"Oh I wish I was in de lan' of cotten..."

Wow you guys are really exploring the cotten picking aspects of the issue, huh?

The Souf wouldn't be the Souf w/o it.

For whatever it's worth, as I read it, there is less genetic variation in the entire human race than in a typical group of 50 African monkeys of the same species and of what minuscule amount of genetic variation there is, it's mostly East/West rather than North/South, i.e. the black and white races are closer to each other than either is to East Asians.

The handful of pubbies who still see any sort of a problem with interracial marriage is the least of anything which American blacks should be worried about at this time. A vastly bigger problem is how badly blacks are getting fucked by deal they think they have with the demoKKKrat party and its NEA, SEIU, and Trial Lawyer paymasters.

I don't think racists lack intelligence. They lack common sense, wisdom, compassion and they actually hate themselves. Intelligence has nothing to do with it.

There is racism all over this nation, but I believe more citizens than ever before are trying to be civil about it. That is a far cry from the situation the older generations were born into. The racist attitudes are less overt these days. I find it hopeful that so many of the young are willing to mix. I don't know how to change the targeting of black people for jail time. I don't know how to get black people working again, when the other ethnicities are not doing well either. Don't know that many people are ready to make much effort for further change at this time.

See and my response to that is 'Really?' Because it naturally occurs to me to ask people why they believe or are or do something all the time. In fact I have asked people, 'Why are you so prejudiced against so and so?' I've also asked thieves at work 'Why do you think it's alright to steal from other people?'
The other day we were all having a conversation about 'stitching people up' or 'dropping someone in it' - which in prison parlance means accusing and framing someone for something they didn't do.
I would never do that - so I can't imagine why anyone else would. The only way I can learn about it is to ask them 'Why?' I already know the How and What as they manifest themselves. I want to know the 'Why'.

But I was an extremely curious child and have grown into an extremely curious adult. If I can't fathom something, I like to hear why other people believe they have the right to behave the way they do and what in their experience has been so different from mine that they have come to beliefs on the completely opposite end of the spectrum from mine.

And sometimes racists don't lack compassion toward ALL people - they just lack compassion toward the object of their bias.
And I want to know why- what in their experience feeds this bias?

And as it relates to interracial marriage - I'm EXTREMELY interested and curious to hear other views toward a decision I made for myself and my children.
Doesn't mean I'll be swayed to the other side and I may and probably won't like what I hear - but it'll give me an insight into those people, another viewpoint, a point of reference that I may not have ever thought about before and a clearer indication of what me and my children might be up against instead of just assuming - 'Oh I'm so much smarter than this person - I already know what he's thinking and why and I don't need to even consider that I could learn something more about the world I live in.'
Not HOW TO BE in the world I live in - but more about what the world I live in is truly like.

Because you know something? It just about made my mouth drop open in disbelief to read that 46% of Mississipians believe interracial marriage is not only not okay as a personal choice but that it should be illegal.

I want to know why. I also would like to see the racial breakdown of the respondents and how they responded.
Might not only be white people who don't agree with it. Might be alot of black republicans who don't believe it should be legal too. And I bet their reasons would be very different from the white republicans who believe it should be illegal.

Yeah - why is the first word that came into my head. But then it usually always is. I probably was a very irritating kid - one of those that always asked, 'Why is the moon so far away?' and 'Why does the ocean look blue sometimes and green other times?' Luckily I've always had people in my life who understand that I like to learn and that's how I learn.
I ask questions- even when I think I might already know the answer - and especially when I stumble upon an apparent answer I just can't fathom - I want to know 'why?'

Yeah, its good to ask questions as a general rule... I always say I don't trust people who think they already have all the answers...as a general rule.

But there are some things I don't think I need to analyze too deeply. Sometimes I think I see plain old deranged - like the guy who shot congresswoman Giffords - and I don't feel an urge to discover the roots of his schizophrenia. Sometimes I think I see evil - like recently in the news when a three year old was beaten to death by two women who had been left to watch her by her mother, for no more reason than the child was making too much noise - and I don't want to interview those women to find out what they were thinking.

And when I see raw racism - my reaction is not to dignify it by offering an opportunity to rationalize something that is just wrong. They don't need to be enlightening anyone - they need to be enlightened.

But that's just me.

Yeah - and they can only be enlightened if dialogue is possible.
And one way to start the conversation is to say, 'You know, I myself can't think of any reason interracial marriage should be illegal. You obviously believe you can and have thought of some viable reasons. I'd be interested to hear what you think.'

Maybe it's just the teacher in me, but I do believe that people can learn from other people and their experiences.
I make it a point to always tell my class the story about how I came home from my brother's funeral to find my front door standing open and all my wordly possessions stolen at a time when I was grieving and couldn't afford to replace anything (true story).
I tell them this so they'll think to themselves the next time they want to walk in someone's house and take their stuff , 'Hey, you know - this could be a nice person that I might actually like and who needs this stuff as much as I do,' instead of just some random anonymous idiot they're about to rip off without conscience.

Same thing here. I'd like to hear why people think what they think. And maybe if they meet or see someone who has an interracial marriage that works - THEY'LL get another view or reference point from which to consider their stance.
But that can't happen if no one talks or asks why.
And honestly, I would be curious to see the racial breakdown of the respondents and responses.
You know people could be saying it should be illegal because their black cousin married a white girl and it went all pear-shaped and the children suffered. It doesn't necessarily mean anyone's evil.

Yeah, I hear you. Some good and bad in everyone.

To each their own - we just differ on when we might want to know more about some people's motivations. I'm okay with that.

We'll need to look at the practicality of such laws.
We'll need some Shade Police to assign a blackness or a whiteness rating from 1-10. Then you'd only be allowed to marry someone within, say, 3 shades of your own score. Maybe if you wanted to marry someone 4 shades away, you could apply for a re-assessment based on fried chicken consumption or how well you can dance. Maybe if you're a different shade to your siblings, they can give evident in the Colour Court that you're really a shade 3 trapped in the body of a shade 5. If you're adopted, you might get a bonus grading in the direction of your adopted parents. Maybe you could get permission to form defacto relationships with other shades if you agree to be sterilised first. People who have skin conditions might have to carry a card that show their "true" shade. Then we'll all be safe in the knowledge that we've prevented inter-racial marriage so that... Umm... To ensure that... Ahhh ... Somebody help me out with the purpose?

Stumps the hell out of me - No lie.