Look, the simple fact is, there is nothing, technically, wrong with being a racist. I know, I know, this looks really bad, but read on and I’ll explain. Being racist simply means that a person has a particular opinion about something. Now, there is nothing wrong with having an opinion, ANY opinion. It is wrong to act unlawfully because of an opinion, but there is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with the opinion itself. Racism is simply comprised of a different worldview and opinion. And, that worldview and opinion is absolutely just as valid and protected as any other worldview and opinion.
Now, in saying all this. Racism is stupid. However, this could simply be my close-minded opinion. You see, people call racists close-minded, but they do not generally realize that they are being just as close-minded, if not more so, than the racists. Immediately and unequivocally invalidating and not listening to an individual’s opinions is about as close-minded as it gets. In fact, I think that racists are among some of the more open-minded people that I have talked to. They are dumb as a box of rocks, but they will listen to you and argue with you. When most people talk or debate a racist, they simply call them names and spit on them and otherwise act extremely close-minded. People need to remember, wrong opinions are still valid opinions and points of view. Any and all wrong opinions and viewpoints can be shown to be wrong through a process of logic, reasoning and analytical thought. One does not need to resort to name calling, spitting, fighting or any other means. There is no reason to get upset with racists, they have their point of view, I have mine, you have yours. You would not want someone telling you that your point of view has no merit, or shouting you down, or otherwise infringing upon your rights to have and express your view. Well, then the same goes for the racists. Hence, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with racism, it is simply another point of view and opinion that must be dealt with in this world.
And racism is not the only idiotic, stupid, half-assed, weakly inflated idea, opinion or point of view in this world. There are lots and lots of idiots in this world. We have to deal with them all the time. There are the idiots that buy SUV’s and never learn how to drive or park their behemoths. There are the abortion rights activists. There are the right to life folks. There are the gun control proponents. There are the gun control opponents. There are those that believe we never landed on the moon, or believe that the earth is flat, or believe they were abducted by aliens. There are the people that believe that dinosaurs were cold blooded and those that believe they were warm blooded. There are lots and lots of opinions and points of view out there in this world. People are allowed to have and express these points of view and thank goodness. Yes, it means that we have to put up with a bunch of idiots, but it also means that there is the free exchange of ideas without fear of prosecution.
Oh, except for hate crimes. And this is one of the primary reasons why hate crimes are fundamentally wrong and stupid. However, the main reason hate crimes are wrong is because they prescribe certain special circumstances to a particular motive. The law generally does not care why a person committed a crime, only that they committed a crime and how that crime was carried out. One does not add an additional charge to someone who murdered their wife for money versus murdering their wife to run away with another woman. It’s the same crime, murder. And if the murder was premeditated, that speaks to how the crime was committed. Same goes for “special circumstances” such as performing the murder with “malice” or “lying in wait”. These all penalize based upon how the crime was committed, not the particular, original motive involved. Yes, motive is important to show at a trial, but it should not mean that an individual serves more or less time for a crime. Hate crimes are not needed because there are already provisions in the law regarding performing acts out of malice, etc. We do not need to get specific as to the source of that malice, having malice should be enough. In addition, hate crimes legislation has a chilling effect on free speech. Now, suddenly, we are coming dangerously close to outlawing certain opinions and ideas. But it is random and arbitrary. How would you like to get an additional $100 tacked onto your next speeding ticket because you were gay, or wearing a blue shirt, or speeding because you were late (Late Crime Legislation), or because you were driving a Datsun, or because you were smoking at the time? It is arbitrary and wrong and it is penalizing a group of people because of their deeply held beliefs and opinions. If it is wrong for religion, then it HAS to be wrong for racism and any other ‘ion or ‘ism.
And let’s all be honest with one another, the mainstream Black movement in this country is FAR more racist than whites. And I say this with all sincerity. There are more black racists, percentage-wise, than white racists. The racism is more organized, systematic and rampant within the Black community than within the white community. The mainstream Black movement in this country is absolutely not concerned about achieving a colorblind society, which is what we should all be striving to achieve. Instead, the Black movement in this country is all about getting preferential treatment in order to make up for the past wrongs of slavery. Affirmative action does nothing to promote a colorblind society, instead, it is solely designed to give one group of individuals preferential treatment over another group of individuals based solely upon the color of their skin. Please correct me if I am mistaken, but last I checked, that was commonly referred to as racism. Reparations are in the same boat. Reparations do absolutely nothing to promote a colorblind society, instead, reparations are solely designed to give one group of individuals preferential treatment over another group of individuals based solely on the color of their skin. Again, that is racism, plain and simple.
