Yvelheim Entrance | Yindex | © 1999-2008
We centrists have it pretty good in this regard. We do not need to hate with all the zeal and energy of republicans, or with the excuses and disguises of democrats.
You may envy the republicans, who get to decry and oppress anyone different from them. They even get to keep blacks from voting: It's like the Civil War never happened! But here's the thing: They have to keep it up. If they're not loud enough about people with the wrong skin colors, all the time, then they are unpatriotic. The 2008 presidential primary contest demonstrated this superbly.
Democrats get to feel smug about not being racist bastards. They get an ego boost from pretending to like another culture's music, or from forcing themselves to smile at someone instead of giving in to their urge to cross the street. But just like the republicans, they have to work at it. There's only so much sympathy that anyone can feel for oppressed people. And when democrats run out of sympathy, they'll blame the victim, just like everyone else was already doing. The only difference is that democrats have to feel like they're still not being racist. They can't do it the way a republican does it, with a harsh insult followed by, "I'm not racist; I just call it like I see it." No, a democrat has to pretend that they have a problem with the personal choices of an entire race. Like choosing to get thrown in jail. Or choosing to follow a violent religion. Because disapproving of people's choices is not racist. A democrat is allowed to be aware that the U.S. justice system is far more likely to incarcerate a black man than a white man for equivalent crimes, and still have a problem with black men for getting thrown in jail a lot. It's called doublethink, and frankly, in our opinion, it takes too much work. (Also, democrats have to say, "African American".)
We centrists can believe that which requires the least work: Other races have problems, and that's their problem, not ours. It's certainly not our fault, or our responsibility to do anything about it. They should strive to be more like us, and then they'd be fine. Until they do that, we're justified in not liking them. That's not racism. We don't shout at them to go home, threaten to burn down their shops, or burn crosses. We just mutter epithets under our breath: Loud enough for them to hear, but not quite loud enough to invite response.
We're artists that way.