But to construe my comments here as an endorsement of racism is to misread them, I believe that if you take a deep breath and reread them you will realise that.
To tell you the truth, I never thought that for one moment, ever. Perhaps, I was not clear enough in what I was saying, and will try in the future to be more clear in my writing.
It is my considered opinion that if the worst racist you ever meet is Eric Charters, then you are home free and in the clear.
I've met much worse. It is not apparent to those who meet me that I am an Arab. Normally, people think I'm Italian, Greek, or Spanish. Upon finding out in conversation that I was an Arab, an otherwise pleasant person, will totally change their attitude and get up to walk away. This is sometimes worse, in my opinion, because there is no mistaking that person's opinion.
I believe he was speaking figuratively or metaphorically or whatever - actually I don't know the literary term for it, but imho he was not literally advocating genocide.....
Some people like the "shock value" of what they say. They like to dig deep under someone's skin. Perhaps, they enjoy the reaction they get from others. I am usually quite tolerant of opinion that is based in fact, and that is the problem I had with Eric, in that his comments on this topic were not knowledgeable. I admit I am at a disadvantage, as I have only limited experience with Eric.
He has got to dumb it down for those who don't know him or are incapable of understanding, this is true.
I have seen other posts of Eric's that I found thoughtful and knowledgeable. I certainly hope that he returns to this. |
