Reaction to a caller named George who called in from Bush, LA was instant. George called in to criticize me for not being more critical of the overall Black population since Black males are responsible for a big majority of the violent crime in the city.
George also criticized me for failing to call out the violent behavior of young Black males - and said he was "embarrassed to be the same race" as me - he's embarrassed to be white because I'm white.
George spoke with confidence - confident that he represented all white people in harshly judging Blacks who commit crimes, and confident that all other white people would share his disgust at me. I was quick to point out that he does not represent all Whites, and that he has somehow missed my philosophy of blaming negative behavior regardless of race. I have constantly condemned the violent behavior that some Black people engage in, but I also refuse to judge the entire Black population for it - and that was another moment George became irritated with me.
Our text line was flooded with supportive messages from people who said that, like George, they were white, rural conservatives and that George DID NOT represent them. Here's a few examples:
"Sooo George held on the line all that time to spread that stupidity. And yes I'm white and 73 years old. Hang in there Scoot."
"I'm a 46 year old conservative white male and George DOES NOT speak for me!"
"I’m an old white guy on the Northshore and I want to apologize for the Bush ignorant racist that called in - we all bleed the same color, our organs are the same - I’m an MD and have seen them!"
I'm sure George wasn't happy with the fact that he did not win over the audience with his racist mentality!
