Baltimore: ALL Confederate Statues Have Now Been Removed

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The left seems to be the greater force in enabling racism since it needs to kept racism in full swing so that accusations against the right can carry the fullest impact.

Getting back on topic do you think public confederate monuments should be
1. Destroyed
2. Put in a museum
3. Kept in public but modified to acknowledge lost cause context
4. Other

Should public displays of confederate flags and such be banned as done in Europe?

What about Confederate stuff displayed on private property?

On the first question the trend is towered options 2 and 3 and I support that. One should not try to erase history by destroying the statues. Where we have been which is public displays without context has also erased history.

As far as questions 2 and 3 America is way more generous than most as far as allowing the freedom of expression of hate. This will not be changing anytime soon but with generational and demographic changes plus some horrific outrages I can envision a hate speech amendment being added to the constitution. I would hope this does not happen. These protections are not meant to protect the popular but the unpopular. I see these negative effects of hate speech bans.
1. Freedom of expression has exposed some people for who they are, we lose that if hate speech is banned
2. Once you ban the horrible it becomes easier and easier and easier to ban the less bad, to expand the definition of horrible.
3. Autistics should not want banning minority opinion that is viewed as bad by the majority.
4. While the confederate flag might be banned the metaphorical white flag will be waved. It would be a signal that we are too weak to fight evil ideas off. If that is the case no ban will really work in the long run.

If you start confiscating private property like it or not the will become the dominant issue, the ”conspiracy theorists” will be proven not to be such nut jobs after all.

So how exactly is the left responsible for enabling the right's racism? Pointing their racism out isn't enabling it. You seem to be dishonestly blaming those who care about and draw attention to racism for racism's existence, but that's about as honest as claiming bird-watchers are responsible for the birds showing up in spring.

It's a matter of a small segment of society being called everyone who is not left wing. There is a twofold hoped for effect in the left exploiting racism as a weapon. 1. Those who are not on the left being accused of being racist in order to stigmatize and ostracize them to the point where everyone is afraid to go against the left. 2. Convince everyone of color to only vote for left wing politicians.

The problem is that racism is more widespread then you're willing to admit. It isn't a small segment, it's a substantial portion of the conservative base (and a larger portion of folks on the far-right who fall outside of the conservative politics). One doesn't need to be a card carrying member of a white supremacist organization to consistently espouse views that are aligned with white supremacist/white nationalist talking points. Being offended that one has been described as racist doesn't mean they're not and throwing a hissy fit is a typical response of the 'I'm totally not a racist but...' crowd.

Blaming the left for the right's failure to appeal to a broader demographic isn't going to make anyone more likely to vote for Republicans. Michael Steele and other Republicans have commented on this, the party needs to stop the dog whistles and make a genuine effort. Instead with guys like Trump and Steve King they've chosen to go the other direction. They do a pretty good job of driving those voters away on their own.

The problem is that racism is more widespread then you're willing to admit. It isn't a small segment, it's a substantial portion of the conservative base

Perhaps you would do better with conversations about racism if you stayed away from tired. cliched, polemic rhetoric. When you try to brand a member of this forum with a BS term like "mainstream American white values, " expect to be called out on it.

The bible for every right winger? I seriously doubt that. And your choice to deflect says a lot.

That's not fair, some on the right merely enable and provide cover for racists.

so true

You forgot your emote.

Do you have any evidence to support those claims? Do you have a specific percentage in mind that would prove that it's "widespread?"

I grew up in the corn belt, and I know that racists exist, believe me. I've also been all over the Southern states and can tell you that I've met my fair share of racist as*holes. But I'm wondering how an African American candidate for president got elected to to two terms if racism is as widespread as you are claiming.

How many conservatives in the U.S. have you met and talked to? You see where I'm going with this? Where is the data for your claims? Last time I checked, you didn't live in this country.

Probably one of the Bibles of the EXTREME US right-wing.