Because I don't want to vote for Obama. Because I live in the south. Just because I am white. And that's just in this thread alone.

I find Obama distasteful because he appears to me to be an empty shell of a man, someone who has no true opinions but who will espouse whatever it takes to advance his political career. I also think he's egotistical and believes he essentially doesn't even need to campaign in this country (see his "head of state" trip to Europe) because he's got the presidency all sewn up. You can continue to claim that this is covert racism, but I could not care any less about the color of the man's skin. I was taken in by him during the primaries. I wanted to know more. And when I looked for more, all I saw was ego and air. Not his color.

I live in the south and have for most of my life. Atlanta is the most integrated city in the country. And I say I have lived in the south *most* of my life, not *all* of my life. That means I have a basis for comparison. When I lived in Los Angeles, to name an example, Black people literally were "in the ghetto", to use ghetto in its original meaning of a segregated area. Even the middle-class Black Angelenos were segregated, presumably by their own choice. I barely ever saw a Black person when I lived in LA, and I was no homebody- I traveled all over the region. Atlanta has the largest Black middle class in the country, and the Black community is politically active and respected here.

And before you say, yeah, that's only Atlanta, I've lived in other places in the south too, and I think the thesis holds. The worst racism I ever heard has come from people I have met from both the urban northeast and the central plains areas. In the south, there are people who are racist, no question- but at least they are HONEST about it. To the extent that it is ever "easy," it's much easier to address racism when people tell you they are racist- you can avoid those people or businesses, or work to change minds you already know are wrong- but it is pernicious when people hide their racism behind geography and people's assumptions that the northeast is such an open-minded place.

I can't even begin to address the claim that because I am white, I am racist. Someone who believes this cannot see beyond their own hatred. Racism- and that is what that belief is- is hate, not in the PC "hate speech" context, but true, unadulterated hatred. If you would rather live your life stewing in that kind of bile, go for it. I'm fairly sure that the only one you are hurting is yourself.