupid in and of itself. Personally when there is a relevant reason to distinguish a person in a conversation by race, I still say someone is a “white guy” or a “black guy” or girl and I find the entire hyphenated “African” thingy idiotic as is this whole debacle with Hairy Reid! ROTFLMAO

Re: Russian Paul

Your comment: “As long as people look and act differently, there will be those that
hate these differences. You cannot wish this kind of primal hatred away. It is nature. I’m sorry, but Morgan Freeman is an idiot, if we don’t discuss things like this, then nature just runs its course, and we behave like animals.”

You make a lot of assumptions there.  First of all, claiming that somehow we have a primal hatred of differences is bogus.  Prove THAT.  From your perspective all the deer in a herd will shun an albino deer because it looks different (they don’t).... deer evolved too, didn’t they.  There is no inate sense of hatred for differences but there is A TAUGHT ONE.

It seems to me we have a caution and a curiousness toward differences until we become accustomed to them, but “primal hatred” is bogus.

We’re all just a part of humanity like MLK jr. said, and also like he said, ”“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns…”, maybe you don’t understand this because you’ve not “gotten there” yet.  I don’t know, you tell me.

Btw, I questioned ITW because I do not believe ITW is racist, I could be wrong… but I don’t think I am.  I also didn’t say we shouldn’t talk about it, where’d you get that idea?  I think we should engage all sides, even the racist ones…. well, at least the “ya’ but” racists Folktruther speaks of.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…... I know/have known lots of racists and many of them do not realize how they were TAUGHT to be racist, they simply don’t recognize it.  Much of it is fear based, kinda like being scared of the devil.  How many adults have you known or know who still fear the devil… that is a TAUGHT fear.  Some will tell you they don’t believe it but “just in case”, they keep what they’ll call “a healthy fear”.  (Certainly, that’s debateable but just the same, that’s what they do)

Outraged - Because it goes against human nature. Yes, I know the biological differences
between humans is minimal and technically I would agree there is only one
human race, but the differences are there. The word “race” is
problematic…what it is really used for is shorthand for different ethnicities and
cultures. As long as people look and act differently, there will be those that
hate these differences. You cannot wish this kind of primal hatred away. It is
nature. I’m sorry, but Morgan Freeman is an idiot, if we don’t discuss things like
this, then nature just runs its course, and we behave like animals. This is the
greatest thing I’ve read from ITW:

our society is still very much racist and most of us have it deep within
ourselves.  If we are honest, we both recognize that inner reptilian racism, and
combat it—with logic, reason and common sense.

That is the key if we are to overcome this sickness. We can’t just say we’re all
the same race, hold hands, and POOF racism is over.

And really, why would we want to all be the same? Different cultures and
ethnicities should be treasured, we are NOT all the same, we should learn to
evolve to a point where we can appreciate these differences, and not resort to
this bullshit “we are all one” nonsense.

TO Grrreen Planet:

Your comment is so important because too many writers
for
TD & other progressive sites consistently blame the
victims,
i.e., we the people, for what the fascist Oligarchs
running
America are doing. A current classic example is the
article:

Obama’s Alternate Universe Posted on Jan 8, 2010
By Scott Ritter.

By Grrreen Planet, January 11 at 1:49 am #
Racist or not, it still was the wrong thing to say,
about your President
of the United States.  I am sure that everyone around
the world
is having a field day with us, that is the US.

I think of Morgan Freeman when asked about racism by a reporter.Simply put he said ” we should just to talking about”. ” The more we sit and analyse it the more hatred is brought out, between both.”

Forgive me.  That should read:

deleterious:  Merriam Webster: ” harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way”
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deleterious

Re: Russian Paul

Your comment: “But the more we talk about race, the better. I get the feeling some people would be happier if we all just put our head in the sand and say we’re all the same race…the human race. It’s not that easy.

Why isn’t it…?  Qualify your position.

Re: ITW

“And it’s real everywhere, whether business, or law, or politics, or Hollywood.  You can be a dumb-ass fumble-tongued White man with a “C” average and get to be President, but NO WAY anyone not Caucasian can get away with that—look at Obama’s predecessor, Dumya.

I won’t deny there is racism in this world, and we see this… here in America as well as “abroad”, however, in this same vein….... Is it okay for little white boys and girls to be abused, or is this reality simply an issue we do not NEED to address?  It escapes me, truthfully….. it does.  I need to know.  Are the pains of these lesser so.  Additionally, is it plausible that a “black agenda” is qualifiable or is this merely white supremacy’s photogenic(sp?) negative.

I say MLK would be “on my side”, which would be… that which “Russian Paul” considers somehow deleterious… by claiming, “if we all just put our head in the sand and say we’re all the same race…the human race.”

Again.  There is only us to save humanity, no one else.

Merriam Webster: ” harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way”
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deleterious

MLK, Jr: “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

Racist or not, it still was the wrong thing to say, about your President of the United States.I am sure that everyone around the world is having a field day with us, that is the US.

Blacks call it “the Black Tax”—You have to be twice as good to get half as far. And it’s real everywhere, whether business, or law, or politics, or Hollywood.  You can be a dumb-ass fumble-tongued White man with a “C” average and get to be President, but NO WAY anyone not Caucasian can get away with that—look at Obama’s predecessor, Dumya.

The dumb part was that Reid said it out loud and gave all the right-wing-nuts ammo for their talk shows.

It’s not that Reid is racist (he may be, he may not be) but our society is still very much racist and most of us have it deep within ourselves.  If we are honest, we both recognize that inner reptilian racism, and combat it—with logic, reason and common sense.

But it does reflect Reid’s poor management that he opened his trap and let this ammunition for the Right fly out.

