Putzdaddy, the other side of your statement, convieniently left out, is that America has provided more opportunity for prosperity and freedom to more people (immigrants included) than any nation in the history of the world (several of which have existed far longer).

Now granted, racism exists. Whitey doesn't have a monopoly on racism. EVERY single RACE that has ever walked planet earth has exhibited racism at one time or another. And yes, racism is bad.

So.... what do we do about it?

On one side we have people (Putz seems to be leaning this way but I stand ready to be corrected, Putz) who maintain that we must excuse racism based on the race (and historical oppression of that race) of the speaker. Thus, when a white guy says the n'word he's a racist but when a black speaker makes the exact same comment to the exact same person under the exact same circumstances he is not. Now of course you then have problems such as "who is black (read historically oppressed) enough to have the "I'm not a racist" card when spouting racist comments.

For example, Barak Obama. Mr. Obama is half white (his mother) and his father was Kenyan. Mr. Obama has NO CONNECTION with the civil rights struggle or its leadership and thus black people are questioning if he's black enough. Is Obama "black enough" to qualify for his "I'm not a racist" card?

Also problematic with this "let's be racist to make up for past racism" solution is the question of how long? Slavery ended 150 years ago. The civil rights movement was 40 years ago. Do we continue this policy FOREVER? When does it end?

Another possible solution endorsed by myself and Martin Luther King is that we judge people based on their character not their skin color. A racist statement is what it is regardless of the race of the speaker. This standard has the advantage of being WORKABLE. We don't have to ask who qualifies or how long. We treat people based on their words and actions. If Don Imus or Fifty Cent calls a black girl a "knappy headed ho'" THAT is a racist statement and both should be condemned.