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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (53227)	7/18/2002 6:35:38 PM
From: J. C. Dithers	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

What would you guess is the percentage of people in the U.S. who marry someone of the same race? My guess would be 95 percent. Whites, blacks, and Asians. For most of them, the "bigotry" started when they first dated. Probably the great majority never even tried once to date someone of a different race, to find out if there might be someone better. I guess you would call this endemic bigotry in our society. I don't call it bigotry, because I believe that term needs elements ranging from dislike through animosity to hatred. Race is more than skin color. Race includes heritage. Race includes customs and traditions. These are defining characteristics of a whole person. Most people are more comfortable sharing their lives with someone where there is common ground in these respects. That is not bigotry, it is a natural preference for for associating with people who share a common cultural background. The same natural instincts may lead people to favor political candidates who exhibit similar commonalities. It is a most natural thing for a member of minority to feel that someone of the same race will understand their problems and aspirations better than a candidate of a different race. They may well cast their vote with nothing more in mind than that. And that is not bigotry, either. There IS real and dangerous bigotry in our society, which denies people their (self-evident) rights. When you begin slapping the label of bigotry upon people who are only acting in their personal lives according to their likes and preferences, IMO you deflect attention from the mean-spiritedness and malicious intent which characterize the true meaning of the word. And I stand by that.