Gerard - But sometimes it is better to be curt and straightforward instead of being
overly sensitive and safe. Sometimes ugly truths should not be sugarcoated. I’m
not necessarily talking about Reid, he spoke poorly, but his words were politically
honest, not racially charged.

Obama, at this point, is a rich white man who, in 2009, killed more brown people
overseas than Bush did in 2008. Also interesting, and definitely politically
incorrect to mention, is that Obama has absolutely no “African-American” heritage
on his father’s side, however he is related to slave-owners on his mother’s side.
Not that it matters, it seems this is the dawning of a new age of multi-cultural,
political correctness where it doesn’t matter what ethnicity you are as long as you
have MONEY. Obama represents the corporations, not the common people,
whither they be black, brown, red, orange, white, etc.

samo-samo:  It’s not a question of being “a crime to think certain words are forbidden”.  It’s a matter of taste, which is extremely hard to define—a felt quality within individuals which tells them “this or that kind of language will hurt the listener and/or work against the goal the speaker wants to accomplish. Often, a manner of speaking reveals the speaker’s insensitivity to others. 
  If, for instance, Jesus had said “What the f—- do you mean by doing that, you idiot?” instead of “Go forth and sin no more,” it is doubtful that he would have added anything to the achievement of his goals.

Oh please,

Marcus, as usual, has nothing insightful or enlightening to add to the non-issue.

The real judge of Reid’s comments is President Obama and I seriously doubt that he is at all bothered by the comments.  I hear a lot of Republicans criticizing Reid and saying he should step down - like they haven’t said much worse about Obama and others with malicious intent.  While Reid’s comments may not be politically correct, I find them a long way from racist especially from an old school individual.

REID IS VERY OLD SCHOOL & EVEN THOUGH BLACKS ARE NOW
ACCEPTED IN HIS CHURCH, HE STILL CATERS TO HIS BASE
CONSTITUENCY        

“GOP chief: Reid should step down, Steele says Senate
leader should lose job over “Negro dialect” comment”
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Reid should indeed step down because he is

a useless puppet just following orders &,

like Bush3, everything he does harms we the people,
along with that other charmer Nancy Pelosi.

What truth?  That we are still not un-prejudiced?
Uh, yes. Obama has African heritage, but he acts like a rich white guy in all
respects, if he was more in tune with his heritage, he would not have won the
election. Reid is absolutely right, he is just pointing out in antiquated terms
that racism still exists in this country. Is Reid himself a racist? I don’t know or
care, he is a scumbag corporate owned politician.

But the more we talk about race, the better. I get the feeling some people
would be happier if we all just put our head in the sand and say we’re all the
same race…the human race. It’s not that easy. Come on, we need to grow up
and not be afraid to discuss such things! Yes Obama is black and if he acted
“more black” he would’ve scared the white voters away, this is a sad fact.

And Gerard - another sad fact is that Obama is now part of this legacy of “white
supremacy” by waging wars on 5 muslim countries at the moment. We elected
a rich brown man here to kill poor brown men over there. If Reid had to say
something politically incorrect, I wish he would’ve said that!

Reid (a Corporatist scoundrel) is simply commenting on political reality in America.  BFD, as it is little different than saying racism still exists in this country and Obama was a smart a smart enough campaigner to be aware of how best to behave in front of various audiences.  No big whoop IMO.  However, it gives the media and politicians something to make hay over other than the real issues they should be focused upon.

It is a crime to think certain words are forbidden just as certain
books are forbidden or just not available, (e.g. today I went to a
major brand book seller and asked for R. Crumb’s ‘Book of
Genesis’ and low and behold NOT AVAILABLE but r. crumb’s
other books were) but hell, if what he said gets harry reid down
the road, it is a good idea, no, damn good idea.

By the way ain’t o a mulatto, like tiga?

Note how persistent racism is.  Even though we deny it and try ti ignore it, it hangs about our language like a nasty, snarling little dog:  “Arf, Arf!” “Gr-r-r-r!” “Arf, Aarf!.” and won’t let go of our collective pants-legs.
  Not only our language is “a tad out of date,” but our way of thinking—or not thinking, more like. “Why do we have to tiptoe around the truth?”  What truth?  That we are still not un-prejudiced?  That it is easy to sew prejudice and impossible to reap non-prejudice?  That people in this country are not “free and equal”?  That prejudice creates jokes, insults and the inability to tell the difference? To feel the pain? 
  That not facing up to prejudice is itself prejudicial?  That we aren’t running full speed away from discussing it: The evil ways in which it still affects people of color in jails, courts, prisons and on the streets every living day?  In the way it plays into employment:  Into health care?  Into wars against small countries of “strange” cultures where the majority of the people are not only “colored” but poor, and that this is no coincidence?
  Let’s get real and admit the vile systemic evils, historical and present, of so-called “white supremacy” with its fear-crazed broods still hiding in the hills and armed to the teeth.  It’s influence in the halls of Church and State.  It’s mean-minded, conniving egotism. And having confessed it, let’s cease and desist from exploiting it and at the same time pretending that we have “gone beyond it.”
  If, for one year, no black youngster on the sidewalk in a white neighborhood in L.A county is stopped by two cops and asked to show his identity and tell where he is going and why, then I’ll relax.  Not until.

Harry Reid is a phony, a scoundrel, etc. But there is really nothing wrong with his
comments. He wasn’t saying it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but if Obama was
darker skinned and didn’t talk like someone who went to Harvard, then yes, he
might not have been elected. Why do we have to tiptoe around the truth? And
Negro is not a bad word, just a tad out of date. People are so stupid nowadays.