The problem here is two fold. First, when the Thirteenth Amendment was passed outlawing discrimination based upon race, it did not do so based on only certain types of discrimination, whites discriminating against Blacks, it did it for ALL such discrimination. The pro for blacks here is that this is exactly what they asked for, to not be discriminated against based upon the color of their skin. The law now covers this. However, the con that Blacks seem to find extremely distressing nowadays is that it also covers blacks discriminating against whites. That is also illegal, Constitutionally, as specified by the Thirteenth Amendment. When discrimination based on race was outlawed, this means that blacks immediately lost their recourse to atone for these past mistakes and injustices as a collective unit. Personal, specific, past injustices could be remedied but seeking recourse based solely upon the race of the parties involved is inherently racist because it is grouping a large class of individuals (whites) together based solely upon the color of their skin. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. It is never, never, never, never, ever right to group a bunch of people together based solely upon their skin color for any reason whatsoever. Ever! It just simply should never be done. And did I mention that goes for any reason under the sun? That includes affirmative action, reparations, and any other hair-brained idea that comes down the pipe. If it in ANY way groups people together and makes assumptions about them based solely on the color of their skin, then it is wrongheaded and stupid. No further analysis required. It does not make sense to try to correct past mistakes by subjecting still more people to those exact same mistakes. This is commonly referred to as “fighting fire with fire” and guess what? That’s a bad idea. All you get is a building that burns down twice as fast, which is all you will get by such racist activities as affirmative action, reparations and the like. Racism is racism, regardless of intent.
The second problem is that everyone is trying to enforce today’s societal values on a past society. Let me clue you in here; that cannot possibly work. Take a look at the time when slavery was going on in this country. We had men out West marrying 13 and 14 year old girls. 11 and 12 year old boys fighting in the Civil War was not unheard of. We had people freezing to death and eating one another after getting their covered wagons trapped in the Rockies. People were being hanged for petty theft. We were committing mass genocide on Native Americans. There was little or no indoor plumbing for Christ’s sake! Notice anything about this world? How about the fact that it was COMPLETELY different from today’s world. Did you notice that? Values, morals, EVERYTHING were completely and utterly different back then. Today’s morals, values and opinions do not apply to what went on in the past. Today, we happen to judge certain things that past society did as wrong. Now, all that means is that TODAY we do not feel that they were right. This actually does not mean that they WERE wrong. At the time, that society felt they were right. Newsflash, slavery WAS legal. At some future date, our society may change to feel that these types of things are OK. Let’s hope that we never see that day, but it is still a possibility. The point here is that what is wrong and right is defined by society at a particular point in time. One cannot go back and second-guess a society, because that society might as well be a foreign country or alien planet. Our rules, morals and values are absolutely irrelevant and meaningless in such a historical context.
So what am I saying? I am saying that while I do not believe in racism in ANY form, including affirmative action and reparations, there are those that do not believe in some racism, those that denounce racism against blacks but promote racism against whites and there are those that think racism has some good points and those that are full blown racists. There is a whole spectrum of opinions and attitudes about racism in this country. And you know what? That is a GOOD thing. I happen to think that it would be a better thing if everyone subscribed to MY view of racism, but I am not going to go around and shout at or persecute people because of their beliefs. I will point out why I think they are wrong and ignorant, but I am not going to persecute them. Persecuting people because of their opinions and beliefs, religious or not, is wrong. If they do something unlawful, that is another matter, but the fact that people have certain opinions and points of view should never single them out for persecution or special circumstances for being prosecuted. Pardon the pun, but this is an extremely black and white issue. There is no gray area where it is OK to either stereotype people into groups based upon skin color or persecute individuals because of their beliefs. Oh yeah, I am also saying that it is OK to be a racist. Hell, every Black leader that speaks out for affirmative action or reparations is a complete racist just like the KKK is a racist organization. Its OK to be racist, I wish you were not, but it is your right. If you are a racist and you truly and honestly believe in it, then don’t let those idiot do-gooders get you down, go be a racist with pride. Just don’t do anything unlawful or you will be persecuted for your beliefs.
Originally Published July 2003
The Objective Observer 
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