Is it racist?

One of the things I notice on a daily basis, is that there are people who yell and scream racism at the drop of a hat. Why are these people so caught up on the issue of race?
So I thought about it. Then I thought about it some more. Then, still not believing my conclusion, I thought about it yet again. My conclusion? It's not about race at all.

Though there are still those who continue to believe that they are members of the “superior race”, I consider these people ignorant.

When people propose enforcing immigration laws, many call them racist. When people propose reducing the welfare budget by putting people to work, they are racist. If someone makes a stupid joke, they are racist. If someone points out unfortunate facts of life, they are racist. Do you want to eliminate affirmative action? You're a racist, even though the entire premise of affirmative action is race-based selection, despite the evidence that it hurts minorities more than it helps them.

In most cases, I have found that the people who are yelling and screaming about racism, are trying to force their point of view on others through intimidation and by changing an issue from being based on facts to being based upon theoretical harms that never seem to come about.

I was called a racist last week based upon my views that the United States should enforce immigration law, and that those who are illegally in this country should go home voluntarily or be shipped home. Does this mean that I am a racist if I want murderers locked up? Or pedophiles? What about kidnapping, is that a racist crime?

If you think about it carefully, then you would realize that actually, the racist in this situation is the person making the accusation. By insinuating that I was anti-hispanic for wanting to enforce immigration law, doesn't that mean that this person really thought that hispanics were the only ones who broke this law? And by extension, that all those in our country illegally are hispanic? I wonder how many people were aware that Hillary Clinton gave a speech last week to a group of 2500 illegal alien residents who were IRISH!

I was watching some television clips that included various people discussing the construction of the fence along our Southern border. I found it amazing that one gentleman insisted that building a wall was blatant racism, while also blaming the multinational companies based in the United States of exploiting the peoples of Central/South America, thereby forcing those people to live in poverty.

Could someone please explain to me how a company that invests millions of dollars in building a new plant, giving hundreds of people jobs that pay as much or more than the prevailing local wage, can be 'exploiting' those same people? Or keeping them in poverty? You tell me, was this gentleman speaking from the facts? Or was he using the rhetoric or hatred and racism as an excuse to not do the right thing?

He couldn't justify his views against the wall based upon any reasonable facts, so he resorted to calling our country racist.

So you tell me. Is it racism? Am I wrong? Am I right?

You can email Alan at alan@alanfernald.com twenty-four hours a day.