Open Letter to a Racist Friend

Dear Racist Friend,

Yes, it's true I am a white American who was raised in the south. No, it's not true that this fact automatically makes me a racist. In fact, I live in a neighborhood that is decidedly diverse, with people from Asia, Europe and even (GASP!) Africa. I don't make fun of Spanish-speakers by calling them "mexicanos", don't call Muslims "ragheads" and definitely don't go around saying things like "we should just build a damn fence!"

I've heard you and similarly-minded friends say one or more of these things (or worse, but that's not fit for print) at one time or another.

None of my best friends are racist or hostile to any particular ethnic group. If anything, we find diversity of skin color and life experiences fascinating. I forget sometimes when I meet new friends that I don't always know where they're coming from.

I received a wake-up call today when my husband received an email from you, a relatively new friend. You and your wife are well-educated, well-traveled and socialize with people of different ethnicities. We thought you were like-minded.

Then, we received the Barack Obama email from you. The one with a title like "THIS COULD BE THE NEW FIRST FAMILY". It proceeds to enumerate all of the Obama family "sins" (I guess you forgot about good 'ol Bill and his philandering or Bushie and his coke use?), from alcoholism to Islam to a distant relative named "Fidel." Then, there are pictures attached showing Barack with his mom and his African birth father, with his Asian stepfather, and with African relatives.

I guess some Americans, including you, find this new first family portrait to be an aberration. I call it progress. Have you looked around? Here in my city (where you also live, BTW), every other car contains people whose skin is a shade other than white. WAKE THE FUCK UP. Why does this potential "first family portrait" scare you so much? Are you scared because Barack looks different from you or has different life experiences than you? Be honest - is it his funny name, his dark skin? Maybe it's his Harvard law degree that he earned on his own, without the benefit of nepotism, money or pedigree.

"But he got in because he was black," you argue. True, affirmative action is alive and well, particularly in law school. But guess what? Getting in doesn't automatically entitle you to graduate Magna Cum Laude or be elected President of Law Review. No, those were honors he EARNED. My dear racist friend, I'd like to see you at Harvard Law and see if you could accomplish those things. My guess is a resounding "NO."

I don't mean to imply that if you don't support Obama you are a racist. Just please, choose not to support him because you don't agree with his ideas, his message or his politics, but not because you don't like the way he looks. That's all I'm asking. If people judged you on your looks, dear racist friend, you wouldn't have gotten very far.

Now look what you've made me do.

And, dear friend, please don't send these racist forwards any longer. Obama is NOT a Muslim, he's not a communist and he isn't out to "get whitey." If you do continue to send these emails, do so at your own peril. You will lose friends.

You've already lost one.