I've never seen that pound cake speech. Pity that he undermined his own influence.

This is such a murky, difficult issue. I've grown up very close to these problems, and I think part of what is missing is understanding victim mentality. There is always going to be some large group which simply doesn't want to do the work (of any color), and feels strongly that they are owed, that someone else owes them a living (you can look at any trailer park sporting a Confederate flag in the Deep South as we both know). Someone always feels owed, entitled. And then there are people who go ahead and do what it takes anyway. When those people are brutalized even though they have gotten the degrees and done the work that's a different conversation, and I know many folks who fall into that category. But the irresponsbility of people of any color, culture,religion to fuck at will, punch out units at will, take drugs and drink too much or whatever it is that they feel they have a right to do and then expect others to lift them up? We have a (white) homeless population here in Eugene, as I am learning about and seeing every day, which has access to a full range of services, but refuses to use them because the services come at a price: you may not use drugs and alcohol on the premises. Among those reasons: kids, because there are battered moms. These folks refuse to honor those rules, so they put up their tents all over the place. They hang out and dance on the street corners and beg. I have no interest in subsidizing their lifestyles. I have given money to folks that I know will do something positive with it because they report back. Tough issues, yes, but nobody is owed anything at the highest level. I have difficultly being termed racist simply because I'm white.