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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steve Lokness who wrote (178006)	12/26/2011 2:04:54 PM
From: koan	Respond to of 543819

<<You obviously don't understand the man - or perhaps the libertarian beliefs. Ron Paul as a libertarian and consistent with libertarian philosophy doesn't want the government deciding these things. It's not a hard concept to grasp and it has NOTHING to do with being a racist. >> Of course it is racism. And if Libertarianism believes segregation is OK, then it is a bankrupt philosophy. What Ron Paul doesn't understand is that our government is really our society and has every right, and indeed obligation, to outlaw racism. Ron Paul has never understood he lives in a society, is protected by society, and a democratic society is the best system humankind has ever found. But then I have always felt Ron Paul is a scoundral.

To: Steve Lokness who wrote (178006)	12/26/2011 2:51:54 PM
From: JohnM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 543819

You obviously don't understand the man - or perhaps the libertarian beliefs. Ron Paul as a libertarian and consistent with libertarian philosophy doesn't want the government deciding these things. It's not a hard concept to grasp and it has NOTHING to do with being a racist. I'm willing to accept that assertion, that he's not a racist if he would come through with explanations for a couple of things. But before I go there, it might help to separate racism as a personal, psychological trait and racism as a structural, social one. In that first respect, I suspect there's little if any evidence of Ron Paul's racism. I haven't seen any written about. But in the second respect, there is a good bit of evidence that his policies provide support for racist structures. That's what I think he needs to respond about. If you read the article in this morning's NYTimes, Steve, you'll see what I mean. He associates with some folk who are clearly such, Rockwell for one. And he is willing to accept the support of others who are also racist. That doesn't make him a racist in the psychological sense but it does mean he's willing to accept policies which clearly are racist structurally. An illustration, his argument about the 1960s civil rights acts helping to end segregation, which he would have opposed because they stepped all over private property rights. In that context, that favored a racist social structure. So, Paul was choosing between what he would consider two evils--helping end segregation or doing damage to individual property rights. He now says his view of the greater evil is damaging individual property rights. I submit that's favoring segregation and thus, a racist social structure. What do you think, Steve? I respect your arguments. And would love to see what you think here.