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[pscot]

71. We can all think whatever we want

although some would have it otherwise. The problem, for me at least, arises when I agree with what you're saying but continue to get hit over the head with it again and again, because my agreement isn't couched in the right terms or my intent is somehow suspect. Then I get sore because I feel like I'm being backed into a corner and will be abused no matter where I come down. When someone's trying to agree with you, it's bad form to roll your eyes and say, "Oh sure, we've heard that one", even if it's true.

I don't want to fight with you, or anyone else on this board about race. It's too dangerous; too explosive a topic. The argument that's been going on here is like playing catch with live hand grenades. I understand Black folks have every reason to be wary around whites. But most white folks are as ghettoized as inner city blacks. The number of black families in my county is vanishingly small. Where I grew up, I never encountered an actual black person until I was a sophomore in high school. In the context of where I live, it's hard to see myself as privileged, since I'm working class and have always been near the low end of the economic spectrum. At the same time, as Americans we're all privileged vis a vis most of the rest of the world.

I'm dismayed at the bickering and fussing we've been doing. Everyone seems to feel they have to have the last word and closure is not an option. Each new post starts the argument anew and moves us farther from an amicable resolution. There are plenty of unreconstructed folks around here, on both sides, who seem eager to keep the pot boiling. But we're all here because we have a common purpose. Supposedly we're all on the same side. Trust is the key. We need to quit judging one another and parsing one another's words; make allowances; assume the best rather than the worst. And learn to trust. If people will let go of some of their anger and hurt, hold the blow, I believe it's possible for us all to just get along with one another.