I was dating a girl who was half-Korean a while back, and she had just come home distraught, telling me that she had an “ethnic epiphany.” She realized on the bus ride home from work that she looked different from everyone else, and it made her feel very alone and alienated.

I went to comfort her, and opened my mouth to say “I understand” when I realized that I really don’t. As a white male, I’ve never felt like I looked different from everyone else; even when I was living in South America, surrounded by ethnic Latinos, I didn’t feel like I was different from everyone else, I felt like everyone else was different from me. We lack the perspective on what it means to be a minority (and I daresay that minority individuals may lack the framework to understand what it’s like to be white).

That’s why it’s so important for us to have useful, productive dialogues about racial and ethnic issues in America today. Racial divides are not going to be bridged intuitively; it’s a matter of communication and outreach. That’s why I applaud you, Vivian, for sharing your perspective on this issue, and it’s why I frequently stop by this blog to find out what your take is on today’s issues.

Thank you for sharing that with us.

I am speaking of Jim “driveby” Webb…(are Dems now saying, we wouldn’t have had these problems if Harris Miller was our man?)

VJP: If only you two were in charge You know I really mean the far left of center people. I stand corrected.

Waldo: The next loser of a war in Europe has to keep the french….and their habits of cursing in front of four year olds…

Do you know what french military tradition started at Yorktown, VA?
Fighting to the last American Soldier, they have been doing it ever since!

Now, can we look at Allen’s record in public office? He obviously hasn’t done anything to indicate that he’s a racist in nearly 30 years in public office. We should be examining his public record, it’s the best indicator of what he will do in the future in the Senate.

Not only have I never implied that or inferred it, but until somebody mentioned that on some other blog a few days ago (I don’t remember when or where), the thought simply never crossed my mind. To know a word is not to endorse its usage. To teach a word is not to endorse its usage. My mother taught me to swear in French when I was four. (We were living in Europe at the time.) I was gonna hear the words and wonder what they meant, so better to teach them to me up front.

Perhaps my experience is unusual, and prevents me from getting a proper perspective on this. But I just cannot comprehend the “you’re slandering his mama” angle.

Spank – nobody died and left Conaway and me in charge of the lefty blogs

plunge – maybe I’m dense but I have no idea what you are trying to say

Actually, that word was not the issue for me – the “Welcome to America…Real World of Virginia” thing was. Even Allen’s explanation of that was bogus – Jim Webb’s people are from SWVA and he even wrote Born Fighting with scenes from a recent trip to SWVA. But, the senator says that Jim was “never” there. Playing fast and loose with words is what gets him in trouble.

If you and yours’ commit to stop doing these things, then you have leg to stand on. Otherwise, when you try to spank that donkey, expect Democrats to poach some elephant hide.

I think I am on pretty solid ground there.. they simply could have said, “and Senator Allen speaks french”, and we can suppose that macaca is just the basic curse words you learn in high school or college? They are directly implicating his mother taught him to call everyone he sees with a dark complexion macaca….

That my friend, is simply going to far… I am willing to bet that you punched fellow class mates in the nose for talking about your mother?

Is this a race to the lowest common demoninator? Can’t we do better? What elese has he done.

Phil Kellam is a silver-spooned, spoiled brat who has never had anybody tell him NO. He thinks he can get away with anything. Do you agree that he can?

How about some intellectual honesty?

Regardless, this is an excellent letter I hope we all read. THANK YOU FOR WRITING IT!!!

The most boring, self-serving thing anybody can say in this context is — “The other side started it. The other side is saying bad things, my side is saying only good things.”

Who is fooled by such childish denials?

Vivian, Conaway, you and I all know what’s been going on here. I’m not going to waste my time looking up all the trash that Allen’s defenders has posted. Instead, I’ll give you this one link, along with one point about it:

If you don’t know how stupid and mean it was for the so-called A-Team to post this sort of claptrap (http://allens-a-team.com/2006/09/24/webbs-inspiration-for-the-anti-miller-flier/) on Rosh Hashanah, then in spite of what you might think, you need to learn a lot more about the history of 20th century political art.

If Right of Center Bloggers were “carrying on” like our counterparts, we would have been taken to the “wood shed” from the Get Go, and of course “branded” as racists or worst!