I posed a question to 10 trusted DUers ...

[rrneck]

241. Well,

maybe the "rrneck" handle threw you off a little bit. Know what it stands for? Renaissance redneck. I started out life as a tractor jockey in the south and wound up an artist. One of the finest professors I ever had was a black man. And since I went to graduate school in the north, the minute I opened my mouth people assumed I wore a pillow case on my head on the weekends or I was at least an idiot redneck. I proved them wrong. And yes, I found it insulting. I've been down more cultural backstreets and alleys than most people you know.

So you appear to have leapt to the conclusion that I took the OP to task because he's black. There is really no reason to think that, but if you want to research it you have about seventeen thousand opportunities to find a racist sentiment. When you're done with that, think about what just happened here. Someone posts an OP that will bring some sort of criticism (what OP doesn't?). It has been frontloaded with certain expectations so that whatever criticisms are offered they can be interpreted as racially motivated. Shoot, the racist probably doesn't even know it's racist. Cui bono? I really can't say. But I know who the losers are.

Factionalism creates circular firing squads. There will always be someone willing to profit from human tribal instincts, that's how brand loyalty works from soap flakes to religion. I should be insulted because of your insinuation of racism. Strike that. I am insulted. And if you want to make an accusation it would be in your best interest to bring more evidence than some contrived internet bait and switch. But I'll get over it, because I know how it feels when people draw all kinds of bad conclusions about me based on superficial evidence.