The topic of race has been all over the news again lately. It seems to pop up every so often, and it’s almost always a red herring to distract from the facts of whatever is going on. This time, with the Martin – Zimmerman case, it is a little more annoying because there isn’t even the slightest shred of evidence that this had anything at all to do with racism, yet that is what everyone’s talking about. Don’t get me wrong, this was certainly a terrible story; a life was ended and several others ruined, or at least greatly changed forever, but this isn’t exactly a Rosa Parks moment.

I know there is a racism out there and racism isn’t a good thing. But just because you are losing a debate or argument, doesn’t mean you win by calling the other person a racist, yet it is the classic, time-tested move….When all else fails, cry racism. The truth is, there should be nothing illegal about being a racist. I know it might sound crazy, but if a truly hateful, racist human being goes to work every day, does his job, then goes home and watches TV just to do it again the next day, what crime has he committed? If that same racist goes out and attacks someone or vandalizes someone property because of their skin color, than what is the difference if some other person did the same thing over some type of dispute or because that person was under the influence or drugs or alcohol, or whatever else could cause one human to attack another? If the Grand Kleagle, Adolf Hitler, or Jesse Jackson say 2+2=4, does calling him a racist make him incorrect?

The racist person is really hurting himself more than anyone else, at least in a free market (and this is assuming said racist isn’t physically attacking anyone). If a racist opens a convenience store and refuses to sell his goods to blacks, that person is only taxing himself out of business. Whether you are Black, White, Asian, Indian, Hispanic, or White-Hispanic, would you really want to do business with a person like that? Sure, some will, but for every person who goes to the store down the street in order to avoid doing business with the racist, the racist is taxed. There is a cost of inconvenience, and farther travel to the shopper, but it is very small when spread out of 100’s of shoppers compared to the racist who bares the cost of each one combined. If that racist is happy with baring that cost and living on his decreased salary due to his self-imposed hate-tax, then that should be on him…as long as he isn’t infringing on anyone’s rights. Could that be the reason why truly racist places look like terrible places to live for all people involved?

One last point I want to make has to do with profiling. The false outrage over profiling is almost annoying as calling someone a racist while you’re grasping at straws in a debate. All people profile. Since we are living, breathing, thinking human beings, it is literally impossible not to. If a man walks into a convenience store wearing black sweatpants, black hoodie with the hood up, a ski mask and a gun in his hand to buy a pack of M&M’s, do you think anyone might profile him on his way in? A car company recently did a commercial with a similar scenario.

I go for a run or walk through my neighborhood just about every night. I joke with my brother that girls, almost 100% of the time cross the street and push a button on their cell phone so I can clearly see that it is in their hand. Why would they do that? I know I’m a fairly big guy, I did play on the defensive line in college, but I have never been arrested and I haven’t been in a fist fight since about 5th grade. If I was black, I could certainly cry racism and people would listen. As it is, I don’t get offended. Ladies, you can keep crossing the street a pulling out your phone if it makes you feel a little safer. It’s probably smart, because the second you stop profiling people is probably the time you’ll get burned for it. People profile based on their real life experiences as well as the stories they hear in the news. If a woman is raped by a guy walking the streets at night, I think women have a right to be concerned when a big shadowy figure is approaching.

God Bless Freedom, Liberty, and Personal Property,

Slappy Jones II