Elizabeth, you just made my point.

I've not spent a lot of time thinking deeply about "race issues" (mainly because it's not as large an issue in Canada, at least, that's my perception).

But isn't what Elizabeth R. is saying along the lines of "you're a [something]ist if you're not an [other]"? Isn't that a truism then and completely pointless? For example, am I a sexist chauvinist because I'm not a woman? Am I a spellist because I spell it 'privilege'? Unless the point is simply "try to understand someone else". Fine, but why label everyone something? Labeling seems to segregate by its nature, which seems kind of counter-anti-racist, rather than provide a holistic vision of humanity. On the other hand, "mosaic" is a huge word up in Canada right now.

Meh, I like both Kanye and Bush for various reasons.

Actually Elizabeth, what you are saying is that being white is racist.

I think GWB probably is racist, on some level. I think *I'm* racist, on some level. Just because you don't lynch people or you're not a member of the KKK or even you've never said "the n-word" -- none of that qualifies a person as "not racist."

Yes, horrible things have been done that were very blatantly racist. But there's also a subtler racism that I think you all are missing. I encourage any white people on this blog to read "White Priviledge: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh: http://www.nymbp.org/reference/WhitePrivilege.pdf

What I am getting at is that calling someone "racist" is not (though it might be perceived as) necessarily saying a person is evil, just that they need to come to a better understanding of persons of different races.

Erg, ok, you're right, Dan. I was thinking more of how history will perceive Bush, and excluding the crazy people who think all white or Republicans are racist.

Ben, are you kidding me? There are quite a few people who consider all white people to be racist. There is a larger segment of people who considered G.W. Bush racist before Katrina, mainly because he is a Republican. There is an even larger segment who believe he is racist after Katrina. Some of those believe it simply because Kanye said it.

And just to clarify, the people who hold those opinions are of many races themselves.

Ben,

Unfortunately there are large segments of the American population that consider George W Bush to be racist, and particularly racist because of how Katrina was handled. It's not fair , but true.

Dan, I agree with you, except for #4. I don't think Bush is/will be seen as a racist. I'm sure he's maligned for many other things, but being a racist, not so high on the list.

Here are my thoughts, speaking from my own experiences.

1. G.W. Bush, like the rest of us, doesn't like to be maligned.
2. He knows his own heart and knows that he is being falsely accused.
3. He's seen racists and despises racism, and it hurts to be put in the same category by someone who doesn't know him at all.
4. He knows that once the accusation of racism is made, it sticks regardless of the truth and regardless of any efforts to counter it.