Racists and bigots …

Racists see everything through the prism of race.  Bigots are intolerant of others with differing opinions. 

During this election cycle those two terms have been tossed around liberally. Hillary accuses Trump of being a racist and a bigot. Trump returns the favor.

Who is correct? 

Frankly, you can be a racist and a bigot. But you can also just be a bigot. Bigotry is a lot more widespread than racism.

The case can be made that certain elements in the Democrat and the Republican parties are bigots.  They have no tolerance for anyone who holds different beliefs from them – whether that’s on abortion, gay marriage, the size and scope of government, or on expanding the welfare state. 

But is Hillary a bigot? What about Trump?  I think they throw those slurs at each other because they’ve already used racist.  In short, they’re both running out of insults. 

On the other hand, I’d put any activists that shout down speakers with whom they disagree in the bigot camp. The same for Black Lives Matter.  Or the Westboro Baptist morons.  Or Kim Davis.

Bigotry has no political affiliation. It’s simply intolerance for others beliefs.   

Racism is far more pernicious. Some people view everything that happens as racially based.  If something bad happens, it’s because of their race; if something good happens, it’s in spite of their race.  They believe race is one of the most important determinants of outcomes. 

That makes them a racist. 

Disliking someone of another race is not automatically racism.  There could be any number of reasons why you dislike them, none of which has anything to do with their race. However, if you don’t like them, or distrust them, solely because of their race, you are a racist.           

It may sound pedantic, but words have specific meanings. “Racist” is one of them.  

Being a racist isn’t exclusively a white thing, either. 

For example, I would bet there are more openly racists as a percentage of the black community than there are as a percentage of the white community.   

Sure, there are racist lunatic fringes in the white community like the Aryan Brotherhood and the KKK, however most of these are such a tiny part of the white community they have no valid claim to represent the majority of whites.

In the black community you have the NAACP, Black Lives Matter, the Black Entertainment Network, as well as “historically black colleges,” black fraternities and sororities, and even associations of black journalists and a Black Caucus in Congress.  I just heard about a Black College Football Hall of Fame.  There are no parallels to these in the broader white community. If there were these would be considered racist; but because blacks are given a pass to self-segregate their racist – by definition – organizations are perfectly fine.

Imagine for a moment that someone started a National Association for the Advancement of White People, or a White Entertainment Network. Or created a White Caucus in Congress.  Or a White College Football Hall of Fame. The DOJ would be filing charges against them for discrimination.  

Americans generally are dreadfully afraid of being called racist, especially white Americans.  Most white Americans work hard at trying to be color blind, which is what Dr. King dreamed of. They also don’t want to have anything to do with racists.  

That’s why Hillary and Democrats in general like to tag Republicans, and Trump in particular, as racists. They do this because being called a racist is one of the most damning epithets in our society. It’s a powerful weapon designed to chill Independents, white women, educated white males and anyone who considers themselves a moderate – which is most Americans.  It also serves as a less than subtle dog whistle to minorities to be wary.  

Is it justified? Not really.

Historically Republicans have done the most to enfranchise minorities. I’ve long admired the Republicans for their role in giving women the right to vote (19^th Amendment), giving citizenship and the right to vote to former slaves (14^th and 15^th  Amendments, respectively), and for passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – all against opposition primarily from Democrats.

Yes, it was Democrats who tried to stop the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including former KKK member Robert Byrd (D. WVA) who led a filibuster to prevent passage. Hubert Humphrey (D. MN) tried to insert amendments to make busing to achieve desegregation illegal. 

Now Democrats claim to be responsible for guaranteeing voting rights to women and minorities and have convinced the black community and women this is true. They blame Republicans for restricting voting rights and for waging a “war on women” and minorities. Everybody conveniently forgets the role Republicans played in establishing their rights in the first place.

The black community also believes that anyone who opposes – or, God forbid, criticizes – Obama is automatically a racist. I heard some prominent black woman the other night claim that criticizing “our first black President” was evidence someone was a racist. The fact that Trump questioned Obama’s citizenship early on was proof Trump was a racist, she added.

Remember the definition of a racist: someone who views everything through the prism of race. 

She was a racist. 

To be honest – I’ve yet to hear Trump say anything remotely racist. If anything, most of what he’s been accused of racism for saying seems, on the face of it, to simply be common sense.

It’s not racist to oppose illegal immigration. Calling out the nationalities of illegal immigrants is also not racist; not if you are opposed to illegal immigration by any groups or ethnicities and not if what you say is true.  It may make people uncomfortable, but the reality is that most of the illegals hiding in our country are from Mexico and to a lesser degree Central America. Trump never said he wanted to ban or deport all Hispanics; he simply said he wanted to seal our southern border to protect us from criminals streaming across. 

It’s the height of hypocrisy for Mexico and Mexicans to be offended at that – Mexico imprisons people it catches crossing its southern border illegally. We give them a ride home.  

He’s also said he’s opposed to any amnesty for the illegals already here.  Ever.  

Again, that doesn’t make him a racist. Not if you consider history.   

In 1986 Reagan signed legislation that gave one-time amnesty to all illegal aliens who arrived here before 1982.  This was supposed to be in exchange for a tightening of our borders.  Which never happened.  So it’s not surprising that Republicans – burned once already – would now be opposed to any new amnesty program. Trump’s opposition to amnesty shouldn’t be a surprise.     

And actually, Trump’s position on deporting illegals who commit crimes is very similar to Obama’s – who now holds the all-time record for deportations. Obama has deported more illegal immigrants than all other modern Presidents combined. But you don’t hear much about that.

So is Obama a racist? 

Trump’s proposed temporary ban on Muslim immigrants also doesn’t make him a racist. It’s not racist to take a harder look at people trying to enter our country from regions where a radical form of Islam prevails and encourages Muslims everywhere to rise up and slaughter innocents who don’t agree with them. Once again, it may make some people uncomfortable, but entering our country is a privilege.  We have every right to decide who can or can’t enter. 

So where does the charge of racist come from?  I think it’s because Trump – a Republican – has the audacity to reach out directly to the black community and tell blacks they’ve been used by Democrats for decades and gotten essentially nothing in return but empty promises.  All of which, unfortunately for the black community, is absolutely true. 

But how dare he talk down to blacks?  How dare he point out that their inner cities are a disaster, their schools suck, their families are falling apart, and black-on-black crime is out of control? 

How dare he – a white guy – say such things and imply that blacks don’t get it?

Black leaders were swift to condemn Trump for this. That’s not surprising.  They are equal participants in – and beneficiaries of – the poverty-industrial complex Democrats have engineered. They have focused on keeping  blacks exactly where they are and have been for decades. They can’t afford to have the black community finally wake up and realize they’ve been had.

Because he addressed blacks directly, he’s supposedly a racist. I don’t think he is.

However, when Hillary chastises Trump for disparaging the black community, by telling them what is in fact the truth, he’s supposedly the racist.

Telling the truth doesn’t make you a racist.  What makes you a racist is when you deny reality to pander to a certain group based entirely on their race. 

Which is exactly what Hillary and the Democrats are doing.

They are the racists.