Apparently that's what I'm doing.  Yep, I say such inflammatory things as "a man is equal to any other man regardless of skin color" or because I didn't own slaves nor did anyone in my family, I "don't have an ounce of guilt in my body".  For that, I'm fueling a race war.  If it were only that simple.

To the simpletons, not carrying your white guilt on your sleeve is apparently an act of racism.  I have long said that is bullshit.  I generated a post about Shirley Sherrod  with the intent of making a point.  My point was very simply - racism is racism, the skin color of the individual committing means nothing to me.  In the MSM today, Shirley Sherrod is celebrated for thinking like a racist, just not acting like one.  The thought police apparently are willing to give her a pass, despite the fact that her first instinct was to discriminate against a white man while she, a black woman, was in a position of power over him.  I don't believe that the same would apply to a white man in the exact same situation.
 
I won't deny she got hosed.  The Obama administration has been an utter failure and this issue, like many others, is proof of that.  But the idol worshipping taking place over this woman and her decision to overcome her bad thoughts is utter bullshit.  But for me, it's the inconsistency that is the problem.  It's the hypocrisy of the thought police that will call for some folks ouster, but celebrate others.  Last time I checked, what is in your head is yours to own.  What matters is how you act on those thoughts.  So, when some folks comment about how it's okie dokie that black folks get to take some free shots against whites because of slavery, you'll have to excuse me if I call bullshit on that.  To me, that's acting on racist thoughts.  Racism is never OK, regardless of how you somehow justify it. 

Fact - If the colors and the people were flipped, the outcome in the media would have been far different.  A white man admitting he was thinking of being racist towards a black farmer would have demanded such an outcry from the media and and the administration, the man that "learned a lesson" from his own racism would have been tarred, feathered, and forced into isolation...all because he admitted that he thought about it.  But a black woman admits the exact same thing, and she's held up on high for it.  She's celebrated.  Why is that?  It seems as if our media and many on the left look for a minority hero under every rock they find.  As we all know too well, they also look for racists with FAR MORE zeal. 

Shirley Sherrod isn't heroic.  For all we know, her little story of redemption and self-realization never happened.  It could be just like one of those anecdotes that every politician uses during a campaign...you know, when they meet up with "real people" and those real people have a hardship story to share, so said politician says something like "or Bonnie Johnson, a 27 year old waitress from Ames, IA, shared with me how hard she works but how little she takes home."  We all know those stories are total BS.  With regard to Shirley's story, I don't know this for sure, so for the sake of making a point and in order to give her the proper benefit of the doubt, I'll say yes, ok, it happened.  To those that are holding her decision on high, ask yourself this - Why is her admission somehow heroic?  Why should any of us give a rip?  She did the right thing.  Big deal.

Every day, each of us is faced with a decision.  Our character is constantly tested.  Should I do the right thing or the wrong thing?  Many of us choose the wrong thing...It's true.  When I was going to school for law enforcement, I learned an interesting little factoid.  Criminal statistics show that out of 10 people, 7 will do the wrong thing.  But when you break down the numbers, it gets really interesting.  3 out of those 7 will always do the wrong thing, regardless of the consequences.  4 of the 7 will only do the wrong thing if there is a surefire guarantee that they won't get caught.  That leaves 30% of the population that will always do the right thing. 

I will freely admit, I've had many a thought cross my mind regarding things I would LIKE to do, but I don't because the act is illegal, immoral, or just plain out of character for me.  And if I did those bad things, I would be so damn guilty, I would have to make it right.  So, I choose to do the right thing.  Am I celebrated for it?  No.  I simply made the morally and ethically correct decision.  In Shirley's story, she was faced with the same thing.  She chose the right path.  She is on the same side of the criminal statistics as I am.  Huh, a black woman and a white man sharing the same moral character.  Whoda thunk it.   So, if that's fueling a race war, I guess I'm guilty as charged....but then so is Shirley Sherrod. 

Maybe, if some folks put a little less effort into calling out a racist everytime they think it's politically expedient and a little more effort into doing the right thing like Shirley and me, we'd all be better off.