I’m an idealist.  I have long believed that racist thoughts in America are on the outs - a relic of the past.  But this story on NPR makes me wonder.

It’s about a black congressman who serves a mostly white district.  People of my generation wouldn’t think a bit about this, but others haven’t subscribed to the notion that we should be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.  Clergymen in his district have criticized him in the past because they didn’t think a black person should be representing a majority white district.  I can’t fathom that some religious men and women in America still harbor such views in this modern era.

What was really shocking is what one of his constituents said - on national radio.  A man unashamedly said that he would vote for the challenger, who is white, because he thought that she could do more for him than a black man.  I’m a bit shocked that the station would publicly air his comments.

You really have to listen to the story for yourself to get the full effect.

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This entry was posted by Brian on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 9:10 pm and is filed under Race Card. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Please note the copyright policy.