NAACP Racist Claims

This morning, I heard on the news that the NAACP is calling everyone in the Tea Party a racist. I suppose asking why, would be unacceptable; since we are not supposed to question anything that is done by this administration, or the evangelists of its political agenda. Even though I am not a member of the Tea Party, I suspect they will be calling me a racist next! It seems that anyone who does not endorse the political agenda of this administration is a racist.

I'm a math and logic guy. So, I have some knowledge of things like mathematical proofs. I also understand logic. There is a well know mathematical principal: a single example does not prove a theory. A single example can be used, however, to disprove a theory. The NAACP claims that all members of the Tea Party are racists. This is a statement of a theory. The beauty of this claim is the damage it can do, whether it is proven or not. And, I suspect this is the goal. But, I digress; back to the theory. It's simple and logical: this theory can be dis-proven by having one member of the Tea Party that is not racist. So, can the NAACP prove that every member of the Tea Party is a racist? If not, then this theory is false. It's what we call an unsubstantiated statement.

I heard an interview, where an advocate of the NAACP's position stated things like "small government" and "states rights" were code words for racism. Wait - I thought racism was treating someone different because of their race. How did states rights and small government become part of the equation? It's almost as if the NAACP is saying that the only way to avoid racism, is to have a centralized government (opposite of small government and states rights) to control its citizens - to ensure racism does not happen. Well, history tells us that governments can have racists policies; depending on the people who act on behalf of the government. So, I am not sure why someone would trust the government not to be racist. But, I guess someone might believe that the government would be able to prevent racism. It's ironic; the Tea Party is the party that basically says government is supposed to serve the people, rather than the other way around. The Tea Party advocates personal liberty. I guess it comes down to whether you trust the government more or less than the people around you. And, I guess if you are a minority, it would be hard to trust those who are in the majority. That said, we do have laws in this country that expressly make discrimination illegal.

Lets go back to logic for just a moment. Is it logical that all people are racists, if only one person is proven to be racist? The answer is no. So, since racism is assumed when we talk about the need for big, centralized government, can the conclusion be true if one of the fundamental assumptions is proved wrong? The answer is no. The reality is that people are being manipulated.

What could possibly be accomplished by claiming that the Tea Party is racist? It's all about guilt. That's right. It's about the fear of being called a racist. It's leverage against people like me, who try to be independent of the political parties. And, as hard as this is for me to admit, It's leverage against people like me who have been afraid to be called racist.

You see, some people will almost always vote Republican. And, others will almost always vote Democratic. The independents are the ones that really determine elections. They are the group that were fundamental in the 2006 and 2008 elections. They are the group that were upset with President Bush and the Republicans (for any number of reasons). The independent voters are the ones who put the Democrats in control of Congress in 2006. And, they are the group that elected President Obama in 2008.

Why would anyone want to use racism to manipulate a population? Simple - Power. By manipulating people into thinking they are victims of racism, you can get them to support your political agenda (enemy of my enemy, etc.). And, by making people afraid of being called racist, you accomplish the same exact thing. Basically, it's all about fear. Fear of being a victim of racism (on the one hand), and fear of being called a racist (on the other hand). I think it goes without saying, that this kind of public manipulation is just plain bad.

By the way, if the agenda is a centralized government, to ensure that racism does not occur, then the government would have to be able to control everyone. People who are dependent on the government would be very easy to control.

I was taught to treat people the way I want to be treated. And, I have tried to live up to this every day of my life. To me, this is what is important: living according to my values. I have decided to get over my fear of being called a racist. I have never treated someone different because of their race, and I never will. I refuse to be manipulated, based on my fear of being called something that I know I am not. If someone calls me a racist, I could spend lots of time trying to prove they are wrong. Or, I can take it for what it is: an inaccurate statement. No more guilt. I will not be manipulated.